Liam Sharp: Multi Talented Git!

Renaissance man, Liam Sharp is at it again! This time he's written a book and I mean a proper book... none of that stories told in pictures bollocks!

"GOD KILLERS" has been receiving praise from some very big names indeed.

I tried to embed a promo video that included all the rave reviews from the likes of China Miéville, Mike Carey, Jeff Vandermeer, Dan Abnett, Paul Cornell and Douglas Rushkoff, but it was beyond my technological means.

You'll just have to take my word for it. Actually, don't... just buy your own copy and find out for yourself just how good it is!

You can buy it in Waterstones, or at these links:

http://machivariuspoint.weebly.com/buy.html

More info here:

http://www.liam-sharp.com

I know as much as you do.

Let's talk about The Twelve.

Ah, sod it. Let's not.

Experience has taught me that it's probably better if I maintain a dignified silence, despite some of the aspersions cast in my direction on the boards (and, yes... I'm aware that "dignified silence" is not one of my strong points as regular readers, acquainted with the forensic details of my genitalia, will attest!).

I'll just leave you with everything I know on the subject of the book's future:

"it's going to be finished come hell or high water"

So says JMS in a Comic Book Resources interview.

Think I've found my T-Shirt slogan for this year's San Diego Con.

In the Phantom Zone!

Bloody Hell. I'm getting too old for this malarkey. It's two in the morning and I've been working for seventeen hours straight. Yeah, I know nurses do this every day... but still... I'm frazzled.

However, the cover is finished. And tomorrow I'm back doing film work! Hooray for Hollywood!

(And before anyone complains, if I had Twelve scripts I would be drawing them.)

Phantom Patrol

I thought it was about time I brought you some news on my comic career, rather than on my testicles.

First up, Bear Alley Books are bringing out an all-new collection of "The Phantom Patrol", and I'm creating an all-new wrap-around cover for it, as seen above. (Yes, I had to draw every single blade of grass. That's what I do).

The Phantom Patrol was a strip that originally ran in The Swift in the early sixties. Drawn by Gerry Embleton, it chronicled the adventures of Sergeant Joe Trimm and his platoon who discover a crashed UFO on the island of Crete in 1941. Pinned down by the Nazis, our heroes escape by the means of a time-travel device purloined from the flying saucer. So begins the time-spanning adventures of "The Phantom Patrol"! With a tank, a landing craft, a handful of guns and a captured Nazi, the British infantry unit find themselves in the midst of the Trojan Wars.



The Phantom Patrol is a superb yarn of a kind that British comics did best. Fast-moving and wildly plotted, the story grows more complex as the patrol battles its way through Egypt and Private Paddy O'Connell finds himself adrift in time with a police trooper from the future. Flitting from one historical event to the other, will the Sarge and his men manage to escape back to now... and, given the situation they left behind, will they survive even if they do get back?

"Here come the Trojans—armed to the teeth! Get ready for big trouble!"

The Highlight of this book is the amazing artwork of Gerry Embleton. It can't have been an easy strip to draw, what with all the historical reference he would have needed. Dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, ancient egyptians, vikings, romans, trojans... the range of subject matter poor old Gerry had to handle is staggering. And quite how he did it without the aid of Google is baffling. But do it he did, in impressive style.

Only rarely seen since it's original appearance in Swift, The Phantom Patrol reprints all 57 episodes in one blockbuster volume.

Artwork by Gerry Embleton

Written by Willie Patterson

Cover by Chris Weston

Edited and introduced by Steve Holland

ISBN 978-1-907081-52-1

120 pages, b/w.

To be published in August 2009

Ticked Off... or "The Passion of The Chris".

My lack of productivity hit new lows this week as most of my time was spent fighting the urge to scratch at what I could only assume was an infected insect bite in my nether regions. In truth, "scratching" doesn't cover it... what I actually wanted to do was wrap a crate load of brillo pads onto a garden rake with barbed wire and scour the living flesh from my throbbing, super-itchy thighs. Imagine "The Passion of The Christ" remade with Jesus as a willing subject!

I managed to resist this notion, and eventually decided to surrender myself to the ritual known as "showing your bits to the doctor". He knew instantly the impressive scale of The Weston Reproductive Organs was due to infection and not my natural manliness, and I was prescribed a course of antibiotics. Unfortunately, they did not stop the ever-expanding rash from spreading slowly down my leg and eventually extending below my knee; a progress marked in felt-tip by my ever-patient wife.

