graphic novels – Afterwards

Things I read in June

2000AD ART – Rogue Trooper by Mike Collins

A piece from London Super Comic Con in 2013.

One of the real joys of the cons I visit is the thrill of one of your favourite artists being there and fingers crossed, getting them to do you a drawing. Back in 2013 I picked this piece up at London super comic convention, drawn by Mike Collins. I am a huge Rogue Trooper fan (and must show you my tattoo to prove it at some point).

Best known these days as a storyboard artist for TV (Doctor Who, Sherlock, Knightfall, Good Omens), Mike Collins has a thirty-year track record as a comic artist and writer, including producing a critically acclaimed adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He has worked on all the major Marvel and DC characters, including Spider-Man, X-Men, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. He also draws a series of graphic novels based on the adventures of Varg Veum, Gunnar Staalesen’s iconic Norwegian private eye.

Quite often you can just stand there and watch them draw which is so very cool. I think this piece cost me £35 and took him quite some time. Certainly wasn’t a quick scribble.

2000AD – Low Life

Rob WIlliams, Smudge, D’Israeli and Rufus Dayglo

One of my favourite characters in 2000AD is Dirty Frank. He’s an undercover judge with some serious mental health issues and an absolute bloody hoot. I fell in love with D’Israeli’s artwork a couple of years ago and really cannot get enough of it. It is jarring and somewhat unconventional and a real pleasure to behold. I love the black and white stuff and the writing in ‘Living the Low Life’ is as funny as hell. Well worth picking up.

D’Israeli actually did a drawing for me when I met him at a con a few years ago and I have been meaning to get it turned into a tattoo for a while now. Really must get that done. I should try find it…

2000AD – America

Colin MacNeil and John Wagner. Buy it, read it. It is bloody awesome.

I was reminded of this by something on Twitter this morning and have been rereading it. One hell of a story by John Wagner beautifully illustrated and bloody hell so on the money given what is going on in America right now.

I am not trying to bash the US, I grew up in South Africa loving all things America, so it saddens me to see what is going on now.

Don’t say you weren’t warned though okay…just saying.

2000AD ART – Dredd and the Dark Judges – David Bircham

A print I picked up in Camden a few years ago

This is a signed print I picked up in Camden Market a few years ago now and I do love it. It is a quite fabulous art style and just appeals to me. David has done some work for 2000ad on Dredd and The Hunting Party but it was his work on Brodies Law that first caught my eye. I picked it up at London Comic Con a few years ago and loved it straight away. I should dig it out really…

Also, his website is worth a visit as he has some seriously cool stuff on there.

2000AD ART – Rogue Trooper – Mike Collins

From London Super Comic Con in 2013

Mike Collins did this piece for me in London in 2013. Mike was a thoroughly pleasant chap and has a fabulous body of work including Dredd (which I will show you another time), Slaine, Rogue Trooper, Spiderman, Batman, Doctor Who, Transformers, Superman.

Rogue is a genetically engineered super soldier and one of the defining characters in 2000AD. Just last week it was announced that Duncan Jones will be directing a new ROgue film. I will admit to having pissed a little upon hearing the news. At least now it might be easier to explain who Rogue is when they see my Rogue Trooper tattoo. You know I don’t think I’ve shown you that one yet have I. Must get round to it.

Alice in Sunderland

Bryan Talbot’s quite wonderful graphic novel exploring the links between Lewis Carroll and the Sunderland area.

Okay so where do I start with this. This is what Wikipedia has to say:

Alice in Sunderland: An Entertainment is a graphic novel by comics writer and artist Bryan Talbot. It explores the links between Lewis Carroll and the Sunderland area, with wider themes of history, myth and storytelling.

I discovered Bryan Talbot in the pages of 2000AD and in particular through the stories of Nemesis the Warlock. It is probably easy to think of him simply as a chap who draws comic book characters but heavens his work is far more than that. With a huge body of work and a lifetime of achievements and awards he is one of my favourites story tellers.

