STRANGE PLANET STORIES

THE NEW DEADWARDIANS

2011-12-10T00:32:00.000Z

The cat is out of the bag. Vertigo have announced a new mini-series. The New Deadwardians by Dan Abnett and me! I have had to keep that one a secret for absolutely AGES!!! But its out now (well, first issue is out in March 2012) but I can finally say I'm doing a series for Vertigo!

And here's the opening line to Dan's original pitch:

"May I just confess that this is a story that involves both zombies and vampires, two things I swore I would never write about because they had both long since jumped the shark. Then this idea came to me and wouldn’t leave me alone. Please be tolerant of the zombie-and-vampire-ness of this until you’ve heard me out. It’s essentially a detective story set in an alternate history England, circa 1900.”

Hence - I've been busy.

Here is the cover to issue 1! Be sure to keep an eye out for it.

SEA FOOD

2011-11-09T22:07:00.002Z

Here's another Quai Des Bulles doodle (colored in when I got home).

THE JOB KNOWS

2011-11-09T13:11:00.011Z

The job knows.

I haven't been able to sit down to update this blog in a hell of a long time. Let's have a look - May 28th. Yeesh! That's a long time (I actually thought it was April so already I'm telling myself 'oh, its not that bad').

Okay, so where was I? Right. I've been busy. REALLY busy. I started work on Charles Dexter Ward earlier this year then midway through took a break to draw A Princess of Mars (that's right, I took a break from working on a graphic novel to work on a graphic novel - in my world it makes sense there's just less holidays) and now I'm back again on Charles Dexter Ward finishing that book off before Christmas and starting something new. It's been busy. And I've only had one book out this year (technically three books if you count The Lovecraft Anthology Vol.1 and Blankslate's Nelson). Last year I had two! But before you think for even one second I've been slacking off- STOP! I have THREE GRAPHIC NOVELS out next year, AND a mini-series (can't say anything about that just yet) and a 10-12 part weekly at some point in among all that.

I've been busy.

Oh, AND At the Mountains of Madness won best graphic novel at the British Fantasy Awards 2011 back in October - you can read about that here!!

Now, a couple of weeks ago I went to the Quai des Bulles festival (I'm going to write more on that in another post quite soon, I promise) which is in St Malo (the picture at the top here is one I drew at the festival and brought home and colored up - now I got my scanner working again! YAY!). Right up to that point I was working crazy hours getting A Princess of Mars done. And about a week before the trip to France (my only break since April really) I was thinking 'this is great, this is going great. I'm gonna get the book done and have time to relax a little and unwind before I go away. I've got DAYS left! Everything is gonna be just fine.' What could possibly go wrong, right?

Well, nothing did go wrong really except that I worked right up until the very last second of the very last minute of the very last hour before my flight to St Malo. Literally no time to spare. I used up ever second I had. It was like THE JOB KNEW. There I was thinking "I've got a week, I'm on the home straight, this is easy." But no. It's like the job knew exactly how long I had left and that was exactly how long it was going to take. Not a second more. Not a second less. THE JOB KNEW!!!

And since I got back from St Malo I've been catching up on my sleep and getting in the right headspace again for Charles Dexter Ward and I'm back in Lovecraft country where I can post sneak peeks (this picture here isn't one of them - don't worry, a Gug doesn't show up in a suit in the middle of the story).

A PRINCESS OF MARS COVER ART

2011-05-28T09:44:00.009+01:00

Here's the final cover art for A Princess of Mars. The one seen in the SelfMadeHero catalogs was a texture/color rough and not quite finished. And, like the cover for At the Mountains of Madness, it is a full wrap around cover but I won't be revealing that for a bit yet. But you will be seeing sneak peeks over the coming months of the interior art.

Now, what goings on have been going on since last I posted? Well, I attended the Bristol Comics Expo a couple of weeks back where I was part of a panel discussion with David Hine, Ian Edginton, Rob Davis and Dan Lockwood - talking about the Lovecraft Anthology. I also met up with many many lovely people including Alison Sampson who's blog Space In Text is an absolute must visit (I drew Juno for her), and Stacey Whittle of Small Press Big Mouth (I drew Johnny Alpha for her). Also met, very and all too briefly, Ernesto Priego from the Comics Grid, with whom I really wish I'd had longer to chat, and Mark Clapham from Shiny Shelf who I also wish I'd spoken to for longer. I managed to miss a lot of people but hopefully will see them all soon.

LIFE ON MARS AND OTHER PLACES

2011-04-21T08:52:00.010+01:00

(A Princess of Mars ©SelfMadeHero)

It has been a while since I last posted. I've been busy.

Above is a detail from the cover to A Princess of Mars which I'm currently adapting with Ian Edginton for SelfMadeHero. The cover to Princess of Mars as it appears in SelfMadeHero catalog is just a color/texture rough. The real deal will be revealed soon. If you haven't seen the catalog I strongly suggest you check it out now.

I thought initially that making stuff up for A Princess of Mars would be easier than sifting through mountains of research but actually the work load is no less and a lot more prone to procrastination. Really got to keep on my toes with this one. KEEP IT SIMPLE. But design time carries with it just as much ballast. It is a lot of fun though, starting my working week designing aliens.

You'll also see a snippet from The Case of Charles Dexter Ward in the SelfMadeHero catalog. Here's a little bit more.

