Wishing you an extreme Christmas

Because celebrating Christmas on the day it occurs is for losers.

Crossing genres

Ebony is like Doctor Strange if Doctor Strange was a girl cat.

Leave me alone I'm tired.


I wonder if there's much money in drawing superhero fetish pics? Oh, don't look at me like that DC put it on the damn cover!

I'm a little surprised I'm still enjoying Final Crisis, maybe it's just because the central concept seems to be that Darkseid's evil is so great it WARPS SPACE AND TIME!


See I don't just read superhero comics with freaky sexual subtexts. I've been meaning to draw a DMZ pic for ages, it's a fine comic, highly recommended.

I love the way Riccardo Burchielli makes all the characters look completely knakered.

The TeamSmithy Sports Personality of the Year

I don't care what the BBC say Shanaze Reade is the real Sports Personality of the year.

She's awesome.

I can't come up with a decent stone pun...

Coming at some point from Action Age Comics!
The Chronicles of Solomon Stone!

Some of you may be wondering how I got such a prime gig like this, well the answer's simple. I've been a fan of Mr Sims' Blog for few years now and then one day he beat me up in an alley and carved his name backwards into my forehead...

This is pretty common practice in the comics industry. I believe it was Stan Lee who first originated the concept back in the Marvel bull-pen.

Gwen and MJ A-Go-Go

"Hi my names Peter Parker and I have really terrible life. When I was only a lowly scientific genius, a freak accident gave me a number of incredible super-powers that let me perform the most amazing feats. If that wasn't bad enough there's these two models who really want to have sex with me and they're both so super-hot that I can't decide which one to choose. Man my life sucks. You should buy either the top selling comic book or the record breaking block-buster movie that I star in to hear me whine about all these problems."

Hmmm.

I picked up the latest issue of Jonah Hex the other day and Jordi Bernet's art inspired to draw some pretty girls. Still working on that loose inking thing.

I'm not sure why they have such tiny hands.

Air Water Earth Fire

Waaaoooooh waaaah waaaaah waaaaaoooooooh waaaah waaaaaah etc.

Describing Avatar: The Last Airbender as the best American action/drama cartoon since Batman: The Animated Series sounds a little like I'm damning it with false praise, so I'll just say that's really, really, good on a number of levels and you should check it out if you haven't already.

Wenches

I was reading the very enjoyable 'Jews with Swords' adventure novel Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon and was suitably inspired to draw this. Oh, many are the times I've longed to find my way to a tavern, to rest my weary feet in the orange glow of a roaring fire. A busty tavern wench bringing me a fine frothing ale, a suggestive look in her eye as she passes me the tankard...

Sorry got a bit carried away there. I also wanted to try inking in a faster and less precise way to try to get a bit more personality into my stuff. I was particularly inspired by a new comic artist I've found called Denis Bodart there's probably a bit of Mignola to it as well.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going back to my wench fantasy...


Shut up, that's why

It's a fine day.

Good job America!

Take the time to revel in the fact that lots of hateful bigoted pricks are very unhappy right now, you (and they) deserve it.

Treats!

No one seems to have bothered with Halloween much this year, and who can blame them. America has it's own horrors to worry about and Britain is probably too focussed on the first TV showing of the concluding Avatar episodes on NickToons (so excited!) to care. But I have warm memories of watching old Universal Monster movies in late October back when I was a lad so always feel the need to celebrate.



This is the first of two Halloween pics this year. I felt I had to draw the second one to apologise for the first.

Yes I know, it was just that I was watching this documentary on Bram Stoker where they suggested that a scene in Dracula seemed awfully similar to a, urm, certain sexual act. At this point I got that strange glint in my eye that people have learnt to fear at conventions when we're coming up with things to sketch.

In my defence there are literally thousands of comic book covers where this s done unironically.

A remixed classic.

And as a special treat read the original story here

If any of you feel the need to stab a design into a vegetable I have a Vichama pumpkin stencil you're more than welcome to use.

