Severe Plumbing Event

The last couple of weeks have not been about writing comics but what can only be described as a 'Severe Plumbing Event' here at Winter Acres. Instead of bashing out pages and wrestling sentences for the graphic novels I'm writing, I've been dealing with rotting joists, 'damp specialists' and excess payments to the insurance company. It's quite a drag, to be honest, and the next person who suggests we be relocated to 'alternative accommodation' while they sort it all out is going to be told, politely but firmly, to fuck right off.

The upshot of all this leak-related madness is that I won't be able to attend The Birmingham Comics Festival one-dayer at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Saturday. This makes me rather sad because I had great fun there last year and was looking forward to catching up with friends, who I only really see a couple of times a year. You should definitely go, though; they have a great bunch of guests, including David Hine, Leigh Gallagher, and Ryan Brown, a ton of impressive exhibitors (Nostalgia & Comics, Markosia, and Futurequake amongst them), and the cricket ground is a surprisingly decent venue that's only a short taxi ride from the city centre. You could even swing by the Markosia table and pick up a copy of my graphic novel, Hushers, if you're so inclined. You'd be doing an old man in the middle of a plumbing crisis a big favour, believe me.

Knackered: My kitchen floor, right now

In other news, the planned return of Tim Skinner has hit the buffers once again as I find myself without an artist. The whole 30+ page book/web comic/whatever has been completely written and is ready to go. It's as funny, rude and pathologically unpleasant as you'd hope it to be, too. So, if you're a comic-book artist - or know of such a beast - give me a shout. I'm still very keen to get Tim Skinner: Retconned out there, preferably before I'm old enough to draw my pension.

Rather more encouragingly, Markosia last week released a cover image (albeit unfinished) for my next project with Hushers artist, Manuela Bassu Lebrino. We're teaming up to do a version of Robin Hood - simply called Hood - and my intention is to try and offer a very different take on the character, inspired by real-life villains such as the Krays, Jacques Mesrine and John Dillinger. It's really about the attractiveness of criminality and how criminals - despite committing terrible acts - can become folk heroes and legends. It will still contain plenty of swashbuckling and derring-do, though, so don't worry...

Anyway, better go, there's someone at the door who wants to get at my joists...

It's 2016? Already?

I'VE become one of those people who only updates their blog twice a year - oh, the shame. I'm going to try and do better in 2016, I promise. It isn't as if I've been idle though. I've had two graphic novels published in the last 12 months - Defiant: The Legend Of Brithnoth and Hushers: A Very Victorian Apocalypse - and both were well received. This stuff is also happening...

* I shall be attending the London Super Comic Con over the weekend of February 21-22. I will be signing copies of Hushers at the Markosia table on both days (3pm Saturday, 3.30pm Sunday), along with artist Manuela Bassu Lebrino, who is coming over from Milan.

* I am currently writing a new book for Markosia and hopefully signing the contract for a second at LSCC. The former features art from Jim Lavery, the latter is another team-up with Manuela. Both books will offer a very different take on well-known characters. 

* On the subject of Hushers, there have been a couple of positive recent(ish) reviews of the book. Writing over at Bleeding Cool, Olly MacNamee compared it to James Bond and said it was "fast-paced, action-packed [and] thrill a minute", while Jason Wilkins of Broken Frontier said: "Hushers is a fun, rousing diversion full of inventive world-building and lush illustrations". A hard copy of the book is available here (£13.99) or digitally here ($3.99/under £3).

* According to Time Bomb Comics publisher Steve Tanner, the first print run of Defiant has sold out. He's looking to do a second run a bit later in the year. In the meantime, you can buy a digital copy of the book from here for a very reasonable $7.99 (about £5.50). Steve - and the book - were also featured in the recently relaunched Comic Heroes magazine in an article about indie publishing. We've also started talking about a sequel...

* When time allows, I'm still writing a film blog - As Human As The Rest Of Us - which you can find here.

I think that's everything for now. Thank you for continuing to read my blog, despite its erratic schedule. Your support is very much appreciated.