(The Case of Charles Dexter Ward ©SelfMadeHero)

Lots happening right now. Lots in the pipeline. Exciting times.

HOW TIME FLIES

2011-02-25T13:38:00.006Z

Found this kicking around on my hard drive - a concept for a proposed project back in 2008 which is when my first Graphic Novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published. That is six graphic novels ago!!! I've started measuring time in graphic novels the same way my son measures time in sleeps when he's looking forward to something. Time flies when you're having fun!

DEADBEATS

2011-02-18T09:53:00.005Z

Deadbeats is a comic/Graphic Novel I'm working on with the guys from HP Podcraft - Chris Lackey & Chad Fifer. To find out more about it go to this website designated to it and have a gander at the synopsis and some of the character bios and for further updates. I'm very excited about being brought on board for this project as the script is a lot of fun and Chris and Chad a hell of a lot of fun to work with too. If you haven't heard their podcast and you love Lovecraft you really should head over there and have a listen. It is an excellent show.

THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD

2011-02-14T00:32:00.008Z

-Arriving Spring 2012 from SelfMadeHero-

UPDATE: SelfMadeHero have announced they're sponsoring H. P. Lovecraft: Reanimated (15th April, The Horse Hospital, London) which will host the launch of The Lovecraft Anthology: Volume 1 for which Rob Davis and I adapted The Dunwich Horror. For more information click this update.

FREAK CLIQUE

2011-02-03T09:48:00.006Z

Another doodle from my sketchpad at Angoulême colored in photoshop on my return.

ANGOULÊME

2011-02-01T12:53:00.016Z

I'm back from Angoulême (via Bordeaux) and I had a brilliant time. I did ensure I packed everything I needed for the journey... everything except my camera of course. Why the hell would I need a camera?!? So, anyway, after kicking myself quite hard, I had to rely on my rather poor camera phone for the odd snap here and there but to be fair, this is such a heavily reported event my pictures would differ little from the many thousands out there... except in quality as you'll soon see.

So, last Wednesday was a very very early morning start. For a guy who's 5 yr old son wakes him at 5am to ask him deeply profound questions like "what do cows eat?" (seriously) 4am is cruelly early but I had a flight to catch. I got up and got ready as quietly as possible, contemplating getting my own back on my 5 yr old by waking him up and asking him some deeply profound question or other when the cab arrived and I was off.

I'll skip the part about arriving at the airport way too early and smooth over it... pretend it didn't happen. So, as I was saying, I landed in Bordeaux at midday and was met by Emmanuel Bouteille, who, along with Richard Saint-Martin, is Akileos. The boss. We then headed off to a signing at Mollat via Emmanuel's house (he has a bookshelf to die for). Mollat is a HUGE store. I believe its one of the biggest in France. I mean its REALLY big. And the store windows had a big promotion on for the festival.

See? Not a very good photo. Don't worry, the photo's get worse.

I signed a few books there and then it was off to Angoulême with a van full of books.

It was dark when we arrived and no I hadn't been blind folded and thrown in the back of the van. We quickly located our table and unpacked meeting up with Richard and the rest of the gang, including Julien Flamand and Mara. After setting up for the following day and after I dropped my suitcase (containing an as yet undiscovered exploded tube of toothpaste) at a gorgeous guestroom in the old town (conveniently just around the corner from a bar called Le Chat Noir) we headed off for one of the best meals I've, frankly, EVER eaten.

Cognac as a nightcap I hit the hay.

Following morning and the first day of the festival proper. We were joined by other Akileos artists and writers, including Ronan Toulhoat, Guillaume Griffon, Christian Straboni (had a great chat with him about Caniff and Robbins), Yigaël, Loïc Godart.

Now, I'll say straight off, I didn't see everything that was on show at Angoulême. I was there to sign books and that's exactly what I did besides eat incredible food and drink lots of wine. I sat and drew for I've no idea how many people from the day I got there to the day I left. My experience of the festival is not one of sight seeing and gallery hopping - although I did go to a gallery event one evening at the Maison Des Auteurs, I think on the Thursday, courtesy of artist and adventurer, Dan Berry who was on Erasmus exchange with the Ecole Supérieure de l’Image (where we marveled at the beautiful work of resident, Lorenzo Chiavini). The town itself is quite clearly marked by the event, with paintings on walls of famous European characters leaning out of windows etc. And right in the middle of it all is a bust of Hergé.

I eventually managed to catch up with Emma, Doug and Lizzie of SelfMadeHero at La Chat Noir on Friday night where we stayed up till way past our bedtimes (2am - its not the years, its the mileage) talking about scary faces in mirrors and the like. I also met Gary Northfield that evening and later on the Sunday, Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury.

I was fortunate that the tent with publishers like Dargaud, Delcourt and Glénat was right next to ours (of course this made it all the more easy for me to stay in one part of town) so I did wander over on occasion to have a gander and bought a couple of books including Les Extras De Mézieres so I was incredibly happy! Can't put the thing down, it's wonderful!

I managed to sell a LOT of books during the festival, signing and drawing in each and every one. Les Montagnes Hallucinées sold out completely. I drew a vast number of mythos beasties for a vast number of people, including one image of Cthulhu dressed in a snazzy suit, sat cross legged on a chair and drinking a cup of tea. I did also manage to doodle a little while I was there and I have, since I got home, managed to scan in my effort and color it in photoshop.