By sunday night, I became concerned that my swollen leg was beginning to affect my circulation, so I managed to get myself an appointment at the local District General Hospital, which I considered the repayment of a karmic debt since I had twice protest-marched to save that institution from closure.

Once there, I again I had to display my Great Balls of Fire but this examination did bear a bitter-sweet fruit with the discovery of a tick burrowed deep into the crook of my groin.

I was admitted to the hospital then and there. At first I thought I'd been placed in the geriatric ward by mistake, as I had to share a room with some extremely elderly ladies, one of whom was emitting the loudest death-rattle and whimper I have ever heard. It's hard to sleep listening to a fellow human being in the bed opposite you slide noisily off the mortal coil, and its hard to get angry about it too.

Her forlorn gargles were soon drowned out once the blind-drunk binge-drinking teenage girls were deposited in our room. You should have seen the violent behaviour exhibited towards the poor nursing staff by these loud, hysterical and abusive women. Eventually security had to be called to restrain one of them.

Any chance of the old dear enjoying a dignified death soon disappeared once these young ladies commenced their four-letter tirades demanding she cease the mournful gasped cries which were hindering their attempts to fall into alcohol-induced comas.

I wondered at the rationale of placing these teen-harridans in a ward with people who were clearly enduring their last moments on this planet, let alone with a sensitive geeky-type like me. I then wondered about what sort of state the NHS would have to be in that would make this situation unavoidable. Then I was carted off for x-rays at four in the morning.

I was then pumped full of intravenous antibiotics, and eventually released back home. But my leg is still swollen, and I'm anticipating a further rest at the tax-payers' expense before the next weekend, as I see no evidence of the medication working.

Coming soon... news about my comic work. Honest.

Caught Flashing!

"Klytus, I'm bored. What play thing can you offer me today?
A nice fat hardback containing all of Al Williamson's Flash Gordon strips?
I'm down for that!"



"By the way, Klytus: anyone ever tell you how much better it would've been if you'd have played Doctor Doom and not that botoxed wally from Nip/Tuck?"

"Oh, they have."

"Repeatedly."

"Well, it's true."

Result!

I'm not sure I've ever shared my love of sixties action movie posters with the world... but check out this little beauty I just picked up on eBay:



Y'see, this is why noone can be arsed to go to the cinema anymore... 'cos modern posters make the films look duller than dishwater! In contrast, look at the delights this film is promising...

Murder? Spies? Women?

I'm there, baby, I'm THERE!!!

Cradlegrave

Anyone not reading 2000ad at the moment should amend that situation immediatly as they are missing out on "CRADLEGRAVE" by John Smith and Edmund Bagwell.

Check out the trailer for it here.

Judging by the first six episodes Cradlegrave could very well be the best thing John has ever written, and the only thing that stops me from wishing I had drawn it is the sickening knowledge that Bagwell is doing a far better job on it than I could've.

This is one of those rare moments when the right script went to the right artist.

It's Comic Gold my friends. COMIC GOLD!

Well done Smithy, you were always my favourite...

Back to Black

Here's the finished Black Max piece...



Not too different from the rough sketch... just a lot bigger. Truth is, if this was for publication I'd probably just clean up the rough a bit and go with that.

So what's next? Apparently I've got six more weeks of film work coming up, but I have no idea when that will arrive. Or my next Twelve script, either.

I've been approached to provide some art for a band, which is pretty exciting. More news on that as I get it.

Last week I continued my campaign to do existing writers out of a job by writing a new Future Shock for 2000ad. Tharg likes the idea but I haven't quite nailed the execution just yet. I'm nearly there, though, fingers crossed.

I've also been sounded out for some character designs for an animated series which would be fantastic. Can't reveal any details about that yet.

I have just started a new private commission too, a full colour one that may actually see print too. More details on that as soon as I've been given the all-clear.

I just knocked out a poster for Putner and Glen's new comedy show, Inglorious Stereo.





I've seen a preview of this show and it is bloody hilarious. If you're in London and fancy seeing some great new comedy sketches do check them out before they get given their inevitable Radio 4 series and TV spin-off.

So lotsa irons, lotsa fires... but not enough heat to set the world alight just yet.

Feeling Batty

Today I was gripped with the urge to draw a Black Max pin-up.



