On sale today from Panini UK...

Here's the info on the latest comics from Panini UK, on sale in WH Smith and selected newsagents from today...

MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL #13. On sale 7th March. £4.99! 
100-page special! Four awesome tales!
New series! A fighting-mad Captain Marvel uncovers a secret in her past that will change her life forever! By Margaret Stohl & Carlos Pacheco!
The Thing confronts the Reed Richards of a parallel universe! By Chip Zdarsky & Valerio Schiti!
Hawkeye and Jessica Jones tackle a very unusual dragon! By Kelly Thompson & Michael Walsh!
The Guardians of the Galaxy face an army of killer Groots! By Gerry Duggan & Marcus To!
Featuring material first published in Life of Captain Marvel #1, Guardians of the Galaxy #149, Marvel Two in One #5 and Hawkeye #6.

ESSENTIAL X-MEN #12. On sale 7th March. £4.99! 
100-page special! Two mutant masterpieces!
A new saga begins! A select team of X-Men face the challenge of one of their deadliest enemies: The Shadow King! By Charles Soule, Jim Cheung & Mike Deodato jr!
The Gold X-Men team struggles to survive on a hostile alien world! By Marc Guggenheim and Diego Bernard!
Featuring material first published in Astonishing X-Men #1-3 and X-Men: Gold #19-20.

DEADPOOL UNLEASHED #25. On sale 7th March. £4.99! 
76 pages of Marvel’s hottest hero! Two stunning stories!
Deadpool picks a fight with everyone – but why?! Don't miss a new story: ‘The Marvel Universe Kills Deadpool’! By Gerry Duggan & Mike Hawthorne!
With Weasel's life at stake, Deadpool takes the fight to the Assassins' Guild! By Cullen Bunn & Mark Bagley!
Featuring material first published in Despicable Deadpool #297-298 and Deadpool: Assassin #4-5.

AN EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW OF THE ANIMATED MACRA TERROR, ONLY IN DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE 536!
This issue also includes:

Anneke Wills and Frazer Hines recall the making of the original Macra Terror
A lost Dalek story from 1966 – and the previously untold story of its celebrated writer
A tribute to 1960s Doctor Who producer Innes Lloyd
An interview with Mark Troughton about his famous father
Writer Stephen Gallagher tells DWM about his new take on the 1981 story Warriors’ Gate
The second part of an exclusive interview with Season 18’s script editor Christopher H Bidmead
How did the Doctor become such a rebel? DWM investigates how the series changed during the 1960s…
Part Two of Herald of Madness, a new comic strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends
Cosplayers recreate the Fourth Doctor’s Season 18 style
The Fact of Fictiondelves into the 2007 story Gridlock
Our verdict on Tom Baker’s Doctor Who novel Scratchman and the Season 18 Blu-ray box set
The Blogs of Doom, audio reviews, previews, news, prize-winning competitions and much, much more including The Daft Dimension by Lew Stringer. 

DWM 536 is on sale from 7 March, priced £5.99.

Cover preview: DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE No.536

On sale this Thursday, Doctor Who Magazine No.536 is another 84 packed pages of news, reviews, interviews, features and strips about the long-running TV show. 

There's the second part of Herald of Madness, the new comic strip serial by Scott Gray, Mike Collins, David Roach and James Offredi featuring the 13th Doctor...

...and a new Daft Dimension strip from me featuring the Macra!

Doctor Who Magazine No.536, published by Panini UK, £5.99, available from WH Smith, supermarkets, selected newsagents, and comic shops from Thursday 7th March. 

It's FREE INSIDE!

Discussions about old free gifts often come up on comics forums and Facebook groups etc so I thought I'd post the links once again to blog posts that I did on the subject. Click on each link to see the free gifts of yesteryear; a time of cardboard guns, metal badges, football cards, mini games and more!

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/free-inside-part-1.html

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/free-inside-part-2.html

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/free-inside-part-3.html

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/free-inside-part-4.html

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/free-inside-part-5.html

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/free-inside-part-6.html

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/free-inside-part-7.html

35 years in comics

I was wondering why today's date felt relevant, then I remembered... I sold my first professional cartoons in 1983 but wasn't earning enough to turn pro, then it was on this day, March 2nd 1984, when I went full time and registered as self employed. 35 years to the day, freelancing in comics, and I've met some great people along the way, including many of you who have become firm friends. 

I've also encountered people along the way who have stated that it's impossible to earn a living solely doing British comics... and admittedly there have been tough times, but I've been doing comics week in, week out, for 35 years and managed to pay off my mortgage a few years ago so it is possible, and many others will have similar stories to mine. 

It's never an easy ride being self employed, and a lonely path to take, but if you have a passion for something you have to follow it. Each year is unpredictable and you never know what ideas and characters will spring forth, what opportunities will come along. For all the highs and lows I'd still rather be doing this for a living than anything else, so thanks for all your encouragement and friendship over the years. Onward into the unknown and hopefully more daft comics! (The photo above is from 1985 but it's the closest one to the date. That was when I was still living with my mum so the floral wallpaper wasn't my choice. :))

Review: FRAN OF THE FLOODS

Rebellion's expanding Treasury of British Comics line of classic reprints continues to bring us some fantastic stories, and this latest volume is no exception. Fran of the Floods originally appeared in Jinty from 17th January to 11th September 1976 and the story is still strong and relevant over 40 years later.

Written by Alan Davidson and drawn by Phil Gascoine, Fran of the Floods is a compelling tale of Britain experiencing unrelenting torrential rainfall that results in devastating floods across the nation. Our heroine, Fran, becomes separated from her family and friends and the story reveals her harrowing ordeals as she tries to survive in an increasingly harsh environment. 

Like most comic stories of the era, Alan Davidson's scripts are tightly written with great clarity of storytelling. There's none of the glib banter and confusing narrative that sometimes burdens comic scripts today. These stories were written as three page chapters and every panel had to count, and every episode had to deliver the goods. As you'd expect from girls' comics of the time, it's emotionally charged stuff that engages the readers. Phil Gascoine's artwork is basic, no-frills stuff, but it's very skilled stuff and actually shows what a master of figure work and facial expressions he was. 

Reproduction of the strips is excellent, - remarkable when you consider they're scanned from 40 year old comics. To round off the book, there's a gallery of Jinty covers that spotlighted the strip, in full colour.

I hope this book sells well enough for Rebellion to continue with more reprints from Jinty, - and remember there's a brand new Tammy and Jinty Special coming out on 27th June!

Fran of the Floods is published on 21st March. Here's the PR and a preview of chapter one...

• CREATIVE TEAM: Alan Davidson (w) Phil Gasgoine (a)
• RELEASE DATE: 21st March 2019 (UK)
• PAPERBACK, 113 pages
• PRICE: £12.99 (UK)
• ISBN: 9781781086728
• DIAMOND: JAN192057
This book couldn't be more relevant if it tried - it comes from the pages of the legendary Jinty and is ideal for youngsters and nostalgists alike. Due to increased climate change the sun melts the ice caps, causing an onslaught of never ending rain. As Fran Scott's town begins to disappear underwater and, after losing her parents in the chaos, she decides to seek out her sister June in Scotland. But as society begins to crumble around her, Fran must overcome a vast array of dangers, including disease, wild animals, marauding gangs of vicious thugs and most bizarre of all, the self-proclaimed King of Glasgow!

Available in print from: 2000 AD webshop, book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop & apps for iPad, Android and Windows 10