(very soon after this picture I drew Cthulhu in a suit drinking tea)

In all, Angoulême was a wonderful experience and I'm enormously grateful to my French publishers, Akileos, for inviting me out there and for looking after me. I hope to do it again next year with any luck! It was so good to see everyone again after St Malo last year and I'm pleased to say I'll be attending Quai des Bulles and meeting up with them again in October!

LES MONTAGNES HALLUCINÉES ET LE SIGNE DES QUATRE

2011-01-22T08:30:00.005Z

I will be signing copies of At the Mountains of Madness and The Sign of the Four (and A Study in Scarlet and Hound of the Baskervilles) published by Akileos in France at La Librairie Mollat on Wednesday 26th at 4pm in Bordeaux!

I'll be then traveling up to Angoulême for the festival there on the 27th till the 30th!

(Pssst - the book Dyer is reading is A War Come Near by R. Carter)

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE 2

2011-01-21T14:47:00.000Z

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE

2011-01-20T23:26:00.001Z

AND NOW, THE END IS HERE...

2010-12-16T09:02:00.011Z

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

Have just finished The Valley of Fear!! The last of the Sherlock Holmes novels!

I started out on this awfully big adventure back in August 2008!! And in a little over 2 years and 505 pages later (excluding the 119 page sub-expedition to Antarctica for At the Mountains of Madness earlier this year) here we are!! DONE! Thanks to everyone for their kind words and support along the way! It's been quite a journey. And as old blue eyes would croon... "I did it my way".

2010-12-09T09:26:00.002Z

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

2010-12-08T12:46:00.002Z

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

2010-12-07T18:55:00.002Z

(The Valley of Fear ©SelfMadeHero)

THOUGHT BUBBLE!!!

2010-11-19T23:11:00.005Z

Okay - I will be at the SelfMadeHero tables at Thought Bubble - the Leeds Sequential Art Festival, signing copies of my latest graphic novel, an adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness. There will be also sketches for sale - a selection of creatures from a Mythos Menu which I'll be drawing throughout the day.

Gug
“It was a paw, fully two feet and a half across, and equipped with formidable talons. After it came another paw, and after that a great black-furred arm to which both of the paws were attached by short forearms. Then two pink eyes shone, and the head… large as a barrel… eyes jutted two inches from each side, shaded by bony protuberances overgrown with coarse hairs… That mouth had great yellow fangs and ran from the top to the bottom of the head, opening vertically instead of horizontally.” (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kaddath)

THOUGHT BUBBLE THOUGHTS

2010-11-15T08:59:00.010Z

I will be attending Thought Bubble this Saturday and will be shackled to the SelfMadeHero tables like Kong. People may approach (with caution) and would be best advised not to use flash photography. If you pick up a copy of At the Mountains of Madness I will sign it for you and scribble in it too (a Mythos entity of your choosing or character from the book). And I will be doing that pretty much all day.

Rob Davis (keep an eye out for his upcoming adaptation of Don Quixote - its an incredible comics opus) has written his recommendations on what to buy at Thought Bubble this coming weekend (as he too will be attending and will be promoting Solipsistic Pop3 to which he's contributed the excellent Torturer's Garden) and he's also written a review of At the Mountains of Madness:

Ian's adaptation is perhaps the best of his SelfMadeHero books. Here "Britain's answer to Darwyn Cooke" works in double page spreads and uses the broader space to give us snowy vistas, frozen oceans, alien cityscapes and vast mountain ranges. The writing is stripped down and the book zips by, in stark contrast to the heavy going Lovecraft texts. All is rendered in Ian's trademark style, a kind of Yves Chaland/Frank Robbins lovechild.

As I know from struggling through my adaptation of The Dunwich Horror (which Ian has drawn and, in my opinion, is his best strip work yet!), voice overs are pretty inevitable in Lovecraft comic adaptations. Here the best sequences are where Ian shakes off the voice over and lets the characters play off one another or the action move seamlessly. If I have any criticism of the book, it's really a criticism of the source material - and that's the characterisation. I didn't really care about them. Lovecraft's characters are flat; he's all about ideas and the characters too often become cyphers. What Lovecraft excels at is spiking the imagination with his poison and enveloping the reader with a sense of menace beyond our ken. Ian's version loses non of that. You won't buy a better Graphic Novel or comic at Thought Bubble, don't hesitate to get it.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS!!! GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTH!!!

2010-11-14T08:32:00.004Z

Just picked up a copy of The Observer and Rachel Cooke has picked my adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness as GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTH!!!!

It is not only that Culbard has so cunningly boiled down Lovecraft's rather weighty novel, leaving its exciting plot free to breathe; it's also that his superb ligne claire drawings so effortlessly evoke both the world of Tintin, and the Edwardian science fiction of HG Wells and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you are a fan of the golden age of polar exploration – if you still hanker after Boy's Own stories of derring-do – I promise that this is the graphic novel for you.

Here's the online version of the article.

WRITING ABOUT WRITING AND DRAWING AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS - OH, AND A DOC FATHOM UPDATE!!

2010-11-08T19:50:00.007Z

Just finished writing three blog pieces for SelfMadeHero - the first is about the inspiration for some of the .... design work for At the Mountains of Madness.

The second article is with regard to some of the architecture in the book.