I stumbled upon “Alice in Sunderland” a number of years ago and still find it fascinating now and each time I read it there is more to see and more to learn. The art style is eclectic and the story telling an intense affair but so much fun is to be had. One day I might even fully understand what is going on but until then I will keep enjoying it.

2000AD Art – Nick Percival

Classic 2000Ad 2nd of October 1995

I am lucky enough to have 2 pieces of art work that graced the cover of 2000ad and this is one that appeared in 1995 on a classic collection. It is an acrylic and pen by Nick Percival and it shows ‘Mean Machine Angel’ . It is so gorgeous and the closer you get to it the more beautiful it gets as you see the brush strokes and pen lines. NIck Percival has done so so many covers and what I really love is seeing how his work has progressed over the years. This feels somewhat different from his more recent work (which I guess is to be expected). Enjoy.

2000AD – Stickleback

D’Israeli and Ian Edginton

I am a big fan of black and white comics and artwork. Now I know they may feel a little old school and on the surface may not quite pack the punch of one of your full colour efforts but I think there is an intensity about them then I feel rather appealing.

Today I am sharing ‘Stickleback’ with you. This is what Wikipedia has to say about it.

Stickleback is the eponymous title character of a steampunk comic series created by Ian Edginton and D’Israeli appearing in UK comics anthology 2000 AD. Described by his author as a “bad guy,” Stickleback is cast initially as a Moriarty-type figure, “The Pope of Crime[, who] secretly presides over the criminal fraternity of a fantastical, grotesque, Gormenghast-style old London town

Written by Ian Edginton and drawn by D’Israeli I find it compelling stuff and was lucky enough to meet both of them at a con a few years ago. Ian was so gracious with his time and willingness to discuss his work and the process whilst I had a hoot picking D’Israeli’s brain trying to understand why it was that I enjoyed black and white art so much as I don’t really get art particularly. I can’t express an appreciation for it but I do so love it. There is something about the main character, shown in the photos, that really creeps me out and I love that.

They both signed my copy of the ‘Number of the beast’ collection and I have another collection somewhere else but cannot seem to find it.

D’Israeli even drew a picture of ‘Dirty Frank’ for me which I will dig out which I intend to turn into my next tattoo. Thoroughly fabulous chaps indeed.

2000AD ART – Devlin Waugh

By Colin Macneil from Judge Dredd Megazine #201-#213 2003

Here’s something fun. It is a Devlin Waugh page by Colin Macneil from the ‘Red Tide’ story published in 2003. AS I recall Devlin was a homosexual, catholic vampire. One of the good guys. The stories were fun and irreverent and rather witty and I just love the purple wash of this piece. Up close I can see the individual paint and pen lines and pick out the different layers as he did the work which I love.

Saga. This ones for Simon

More than just a comic book to me.

If you’re a comic reader you know that now and again you stumble upon something that just grabs you and demands your attention and from then on you’re hooked. For me, from the minute I first read SAGA by Fiona Staples and Brian E Vaughan, I knew this was going to be one of those experiences.

The reason I got into it was because of the owner of the local comic shop Simon Shaw. I told him I was after something new and he asked me what I liked. I explained the sort of stories and art that I enjoyed and almost straight away he was in no doubt that I would love Saga and he was absolutely right.

As much as I like to think I know a bit about comics, I don’t really and when you meet someone like Simon you realise what real passion looks like and there is something so brilliant about just knowing someone like that because that passion is truly infectious. For the years that have followed I have bowed to his superior knowledge so many times and whilst my wallet may have suffered he has never been wrong.

It is with a real sadness though that I won’t get to have my arm twisted to pick up something new any more because Simon passed away this week. He was only forty and had beaten cancer and a heart attack took him far too soon.

Thanks for everything mate I will miss you and I’m sure I will think about you every time I read it.

2000AD Action Figure – Judge Death

Something I wont let the kids get their hands on. They’re not worth much but I like them.