'The Black Max', was a strip that originated in The Thunder weekly comic way back in October 1970. Drawn by european supremo, Alfonso Font, it featured the villainous exploits of the German air ace Von Klorr, who used his flying skills and giant bats to fight the allies in WWI. After 22 issues, Thunder folded but The Black Max continued his adventures within the pages of Lion weekly. A couple of these stories were collected and reprinted in various annuals and summer specials.

Giant Vampire Bats, Biplanes, Haunted castles... Why don't we get to see shit like this in comics anymore? I was born in the wrong era!

I heard a rumour that Peter Jackson explored the possibility of making a Black Max film... I don't know if that's true, but I'd rather see him do that than produce another bleedin' elf movie! C'mon, Peter, embrace your inner gore-hound... and bring on the giant bats!

The Galaxy's Greatest...

Good ol' Tharg... always there when you need him!



The alien editor of The Galaxy's Greatest Comic, 2OOOad, was the first being to provide me with paid comic work... and the way things are going he'll probably be the last.

When you are halfway through a major series for an american publisher, but the flow of scripts seem to have inexplicacbly dried up... when you've depleted the cash you made on a film by taking time out to put together your own pitches... it's good to know you will always be welcomed back to the hallowed home of Dredd, Danté and The Strontium Dog.

Yeah, I've just completed a Tharg's Terror Tale that I think will be running in Prog 1645. It's a funny and creepy little yarn entitled "Count As One Choice", and it's all about the dangers of joining a... no, I don't want to ruin it. That's the first panel up there at the beginning of this post, featuring the Beetlegeusian himself.

It's been written by a new writer making his debut in the comic... and let's just say he really shows promise.

Alright, it's me!

I got so fed up waiting for a script I decided to write my own.

Hopefully, it'll be the first of many... but that's up to you, the reader. And Tharg, of course.

Do please check it out and let me know what you think... unless you hated it, in which case I don't need to know.

Splundig Vur Thrigg, Earth-dudes!

For the Man Who Has Everything...

Dave Gibbons is The Governor.

Today he is celebrating a significant birthday, so I couldn't pass up this opportunity to sing his praises.

I don't need to list Dave's achievements; they've been well documented over the last few months in the wake of the Watchmen movie.

I've said this before, but one of the greatest perks of drawing comics for a living has been the chance to meet and befriend the incomparable Mr. Gibbons. He, ( along with Don Lawrence, Jesus Blasco and Reg Bunn) was one of my first comic strip heroes. I discovered his work in the Wizard comic, way back in 1976, on a strip called "Year of the Shark Men"... and he was one of the first artists whose work I could favourably distinguish from the seventies' brit comic-strip crowd. I also have fond memories of the "Spring-Heeled Jackson" strip he drew for Hotspur comic, prior to his 2000ad work. D.C Thompson need to collect this series in a graphic novel one day, if they could only see what a goldmine they are sitting on.


I just want to say that Dave Gibbons has been a consistant inspiration and role model to me throughout my life and career. And, aside from being a great artist, he's a bloody good bloke. Always generous with his time and unbelievably modest for a man with THAT resumé. Always, polite, well-mannered and sincere...

like I say, Dave Gibbons is The Governor.

Happy Birthday, Dave.

Back to Britain.

Wow. I'm back. Actually, I've been back a while, but I thought I'd better keep me head down and crack on with The Twelve for a bit. I don't want to attract any more grief from irate fans of the book who were royally cheesed off by my temporary pursuit of much-needed Hollywood coin.

I haven't got the go-ahead to talk about the film work just yet... but, rest assured, I'll be doing some gratuitous grand-standing once I'm given the all clear. It'll make Mark Millar look like a shrinking violet in comparison! Well, probably not... but hopefully I'll be able to post some of the art I produced for the project at some point.

I'm once again in the position of waiting for scripts, so I finally found time to tackle my neglected commission list. This painting has been staring at me half-finished for a good two years: a Wild West-themed Captain Britain and Betsy Braddock. This was done for a friend of mine, John Bamber, who collects artwork of his favourite comic-strip characters rendered cowboy-style (that sounds rude).

You can see other examples from his collection here.




I'll try and update the blog on a semi-regular basis again, so, if I have any "fans" (hate that word) left, y'all make sure to come on back now, y'hear!

Making an exhibition of myself...

Last night I met up with Gossmeister General Rich Johnston (of Lying in the Gutters infamy) to view the penultimate night of the Comic Strip Art Exhibition he organised for Harrods. Joel Meadows was there to chronicle the event for his blog, from where I took the liberty of snatching this handy photo of me, Rich and my mate Dave Allcock.