And lastly there's a reasonably lengthy article about the actual process of adapting, which compared to the other two is relatively spoiler lite. But that said - these articles are otherwise spoiler heavy - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

In other news: I was pleasantly surprised by some of the response that DOC FATHOM* has been getting! Now, if only I could find a way to make it so....
*For those only just tuning in....

DOC FATHOM!!

2010-11-02T12:23:00.003Z

Yet another pitch never pitched for Zuda - this time Doc Fathom which supposes quite simply that Atlantis never sank (and that it existed in the first place naturally). Very much a pulp adventure story of rather ridiculous proportions. These pages here are sans dialogue - the first page did at one point sport a Doc Fathom logo with the sub heading of Chapter 1. The Beast of '33.

MONSTROUS

2010-11-02T11:21:00.004Z

This is a really old never pitched Zuda Pitch I was trying to get together. One of many. I'd work up a few pages/panels and then get sidetracked with the day job drawing Holmes. Eventually Zuda closed its doors and I missed my shot. Time waits for no man.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS NOW AVAILABLE!!

2010-10-29T15:39:00.003+01:00

This is the bookplate I produced for Gosh! A portrait of H.P. Lovecraft sitting in Miskatonic Library. You can get the bookplate edition in the next couple of days. They do have copies of At the Mountains of Madness in stock and if you want a bookplate edition I am reliably informed they will put one aside for you.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS REVIEWS!!

2010-10-26T14:10:00.006+01:00

My adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness is out this Thursday and here's the first three reviews to come in.

The first comes from Ernesto Priego's blog, Butterfly Hunt.

The second comes from Barry Nugent and Geek Syndicate.

And the third from Richard Bruton and the Forbidden Planet International blog.

Additionally there will be a bookplate edition from Gosh! in London.

COCKED, LOCKED AND READY TO ROCK!!

2010-10-22T13:44:00.003+01:00

The chap in the middle of this pick, Professor Armitage, has a starring role in The Dunwich Horror (adapted by Rob Davis with art by me), which will appear in Volume 1 of the Lovecraft Anthology coming out next April from SelfMadeHero. He has a cameo in At the Mountains of Madness too, as does the Miskatonic library. I chose to do Dunwich Horror for the Anthology because I wanted to do more with Armitage - Lovecraft's stories are so wonderfully interconnected so my interpretation of Armitage and the Miskatonic library remain consistent.

THE HORROR, THE HORROR!!

2010-10-19T12:24:00.007+01:00

Just some of what I've been coloring today from pages I drew for the upcoming Lovecraft Anthology...

In other news, At the Mountains of Madness will be in all good book shops on October the 28th!!

ONE HUNDRED BROKEN FIGHTING MEN

2010-09-22T22:05:00.005+01:00

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

Round up the usual suspects.

I have been drawing a lot of criminals today. The Valley of Fear certainly does have its fair share, including head bad guy number 1, the greatest fictional villain of them all, Moriarty!

I do quite enjoy drawing extras - characters that won't likely appear again in the story. Here we have a line up of unsavory associates of that Napoleon of Crime. Pickpockets, blackmailers, cardsharps... each and every one a ne'er-do-well of some description or other.

MORE VALLEY

2010-09-17T09:15:00.002+01:00

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

ANOTHER PANEL FROM VALLEY OF FEAR

2010-09-16T01:19:00.002+01:00

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

DOWN IN THE VALLEY

2010-09-15T09:40:00.006+01:00

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

I have been drawing a lot of square panels lately for our latest Sherlock Holmes adaptation, The Valley of Fear. Here's one.

CERTIFIED MADNESS!!

2010-09-14T14:54:00.010+01:00

My advance copies of At the Mountains of Madness arrived today!! Very excited!! Must calm down!! Maybe later!!

Rather pleased with the gate fold cover which means you get pretty much all of that cover I did ON THE COVER!! and not just on the outside but on reverse side too!!

The book is out in just a few weeks time and you can order your copy here!!

KALEIDOSCOPIC & A SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION

2010-09-08T15:05:00.007+01:00

(The Valley of Fear @SelfMadeHero)

I'll be attending Kaleidoscopic this Friday where Edginton and I will be talking about Sherlock Holmes.

Have also been in discussion this week with SelfMadeHero about future projects... exciting times! Also I noticed quite a few people have cottoned on to this MEME that's spreading... called an Influence Map. So, without further ado, here's my seven-per-cent solution.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEAK 5

2010-07-21T22:58:00.003+01:00

This is the full wraparound art for the At The Mountains of Madness cover. Finished the interior art today. Yay!

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK 4

2010-07-17T18:28:00.003+01:00

A double page spread (with ample bleed I might add). Pages 28 and 29 to be precise. When I set about working on this book I wanted it to be significantly different to the Sherlock Holmes books I've been working on. This book was my first opportunity to work in full splash double page spreads and the process has been one I'm certainly keen to adopt for future projects. The scene as centrefold. I've left off the text here because it is a bit 'spoilery' - that said, I've always liked seeing pages with empty balloons. Reminds me of what reading comics was like before I could read.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK 3

2010-07-17T18:12:00.001+01:00

WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE POWYS

2010-06-06T10:25:00.008+01:00

I got back yesterday from the Guardian Hay festival in Hay-on-Wye where Edginton and I did a talk about the Holmes books we've been working on for SelfMadeHero to a packed out tent of 200 people (it was originally supposed to be 50!)