I have a curious collection of 2000Ad stuff and this is one of the pieces I keep squirrelled away and I hadn’t actually seen for years. Reaction came out with a set of figures for 2000ad many years ago – probably early 2000’s and I picked them up.

This is one of the limited edition Judge Death characters which I ordered which I am yet to see anywhere else. It was a limited run of 2000 and I might have number one I might ot. I am uncertain how they numbered them but if mine is the first then that makes it even cooler. There was a different limited run for a long haired Judge Anderson which was numbered sequentially so that gives me hope that this might be kind of unique.

The series featured (and I will show you the rest another time):

Dredd
Judge Death
Judge Death Spirit Variant
Johnny Alpha
Slaine
Slaine Warped Variant
Durham Red

Elephantmen Comic Art #76

Hey, if you like comics and comic art then this is the post for you.

Here’s another piece by Boo Cook from Elephantmen #76. It shows Spike in all his beauty and I think its a quite welcome addition to my collection. If you haven’t ever read Elephantmen or are not familiar with Boo Cook’s art or Richard Starking’s writing then do yourself a favour and pick it up.

2000AD Art – Dredd and the Dark Judges – Carlos Ezquerra

8th of June 1991. Carlos Ezquerra at his most beautiful!

I posted this a while back on my separate 2000ad blog but as it got destroyed I thought I would share it again.

Of all my art pieces this is by far my most precious and adored. An actual Carlos Ezquerra painting from the ‘Return of the king’ story by Garth Ennis published in 1991. I picked it up online and the minute I saw it I had to have it. It cost me a pretty penny but I think it was a real bargain and I actually went to a place in London to pick it up. It features Dredd plus all four of the dark Judges: Death, Fear, Fire and Mortis. Only a piece from Necropolis or Apocalypse war might top it but it would have to go some way…

Damn it’s gorgeous!

2000AD ART

I wish I knew what it was from.

I bought this piece some years ago for not a lot, and I used to know what it was from but for the life of me I cannot recall. Its a shame because it is one of my favourite pieces. I have a lot of black and white art and I seem rather drawn to it. I do not know much about art and space and aspect and such but there is something about the white bits that are left blank as much as the bits that are filled in. I look at the piece and cant quite decide which I love more – the bit the artist has done or the bit he has left.

All very confusing but I do know that I rather like it even if I have no idea who did it.

2000AD ART – Dredd by Gary Erskine

From LSCC 2013 I think it was…

Ive met a few 2000ad artists at con’s over the last few years and one of the nicest chaps was Gary Erskine. He has done Dredd, Dan Dare, Flesh and other pieces for 2000AD and tons of stuff for other comic houses and also did a brilliant set of digital Star Wars pieces which I have prints of somewhere. He was really engaging and happy to talk for ages as he drew and did the Dredd you see below. It was great to see him do it from scratch, and he took such care – producing first a sketch and then doing the final piece from that. I asked him if I could also have the sketch which he reluctantly agreed to (being a thoroughly fabulous chap) despite not wanting to as he didn’t like the idea of something so rough being out there. I am glad he did though because I think the two pieces side by side look amazing.

If you like a good read you should take a look at his Roller Grrrls stuff. Pretty cool and something he was so passionate about.

2000AD Script – T B Grover (John Wagner / Alan Grant) and art by Cliff Robinson

From Prog 434 7th September 1985

I have been very excited about this for a number of reasons. I buy a lot of my comic art from eBay and over the weekend was perusing the site when I saw a 2000AD comic script. I had never seen one of these before so was excited by the piece (well pieces there were two but you only get to see one today).

Within moments my pulse was racing as I realised just what it was. Not only was it a script from a story that I remember from 1985 but it was the script from a Prog that I read so many times and was THE most memorable one from my childhood. I remember reading this prog over and over and loving the two gangs featured – the Zits and the Sharks. The art work is amazing and the story was brilliant – a musical!

Well I just had to have and a quick bid and it was all mine.

