Snapper & Drilby in Something Wicked 09

One of the finest publishers of indie comics, FutureQuake Press, creators of the well-known 'Zarjaz' and 'Dog Breath' 2000AD fanzines, have recently released their latest annual horror anthology SOMETHING WICKED. Inside this year's issue is a 4 page story written by your truly and illustrated by the awesomely talented Ben Michael Byrne.

My tale of terror, 'Snapper and Drilby', begins as Inspector Varley, of her Majesty's Police Force, wakes to find himself bound to a chair opposite his main suspect in a series of gruesome murders.

If you want to read the story in full, along with 11 other ripping yarns, head over to the Futurequake Comicsy Shop and purchase Something Wicked 09.

You can see more of Australian artist BMB's work by taking a look at his apocalypse survival web comic Kranburn which is well worth a read.

To find out more about this ace anthology, visit the FutureQuake Blog.

Hallowscream 2013

Bit of a delay getting this posted here due to illness but better late than never. Ghosts and ghoulies, feast your eyes on this.

The fifth annual Hallowscream! Hallowe’en Special is here! Available to download as a totally free pdf file, this year’s comic features 96 pages of shocks and scares to chill your blood over the Samhain season! We’ve also uploaded an horrific hi-res version this year, to give the gore and ghosties an extra gloss.

Here Are The Download Links :
Lo-res Version (file size = 46.3mb) :      MEDIAFIRE      DROPBOX
Hi-res Version (file size = 125mb) :       MEDIAFIRE     DROPBOX
You can also read the issue online at :      ISSUU

Full contents of the terrors lurking behind that gloriously icky cover by “The Gurch” are as follows…
Page 3 : Pumpkin Soup  Art & Recipe by Simon Mackie
Page 4 : A Mother’s Devotion Story by Chris Charlton, Art by Rowel Roque, Letters by Brant W. Fowler
Page 9 : Bestiary of Beasties : Lurking Tut Article & Illustration by Malcolm Kirk
Page 10 : 6 Seconds To Die by Gordon Innes
Page 17 : And Now A Few Words From Our Sponsors Story by Stu Perrins, Art by Israel Huertas
Page 19 : Wicked Stepmother Story & Art by Philip Sneyd
Page 23 : The Claws of The Catman Story by Paul Bristow, Art by Andy Lee
Page 29 : A Grim Tale : No Bones About It Story by ‘Clark Holland’, Art by Malcolm Kirk.
Page 31 : Empty Story by Chris Charlton, Art by Gregory Woronchak, Letters by Brant W. Fowler
Page 39 : Curse of The Season Story & Art by Carol Kewley ( Merry Xmas Everybody lyrics © Copyright Slade 1973 )
Page 43 : Terrorvision Guide by Malcolm Kirk
Page 44 : Hellevator Story & Art by Paul Gordon Innes
Page 48 : Apocalypse The Board Game Concept & Colour by Tim West, Illustration by Mike Legan
Page 50 : Home Is Where The Heart Is Story by Tim West, Art by The PXD
Page 55 : Bestiary of Beasties : The Spring-Heeled Jackalope Article & Illustration by Malcolm Kirk
Page 56 : Full Moon Jacket Story & Art by Gordon Innes
Page 59 : All The Fun of The Fair Story by Jamie Lambert, Art by The PXD, Letters by Tim West
Page 63 : Bestiary of Beasties : The Pear Wolf Article & Illustration by Malcolm Kirk
Page 64 : Artificial Unintelligence Story by Chris Charlton, Art & Letters by Joe Badon
Page 72 : Bestiary of Beasties : The Crypt Id Article & Illustration by Malcolm Kirk
Page 73 : Hair Scare! Story & Art by Gordon Innes
Page 77 : Run Story by Chris Sides, Art by Simon Bennett Hayes, Letters by Chris Travell
Page 83 : Dead by Dawn ZX Spectrum Game Advertisement
Page 84 : Many Happy Returns Story & Art by Michael Crouch
Page 89 : The North Wind Doth Blow Story & Art by Russell Hillman
Page 90 : Help! Mummy! Story & Art by Simon Mackie
Page 91 : Bestiary of Beasties : The Glook-Gonk Article & Illustration by Malcolm Kirk
Page 92 : Happy Family Story by David Stoddart, Art by Graham Stoddart
Page 95 : Hierophantom’s Poeticorner : Ghost Train by Paul Bradford, Art by Eric Hurley
…and…
Page 96 : Back Cover Skull by Malcolm Kirk
Previous issues of Hallowscream are available to download from backfromthedepths.co.uk/hallowscream or you can buy real-life monochrome paperback versions from Lulu.com.
HAPPY HALLOWE’EN!