Need something to cover your hideously disfigured face? Why not try something drawn by Mr. DFC himself Zak Simmonds-Hurn , some super scary Halloween Masks.

And if you're still not in the mood have a listen to Stan Lee read The Raven! Via Mr Kevin Church's twitter.

Boxcar Dragon: Hobo Ninja

Only at Action Age Comics! and here too obviously, and probably on DeviantArt, and maybe some message boards...

Rock along with the Shōnens

I know it looks a lot like Scott Pilgrim but it was actually inspired by The Pokemon Adventures Manga I was reading.

Maid Service

I know what you're going to say "Matthew" you'll say "haven't you always said that the fetishisation of female uniforms (maid cafe's surely the strongest evidence thereof) in Japan are just a symptom of the culture's deep seated misogynism and objectification of women? how can you justify this drawing without coming across as a hypocrite pervert?" well that a very understandable question but if you just stop to consider... Wait! What's that over there?!

*runs*

Exterminape!

Exterminape lives so man might die!

Written by Chris Sims lettered by Benjamin Birdie drawn by some hack.

Drawings from comics I am currently enjoying.

Armour from Astonishing X-Men.


DC caveboy Anthro as he appears in Final Crisis. Admittedly he doesn't look very boyish here...

Also Sprach Zarathustra

Coming Soon to a theatre near you.

My cynicism is usually warranted

I may have been a bit on the harsh side with my prediction of four months for the Anime Central channel. Turns out they were just shy of a year. Mind you if you take away the months where they only had two shows running...

Is this another of the symptoms of Anime's current economic trouble in the west? Who knows? Maybe if they didn't sell a six episode series for £50 they'd have better luck (yes I know it's very good but still).


In case you were wondering I did come around to Fullmetal Alchemist eventually (it's not that great, but there's some nice touches in there), Planetes was perhaps a little overstretched at 26 episodes (I eventually lost track and missed a fair few at the end, partly the problem of having a daily showing that includes weekends), GiTS:SAC grew on me and I just went ahead and bought the second season on DVD (which in contrast to that earlier DVD pricing was very reasonable), and I fell really hard for Gundam Seed (must have been all the melodrama, or maybe I just really love the colour pink?).

Wait, that's not arousing?

Sometimes (read: when I've been talking to Sam) I get the idea that I should try my hand at drawing some pornography. It might turn out to be a good way to drum up some new submissions after all. Now with this in mind we went looking for a porn equivalent of DeviantArt or similar as that would seem to be where the people who would be willing to pay us are most likely to hang out.

Having found one I looked through the Ratings and Advisory Policy on labels an artist should have on their work, and after getting past the expected Nudity, Sexual Content, and the like, I reached this -

Racism refers to the depiction of racist themes, bigorty, or hatred from one race to another. This applies both to the picture itself as well as any views put forth by the artist in their description. Mild - May depict symbols or objects commonly associated with racist themes (such as a Nazi swastika or the so-called "Rebel Flag"). Moderate - May include depictions of racist acts not including actual violence. High - For depictions of actual racist violence.

The next label was for Spoilers.

Fiery Parental Sri Lankan Doom!

My parents have decided to take a holiday in the "resplendent land" of Sri Lanka for a couple of weeks, and to take my mind off the fact that there will be people actively trying to kill them I'm going to think about some of the funner aspects of that troubled country. The Ramayana.

They taught us about the Ramayana story in Junior school and while not a lot of it stuck I do remember that it's about a guy who teams up with a superpowered monkey god(I love those guys) to get his girlfriend back from a ten headed demon king. Which was a damn sight more entertaining than any of the Christian parables we got taught.

Okay I'm still a little concerned, this is going to take the Ramayana story as acted out by Devendra Banhart and Natalie Portman.



Ah well, if the Tamil Tigers get them at least I'll get the house.

And now Osamu Tezuka's Cleopatra: Queen of sex

Because I've had a weird day...



Does anyone remember the time before Vertical's recent releases when everyone thought of Tezuka as that nice old man who created Astro Boy? Now it's all dog fucking and giant sperm attacks...