And I have to say, the festival organisers and our publishers, SelfMadeHero, looked after us tremendously well.

Hay-on Wye is a book town. The first of its kind. Richard Booth (the King of Hay-on-Wye) changed Hay from a small market town into a book town for book lovers and it's full of second-hand bookshops. Had I died and gone to heaven? It was an almost surreal experience. And Booth's own bookshop itself is absolutely wonderful. I was stood in the theology section when I was approached by the bookshop cat. I was so giddy with the idea of being in a small town with millions of books it wouldn't really have been such an unusual occurrance if the cat had asked me if I would have liked a glass of red wine!

Glorious bliss. I hope to return one day.

LAUGHTER IS NOT THE BEST MEDICINE

2010-05-23T22:54:00.012+01:00

So.

I attended the Bristol Comic convention this year. Just 10 days after another hernia operation. I thought I was fine. No heavy lifting - had kept myself sensible for a good few days and not raced back to work - I had rested! Little did I know that meeting up with HUZZAH!! squadies at the con (the likes of my dearest brethren, Colin Fawcett, Dave Taylor and Rob Davis) would result in me ending up in Bristol A&E on Friday night. And why? All because Rob Davis cracked a joke that made me laugh SO hard I actually did quite literally bust a stitch. We were sat in the bar in the Mercure Hotel and after an evening of raucous laughter I got up and noticed a flowering circle of red blood appearing on my t-shirt that signaled I was bleeding and quite badly. So Col, gawd bless him, ensured I got to hospital and got sorted. The night ended with me at one in the morning getting patched up proper and sent back.

But this of course meant that on the Saturday I could not lean over a desk in the traditional hunched manner of an artist and do sketches for people. And for that I apologize. I only wish I'd had the presense of mind to those who asked to say 'but if you find me at the bar do say 'hey, how about that sketch' because the bar counter is higher up = no leaning involved I could quite easily do a sketch - but alas no.

Anyway. More now on who I met:

Simon Gane. The illustriously illustrated illustrator. Lovely chap. Helped me narrow down my choices of tattoos as he has many and they are marvelous.

Garen Ewing. Equally lovely chap. Flattered he thought I would look like Holmes (I suspect he was disappointed).

Interesting conversation regarding goofs! Fair play. Managed to nab a copy of Rainbow Orchid vol.2. Just beautiful.

Overall a lovely time was had even if Friday night was a bit of a horror. Bought a lot of books from Cinebook as has become traditionally the case. They're set to start publishing Valerian & Laureline in July and I cannot wait!!! Only wish I'd got to speak to Geek Syndicate. Damn!! Maybe next time, gadget!!!

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK 2

2010-05-15T23:14:00.002+01:00

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS SNEAK PEEK

2010-05-13T18:22:00.003+01:00

2010-04-14T18:18:00.001+01:00

2010-04-07T18:50:00.000+01:00

AND WITH STRANGE AEONS...

2010-04-02T23:53:00.003+01:00

FROM THE CRYPTIC REALMS OF ICE AND DEATH...

2010-04-02T14:10:00.004+01:00

A STUDY IN SCARLET - GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTH

2010-04-01T13:20:00.007+01:00

A review of A Study in Scarlet appeared in The Observer last Sunday, declaring it Graphic Novel of the month!

"Culbard and Edginton are adept at concision... I relished every page”
- Rachel Cooke, The Observer

Also, Richard Bruton over at the Forbidden Planet International blogged upon the books release:

"SelfMadeHero’s Sherlock Holmes is turning out, thanks to the combined brilliance of Mssrs Conan Doyle, Edginton and Culbard, to be a wonderfully entertaining series of books. I can heartily recommend them and I’m already finding myself lamenting the fact that there are just two more in the series after this."

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS (cover)

2010-02-27T15:17:00.010Z

Sneak peek of the cover for At the Mountains of Madness from SelfMadeHero which you can find over at their brand new site.

2010-01-16T14:05:00.003Z

2010-01-08T15:01:00.002Z

2010-01-07T11:59:00.001Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHERLOCK HOLMES

2010-01-06T17:24:00.001Z

2010-01-05T17:06:00.002Z

2010-01-04T22:31:00.002Z

2010-01-01T13:43:00.003Z

HUZZAH NEW YEAR!!

2010-01-01T08:51:00.011Z

And now 2009 is the year that was. 2010 is upon us. And Arthur C. Clarke's wrong yet again.

And its been a blast. I thought 2008 was all about big changes?!?! Wow. Hit the ground running at the turn of 2009 with a chunk of the as-yet-to-be-published Hound of the Baskervilles under my belt but with a good solid month and a half of really hard work ahead of me before I turned it in. By this point my wife and I had discovered much to our delight that another baby was on the way and then almost as quickly as work on Baskervilles had ended then work on A Study in Scarlet was underway. In the middle of it all I got to work with Rob Davis on a Doctor Who story for the 2010 Doctor Who Storybook. I had my studio built/converted and I moved in to finish Study in Scarlet. Then just as I finished the book the baby (a boy!) was born!! Not too long after that I learned I'd be doing my first solo book (At the Mountains of Madness) as work began on The Sign of the Four. And right at the tail end of the year CBBC called me in to help with the visual development of a new TV show - So there you have it. 2009 in a nutshell. My feet have barely touched the ground.

