It's Coming, part 3: Places

Right. I'd promised to post some more Septic Isle art, so here you go!

I've probably written this on my blog before,but I find drawing strips based in the real world a lot harder work than doing one set in the future, or in a fantasy world.With SF and fantasy, you can use your imagination and make up buildings, landscapes, clothing, machinery, vehicles, weaponry etc. But Septic Isle is very much set in the present day, and it had to be realistic and gritty. So, you have to be fairly accurate, especially as most of it is set in London, a city I've only passed through and don't know very well (although I shall be visiting The Smoke very soon.)so I had to do research on such banal things as bus stops and lampposts and even the corporate logo of Lambeth council. This meant using Google images quite a lot (and I'm worried that the real MI5 are watching me because of the search terms I used, such as 'suicide bomber vests' and 'MI5 building', and so on. The excuse 'I was researching a book' worked for Pete Townshend. Might work for me, especially as I wasn't looking at the same things he was. I'm worried about the clicking noise I can hear every time I use my phone!) and whilst very useful indeed, it isn't infallible. It showed me the MI6 building and told me it was the MI5 building, for example.

Anyway, here are some of the buildings that appear in Septic Isle:

This is the very first panel of the book, and it's the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel.

This was the original panel from page 3 that was of the MI6 building, but MI5's Thames House was required, so the next panel was the replacement:

Next up is Blackfriars Bridge, scene of an important mission briefing:

Here's the same bridge from the Bond-esque prologue that was dropped. (but it still turns up in a shrunken form at the back of the book):

Here's a fairly nondescript-looking disused barn, in which a lot of important stuff happens:

And, last but not least, a London council estate. Note the scaffolding on that tower block. that might come in handy later on...

That's your lot for now. Hope you like them.

Aston Villa 5 Birmingham City 1

YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe I was nervous about this game all this week. We've got five goals against the scum and it looks like that sorry shower is on its way back to the championship. I'm actually looking forward to going to work tomorrow and taking the piss out of my bluenose colleagues. As important as the chase for a European place is, it's not as important as sticking it up our neighbours. God bless Martin O'Neill!

John Carew, Carew! He's bigger than me and you!!

He's gonna score one or two, John Carew, Carew!

Bring on the Toffeemen next Saturday, that's all I can say.

Normal service will resume soon.

It's Coming! part 2; Review

This week I finally got my hands on a shiny copy of Septic Isle. The printers have done a fantastic job, it's a quality piece of work, it really is. Even if I say so myself! Just don't be put off by my photo at the back of the book. Let me assure you, I'm much better looking in real life. I showed the book around at work today, and all of my colleagues were impressed. Well, they were to my face anyway!

But, if you need more convincing at how great this book is, here is the first review of the book, over at Forbidden Planet International. It's a phenomenally positive review. Things I've been involved in before have had good reviews, but not like this, and it's especially gratifying considering this is the first time I've ever illustrated an entire book by myself, and I'm really proud of it.

So, if you want to buy it, come along to the Bristol Comic Expo (On May 10 and 11th at the Commonwealth rooms) to meet Andy Winter (Septic Isle's writer and publisher) and myself and we'll sign it for you, and I might even do some sketching for you. And you can see how much better looking I am in the flesh, as well.

I'll bung some more of the book's art up soon, I promise!

God Of Metal.

Over at Fractal Hall, Madeley suggests that Matthew Vaughn's upcoming Thor movie should have Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song on its trailer (it mentions 'the hammer of the gods' in its lyrics, and it's got a kinda Viking vibe to it, so it is apt.) and failing that, a soundtrack by a band like Queen. I like those suggestions, but something came to my attention recently that put the band Slayer into the hat for the Thor soundtrack gig, too:


I think it kinda works!!

Hypocrisy: The Curse Of The Brummie Nerd.

Sorry for the big gap between posts, but I've been a busy Brummie boy lately. There's been lots of things I've wanted to comment on while I've been away, so this post is a quick roundup of my thoughts on said topics:

My accent:

It's been reported in a few newspapers in the last week or so that the Birmingham accent is the least liked of all the regional twangs. Apparently, prospective employers equate the Brummie accent with stupidity. So, do all companies in the West Midlands employ from outside the region because all the locals are stupid? Of course not. I'm sick and tired of the stick we Brummies get from the rest of the country. For example, in a recent episode of Ashes To Ashes, there was one character (played by Matthew MacFadyen) who was a famous charity fundraiser, who suffered from OCD, embezzling the money he'd raised by pulling a bath along, or some other bollocks.(As you can see, I was far from impressed with the return of Gene Hunt.) MacFadyen gave his character an unconvincing Brummie accent. This had no bearing on the plot, and seemed to be used just as shorthand for making the character a bit laughable. It's the same with Timothy Spall in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. It's just an accent, no better or worse than Scouse or Geordie or Cockney. And I couldn't really give a toss if people like my accent or not, it's part of who I am and where I'm from, and I'm not going to change it. I'm proud of where I'm from.

Sausages:

Apparently, sausages give you cancer. Does that mean that, in a couple of years, every time I want to munch on a sausage, I'll be forced to do so outside, whatever the weather? Forced to brave the elements, exiled, risking hypothermia just for the crime of being addicted to pork?
If sausages do give you cancer, then Germany is fucked.

Charlton Heston R.I.P. :

No good will ever come from kissing apes. Now old Chuck's dead, I can finally get his gun off him, at last!
As much as I disagreed with his stance on gun ownership, it's a shame he's no longer with us, he did make some great films. He's probably best remembered for his epics, Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, etc., but generally, those biblical movies leave me cold. I liked Charlton's SF efforts from the late '60s and '70s: The Omega Man (much better than Will Smith's version of Matheson's I Am Legend) Soylent Green, and, of course, Planet Of the Apes:



Ta-ra, Chuck.


Return of the Doctor:

Doctor Who returned, and it was okay. Catherine Tate wasn't as annoying as last time, and the return of an old character at the end made me want to stick around to see what happens. The thing that gets me is how a lot of my female friends fancy David Tennant like mad. Besides the criminal jealousy this instils in me, I still think it's wrong that women should fancy the Doctor. When I was a kid, the Doctor was Tom Baker! Hardly a sex god. I don't remember my mother rushing to finish in the kitchen so she could rush in and swoon over him, anyway. Generally, all the Doctors have been a bit funny-looking. It goes against all tradition for women (or men, for that matter) to have a crush on Doctor Who. Actually, it goes against tradition to have women interested in SF in the first place!
(Not that I'm saying that it's a bad thing, by the way. It just tends to be a certain type of male that's really into SF. I don't know, one minute I rail against the stereotyping of Brummies, then I go and stereotype all SF fans. I know I'm a hypocrite, but as a Brummie nerd, it's just another reason for everyone to dislike me!)

That's all for this update. More from me soon, I promise!