Last year I brought you pleasure. This year I bring pain!

Happy Birthday Sims!

Isaac Hayes (1942 - 2008)

Advertising horrors

See originally I was going to post to say how this new Just for Men advert was kind of weird.

Just For Men - It's ..
Watch the ad...

Children conspiring to get their parents laid is pretty creepy when you think about it right? Then I saw this:

Orangina Naturally J..
Watch the ad...

Now I have a different perspective on what passes for creepy.

I know Will isn't directly (or even indirectly) responsible for these but I'm going to blame him regardless.

Mervyn Peake

After all, there are no rules. With the wealth, skill, daring, vision of many centuries at one’s back, yet one is ultimately quite alone. For it is one’s ambition to create one’s own world in a style germane to its substance, and to people it with its native forms and denizens that never were before, yet have their roots in one’s experience. As the earth was thrown from the sun, so from the earth the artist must fling out into space, complete from pole to pole, his own world which, whatsoever form it takes, is the colour of the globe it flew from, as the world itself is coloured by the sun.

Mervyn Peake. From this biographical essay by Michael Moorcock.

"It was just gaiman... With Batman in it..."

See before I wasn't too hyped up but now...

I hope this reaches neil himself. Never have i ever known of anyone as full of himself as well as shit, than you. Now another milestone in your over-hyped career, Writing Batman. Not only are you under the impression you can write, but write batman? Fuck You. You Tried before and it sucked. It was just gaiman... With Batman in it. Fuck You.

... but now I'm going to have to get it. Well done reverse psychology salesman, well done to you.

Sweet context

Two cool animated trailers

Before I go see Dark Knight and spend the walk home afterwards pissing off Ian by whining about the Watchmen trailer, here's some cool stuff.

Genius Party Beyound



Looks insane.

The Princess and the Frog

I'm apparently the guy who draws hot Disney girls (well that's what Bowers' says). So yeah, hot Disney girl.

SDSTRTC(k)C News!

Yes, The San Diego Still Tangentially Related to Comics (kinda') Convention is done and dusted for another year. Bully
has the most adorable, and therefore best, coverage of the Con itself, but what news releases got me excited you ask oh hypothetical reader? Well I'll tell you.

There's some Darwyn Cooke noir adaptations coming. Not that I've ever heard of the originals but, y'know, Cooke.

Viz is putting out Naoki Urasawa's Pluto which is essentially Ultimate Astroboy except far better than the term I just used to describe it.

The Batman: The Brave and The Bold cartoon Trailer the target demographic of which is apparently Chris Sims aged 10.

The Ba/Moon twins deservedly sweep the Eisners. Also a new Vertigo book.

There will be new Pixar and Muppets comics from BOOM! The Muppets book will have artwork from Roger Lagridge which sounds like good stuff but they haven't announced any creative teams for the Pixar books (*cough* email in the sidebar*cough*).

Neil Gaiman will write a Batman story Which I'm not that excited about to be honest as his recent comics work hasn't done much for me (also my annoyance at novelists only working on licensed characters instead of original stories when they do comics work, but that's a rant for another day).


And that looks like it's about it in the news that gets me vaguely excited department. Apparently the buzz book this year was Watchmen which is only 2 years younger than I am, make of that what you will.

Season four, well I say season four...

Dalek Caan predicts



The Doctor Who fanbase has an annoying habit of constantly complaining about everything from the invalidation of their fanfics to the existence of homosexuality. This constant barrage of whinging can often lead to legitimate worries and criticisms getting lost in the mindless noise. I was worried about Catherine Tate as a companion. The Catherine Tate show is a blight upon society, 'am I bovered' may actually be part of the anti-life equation, and the Christmas special from a few years back hardly convinced me otherwise.

But then in season four she turned out to not only be bearable, but actually very good. It was quite the shock, the best I'd hoped for was that I'd like the character enough to put up with the performance. Perhaps it was this shock (and my growing hate for Who fandom) which led me to take the season much more to heart than I would have done otherwise. Maybe in time I won't remember it as fondly, but for now this is what I thought:

Spoiler, duh.