The Anti-Social Network

This little one paged freak show appeared on the back cover of the first ever issue of AAIIEEE!!! and also in Paragon #13 both available here. Paragon's master of ceremonies, Dave Candlish, put out a shout for a one page horror script to fill a gap in his comic. Your's truly beat the competition to win prize place and have the script drawn by Dave himself. Enjoy...

The Wanbies

Huzzah, it's Friday! Let's celebrate it with a lovely comic strip. The Wanbies first appeared in issue 4 of Hallowscream and is drawn by the awesome Neil McClements. Like a knight in shining armour Neil stepped in at the final hour after the original artist was forced to drop out due to personal reasons. What a ledge!

Yours truly was on lettering duty for this bad-boy. Done in Photoshop. Skillz.

Teddy Bears Picnic

As a writer of scripts, there's nothing better than snagging a badass artist to draw your story. For this two page tale of terror I was lucky enough to find Glen Ostrander, a gloriously talented penciller. I'd been saving this story for a while as it required an awesome artist to pull it off. It appeared in the 2011 edition of Hallowscream.

When starting off as a writer, you're blind to many of the faults within your own scripts. It's a bit of a Dunning-Kruger situation; you're not aware of the errors within your story, because you're not skilled enough to see them. With this story, I could tell I was on to a sure fire winner.

Short one or two page horror stories are the best so it ticked that box. Taking a classic such as the Teddy Bears Picnic song and giving it a twist also works because EVERYONE knows it. Tick. The familiarity is already there so I could just concentrate on telling yarn as quickly as possible.

The length of the words I was using from the song dictated the number of panels and length of strip. The rhythm of the six lines of the song worked perfectly as six panels on the first page, with the seventh and final line demanding it's own splash page.

It was like the coming together of pieces of stone tablet, an alignment of planets, the formation of Girls Aloud - just pause and take in the full horror of the artwork on that second page. Proper nasty, love it.

Me in the Meg

Here's an article from the Judge Dredd Megazine dating back to November 2011, where I get a name check and a couple of quotes, in an story about 80's IPC horror title, Scream! As the creator of the Scream! fan site www.backfromthedepths.co.uk I was contacted by a chap called Matthew Badham who wanted to ask a few questions about the site. I'm fairly certain he didn't mention the Meg at any point so it was a lovely surprise when I received am email from a friend letting me know I was in this awesome publication.

Pirates

Really should have added an exclamation mark to the title of this comic!!!

Pirates, arted by the skilled Nathan Allen, appeared in the 2011 issue of Hallowscream.

Like the previous comic strip, I'd mark this script down as one from the 'early years'. By that, I mean it's more of a mind-vomit script writing style, rather than the more measured writing approach that I have no adopted, that involves thinking more, checking spelling, editing and re-editing, and generally being increasingly mature and considerably more poncy.

2000AD Forum Art Competition Entries

I like the 2000AD forum. Apart from being the home of the galaxy's greatest comic and full of enthusiastic comic loving perps it is also a location visited many of the UK's indie comic creators. It's a sweaty, thrashing, hotbed of talented comic folk.

One of the most enjoyable sections of the forum is the monthly themed art competition. Each month a new topic is decided and everyone gets busy drawin', sketchin', scribllin' a piece of art for the comp. Prizes are at stake but I'll never win because some of the people who enter are really fucking good.

You've got to be in it to win it. Here's 3 attempts by me, one of which did win me a Tharg's choice award and a free GN.

You can see some of the more recent, and better, competition entries by visiting the Facebook Page.