And during all this two HUZZAH!! blogs have been rumbling along. There's the main HUZZAH!! which this year has evolved into HUZZAH!! Part 2 (or rather HUZZAH!! VENGEANCE OF VOLDAR) and there's HUZZAH!! NOIR which started back in April and concludes this April. So.... busy busy busy!

New Years resolutions: Well I don't smoke, and I'm a moderate drinker (I enjoy a glass of red wine with a meal and rarely drink beer now... not having hangovers when you've got two kids is a plus), but I do need more fresh air, more exercise. I sit at a desk all day so that'd be the first one. We live a stones throw from a choice of country parks (we even overlook a large recreation ground) so I'm going to be getting those shoes on more often and going out with an audiobook on the ipod and a notepad of course ;-) Also, I cook but I'm not an amazing cook. I want to learn three dishes and learn to cook them amazingly well. Oh and blog more frequently. Naturally.

Roll on 2061.

HUZZAH!! 2009

2009-12-23T09:33:00.006Z

Finished HUZZAH!! for 2009 late last night with a sprint to the finish line. It's been an interesting year. I think we realised towards the end that this really wasn't a year long self contained story but the beginning of a much bigger story and so it shall continue into 2010. Who knows where it will lead? All that is known is that the backdrop for next year's story is war.

Next year will see a small rule change. Contributors will still have 3 days to contribute, however they'll have up to nine plates they can contribute on their turn. Running HUZZAH!! NOIR slightly later in the year gave me the opportunity to try out the extended page count rule (which allows NOIR contributors to use up eight plates at a time on their turn) and what this gave the story was some considerable clarity and pace. So next year's HUZZAH's story will likely be a different beast to its previous year. Hopefully we'll have a couple of new contributors too.

Don't forget - you can read HUZZAH!! in full from start to finish here.

BE SURE TO PICK UP A COPY OF A STUDY IN SCARLET! OUT NOW!! (EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE BEFORE CHRISTMAS AT GOSH! & PAGE 45 AND 221B BAKER STREET)

2009-12-16T00:01:00.003Z

A STUDY IN SCARLET! OUT NOW!! (EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE BEFORE CHRISTMAS AT GOSH! & PAGE 45 AND 221B BAKER STREET)

2009-12-15T09:29:00.007Z

Also, Pimpernel of Pimpernel's blog asked that I put together a top five Christmas gift recommendations list (I went for 5 catagories so you'll 11 recommendations in all). Goes without saying that Baskervilles and Study in Scarlet should be on every gift list... ah-hem...

Do be sure to bookmark Pimpernel's blog, especially if you're a fan of Pulp Adventure, comics Science Fiction, horror and stuffs, as there will be further lists over the next few days from Francesco Francavilla, Guy Davis, and Mike Mignola.

A STUDY IN SCARLET (EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE BEFORE CHRISTMAS AT GOSH! & PAGE 45 AND 221B BAKER STREET)

2009-12-13T12:24:00.002Z

THE SIGN OF THE FOUR

2009-12-11T11:17:00.009Z

30 August 1889. The Langham Hotel, London. Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle met for the first time with Joseph M. Stoddart, to discuss contributions to the Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (a Philidelphian publication). The two works these gentlemen would produce as a result of this meeting would be The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Sign of The Four. An account of this 'golden evening' is discussed in Doyle's autobiography Memories and Adventures.

An explanation, albeit brief, with regard to the title as you'll sometimes see it referred to as The Sign of the Four (five-word title) or more commonly The Sign of Four(four-word title). The former is the book's original publication title, the latter being the re-serialisation. As we are given to defaulting to Doyle's original text our adaptation carries its former title (not least of all because that is also how 'the four' is referred to in the text regardless of which edition of the book you read).

Work, as mentioned in my previous post, is well under way on The Sign of the Four. Enough that I should be able to update more regularly with images of the book in production. The book will be out sometime in the spring next year (exact date to be confirmed) and will be followed by The Valley of Fear.

HELLO STRANGER... BABY, STUDY, SIGN & MADNESS

2009-12-10T00:43:00.004Z

Well, its been a while since I've properly posted. My wife gave birth to a baby boy back in September and since then its been a mix of lack of sleep to begin with and busy schedule as work got under way on the third Sherlock Holmes graphic novel for SelfMadeHero, The Sign of the Four.

A Study in Scarlet is OUT NOW!!! (I heard it would be the 15th of December, but it appears Gosh! have copies already) - However, it is currently only exclusively available in London (Gosh!, The Sherlock Holmes Museum) and in Nottingham (Page 45) before Christmas. The book will have a general release in February.

Also, just to keep me on my toes, work has begun on another project for SelfMadeHero. At the moment all I can show you is this:

My first big solo book! But I promise there will be plenty more of that over the coming new year. I shall hence forth intermitently pop back to update this blog with images from The Sign of the Four as the book works its way to completion in February.

2009-11-17T11:14:00.005Z

Ian Edginton and I will be doing a book signing at the grand opening of Mondo Comico in Nottingham on Saturday 28th of November.

The store is located at 24 Heathcoat St, NG1 3AA.

DOCTOR WHO?

2009-11-02T14:38:00.004Z

My initial take on Doctor number 11.