Partners in Crime



Davies does love his kid friendly cultural satire and this episode is chock full, it's Super-Nanny fighting the growing obesity rate! This could be pretty off putting to the adult audience (who it should be remembered are a pretty small percentage, all things considered) if it didn't have some genuinely amusing moments. Imagine my despair when I found myself laughing at the comedy acting of Catherine Tate! My whole world view was shattered, up was down, night was day, hamburgers ate people...

Bernard Cribbins' Granddad character was a very nice addition, joyous and warm-hearted. Less welcome was Donna's Mother. For a start the Doctor antagonist mother had probably been overdone by Who at this point, but at least the previous two had redeeming characteristics or understandable justifications, Donna's mum was just a horrible person who had no apparent love for her daughter.

Still a funny, light-weight, and upbeat start to the season.

The Fires of Pompeii



'It's the big budget episode!' they seemed to cry, 'Look we went to Italy to film! Do you have any idea how often they let us out of Wales, let alone to somewhere you need passports for?! There's big CGI volcano like you see on those National Geographic documentries too! Big Budget episode!'.

The historical episodes tend to leave me with out making too much of an impression and this wasn't a great deal different. There was some nice set up for Donna as being both the companion who questions and the Doctor's conscience, which was nice. Also we learn that Latin spoken through the Tardis babel fish sounds like Welsh, I would have assumed they'd just hear translation server error over and over again.

Planet of the Ood



Ah, the Ood, they're always fun, those lovable lovecraftian beasties, with the fun to say name that the writers came up with just to fuck around with Tennent (getting a Scottish guy to mask his accent with a script full of double 'oo's is particularly cruel, as a guy called Matthew Smith who can't pronounce 'th's I understand your pain David).

New Earth episodes also tend to be little lacking in interest for me but I'd say this was one of the better episodes, Ood, Lord Percy, the claw, kid traumatising transformation sequence, all good fun.

I did hear some criticisms of the anti-slavery theme being a bit heavy handed, but considering that I've spoken to Primark shoppers who don't seemed that bothered that what they're wearing was made by child slaves, I think the Doctor asking Donna just exactly who made her clothes is point that needs reiterating.

The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky



My friend's sat-nav tried to kill me once on the way back from a Bill Bailey show; true story.

The first two parter in a Who season is never great (though the only time it was ever truly terrible was with that first piece of Cyberman nonsense) the characters go home for a bit and kids get a catchphrase for the playground on Monday. Martha reappearing and then, um, not really doing a great deal and The Doctor seeming a bit confused on how he felt about the military all just a little wishy washy. Still, UNIT finally making an appearance and the Sontarans being entertainingly pompous got me through.

The Doctor's Daughter



I wasn't too disappointed that we didn't actually get what the title promised, I like a little mystery in the life of The Doctor. Even so the episode still ends up as the weakest of the season purely because the central clever twist doesn't make any damn sense. It's almost as if they originally filmed with a different ending and then had to go back and re-shoot a few scenes to make new one in a hurry.

But in the end, Georgia Moffett's pretty and the expression Agyeman pulls when a load of fish people start stroking her was priceless. I am, on occasion, quite easy to please.

The Unicorn and the Wasp



I wonder which author's lined up for 2010? I'm hoping for Burroughs.

Another comedy heavy ep which ends up being genuinely funny. The whodunnit at the core isn't particularly good though which is a shame, I felt that if it had been a little smarter and precise and it would have been a classic Who story. Fenella Woolgar's performance, a giant wasp, and The Doctor's Belgian flashback all add up to a fun episode.

The Wasp reminds me of how good Who's effects have been this season, well done to whomever was responsible. Judging from the budget kids must have brought a hell of a lot of toys last year.

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead



Ah a Moffat two-parter, the Who brand of quality. Will Who fans transfer their bizarre loathing to the new guy in charge and long for the days of RTD come 2010? Only time will tell, but I assume they'll be complaining about something.

