Away

I'M off on holiday for a week tomorrow - just North Wales, we can't afford anywhere grand.

It'll be the first holiday I've had in three years and our first holiday as a family. When I get back, I've got a couple of tough weeks at work but then I'm off for another fortnight. Not that I'll be sitting on my arse drinking tea and watching DVDs (well, there will be a fair amount of that) as I've got shed loads of comics-related stuff to get on with.

Finishing the Tim Skinner script is going to be top priority, but I also want to bash out my story for the Robots anthology, catch up on Carson City lettering for Nat and Ryan, and put a serious dent in the pile of unread comics currently cluttering up the study. I have a horrible feeling I'm about two years behind on Hellblazer and 18 months behind on The Punisher. I never even started 52.

I'm also hoping to get into central London for an afternoon/evening to see Joel, Nat and Sean, none of whom I've laid eyes on since Bristol.

* ON the subject of the story for Robots, it looks like I've finally got an idea that might work quite nicely and contain some interesting stuff for artist Mikey Ball to draw.

* ALL being well I'm going to be submitting three completed new projects to Diamond late this year or early next - Septic Isle (graphic novella), Brothers (two-part mini-series) and Tim Skinner: Total Scumbag (one-shot). The idea for 2008 is to try and get something new out at least every couple of months which would be a massive increase in productivity for Moonface Press. It's eminently do-able though as I'm writing quicker than ever and am working with some cracking artists who want to see these projects out there as badly as I do.

* AFTER Skinner wraps the aim is to write two more one-shots before the end of the year. First up will probably be KURSS which I've been promising to artist Duncan Nimmo for over a year.

* AND FINALLY... you know you're getting old when your heroes start dying. First Strummer, then Peel and now Factory Records' boss Tony Wilson. Ferociously intelligent and a genuine cultural innovator, his legacy speaks for itself really - Joy Division, New Order, Madchester, Happy Mondays, The Hacienda and A Certain Ratio. Rest in peace, you pretentious old sod.