Kapow comic convention sketches

Kapow comic convention went very well, even though sales on the Scar Comics table were a bit slow, due to the gulf of space in front of the table that allowed nervous punters to bypass the wares on sale and avoid the hawkish glares of the stable's talent, as it tried to lure in susceptible members of the public.

I did some sketches which are attached here and curious fans of both can check out 2000AD for Rebellion's Judge Dredd or The Mice graphic novel available to buy either from me or Scarcomics.com.

A highlight was putting a copy of The Mice into the hands of Jonathan Ross, who promised he would read it. I felt a bit bad approaching the guy, imagining that he must get that quite a lot but I was overtaken by networking fever and, once I had spotted the bearded one in his bright yellow kacket, ran back to the table, nicked a copy of the book, whacked a quick dedication in the front and handed it over.

The wrestlers were a nice touch and all in all Kapow was once again a quality show.

Update

I regret the chaotic nature of the previous post, but the fact is I have been ably working away at storyboards for service design agencies and production companies for the last couple of months, but extras like maintaining a blog have gone out of the window somewhat.

Next weekend I will be at Kapow! the comic convention in Angel on the Scar Comics table, and right now I am typing this when I should be doing something else. So sayonara.

Storyboards for app development

Due to having fallen off the face of a monolith of software, which got taller and taller the older and older my mac got, I have not posted for a while. Now I am back. I want to thank Woody Lidstone of Splicetraining.ca for being a mac wizard. He claims merely that "Hey – it's what I do" in an endearing Canadian drawl but I believe that while I was making the coffee (strong and black – the choice of mac warriors the world over I presume) he whipped out his wand and a few "Expelliarmus!"-s later my mac mini was like new machine.

Here are some storyboards which I produced for 2CV a little while back, about app development. More soon, more frequently.

Royal wedding illustration

Whoops, left it a bit too long since my last post, what with the Christmas period and taking time off. I also wanted to leave the advert for The Mice book at the top of the pile as well.


Moving on into 2012, appropriately enough here's an image I produced last summer. From time to time I work for Big Smoke Media, who are a London-based promotional company who create and stock the postcards that you find in a rack in restaurants, bars and cinemas in the South East, often while on the way to the loo.


It's been great to know them and they have been kind enough to pay me with my own distributed postcard when I do an illustration for them. This is one for them, a take on the royal wedding. The postcard I had made subsequently featured the grinning soldier you will have seen at the top of this blog and I hope that if you have been in the city you may have seen either of them and taken one.

Graphic novel now available to buy

The Mice: The Factory Menace is now available to buy from Scar Comics online shop, here . £7.99, 80 pages, black and white, it is a complete story and also the first book in a proposed series of four, with the second book almost completed.

It tells the story of the giant alien factory Order Nine, and the humans who live there, who are treated like vermin and trying to fight off the aliens who, it must be said, don't much care and hate their jobs. Humorous, action-packed, romantic and deadly, here are some reviews:

“Small press comics at its absolute best… 9 out of 10.”
Comics International

“This is a gem and worth seeking out.”
bugpowder.com

"Roger Mason's fully-formed future scenario pits tiny terrorists in the Land of the Giants against occupying alien forces. A rollicking SF epic brought to life with splendidly fluid chiaroscuro brushwork by one of the UK's most exciting young talents."
Gary Spencer Millidge, creator of Strangehaven

A Preview can be read on my website , click on The Mice link, and here's a couple of pages...

Leeds Thought Balloon comic con

Monday morning and just taken my brother's crazy fun dog Barney for a walk in the hills around Sheffield. I went to Thought Bubble(Balloon?) in Leeds yesterday and sat on the Scar Comics table, selling copies of The Mice. A good day, if a bit quiet on the punters with cash front.

Treating myself to a spend at the Top Shelf table, I enjoyed catching up with Chris Staros and buying the big Alec collection by Eddie Campbell as well as Superfuckers by Kochalka. I caught up with Sean Azzopardi and read his diary comics, beginning with 100 Days of Winter which I enjoyed very much.

BBC Three idents

From 2007, when I was working with Red Bee Media at White City on the branding work for the TV channel BBC Three. The idea was to create a planet that the idents would feature different parts of and I was asked to help visualise this world.

Here are colour visuals of various parts of this imaginary world, including a rough layout, useful to let the team know I was on the same wavelength as them before investing more time in the image.

Batman Live commission

Recently I drew this commission for the boyfriend of a dancer who had won a part in the Batman Live Arena Tour, a significant career step and something to be marked. I came up with the concept, which was to feature Harley Quinn — I added Catwoman — and placed Michelle, the dancer, in between the two hellcats. After that, it seemed to create itself with these strong characters demanding me to go their way. Indian ink on A2 bristol board and a lot of fun to do.

Schrodinger's Cat cartoon

If this is not one of the most alluring subjects in physics for cartoonists, other than Einstein's hair and equations, I will be surprised. Sent this to Viz and Private Eye, alas, no luck.

Miss Oatlash from the pages of Preacher

I'll be taking some time off from tomorrow, to re-charge my batteries after a particularly hectic bout of storyboarding, so I thought I would go out with a bang. To anyone who this image comes to as a complete shock I recommend you look at the DC Vertigo comic Preacher by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon.

A chap called Ryan Ballard is putting together a compendium of sketches based on the afore-mentioned comic, and I jumped at the chance to produce my take on Miss Oatlash and her sexual preferences. Ryan's blog: http://thepreacherproject.blogspot.com/

Preacher is, in my opinion, one of the best entry points into modern comics and a highly entertaining, stomach-churning thrill ride with humour and a body count to match. Great story-telling from Dillon and a pin-sharp script from Irish writer Ennis, both of whom used to work for 2000AD. Apparently Ennis thinks his run on Judge Dredd wasn't much cop (no pun intended), I thought it was great.


BICS went very well, sold 12 copies of The Mice and put one in the hands of Dave Gibbons.

BICS and an apology to the 'kids'

This weekend I will be on the Scar Comics table at the Birmingham International Comic Show (BICS) at the Holiday Inn, city centre. Should be a good time, looking forward to selling some copies of The Mice, doing some sketches and catching up with my publisher to find out about the broader distribution plans for the book.

I would like to say about the previous post, that I regret the caption 'Fucking kids'. The kids are alright in my opinion, much maligned and only formed, apparently, a low proportion of the rioters and looters who recently blighted London. A knee-jerk response cartoon like this one does no good whatsoever, so I am saying sorry, to the kids.

Cartooning in Hackney

A response to events in London, drawn on the back of an envelope.

Set the Destroyer storyboards

Recently I produced seven key frame illustrations for film-maker Craig Murray who is making a music video for the band Set the Destroyer. I had fun with this, depicting a wasted young girl staggering up Kingsland Road, being sucked into a floor in a bunker and then being re-born up on a rooftop as a blond.

I think I need to see the video to work out what's going on here and if you want to find out more about Craig's work then go to www.youcameinhereastranger.com. Craig sits next to me in my studio in Dalston, in the Bootstrap Building, home also to the Dalston Roof Park. He doesn't drink tea but isn't averse to instant coffee in a plastic beaker, trivia fans.

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