Lots to like here, the feel of a New Adventures novel which sends a pleasing nostalgic shiver down my spine, a library the size a planet (I'd happily live there even if it did have darkness piranhas in the air), spacesuits, twisty turny time stuff with added emotional depth, excellent little sci-fi concepts (the communication device ghosts are just an extraordinary idea), the twisted face of a corrupted file, Donna's awareness of editing, The Doctor using his head as a giant USB drive, the dust you see in beams of sunlight.

And in the end it all comes together and we get the familiar and welcome cry of new Who 'Everybody lives!'. Wonderful.

But if you fuck up Tin Tin You'll still go on the list Moffat! Be warned!

Midnight



The fan's have a strange hatred for Davies, faint and subtle at first, it seems to have grown and warped into some horrific monster. All said, he isn't the best writer on the show, his episodes falling pretty often midway up the Who quality scale. So what from the preview looked like a bottle episode to save up some cash for the finale hardly inspired confidence.

And yet, it ended up being very, very, good. 'Perhaps Humanity is the true monster here' is far from the most original concept to set off from, but if you play the monstrosity just right you can still come up with something special. It's a haunting episode, both in the creepiness of the repeated voice and The Doctor stuck in a situation where he can't help.

So do the fans have a new found respect for Davies now? Um, well apparently the episode was a clear sign of the dreaded 'gay agenda' that they find so threatening for what is probably a number of deep seated psycoloical reasons, or perhaps they're all just twats. Fuck 'em.

Also immense respect for Lesley Sharp, learning all that dialogue, the speech patterns of the rest of the cast, and a frighteningly long amount of Pi for a role in which it's not that obvious that you're doing anything at all, hats off to you.

Turn Left



Wow! Billie Piper, Swindon's favourite daughter, is in this one! Is this the Doctor Who/Sally Lockhart crossover I've long been waiting for? Oh, it's just Rose speaking funny ...

My main criticism of Turn Left is that you're going to have to sell The Doctor not regenerating a bit harder than 'Uh, he was surprised, or something' not dying is pretty much what he does. That not with standing it's a nice enough episode setting up the finale and showing us that, yes, Tate is surpringly good. Bernard Cribbins gets some screen time which helps sell the humanity of the piece, but Donna's mum is still a horrible person regardless of dimension.

The Stolen Earth



It's a bit hard to review a shock and awe episode like this in regular terms, revelation after revelation, crisis of infinite Whos, all the little hints coming together, the dark secret of the bees!

It has it's faults, it's a touch on the melodramatic side, and the Shadow Proclamation turns out to be an office reception filled with bitchy albino ladies, but hell, it's the roller-coaster ride that keeps you interested. The demented ravings of Dalek Caan are fantastic, Davros is wonderfully played by Julian Bleach, the Doctor's 'children' coming together to fight against massive odds, and we get to see a platoon of Daleks fight Captain Scarlet's Cloudbase!

And then we have that cliff hanger. They should have just put Davies laughing over the top of the 'to be continued'. You know it's childish and silly t get so wrapped up, but you just can't wait for next Saturday!

Journey's End



This seems to be a love it or hate it episode and I'm squarely in the love it camp. It just felt like such a satisfying ending to me, not only to season four but for all of Davies' tenure.

Are the criticisms valid? We already knew Tennent would stay as The Doctor (because the BBC couldn't have kept a new Doctor under wraps for more than ten minutes after casting), so it's just a question of how he was going to stay. I didn't have a problem with the actual resolution as it played into the plot in a pretty convincing way. The Daleks did have a fair amount of there menace striped away when 'The Doctors Three' were monkeying around with them, which wouldn't have been so bad if it had felt a little more cathartic, but it just made them look a little foolish. Jackie didn't really need to be there, that's true enough, mind you anyone who criticised the scientific plausibilty of the Earth being towed home by the Tardis should just fuck off.

