WesterNoir gets reviewed over on Burnt Weiners...

WesterNoir has had a great review over on Burntweiners, pop over and have a listen.
It's reviewed as part of their Indie Rack (and is No. 4), and is discussed alongside such worthy titles as 'Into The Woods' from the Small Press Big Mouth people, under a wonderful cover from Andy Bloor.
We are very grateful to podcasts like Burnt Weiners, Tales From The Parents Basement and Small Press Big Mouth for raising our profile by reviewing our books, and as Jim says on the Podcast, these podcasters are an unsung hero of the Independent Comic scene. The hardest part about publishing an independent book is making people aware of it and these guys really do help, so 'Thanks podcasters, wherever you are'... hmmm ... sounds like the last line to an old TV Series that I used to watch .. what was it now .. Night Caller springs to mind but I've no idea if that's correct or even what it was about ...

Playing around with collage...

I've been spending most of the last few months either preparing for Conventions, attending them, recovering from them, blogging, tweeting, facebooking or writing (and I'm pleased to say that I've roughed out Issue 2 of WesterNoir).It's difficult to do all of this and still attempt anything 'art'y (I was tempted to say artistic but that would imply a certain amount of prowess).
To keep my hand in with the cutting and sticking, I think they're called collages in the real world, I've decided to have a go at making a few cards that are roughly the size of those old Victorian photos and follow this theme so far as to setting characters into that time period.
First up in The Iron Man...

I think I got a bit too heavy with the background brown, and will try a good old cup of Earl Grey tea for the next one rather than acrylic paint.

Belmat goes to Kapow!!

Well, he's finished...

 ... and ready for his trip to London this weekend.

 I'm really pleased with how he has turned out ...

 it took quite a while...

 but he's worth it ;o)

 The final touches were his hands...

and then the handle on his loading door ...



not that the door opens on this model of course... not like it does on the real thing...

So, if you're at the Kapow Comic Convention this weekend then please do pop over and say 'Hi'. as well as seeing Belmat up close, we also have our new WesterNoir comic for sale (with artist Gary Crutchley on hand to sign copies with me) and hopefully the latest themed anthology, Zombies 2 or 2OMBIES as it says on the cover.



Robots I met last month in Brooklyn.

Every year I attend the Mocca Comic Convention in New York, and as this was Accent UK's second visit we decided this year that we'd venture a little further than we did last year, and go to Brooklyn. There were a couple of comic shops to visit after all.
One of these stores was Desert Island Comics, a shop that sells, pretty much exclusively, independent comics.

Gabe, the owner, is really passionate about comics and comic book art, and a really nice bloke.

As I purchased a copy of a book called Jammer Slammer, it's got robots in it, he told me that R Nicholas Kuszyk (the writer/artist) was local and that his murals could be found dotted around Brooklyn.

A slight detour was in order,

and it wasn't long before we came across examples of his work.

And I was in Robot Heaven.

I'm a bit of a fan of street art, if it's done well and isn't just someone's initials, and this cetainly ticks all my boxes.

Maybe next time I visit Brooklyn I'll come across some more of his work. I certainly enjoyed looking at the few that I found and also his great little comic book.

Well, off to London's Kapow!! Convention next weekend. Pop over and say 'Hi' if you're in the neighbourhood. I might be found sketching robots at the Accent UK table, but I certainly won't be found doing so outside on a huge wall. I wouldn't know where to start.

Robot Shorts reviewed in SFX.

I was very pleasantly surprised when sitting down to read this month's SFX (well, actually my daughter nabbed it first and told me to look at page 38 when it was my turn)...

when I got to Page 38 my eye was drawn to the Fanzines insert...

I recognised that cover...

Wow, what an encouraging review of our little book of Robot tales. It's this kind of thing that really helps us small press and independent creators carry on with our passion.
Thanks again to Steve Holder for his great artwork and Andy Bloor for the cover design.

Robot Shorts reviewed in Comic Heroes...

Robot Shorts gets a great little mention and review in the latest issue of Comic Heroes (Issue 12).

Not only does it sample art from the 'A to Z of Robots' and show the cover designed by Andy Bloor and sporting artwork from Steve Holder...

but it also gives the book a 4 out of 5, even if it does get the title of the book a little wrong.

...and on top of this it has some nice things to say about the little book, even if it does suggest that I may in fact be part robot myself ... damn ... I thought I'd hidden that all these years...

A great mention for my latest effort, with thanks to Steve and Andy for bringing it to life...

as it were.

WesterNoir has arrived...

...and it looks fabulous. Great cover design by Andy Bloor featuring stunning art from cover to cover by Gary Crutchley... we'll be launching this at Mocca thanks to a speedy printing job by Stuart at UK Comics Creative ...

... and I managed to get this one photo off before the camera battery died.