Last time I saw Joel Meadows was at the Bristol Comic Convention when I disgraced myself by throwing a tantrum in an indian restaurant 'cos of the amount of time they took to prepare our meal...sigh. Glad you've forgiven me, Joel.

Also there to enjoy a pint at Al Fayed's expense was my homie from Aviliés, Frazer Irving. Frazzle is currently pouring his heart and tortured soul into his meisterwerk, Gutsville.



It was a totally surreal situation, standing beneath an escalator, staring at some of my favourite pages of art from comic strip history... like a page from The Killing Joke, the first ever published Dredd page by Mike McMahon... and this pair from watchmen:






If you haven't already checked out this cracking little display of gems from the funnybooks, tough shit. It's gone, like forever, man.

Random thoughts...

While I am on the subject of "retro sci-fi heroes"... could I just recommend the brand new collection of "Rick Random, Space Detective" reprints published by Prion.... which can be purchased here.

Rick Random, Space Detective, was a comic book character who appeared in "Super Detective Library", published by Amalgamated Press, from 1954.His first appearance was in the "Super Detective Library" number 37 in a tale titled "Crime Rides the Spaceways". Random worked for the Interplanetary Bureau of Investigation, and among his arch-enemies was a futuristic bank robber, John Jolson, who used a matter transmitter in one story to steal gold from London's Interplanetary Bank. Random's female companion was Detective Superintendent Andi Andrews.



Rick Random proved as difficult to kill off in the real world as he did in his sci-fi adventures. Indeed, I first discovered him in the pages of 2000 AD way back in 1979, when he was given an all new adventure drawn by his original artist, Ron Turner. Ron is the real reason to buy this enormous, 656-paged volume... it is The Bible of beautiful retro-tastic space art.You can check out more of his amazing artwork here.

Also, should sales of this book prove successful they'd be more likely to reprint a Volume Two. And I'd really like that.

The Medusa Touch

The horror... the horror...

It has been reported on the sci-fi news-site, i09, that Frank Miller has begun work on a movie revamp of a "classic scifi hero."
They speculate that it could be Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers ... or.... please god no... Dan Dare!

This comes a mere year after I shared my vision of what The Fedora's take on Hampson's Cosmic Colonel would look like... but, if you missed it first time, grit your teeth and take a squint at the geek apocalypse that could be coming our way soon.



Imagine it: "Eat my Paralysing Pistol, you Treen c**t! I'm the Goddamn Pilot of The Future"

Shudder.



At the time of drawing, I had no idea that such an abomination could become a reality. Maybe I'm somehow responsible for bringing this monstrosity to life, in a Richard Burton stylee...

Cliff-tastic!

Cliff Robinson, one of my all time favourite 2000ad artists, has finally got his own blog, which you can find HERE!




The Prince of Precision, Cliff has produced hundreds of iconic Judge Dredd covers for the Galaxy's Greatest Comic... and I just can't get enough of his "Howard Hughes-clean" artwork. Unfortunately, quality takes time; his fans often have long waits between the appearances of his brilliant artistry... so Cliff's blog is a convenient way to get a good fix of his work. As coincidence has it, there's a Dredd strip drawn by Cliff in this very week's "Prog"... and extremely lovely it is too.

It's about time Cliff got some work from the U.S. comics publishers...

and this sketch of Spidey shows just how good it would be if he was to be picked up by someone like Marvel...



Cliff is the anti-Mark Millar of comics: unbelievably modest and oblivious to his popularity... so get yourself over to his blog and let him know just how much we all love his artwork!

Cliff's original art can be found for sale at incredibly decent prices HERE!

Fight!

Okay, I'm probably gonna get in trouble (again) for posting about private industry matters... but , damn it, this shit is too good not to share!

It all begins with an email I received from Alex Nguyen, the literary agent for one Chau Van Truong, who was "eager to introduce the world to his immense talent". They were searching for artists for two new comic strip series written by Mister Chau, and I noticed the same offer was also forwarded to a whole host of comic strip illustrators, including such industry giants such as Matt Wagner, Steve "Whiteout" Lieber, Dick Giordano, Norm Breyfogle and Alan Kupperberg.

I gave my standard polite response:

"Thank you for considering me in regards to Chau's projects. Unfortunately, my work schedule is already filled to the brim and I am unable to offer my services. Good luck with it all."


...but that didn't stop further inquiries from Mister Nguyen. Fair enough. Full marks for persistence.

