Fun Festive Festivities

Hello! I just wanted to draw your attention to a strip I have in this week's issue of The Phoenix. It is called The Dragon in the Snow, and it is a bit different for me, and I really hope you'll pick up a issue and that you enjoy it if so. It is kind of my Christmas present to the readers of the comic, my attempt to do something a bit special for the season. So... Happy Christmas! Here, I got you dragons.

My OTHER Christmas present to the readers is, I think, coming in next week's issue. If you have been alarmed by the unprecedented lack of weird random characters wearing Santa hats on this blog this year, fear not. Next week's Phoenix is for YOU. In the meantime, why not learn to draw snowmen?

Lots more festive drawing fun, every week with Art Monkey in the Phoenix! Some of which are EVEN MORE CHALLENGING than snowmen.

Still time to get a Phoenix subscription for any young persons you may know who would enjoy the gift of reading! Of reading AWESOME COMICS, at that. Lots of present ideas over at the Phoenix shop!

I am going to try and write a proper 'end of year wrap-up' type post for next week, because it dawned on me that 2013 has been a crazy, brilliant, wonderful year for me; personally and from a 'making comics' point of view, and I feel the occasion should be marked. See you back here for that!

Boba Fett Riding a Triceratops

I blogged yesterday about some of the new things available in my online shop, including the fact I am now taking commissions to draw PEOPLE RIDING DINOSAURS. Any person, any dinosaur. In describing this idea on twitter, I used the random example "Boba Fett Riding a Triceratops".

...and then I had to draw that.

BUY YOURS NOW!

Neill's Dinosaur Shop is OPEN!

I've just updated my online shop in time for Christmas, offering Christmas Cards and Comics and some EXCITING NEW THINGS like original artwork from Pirates of Pangaea, and... commissions!

Yes, for the first time in ages I'm opening up a few slots for commissions: A3 original artwork of ANY PERSON RIDING ANY DINOSAUR. Please note that for the purposes of this, 'Person' may of course include aliens, ninjas, robots, sentient octopi, adorable toddlers...

An example! Would you like a drawing of YOUR children riding a dinosaur? 

Or your granny, for that matter. Or I dunno, Benedict Cumberbatch, I don't care.

...WHATEVER YOU WANT. And riding the dinosaur of your choice, too! COME ON THAT IS PRETTY GREAT.

Get your orders in NOW in time for Christmas! North American people, you'll need to order by Monday; UK People you've got all of next week. Australians, I fear it is too late for you already and for this I apologise. I only just had the idea, you see?

Happy Dinosaury Christmas!

The Phoenix Century

Guess what just made it to 100 issues?

That's right! The Phoenix, the weekly story comic for children that for some reason continues to let me write and draw things, is 100 issues young this week. Fire the party poppers! Ring the bells! Cut the cake! Actually that's a good point, we should have cake.

As others who are better on facts and figures than I have noted, this is quite the notable achievement, as it's the first UK independent kids' comic to reach 100 issues in the last 40 YEARS. Which I think we can all agree, is NIFTY.

I am just hugely proud and still kind of surprised and delighted that I get to be a part of such a fun amazing thing with such extravagantly talented, brilliant people.

Anyway, I thought I ought to mark the occasion somehow, so here as a SPECIAL TREAT is some behind-the-scenes art from the very early days, when we were developing Pirates of Pangaea in the first place, and hadn't quite figured out what colour Cornflower should be...

...or, I guess, that she was called Cornflower.

Anyway, huge thanks to Will and Tom and Liz and Caro and Paul and Charlie and everyone who actually manages to make this extraordinary thing happen on a weekly basis, to Dan for coming up with the rather fine wheeze of sticking pirates on dinosaurs, and to David and Ben for letting me join in with it all in the first place. And most of all, the hugest of all thanks to everyone who's bought and read and supported and TOLD THEIR FRIENDS about the comic. Please keep doing so, we're off to a fantastic start but there's a whole world out there still to conquer.

If you've dilly-dallied about checking out the Phoenix, why not give it a try? You can buy the bumper-sized Issue 100 here, or in your nearest stockist, or find some excellent Christmas gift ideas HERE!

Here's to 100 more! No wait, 100,000 more! LET'S AIM HIGH.