I liked the conclusions to the companions tales personally. I'd be fine with Rose living her life with a slightly melancholic air of mourning, but this is the only other ending that could make sense. I liked that the next season of Torchwood (which I still haven't seen a single episode of) will mostly involve Mickey trying to get into Martha's pants (and I assume failing in a comical manner). I liked The Doctor's sadness at Donna's death tempered with the Gilgamesh like immortality she earned across the universe on adventures that she'll never know she had. Quite moving really. I liked it.

Also there were Daleks speaking German. What's not to love?

So there we go, four specials and then it's out for Davies, I don't think he did a bad job myself.

Great Sage Equal of Heaven

Look It's Jamie Hewlett's Monkey advertising the Olympics

I love Monkey. He's an unkillable monk who goes around beating people over the head with a stick until they either convert to Buddhism or die, whichever comes first.

This is thinking which should be used on some of the comments authors.

What happened to the "British" in BBC? This slightly jerky in parts cartoon has no British connections.
No Union Flag, no landmarks, no athletes.
Bet it cost a bomb - more licence payers' cash wasted - please change it so at least we have something British in it.
And the words are not even in English.
Fly the flag not the monkey.

BUT in these hard times the BBC should be cutting waste and this animation is completely unnecessary .
Think about the tax payer before doing this kind of stuff.

It could have been any of the Chinese Zodiac signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar.
After all, astrology, which is a pseudoscience claiming divination by the positions of the planets and sun and moon, doesn't actually work - bit like this cartoon.
Never mind eh? Better luck next time for the London - read British - games - maybe Mickey Mouse?

Why must everything these days be animated cheapo drawing stuff - just look at the Childrens' programmes - packed full of this animated trash.
Just like the endless audience participation junk we see.
Cheap dumbed down television once again.

To twit

I'm now on Twitter for those of you who want to witness my complete inability to understand grammar in regular short doses.

Just look in the sidebar ->

The continuing missing bee saga

Japanese scientists are turning them into a weapon!


We're all fucked now.

Via BoingBoing.

The Erotic Adventures of Smithy

It amuses me to think of the people I know who were totally dreading clicking on that title in their feed readers...

A while back I had a go at drawing a short porn comic purely to see if I could. I only got two pages into it and it's been laying around my room for a while now so I thought I'd colour it up. The comic itself is a pretty tame affair, I just don't have it in me to be a smut merchant.

Here are the two panes which I'm happiest with during my brief attempt to become a pornographer.

See, it all makes so much sense now!

I can't be the only person who thinks that Haibane Renmei is about the girls from Azumanga Daioh in the afterlife after they committed suicide.

I just can't.



Also I hear that all the anime companies in the west are dying out, is this just over enthusiastic blogger doom-mongering or acurate blogger doom-mongering?

Also also can someone recommend me a decent anime news blog? I feel out of the loop (not that I was ever even in the neighbourhood of the loop realy, but still...).

Robin in Magenta

I'm trying to learn how to use more shadow in my work. I've been looking at the work the late great Mike Wieringo and the inkers who worked with him, trying to get the same simple and attractive blocks of crisp fluid shadow. Obviously I have some way to go.


And now a quick poll. This image proves that:

a) I am a latent homosexual.
b) I am a blatant misogynist.
c) I read too many comics.
d) All of the above.

Show your working.

Keanu barada nikto

My brain had apparently repressed the knowledge that they were remaking The Day the Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves.

Bah! Bah I say!

The wrath of Caan (Who spoilers, I guess...)

I demand a spin-off show where Dalek Caan reads classics of world literature.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife, *Giggle*.

Expect a full season review round up in a couple of weeks.

Project Rooftop - Superman

For the Project Rooftop Superman redesign competition, Which I don't stand a chance at winning.

Essentially the design comprises of a giant red arrow pointing at his crotch.

Turns out I got an honorable mention which I guess is good (unless that's all the other people who entered).

Swimming is the new flying.

Trailer-ish thing for the new Miyazaki.