Eventually, I (along with the other artists I mentioned) received this hilarious Email from the man himself:



"It is I, CHAU VAN TRUONG, who ask you to illustrate COPYCAT & THE NAISA MAFIA into a comic book format. I like to get unknown or aspiring talents an opportunity to do something great, to be part of history, and to grab fame internationally in these stories which will soon be feature films. You don't have to believe me and I do not care. There will be no payment until I personally approve of your drawings. If a contract is made, I will contact my entertainment attorney, MARK STEINBERG, to draw it up for you. Do not ask ALEX NGUYEN for compensation when you might not even be picked to be part of this great endeavor."

Class!

I replied:

"Dear Mister Chau Van Truong,

I'm assuming your ever-so-slightly abrasive tone was an unfortunate
by-product of the translation process.

However, I have already told your representatives that my "unknown talent" is fully booked for the foreseeable future, so I would appreciate it if you were to cease offering me this project.

Good luck with the great endeavour, though!

Chris Weston."


To which, Mister Truong responded with the laugh-out-loud funny quip:

"You've been deleted Bitch..."

I resisted the urge to continue and escalate the sparring... though I can report that Mr. Truong neglected to actually have me deleted from his list and I received a further missive from his good self. All of this electronic jousting was witnessed with much amusement by my compatriots who merrily joined in by congratulating me on my cheekiness, and by heaping further abuse on Mister Truong.

Ah, the comics biz truly is The Shit!

Woke up feeling Blue...

Little Guy 3

Recently finished the third episode of The Little Guy , the strip that runs in the "Four Feet From A Rat" supplement in London's Time Out magazine.

Pondering...

Blue Blade sketch for Issue 9 of The Twelve.

Spanish Spider...

I didn't just ponce about getting drunk and doing raps in Avilés, you know. I actually did some sketching while I was there too.

Here's one I did of my all-time favourite comic villain, The Spider...done for my new pal Vincent after several glasses of vino rojo



I may work this up into proper, finished, fully painted piece one day...just for the fun of it.

Here's a quickie of The Steel Claw done for Jaume Vaquer who owns this splendid collection of original art...



I suspected that both The Steel Claw and The Spider were well known in Spain, and I was pleased to get the opportunity to draw them. I'm determined to do a strip featuring these characters, one day... it is my destiny.

When Comic Strip artists go bad...

Okay, it's out there now... so there's no point pretending it doesn't exist... (be warned this contains some out-of-character bad language on my part...)





Sorry Mum.

Sigh... now I know how Rhys Ifans feels when he picks up a copy of The News of the World. However, I'm not the only comic creator letting it all hang out in Avilés. Here's a whole lotta Liam Sharp rocking out without a care in the world...



Here's me and Joe Jusko getting acquainted...





Soon...

some posts featuring my art. I promise.

'Avin' it large in Aviles!

So, just how did I come to be onstage, in a tent with fifty-plus Spaniards shouting "You're a git!" at me?

Oh boy, where do I begin?



I've just returned from Aviles, Spain, where I attended the craziest Comic Convention ever. I'm not even sure the word "Convention" is an appropriate term for the experience. A "Bacchanalian orgy of hedonistic hilarity" would be more accurate!

I've been to a town where Geek Orthodox is the main religion... and comic-strip creators are worshipped as Titans whose every whims are to be catered for unconditionally.



I arrived in Aviles last wednesday, having shared a flight with dear old Steve Dillon. At the airport we also bumped into Adi "Iron Man" Granov and his wife, Tamsin who'd gone unnoticed on the same plane as us...



We were then greeted by the show's organisors, German and Jorge and whisked directly to a restaurant in the Old Town to commence the festivities. There we met up with a few of the other guests...

like my homie, Frazer Irving, who has kindly declared me me "one of his crew"...




Mark "Fables"Buckingham and his wife, Irma...



Goran "Barracuda" Parlov, seen here with the incredibly hot Carmen ( relax, gentlemen... she's married)...





Dougie Braithwaite and his wife Sue, forever in my debt after my lightning reflexes saved his original art from a tsunami of spilt Coca Cola...



CB Cebulski, Michael Avon Oeming and , between them, Mike's partner whose name has unfortunately been washed out of my memory by fermented grape juice...



and Dean Ormston (and his wife Fiona who I somehow failed to get a photo of...)



