A Bit of a Review of the Year 2012

I know it's late, but I don't want to get into the habit of just missing out the even numbered years. Nevertheless, let's look back at 2012, the Year I promised would be the Year of the Trilogy. Which it wasn't. But it was too.

I started off with the foolhardy notion that I could draw something everyday and blog about on a weekly basis. I did a total of nineteen Draw Everyday posts. Which is pitiful. I reckon I might give it another go. The pressure of having to blog something was a good motivator, but also a hinderance, in that I got hung up with having something ready for public consumption. Bottom line is, people are glad to see anything, and with Twitter and Instagram, those are probably the best places for such updates.

While I was waiting for the Sugar Glider 3 script from Daniel, I went to see The Artist at the cinema. There's a scene within a scene where one of the characters reminded me of Don Quixote from Sugar Glider 2, and after looking at the film's poster, an idea was set in motion that resulted in the most popular post of 2012 on the blog, and also the idea of promoting the free web serialisation of Sugar Glider with DVD box-esque posters. We quickly decided to do posters for the main title based on some of our favourite independent films, some of which related to the content and themes of the books. Then we thought it would be hilarious to parody more schmaltzy, sentimental romantic comedies for the two Sugar Glider Stories books to reflect their ensemble cast.

In February, there was still no sign of the SG3 script, but this little lady made an appearance, courtesy of Laura Swaddle.

March was spent mostly building up for the fourth Leeds Alt Comics Fair which took place in April. It's consistently one of the best comics events I've attended. I had time to work on a small mini comic called Column, about my thoughts on public art. I was going to do a larger and longer version if there was any interest, but I think it served more as an incentive or reward for people buying more than one comic. Here's my poster again, I was dead chuffed with it.

The merry merry month of May is home to my birthday, so not a lot of comics work going on there. However, I did find time to work on Nightbus 3, which at this point was pretty much simply called Nightbus. The lack of numeration was a conscious decision to not put off people who may think they were missing out on one and two, but simultaneously, could have been confused as an issue one. Comics, eh? Interestingly, a few people have said that it works as a starting point as well as an ending. I'm pleased to have created something that ends, not on a bang, but a full stop and an ellipsis.

In August, I went to the City of Lights to be proper romantic on mine and my wife's second anniversary (naturally), track down some BDs (success), capture a giant Totoro (he escaped), visit the Robert Crumb Retrospective (extensive) and cross the canal Saint-Martin and la Seine a few times (#riverfans). I adore Paris and love that they take comics seriously there, without question, clarification or defensiveness. I got the new Lewis Trondheim book for Christmas. It is an absolute joy. I'm going to write a comic in French. It'll be mint.

About a week later, I was at the Carlisle Megacon, another small to medium event that was lots of fun to attend. Sales weren't great, but I think this is the first of its kind in the area, so hopefully word of mouth will ensure a greater footfall next year.

Nightbus launched online in October, in time for Thought Bubble and the Canny Comic Con. It's been met with positive reviews and good sales so far. I'm really pleased with the book and the series as a whole. You can see a great leap forward from the first 'snapshot' to this one. I feel that my writing, really came into its own here, both in terms of visual storytelling, dialogue and story. It's something I've been looking forward to getting back to for so long. Leaving a trilogy unfinished is poor form, so I was glad to get back to those characters even if it was just to give them the send off they deserved.

What's new for 2013? Well SG3 is on its way, I can't guarantee a specific launch date, but you'll find out soon enough. And after I finish the second of my two trilogies? I plan to take a little break from comics. I'll concentrate on learning a few new tricks in Photoshop and Illustrator and maybe just drawing. I have plans to work with Daniel on something soon though, so don't get too upset.

I'll take this opportunity to say a massive cheers me dears to everyone who's helped to make 2012 a superawesome year, and will hopefully be there to make 2013 even better.

Canny Comic Con 2012

That's right folks, I'll be at the Canny Comic Con this Saturday at the City Library.

Last year's event was great fun and it's always a pleasure selling Sugar Glider in her home town. You can pick up the tales of the Tyne Titan and have a chat with me and Daniel about SG3. Sadly, you'll have to wait until 2013 to get your mitts on that one.

In other Sugar Glider news, we sold the final copies of SG1 at Thought Bubble, so the only places you can read it now are on the black market or in digital form. You can buy a PDF version of Susie Sullivan's first vigilante stint at my Comicsy site and Daniel's Big Cartel. The digital comics are £1.50 each.

I'll also be doing a talk/lecture/rant/Q&A about comics and location, but you'll have to keep checking the CCC blog for more info.

See you on Saturday.

Make Mini Comics

We love Newcastle City Library. Largely because it's a place where you can get books and comics and that for free. But also because they let a bunch of like minded comics creators put on the first comics convention in Newcastle in sixteen years. A few of the people behind the Canny Comic Con are getting their comics on again and holding another event at the City Library.

This Saturday, Make Mini Comics day is happening. It's a day of comics making, starting off with a bit of theory in the form of a couple of talks from Paul Thompson and Ingi Jensson (who did the poster above). The two will no doubt have some gems of inspiration to get the creative juices flowing in time for the mini comics making workshops, which I assume are being lead by Cuttlefish. You can make your own comics on any theme you like, a song, a shopping list, a funny story, a half-heard conversation, the end of the world, a chance meeting or just a bunch of words and pictures.