From The SFX blog

No I don't know what W.E.I.R.D is...

A pinup that appeared in The Hard Ones debut Ashcan that Team Hard Ones* were giving away at Heroes con. I also did the tones for the book.

Sims' said we could draw whatever we wanted so I thought Nazi dinosaurs being kicked in the face was the way forward.


*They really do call themselves this.

Capitalism!

I require money to exchange for goods and services, and am offering you the chance to give me money.

I'm opening myself up for commisions. They break down like this -

£10

A black and white upper body shot

A black and white full body shot

Add an extra five of your english pounds for colour -
As so and so

£15

For a scene;backgrounds, multiple characters (within reason), fights, hugs, etc. etc. - Like this or this

And again add five pounds for colour -
As so and so

After you email me (matthew_allen_smith@hotmail.co.uk) and give me a description I'll draw a pencil rough. When you're happy with that you can pay me (via pay pal in most instances) and I'll get to work on the final piece and send it to you as a high resolution digital file.

I can send original artwork and prints through the post to, but I'd like to do this to as near to cost as possible and I'm completely sure what that cost is.

I can also draw more complex scenes, gig posters, album covers, and the like at an arranged price working on that £5 price grading scheme.

I will draw comics pages but can't give a definite price without having a look at what you'd want first.

I will draw anything that doesn't freak me out and/or get me thrown in gitmo.

And depending on how I'm feeling at the time I may offer a discount to Americans to compensate for the exchange rate.

A fellow of my acquaintance already ordered this to promote a radio show he's doing -

Defective Fish Colon?

I was a bit apprehensive about subscribing to The DFC, the brand new British weekly kids comic, as it sounded like one of those things I appreciate rather than enjoy and anthologies always have their ups and downs.

But it's great, thoroughly enjoyable. The strips are of excellent quality and it actually felt like something kids would enjoy (unlike so make comics which are aimed at adults who want to read kids comics).

Particular highlights for me were Spider Moon by Kate Brown, which I'm not just saying to stop her beating me up (though she totally could), Vern and Lettuce by Sarah McIntyre which is beautifully done and features a rabbit, Monkey Nuts by The Etherington Brothers which has plenty of laughs and the usual quality art work, and a special mention must go to Super Animal Adventure Squad by James Turner for featuring a unicorn secret service director with an eyepatch -

It's Nick Fury as a unicorn! That's gold.

My only quibbles are the matt paper which stopped it feeling like a real magazine to me, and that everything seemed to be printed a little dark which hurt the art in a few strips.

With a subscription it doesn't work out much more expensive than a regular American comic (and several times the quantity and quality), so I'd suggest that if it sounds like your kind of thing you should give it a go. If you don't like it you can always just give it to a kid.

STCO Anniversary special.

Fifteen years old!

I contributed to the Crisis of Multiple Sonics cover and did a wallpaper pinup of a particually obscure character who I have a strange fondness for.

If Anime characters were real they'd have their hair styled at Toni and Guy's

The Kaizen collection

I wish in motion.

Upon rembering to put Vera Brosgol's Live journal on my feedreader I saw that a student film maker had produced a live action version of the I wish story from the first volume of Flight.




I think it's pretty awesome for a student short.

Alpha Waves 001

My most latest mini-comic. Click to make big.

Come to think of it the Doctor wants to know too...

Marc wahlberg poses a question.



Nick Cage Answers.

Mathew Alan Smith's Bristol adventures

Bristol was hot this year, stupid hot, like a jungle.

This probably contributed to my enjoying it less than last year, not that it wasn't fun, just a bit, well, less fun. The table wasn't in quite so sweet a spot opposite the Tokypop honeypot and lost in the mini-comic table line up (at just the point when you lose attention), we are men of modest means and can't compete against anyone who could afford to spring out for a banner. We lacked a quick and direct selling point for the comics as well, I would have been tempted to sell it as the only comic in Bristol without a zombie in it but I'm too nice. Still Zak did well with his full colour book, but that's no surprise as he's Zak and we all cower before his might and glory.