On subsequent days we were joined by Liam Sharp, Alan Davis and Matt "D'Israeli" Brooker who had created this lovely poster for the show:



After the meal I wandered up to the town square , ensconced myself in an outdoor café next to the convention marquis and immediatly began sketching and signing for the fans.



It was very flattering to discover that my work is known on the continent, and many of my previous projects have been published in Spanish, like "Ministry of Space".





Here's Goran doing one of his amazing sketches of Barracuda...





I was introduced to the town of Aviles at a press conference I shared with Steve Dillon. We were grilled on the age-old question of why so many comic creators come from England. I still haven't come up with a decent answer.

Asked why kids don't buy comics anymore, I suggested they've got "better" things to spend their money on; like computer games, music, DVDs... "And drugs." added Steve.

Here's Adi Granov and Michael Avon Oeming on ther own panel, spilling the secrets of Hollywood. Between them is Diego, the interpreter, struggling to transcribe Mike's protracted and gross analogy which alikened failed movie projects to miscarriages... let's just leave it there....



At around ten at night all the guests were taken out to dinner and plied with copious amounts of wine. The party then continued back at the marquis but I bowed out of that and headed back to the hotel to have an early night. I was looking forward to enjoying some kid-free lay-ins while I was away from home... but it seems I have been conditioned to wake up at seven in the morning regardless. Besides, once awake I was deafened by the sound of Steve Dillon's snores emanating through the walls from the adjacent room!

Thursday: a typical day at the Aviles Comic Convention, beginning with a continental Breakfast in the hotel. It was during one of these that I was introduced to the american guest William Stout and his wife Kent. I'm ashamed to say I was oblivious to William's life and work, but once he started revealing the highlights of his career my jaw just hit the floor with astonishment. Not only did he do storyboards for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and conceptual work for "Conan The Barbarian" and "Pan's Labyrinth" but HE designed the fricking "Predator", fer gawd's sake! And that's not including all his other achievements too numerous and awesome to mention... check out his site here to get some idea of the man's work...

Frazer and I attended his panel and he gave the most fascinating, inspiring and humbling talk ever. And what's more, he's one of the sweetest guys I've ever met.

Here's William at the Awards ceremony having just win the "Coolest Guest" award... he's the fellow on the left:




After breakfast my time was spent sketching in the café until two o' clock when we were all treated to yet more vast quantities of food during three-hour lunch sessions. At one of these I met Joe Jusko who I consider to be my generation's Alex Ross with his fully painted, realistic renditions of superheroes. Joe was a "larger than life" character, built like a brick shit-house, but charming with it. You should hear some of his anecdotes from his years as a New York cop... they'll make your hair curl!

Here's Joe, on the right, with probably the only creator with muscles to match, Liam Sharp:



In the background you'll notice the area of the bar named after the British creator who spent the greatest amount of time there. This feat garnered him "The Brian Azzarello Award" for sheer stamina...




The thursday night was spent getting drunk on red wine with Frazer and Liam and talking about Rock... which put us in the mood for the live music they'd laid on for us in the marquis. Now you can't do a gig in the company of Liam Sharp and not expect him to belt out a few tunes... and he subsequently took to the stage and treated the crowds to scorching renditions of the standards like "Mustang Sally" and "Smoke on the Water".




Even Frazer got in the act and banged away on the Bass...



Not to be outdone... and having my inhibitions demolished by tidal waves of red wine... I took the stage and gave the wickedest rap on the subject of Aviles and the guests. I'll spare you the entirety of the lyrics, co-written with Frazer... but the chorus, whose final line was enthusiastically chanted back to me by the audience, went like this:

"The Comics Biz IS The Shit!
If you don't like it, you're a git!

The reception was rapturous... and I was asked to repeat the performance, only this time with the assistance of Diego, our official interpreter, translating the lyrics. Needless to say, all this was caught on many a camera-phone, so there's a good chance you'll be able to view my "performance" on YouTube some time in the near future.... oh god....

None of this got me "The Best Singer" gong at the Awards Ceremony on the sunday night. That rightfully went to Liam Sharp who is every inch The Rock God! But next year, Liam, your ass is mine!



Frazer got voted the "Best Looking Guest" award, a category decided by the female organisors. It seems NO women are immune to the magical seduction powers Frazer wields so blazenly and irresponsibly. I mean, check him out, ladies.... what's not to like?



Here's Adi Granov and Dougie Braithwaite at the party, looking cool...