2009-09-02T10:45:00.002+01:00

2009-08-29T16:53:00.003+01:00

2009-08-29T10:07:00.001+01:00

A STUDY IN SCARLET DRAWN

2009-08-19T10:06:00.006+01:00

A Study in Scarlet is fully inked and ready for color!

The last panel I drew for Baskervilles had Holmes saying

"and now, my dear Watson, we have had some weeks of severe work and for one evening I think we may turn our thoughts to more pleasant channels?"

which seemed incredibly apt given all the work I'd just put into that book over more than just several weeks (Holmes and Watson had it easy in contrast). And now, completely by chance the last panel I drew for A Study in Scarlet read,

"Finally we put the last outlying post of the ________* behind us and freedom lay ahead".

I didn't seek out the panel (as its not the end of the book) it just happened to be, by chance, the last panel I drew. Now if I should end A Sign of Four on a similar note (work upon which begins immedietly-already done the layouts for the first four pages), then I shall be suitably freaked out.

Above is the 'this book belongs to' section of my Moleskine within which I scribble rough layouts for each of the books. I've comfortably managed to just squeeze in roughs for the first three Holmes novels (I've marked spaces for Sign of Four but Baskervilles and Study in Scarlet are all in there)- so for three 127 page graphic novels a Moleskine does just nicely.

(*I left this section blank so as not to spoil the story for those who may not have read it)

GOSH!!

2009-07-26T16:05:00.005+01:00

My dear chum, Col, was visiting Mother London this weekend and took a snapshot of this for me. If you haven't been already pop into Gosh and be sure to pick up a copy. Many years ago I produced my own comic called Side-show which you can read about here in one of my earliest posts and Gosh were kind enough to sell it for me.

IRREGULAR

2009-07-15T18:11:00.002+01:00

NEW HUZZAH!! NOIR PLATE

2009-07-14T01:24:00.002+01:00

Just posted a quick plate I did for HUZZAH!! NOIR. Didn't have a great deal of time to do anything more than just a single plate.

OUR ADVERTISEMENT BRINGS A VISITOR

2009-07-12T15:09:00.002+01:00

THE SCIENCE OF DEDUCTION

2009-07-11T11:26:00.001+01:00

WHAT JOHN RANCE HAD TO TELL

2009-07-02T13:23:00.004+01:00

WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

2009-07-01T22:28:00.004+01:00

I've been incredibly busy over the last few weeks. So busy I've not really had time to even so much as prepare a post for this momentarily neglected blog. And lots and lots has happened in the meantime. Covered so much ground with A Study in Scarlet, penciled and colored an eight page Doctor Who story with the excellent Rob Davis on Layouts and inks for the 2010 Doctor Who storybook - you can see our Tenth Doctor here as well as another image from the story. I'm putting up the exact same pictures Rob's put up over on his Blog but in full color:

EASTER EGGS AND THE DOCTOR

2009-06-09T23:15:00.006+01:00

I was rather pleased to be informed today that 'The District Messenger', which is the newsletter for the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, had the following to say:

"Just arrived in the post is The Hound of the Baskervilles, a Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel, adapted by Ian Edginton and illustrated by INJ Culbard (SelfMadeHero, 5 Upper Wimpole Street, London , W1G 6BP; £14.99). The address so close to Conan Doyle's consulting room, inspires confidence, as does the foreword by Daniel Stashower. It's very stylish, and obviously done with affection and intelligence, as the careful floorplan of 221B indicates. Besides, how could anyone resist the advertisements on an omnibus: 'R Stephens & Co', 'Lee Bros', 'Hoffmanstal', 'The Blakely Ballet'...?"

As well as the ever elusive six-fingered man there are throughout the Holmes books a handful of Holmesian Easter eggs like the one sited above. The above reference is to Billy Wilder's rather splendid film 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' which starred Robert Stephens as Sherlock Holmes and Colin Blakely as Watson. I won't explain the Blakely Ballet or Lee Bros. part for fear of spoilers for those who haven't seen the film - if you haven't, you must.

In other news I have recently been penciling and coloring a Doctor Who strip for the 2010 Doctor Who Storybook. I can't really say much else about it or show you anything till it comes out, but I can direct you to art from the strip appearing on Rob Davis' blog (Rob Davis, a fellow HUZZAH!! squaddy, drew layouts for the strip and inked it beautifully).

GOSH! BASKERVILLES BOOKPLATE EDITION NOW ON SALE!!

2009-06-08T08:59:00.005+01:00

Gosh! in London are selling a limited edition (200 copies) signed Bookplate edition of Hound of the Baskervilles right now (it hit the shelves on Saturday I believe). So, if you want one go and get one.

Have had a week away from Baker Street due to numerous unexpected happenstances - but I'm back now so updates will resume.

ANOTHER REVIEW!

2009-06-01T23:52:00.006+01:00

Another review - this time from Newsarama.

Another panel from A Study in Scarlet - this time from early on in the book when Holmes and Watson first meet.

THE BOOK OF LIFE

2009-05-29T23:45:00.004+01:00

TWO BASKERVILLES REVIEWS AND WATSON WANTS SOME BREAKFAST!!

2009-05-28T23:32:00.007+01:00

Here's Watson waiting for his breakfast.

Following yesterday's review of Dorian, here are a couple of reviews for Holmes - one by author Rafe McGregor and another from the Forbidden Planet international blog by Richard Bruton.

