Footle

Fnub.

Bit of rubbish thrown together after a rather long day. Sepia ink wash and indian ink. Simon Gane does this sort of thing much better than I do.

Boojum!

Found this in a notebook from around the time I was developing Snarked!. I can't help feeling I was on to something I utterly failed to follow through.

More Dinosaurs

Still plugging away at the McCay forgeries. Here's another panel.

Is it Christmas yet?

Here are a few of the cover ideas I submitted for the Christmas Carol edition I recently illustrated (out in June from St Mark's Press, I believe). The Doctor Who book I did a cover for is out now as well, and you should be able to order it from their website.

Beware... Mister Monster!

There are a whole bunch of reasons to enjoy Michael T. Gilbert's Mister Monster, possibly the last great superhero – certainly the only great superhero I can think of besides Spider-Man whose creator is still living. One of the main reasons is he's so great is that Gilbert writes the stories with his tongue so far in his cheek it's practically coming out his ear.

Bluto Doodle

Found this in an old notebook. I'm not sure of the timing exactly, but I think it dates from before I started working on Popeye. I've been doodling these guys for decades.

Being Winsor McCay

So I'm currently doing some creative reconstructions of some partially-lost Winsor McCay strips from 1934, the year he died, which were never finished. It's for a book on McCay's Gertie (and other McCay dinosaurs) being put together by Ulrich Merkl, who was responsible for the fabulous Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend book a couple of years back.

I'll resist revealing any of the actual McCay artwork here – it's never been published before as far as I know, so that'll be a big selling point – but here's one panel I drew, taken from the pages I'm recreating from the fragments of existing artwork and various clues supplied in the surviving pages. I'll tell you one thing, being Winsor McCay was hard work – these things are taking me an age to draw!

Brains

Pretty sure I haven't posted this before: this is a cover I did for Boom Studios' Fanboys vs Zombies by Sam Humphries and Jerry Gaylord, both splendid chaps. I think it was #5 or so.

Train Smoke

The secret to drawing trains: smoke. Lots and lots of smoke.

Jazz Fez

You'll be seeing more of this guy.

Donkeys Can Sing, Too

Dino

Not the Flintstones one, the other one.

The Walrus Sang

Here's part of what I spent today doing.

It's not a bad life, at that.

Hulky Wulky

Pretty sure I've posted this before, but I've plenty do do before I sleep, so you get what you get.

In other news: I did an interview last night - I say last night, it was 2am this morning - for the Where Monsters Dwell podcast. I think you can get that here. My thanks for a fun interview.

Rarebit

A little bit of work-in-progress. Having a bit of a Winsor McCay thing right now - two McCay-related jobs going at the same time. Life can be funny that way.

The Top Hat of Doom

Not really. Just another random sketch.

I noticed today, flipping through The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, that the editors chose a lot of strips with Nemo-esque flying beds. There's examples from Gasoline Alley, Mutt and Jeff etc. - I'm sure this must have been deliberate.

The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics - the gift that keeps on giving...

Baddies!

Here's a random baddie from the sketchbook - Baron Von Finkelhoffer and his Amazing Third Eye!

Cheese

Captain Marvel. I read a fair bit of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and all the rest when I was a kid, but Captain Marvel remains the only superhero I've ever really loved. Classic version, naturally. With the exception of Jeff Smith's interpretation a few years ago, I've generally avoided anything DC have done since the mid-80s because I have this aversion to having my heart broken.

Andy Gump

For anybody out there who happens to be over 80.

Macawber

W.C. Fields as Mister Macawber. A digital sketch - I doubt I'll ever be comfortable working digitally, but I'm happier with the looser stuff I've done recently than some of my other digital effort. I like the face here.

Mister W and Mister C

One more Snarked-related one, partly because it's there, partly because I'm a day behind and this gets me up to date. No, take it - I insist.

Hey, did the new Rocketeer come out today? I think it might have.

What the Hecate

Madame Hecate from Snarked - a weird sort of cross between my teacher when I was nine and Wilma Flintstone. I quite like the Extra Stompy Action in this one.

You're Not My Granddaughter

Found on the hard drive: a Scarlett and Walrus drawing I have absolutely no memory of making. Where are me pills again, nurse?

Mandrake

Lothar's got me on a Lee Falk jag.

Phantom Tollbooth

I loved this book as a kid. Illustrations by the great Jules Feiffer. This is a sketch I did at a convention a couple of years back.

Not Easy Being Green

Don't think I've posted this before. Here's hoping.

Pigs

Work-in-progress here - little job for the Beano. Just to say I've done it, kind of thing.

Great Fezzes from History: V

Anyone remember Mandrake the Magician? It used to run in the Australian Women's Weekly when I was a kid (of all places!). That Lothar was a fine-looking chap.

Great Fezzes from History: IV

Bit of Hoople for you. This is another digital effort.

A Little Wellington

I believe Popeye #12 is out tomorrow - at least, that's what someone told me. I don't know where you people find out this stuff! Anyway, here's a page of pencils from that issue. Quite pleased with this one.

Great Fezzes from History: III

A good one for April Fool's Day, I reckon. This one's another experiment in digital art.