Shocking, I know

A while back I thought I'd try submitting some Future Shock ideas to 2000AD. It worked for Alan Moore, right? anyway, here is a sample page of art from the one story I ever managed to write an actual script for...

I really liked the idea for the story, but looking at it now I don't think I really managed to make it work in the script for a 5-pager that I submitted. (Needless to say, the Mighty Tharg agreed wholeheartedly.) Still, never mind - I'm sure I'll end up doing something with it sooner or later.

It's odd, because I usually like fun stories about ninjas fighting robots and what-have-you, but for some reason all the short story ideas I have seem to end up being really quite nasty. I was explaining the plot for this one to Di in a coffee shop and she started to look at me with proper, genuine "what have I married?" horror, which was rather pleasing.

Hey, remember Mo-Bots? They were pretty cool, right?

Gemma-DMC: Sports Casual Giant Robot

I'm kind of snowed under with work and deadlines and stuff right now, but have resolved to try and blog every now and then anyway, rather than fall into my usual hermitic radio silence. Anyway, I just read a nice positive thing on the interwebs about David Fickling pledging to bring back the DFC next year, and it put me in a DFC-y mood. So here for your enjoyment are some of the original designs / development artwork from back when I was first working on Mo-Bot High. I've reused bits of these here and there, but I don't think I've ever posted the originals anywhere, so here you go. Enjoy!

Sasha-DMC: Super Mega BOSS CHAV Robot

Sophie-DMC: flower patterns are SO hot right now

Jessica-DMC: never knowingly off-trend

Sigh. Hey, guess what? I totally want to draw more Mo-Bot High.

Sketchbook Scan #0013: Nazi Velociraptor

Pretty self-explanatory, really.

See more Dinosaurs over at Super Comics Adventure Squad!

When strikes the VAMPANDA!

Here is another DFC strip idea I kept meaning to get around to... or more accurately, threatening Editor Ben with. VAMPANDA!


The pitch:

Dave Van Helsing, second-cousin-twice-removed of the famous vampire hunter, has no idea of his family's unusual legacy, and has set up in business as the proprietor of a small garden centre. But a dark shadow haunts its aisles and tea shop... the shadow of the VAMPANDA! It's a fairly straightforward Roadrunner / Wile E. Coyote set-up: Vampanda wants to eat the garden centre's bamboo, Dave wants to stop him. And, using the full range of his evil vampiric powers- blood-sucking, shape-shifting, flight, mind control - Vampanda always wins.

I got myself into a bit of a metaphysical conundrum though, as Vampanda exists in the fictional universe of Mo-Bot High as Asha's favourite cartoon, so I - the creator of that universe - could not logically exist within it as the creator of Vampanda. I was considering producing the strip using a pseudonym so as to circumvent this tricky ontological quandary, when I realised that I was just massively MASSIVELY overthinking things, and went and had a nice lie down instead.

(cross-posted from Super Comics Adventure Squad!)

Go Go Super Comics Adventure Squad YEAH!

So the last-ever-for-now issue of the DFC came last Friday. I'd been putting off blogging about it until the end came, and now that it has... I still don't feel like blogging about it. So there. Many of the other creators involved have written beautifully on the subject already, and I don't really feel I have much to add. I'll just briefly say that getting the chance to write and draw Mo-Bot High really was a dream come true for me, and I'm enormously grateful to have been given the opportunity.

I'll also briefly say that working with Ben Sharpe, Will Fickling and David Fickling in developing the strip was absolutely the best professional experience of my career in comics so far, and I learned a huge amount about writing and storytelling from them that I'm also hugely grateful for.

Okay, and I'll ALSO briefly say that all the letters and bits of Mo-Bot fan art that I received made me happier than I can easily describe, and a couple of them (including a 'Happy Mo-Bot Christmas' card from one reader) are now amongst my most treasured possessions, which I am - again - incredibly grateful for.

But that's all, really.

I have no doubts that many of the strips from the DFC will live again in some form or another, and I include Mo-Bot High in that optimistic outlook. I have huge amounts of story still to tell with the characters and you can be absolutely certain that I'll get to it one way or another. Just as soon as the details about how that's going to happen have been sorted out, I will be sure to share them with you.

In the meantime, go check out Super Comics Adventure Squad, your brand-new one-stop shop for keeping up with what all your favourite DFC creators are up to!

Sketchbook Scan #0012: Pride and Prejudice

#0012: Miss Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy

I saw the other day that Marvel are publishing a comic-book adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, which boggles my mind for many reasons, not least of which is the sheer cosmic injustice that I don't get to draw it.

Hey Marvel! If you're ever doing Persuasion, GIVE ME A CALL.

Vampanda Says...

Someone has started a Save The DFC campaign! I find this tremendously cool. Go see the blog! Tell your friends! etc.