Meh, what are you going to do. I sold enough to pay for the photocopying, called Chris an 'effeminate pimp', was pulled into a horrifying conversation about 'come to bed eyes' Wolverine, and listened to Jamie McKelvie's Alice in Sunderland like knowledge of Malvern.

The cosplayers seemed to be growing in number. The best by a huge margin was the lady who dressed as (or so I was told later) a Warhammer Terminator, a costume which looked like it weighed the same amount as the entire contents of the room I'm currently sitting in. The worst costume was the almost non existent one worn by an underage girl who decided to stand in my eyeline all day, making me feel like I was going to be arrested every time I gazed up from the table. Are there no anime characters who wear burkas?

Here I am in D'Israei's wall of Fame this was the only sketch I got (I even have my eyes open for the photo!).

Sketches I drew for people -

An angry Squirrel
A girl with large nipples
Zombie Jimmie Olsen
The Phantom
A penguin startled by a broken dog

Books I picked up -

2001 issue 3 by Jack Kirby - A strange whim I had.
Jack Staff by Paul Grist - A comic I really like but always forget to buy.
Fred the Clown by Roger Langridge - I heart Roger Langridge!
Toad Hunt by Will Kirkby - The best free mini comic I ever pulled out of somebody's oversized head.
The innocents by Gipi - I picked up Notes for a War Story a little while back and was blown away, so these huge slabs of Gipi were a must.
Phonogram by Gillen & McKelvie - "Worcester's shit" said McKelvie, I couldn't disagree.
Polar Opposites Mini by Marc Ellerby - Foul mouthed penguin are pretty much an instant sell for me.
Day at the Beach and The Monster in the Well Mini By Kate Brown -Which doesn't feature any boy on dragon sex, for better or worse.
Manga Midsummer Nights Dream By Kate again - The special variant badly drawn arrow edition.
The Pin-Up art of Dan DeCarlo 2 - Which has pretty much everything I could have ever wanted from anything.

Buh-buh-buh-Bristol coming soon

This saturday! Where you can buy this and this (and probably some other high quality merchandise).

Come and meet Mathew Alan Smith, whoever he may be...


(poster drawn by be and coloured by the G)

Learning Comics

Paul Gravvett's recent interview with Dan Berry on comics based courses in higher education fails to mention my alma mater's Sequential Illustration degree course.

It then goes on to give a list of things that Berry believes will make the course an excellent start for students interested in comics and graphic novels.

All of which my course lacked (and most of which we requested repeatedly).

The refund invoice is in the post.

Get on your feet soldier!

Be a man even if you're a 12-year-old girl I drew for years at a time without owning a desk. Be ready to draw anywhere, bust out your best work anytime. The best thing about comics is that it takes no money -- you could steal pens and paper and make the best comic ever sitting on a dumpster. This is the fucking trenches -- if I see you cry, I'll knife you myself.

Brandon Graham on making comics from King City vol. 1.

Happy Cosmonautics Day!

Da!

Buh-buh-buh-Bristol 2008

Yes in a just month's time me and the gang will be at The Bristol Comics Convention. As nothing particularly horrific happened last time we'll have a table again where you'll be able to buy our stuff, if any of them have any stuff this year that is, you'll have to ask them -

Chris G
Andy Silver
Zak Symmonds-Hurn
Rob 'The Rascal' Garrett

I'll have copies of my new rambling, incoherent, and more than a little whiny mini-comic Alpha Waves for sale (provided I finish it in time) and, in the unlikely event that someone email's me requesting a particular piece, some prints.

So come and say hi before moving onto Kate and Paul's table to steal their smarties.

His name's, Doom

"Never again will mortal eyes gaze upon the hideous countenance of Victor Von Doom!

"From this moment on there is no Victor Von Doom! He has vanished... along with the handsome face he once possesed! But in his place, there shall be another...

"Wiser... Stronger! More brilliant, more powerful then ever before!!

"From this moment on I shall be known as... Doctor Doom!"