Most surreal moment of the weekend came at the Civic Reception where we were ushered into the Town Hall and officially greeted by the Mayor's representatives. Speeches were made, gifts given and for the first time ever I felt the comic strip profession was treated with what I can only describe as Respect. Strange... but nice.

I think The Council has big ambitions for their town; they are re-modelling this post-industrial town as a centre for Arts and Culture... and Comics are seen as an important part of that. A brand new Cultural Centre, designed by Oscar Niemeyer will be built on re-developed land and it wouldn't surprise me if we'll see the Comic Convention held there in the future, Angouleme style. I wish them luck.



In the meantime, I will savour the memories of this show for the rest of my life. Everyone, guests, fans and organisors alike, struck me as some of the nicest people I've met in my career; not a single arse-hole amongst them. It was a privilege to hang out with them.

I'd like to end this post with a big thank you to Jorge and German for inviting me.




That "thank you" extends to the whole town of Aviles and all the fans I met there. You made me feel like a Star and I appreciate it. I'll be back.

The Comics Biz IS The Shit!
( And that's a compliment to anyone unfamiliar with rap terminology!)

Reality Check.

It's been brutally brought home to me by the Bad Librarian that my "comic strip superstar" status doesn't even stretch as far as France!

Ah, well... at least the Spanish love me. Or at least they claim to in order to get a Kong-themed charity piece out of me:



This piece will join the others displayed during the Sitges Film Festival on the 75th anniversary of King Kong. Later it will be auctioned on eBay, with all proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. You can check out the other contributions here. Very nice they are too.

This isn't the first Kong piece I've done. Years ago I did this advert for film equipment that featured the gargantuan gorilla:



It was a bit of a rush job... inked by good ol' Gary Erskine and coloured by the underrated Richard Elson.

Don't forget: tomorrow, I'm off to the Comic convention in Avilés, which is a little daunting. Wish me luck!

Lazy Bones

Man alive, I have been so slack in blogging, lately. It's because I'm just so damn busy, for a change!

At the moment I'm in the middle of three jobs... the first one being episode three of "The Little Guy" for Liam Sharp's "Four Feet From A Rat" project that runs in Time Out.

On top of that, I've now got a script for episode 9 of "The Twelve"... and I've got to complete a full-colour private commission for my dear old mate, John Bamber in time for the Birmingham Comics Convention. I've been promising him it for years.

These last few months, I've been feeling quite "laid back" in nature... so all this sudden frantic activity is tolerated with mild resentment... but the resulting cheques will be gratefully received.

Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to show any of these artistic endeavours, just yet... but I can show off a bit more of "Out of Water", a one page strip I did for Mono No.3. Mono is an Italian, no profit, comic anthology of one-page stories on a selected theme. Written by my pal, smoky man, all profits from Mono (printed by Italian publisher Tunué) support the financial adoption of a Peruvian child who will eventually become my unpaid artistic assistant, drugs-mule, household servant and personal slave. That's how it works, I think.




Also on the agenda will be an exhibition of comic strip artwork at Harrods, organised by Rich Johnston of Lying in The Gutters notoriety. It runs from next Monday until the end of October."Comic Timing", as it has been called, will feature original artwork from "Watchmen," "The Killing Joke," "Gentleman Jim," "Tamara Drewe," "Breakfast After Noon," "Petra Etcetera," "Charleys War," "Commando," "From Hell," "Captain Britain," "All Star Superman," "Jack Staff," "V For Vendetta," "Jackie," "Face Ache," "Nellyphant," "Books Of Magic," "Phonogram" "Tank Girl," "Slaine" and much more, as well as the first "Judge Dredd" page from 2000AD #2 and early "Dennis The Menace" and "Oor Wullie." Lowering the tone will be my own contribution, this following page from "The Filth"...



Aside from appearing at The Birmingham Comic Convention on the 4th and 5th of October, I have also been lucky enough to be invited to a Continental Comic convention in Avilés, Spain on the 9th to the 14th of September. Next week! Aaaagh! At the moment I'm pretty freaked out by the havoc this'll inflict on my deadlines, but I'm sure by the time I have my first slurp of Cava on the Iberian peninsula all my fears will somehow dissolve away...

Blinded with Science...

Blimey... it's been ages since I last blogged. So what have I been up to? Well, I did some top-secret concept work for a new science fiction TV series. I'd love to show it off on this blog, but it's not mine to display. As soon as I have the clearance I'll put it up.