The talks are from 11:45am-1:00pm and the workshops are from 1-5pm. You've got to book a place for the talks at the library or over the phone (0191 277 4100) and everything is free. Libraries are awesome.

There's more info here.

A Bit of a Review of the Year 2011

I was going to call this post The Year of the Sugar Glider, but that seemed a bit conceited. Other things happened in 2011 aside from the runaway successes of SG, I just can't remember them.

I won't labour the points too much, but the year kicked off with a deluge of positive reviews of Sugar Glider issue one, which had been released in the November of 2010. In 2011, SG1 was joined by three more Sugar Glider titles, Sugar Glider Stories 1 was launched at the 2nd Leeds Alternative Comics Fair and finally, we got round to doing a Newcastle based launch for SG2. A thousand thank-yous to Mike and the crew at Travelling Man Newcastle. Finally, Sugar Glider Stories 2 was released at Thought Bubble. All of the titles have received positive reviews and any of the niggles about yet another superhero comic have been ironed out by issue two. This isn't a superhero comic, it's a comic about a girl who happens to have an absurd extra-curricular pursuit. Oh, and there's superheroes.

Speaking of conventions, the last of the year was an absolute delight. More is written elsewhere about how awesome and essential the Canny Comic Con was, but from my perspective, it was great to be able to meet Sugar Glider fans who had followed the series from the start, and new fans who were intrigued by this new Geordie heroine. The day itself was so much fun and I can't wait for next year's event.

One of the most wonderful and humbling and joyous things about doing Sugar Glider has been the fan art. We received a boatload at the start of the year, and it's kept coming with each release. A lot of people have taken to Susie so much as to spend some time drawing her. I think that's the greatest compliment. If you've got any fan art, of Susie in or out of costume, or indeed any of the Sugar Glider cast, email it, post it on Twitter, or the Facebook fan page or send a carrier pigeon.

New Year's Resolutions? Well, the obvious one is to get Sugar Glider 3 out, thus completing the trilogy. This is a big one for me really as I haven't completed a series since I first got into comics. Having said that, issues one and two have been so special, it would be a crime to rush the conclusion. Expect SG 3 before the end of 2012.

Secondly, I'd like to get super organised for comics fairs, preparing an emergency comic con kit esssentially. The reason being, I make that promise every time we do an event and always forget something. Never again. Plus, I don't do a massive number of events, so it would be good to get through them sans stress.

And finally, sort out the website. Andy Waugh has been badgering me about this for aaaaages, and his new site is amazing. I'm jealous. I want one too. So there.

Right, I think that's all for now. See you all on the 2012 side.

Leeds Alt Comics Fair, Thought Bubble and Canny Comic Con

October, November and December were fun months due to each one taking in a comics event and inviting us along for the jaunt.


First up was the 3rd Leeds Alternative Comics Fair, an event that has cemented itself as one of my favourites because it's in a pub. It's also an intimate affair, deftly organised by Hugh 'Shug' Raine and Steve Tillotson. LACF offers a diverse cross section of the UK small press scene, based mainly in the north, but with guests from much further afield too. As a result, there's something for everyone and a chance to speak to all of the exhibitors, something that's just not possible at the bigger events. I was sharing a table with Andy Waugh and we had a lovely time in spite of freakishly high temperatures and sunny conditions keeping punters away from the venue. You can check out Hugh's photos from the event here.

This little Susie made her first appearance at LACF, and proved to be the most popular thing at the table. As I'm sure you'll remember, it was made by my sister from another mister, Scarlet Pyjamas for my birthday way back in May. Someone suggested, in jest or in a stroke of genius perhaps, that she should come free, Beano-style, with a copy of the comic. As only one is in existence, that may be a bit of a bother...


Back in Leeds for Thought Bubble in November, it was the festival's first outing as a two-dayer. I was going for the weekend, sharing with Andy on Saturday and Helen Entwisle on the Sunday. We had a great one, and struck a nice balance between good sales and meeting comics mates new and old. My Sugar Glider co-creator, Daniel Clifford was also at TB, launching his new venture, Art Heroes, which you should check out. Here's a photo of mine and Andy's work entertaining the troops.

The last event of the year was a new one, the Canny Comic Con is the first comics event that has taken place in Newcastle in over fifteen years, it is the only major comics event in the gap between Inverness and Leeds and it was an absolute pleasure to be at Newcastle City Library to sell our wares. There was an electric atmosphere, with a crowd representing a range of ages and backgrounds. For me it's always a pleasure to sell stuff in Newcastle as that's where all or most of my work is set. Newcastle is essential to Sugar Glider, so it makes sense to get into the Toon and talk to its denizens about their superhero. It wasn't intentional, but our latest title, Sugar Glider Stories 2, even has the new City Library on the front cover! If you want to see what it all looked like, head over here. If you want to hear some interviews with exhibitors and guests head over here. Sales on the day were excellent, but more importantly, we got the chance to speak to returning Sugar Glider fans. Thanks for taking the time to stop by guys! Also a massive thank you to Alex and Stace who organised this wondrous day is such an effortless manner. I'll leave you with a photo of me and Andy at our table.

All in all, it was a great run of events to finish up the year. Three very different cons, but all were essential and I left them all with a great buzz for making comics and I'm looking forward to the next event in 2012.


Hopefully see you then.