The story is that the seller’s brother went to school with Alan Grant’s daughter or son and I believe it because the other script is signed by Alan Grant and John Wagner and I have both of their signatures on stuff from a Con a few years ago. All checks out and to be honest it didn’t cost enough to be worth creating a forgery.

Anyway, if this is your thing check it out. Me and my youngest had a read of it tonight – me on the script and him on the comic and it was almost exactly the same.

2000AD ART – Nikolai Dante – Charlie Adlard

From Prog 481 in 1986.

Charlie Adlard is probably best known these days for his work on ‘The Walking Dead’. He draws a lot of the current stuff but he has also done stuff for 2000Ad in the past and this is one of those pieces.

Its from ‘Them Masque of Dante’ story and is a signed piece that has the acetate lettering overlay as well as what I think is a note from the editor indicating where to put some of the lettering.

It shows you how the lettering can be added and is obviously different from the one I posted a few days ago here

where the lettering is cut out and pasted on. Here you can just lift it off.

2000AD ART – ACE TRUCKING CO. – Massimo Belardinelli

From Prog 481 in 1986.

I have more comic art work than I have walls, and I do not have nearly enough of it framed and on display and the piece below really should be hanging on the wall somewhere.

This is a piece by Massimo Belardinelli who’s most notable 2000AD work was surely ACE TRUCKING CO. He did do some Dredd, Flesh, Slaine and others but the space haulage comedy was one of the strips from my youth that I still remember with fondness. I love this piece especially because of the lettering. I will show you how they do acetate lettering another time but in this one if you look closely you can see how the lettering has been cut out and glued on afterwards.

Love it love it love it.

2000AD Dredd the Movie – Schematic

Just because I thought it was cool. that’s why/

There are two Dredd films, and I actually love them both. Yes the first is awful for many reasons but seeing Dredd on screen still thrills me. Karl Urban’s Dredd was more to the liking of most than Stallone’s and I agree – that was a fabulous film. I don’t plan to go into all that though. what I wanted to show you was a schematic for a corridor.

More specifically a design sketch for a corridor in the Karl Urban Dredd film.

I just thought it was cool so I bought it…

2000AD Glimmer Rats – Comic Art

Gordon Rennie and Mark Harrison bring you Glimmer Rats.

One of my all time favourite 2000AD strips is Glimmer Rats. Written by the legend that is Gordon Rennie and drawn by Mark Harrison it really is a great story and a feast for the eyes.

I picked up a couple of pieces of the art from it on EBAY somehow a few years ago and they are gorgeous sketches what have been water coloured in black and grey. I think. Take a look I hope you like them and if you can you should pick up a copy of it because it is freakishly gorgeous.

2000AD Comic Art by Boo Cook

A couple of pieces by Boo Cook.

Last time out I shared this fantastic Boo Cook piece, and I said I would share more so here you go. These are pieces I picked up at a con in 2013 and the minute I saw them I had to have them. I’d just walked into the place and my entire budget was blown in the first 5 minutes. These are A3 pieces and they really show Boo’s wonderful sketching and I adore all the fine details which I hope the photos show. He was such a sound bloke and so friendly and I certainly treasure the pieces.

Elephantmen Comic Art

Hey, if you like comics and comic art then this is the post for you.

Here’s something rather beautiful. If you like comics and you haven’t ever read Elephantmen then you need to. It is a glorious tale of bio engineered animals and war and private detectives and…Look just trust me okay, I haven’t let you down yet.

The art in the header photo is a piece I picked up at a con in 2013. You can see the original sketch below and then the version that made it into the actual comic book. I also managed to get the artist, Boo Cook, and the Writer, Richard Starkings, to sign my copy of the graphic novel. My art work is also signed by Boo Cook.

I do adore Boo Cook’s work and have a few other pieces that I will share at some point because his work is just fantastic. No one draws creepy crawlies like Boo Cook. Richard Starkings story is a masterpiece and you know what, I think I am going to read them again this weekend.