I also did some visual work for a prospective film pitch, and that too has got to remain under wraps for the time being. Shame, it's some of the best stuff I've drawn for ages, too.

I've also been taking some time off, and dragging the elder kids up to see the sights of dear old London town. Last week we did The London Eye and Natural History Museum; it's compulsory to show kids dinosaur bones, they can't get enough of them!

And yesterday, we did The Science Museum, which was absolutely fantastic. If you've never been, or haven't been recently, I strongly recommend it. I don't know why it never crossed my mind to visit this place when I was researching Ministry of Space but my work on that project would have been all the better for it. I found the place really inspiring, and am desperate to do some more science fiction art, just as soon as I've finished The Twelve, whenever that will be.

Really, The Science Museum was exactly like some vast building stuffed full of my favourite objects ever...

like auto-giros...



space-suits...





alien tripods...



rocket boosters...



Messerschmitt Kabinenrollers (which I've promised myself WILL be my very own midlife-crisis indulgence. I'm not there just yet, though, thank god)...



V2s...



Spaceships that open up and swallow smaller ones in an attempt to start World War 3 (which actually began in Georgia, last week, didn't it?)...



particle accelerators...



And, as you'll notice in the background of the last photograph... Frank Hampson artwork. Yes, it wouldn't be a Chris Weston blog without some mention of Dan Dare, would it? By some mad coincidence there happened to be an exhibition devoted to the Pilot of the Future.

Here's me, representing the Oans, in front of a DD display...





Highlight of the trip was a my first ever trip to an Imax cinema, to watch a 3D movie on undersea life. Wow, let me tell you, I can now fully understand the hysterical response to The Lumiere Brothers' early cinematograph work, "Arrival of the Train at La Ciotat", which was deemed so life-like that people in the front rows screamed and fainted. Well, my experience with Imax 3D very nearly replicated those reactions! I'd previously dismissed the concept of 3D movies, based on my memories of the old projection system which utilised the cardboard glasses with one red lense and one green lense. Consider me a complete convert now. You still have to wear glasses, but they are clear and massive ... and, combined with the expansive Imax screen, it is a totally convincing experience. My kids kept trying to grab all the jellyfish which floated tantalisingly before their eyes!

Here's the Weston clan, minus baby Alex, doing their tribute to Buggles.

Dyno-Rod

I've just finished Issue eight of The Twelve, which seemed to get some love over at the DC Comics panel of all places (purely because JMS has been given the job of bringing back the Archie characters)!

It's been brought to my attention that I haven't had a good RANT on my blog recently. As some of my previous rants have brought me accusations of sexism and anti-americanism amongst other complaints, it's probably a good thing that I've kept my mouth shut for a bit. To be honest, I don't have much to rant about at the moment... I seem to be quite content and laid back these days.

I don't want to become boring, though... so you will find a little bit of mild cheekiness in an interview I've just done over at Optimum Wound.

Badge Behaviour...

Attention, Space Cadets! Now, I've no idea what status the Dan Dare action figures I designed are at, but in the meantime I've been involved in another merchandise project involving The Pilot of the Future. He just won't let me go will he?!






Termight Replicas, who specialise in producing high quality recreations of classic 2000ad iconography, have now produced a Dan Dare Cap Badge.




The badges, faithful right down to the last detail, were derived from a computer generated model I created as part of the Action Figure project. The finished badge has been flattened somewhat, compared to my design, in order to allow the enamel to adhere to the metal. They look splendid!

You can get your own Dan Dare cap badge for a mere £9.95 by clicking here!
If you've got any questions, please email wake@2000ad.org

Jammy Sod!

Hah! Being a comic strip illustrator does have its benefits after all! DC Comics kindly got me on the list for a preview showing of The Dark Knight at the Odeon Leicester Square last night!



And I'm not just saying this out of gratitude for the freebie, (I am in Marvel's employ , after all) but THIS FILM IS BRILLIANT. For the love of humanity, don't miss it. I'm definitely going to make sure I see it again... purely 'cos i feel Warner Bros deserves the £7 I would've paid to see this film if I hadn't been given a free ticket.

I never thought I'd see another superhero film that beats "Iron Man" within the same year... but The Dark Knight is it. In truth you could barely describe it as a "superhero" movie... it's more a traditional crime film, but one in which one of the characters happens to wear a mask. It's got elements of "Heat", "Kiss of Death", "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" and "Dirty Harry"... all great ingredients.

I'm not gonna say any more.

Just don't miss it.