LESTRADE & A DORIAN REVIEW

2009-05-27T23:11:00.005+01:00

Lestrade makes a brief appearance towards the end of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Here's his first appearance in A Study in Scarlet. I do like Lestrade. Like Watson, he's often misrepresented - mostly as a bumbling incompetent glory hound (again I think the Rathbone films are to blame there).

Also, nice things have been said about Edginton and I's first book, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' here which brightened up my day.

DRAW SERGE!

2009-05-26T12:06:00.004+01:00

Here's my contribution to Jonathan Edwards' wonderful new blog - 'Draw Serge'.

We've had a bank holiday here in the UK over which time I've been decorating my new studio so I've actually had a couple of days off from drawing! A rare event. Painted Holmes in emulsion paints on one of the freshly plastered walls only to paint over it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE!

2009-05-22T22:30:00.011+01:00

Didn't get any work done today as I had the day off today (maybe I should make Doyle's Birthday a holiday!) but here as promised is another daily dose of Holmes.

RESONANCE, BIRTHDAYS AND THE PORTAIT OF A STICKMAN

2009-05-21T16:04:00.012+01:00

To mark Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday tomorrow - SelfMade asked if I'd draw a picture of Doyle. So here it is.

Also! At 5pm today, I'm interviewed by Alex Fitch over at Resonance 104.4 FM where I talk a little about adapting Baskervilles and Dorian with Edginton. I did during the interview something typically radio unfriendly (to talk about something listerners couldn't see) and started to talk about a scene in which I supplemented the portrait for a stick figure in order to alleviate the pressures of having to paint 'one of the greatest things in modern art' as Lord Henry puts it. So here is the 'stick figure' variation (at the suggestion of my dear friend and fellow HUZZAH!! contributor, Colin Fawcett).

SLEEP PERCHANCE TO DREAM

2009-05-20T09:11:00.005+01:00

Ay, there's the rub! Only got five hours of interrupted sleep last night. Sheesh. Also, this just in - there won't be a signing at Gosh! BUT- when the book launches you will be able to obtain a copy of Hound of the Baskervilles there with a specially commissioned and signed bookplate (limited to 200 copies) available there at the end of the month.

THERE WILL BE FREEMASONS

2009-05-19T09:30:00.007+01:00

Above is a picture of one of the many visitors to 221b.

Jay Eales from Factor Fiction sent me a link to the trailer for the new Sherlock Holmes movie with Downey Jr as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson - directed by Guy Ritchie (making a very Joel Silver sort of film - as in it doesn't look like a Guy Ritchie film). Personally, if it has Sherlock Holmes written on the tin then I'd buy it. I do ravenously collect non-canon Holmes (as does Edginton) - enjoyed the likes of Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear enormously and even collect Solar Pons novels, so I will undoubtebly be going to see this when it comes out. I don't know anything about the plot of this new film of course but I'm willing to bet that there will be freemasons.

By the way, while on the subject of non-canon Holmes films, can I recommend to any reader passing by Billy Wilder's 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'. There's a reference to this film tucked away within the pages of 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'.

THAT MONDAY MORNING FEELING

2009-05-18T10:06:00.003+01:00

QUEENSBERRY RULES

2009-05-17T00:05:00.005+01:00

Another of Holmes' attributes. Note: Rough lettering on this one. I never serif my "i"s unless its a possessive pronoun. I always rough letter in Manga Studio before exporting into Photoshop where I do a layer of live type for the editors.

A SKULL & THE SIX-FINGERED MAN

2009-05-16T00:11:00.007+01:00

Yesterday I promised more frequent updates and I started as I mean to go on. So here we are. I've just finished re-doing for a second time a page from the book where Watson lists Holmes' qualities. It has yet to be colored. It's quite a busy page as there are twelve qualities listed in all.

I was actually tempted at this point to make Holmes the six-fingered man. But what at first appears apt is often too obvious. For now the six-fingered man shall have to wait.

FREQUENCY

2009-05-15T09:34:00.004+01:00

I did an interview last night for Resonance FM's Panel Borders with Alex Fitch which should be up next week. We talked about Dorian, Holmes and HUZZAH!! which was nice.

Above is a panel from A Study in Scarlet - a schematic of sorts for a sequence where Holmes and Watson are unpacking (you might just be able to see some of the perspective lines if you look closely enough). Those familiar with the first book may notice here additional cupboards etc. With each book, because there's a significant enough difference in time scale, I'm able to go back and tweek some of those early ideas. So 221b's had a little bit of a makeover. Architecturally its exactly the same building - none of the walls are different, all doors and windows are in exactly the same place - but I do get to change the wallpaper and rearrange and often change the furniture which keeps everything fresh for me as I approach each book.

I'm going to now try to keep updating this blog quite regularly, maybe even daily as we move in to the latter half of production on Study - often with choice images from each day - so stay tuned, there's plenty more to come.

BRISTOL

2009-05-13T13:02:00.007+01:00

Back from the Bristol Expo. Had a great weekend. Met a lot of people including many of the fine folk whp contribute to both HUZZAH!! 2009 and HUZZAH!! NOIR. Also had a chance to talk to Dave Gibbons about Manga Studio (after making an ass of myself by getting his name wrong - I was nervous, what can I say?). He was very nice indeed. Also met Paul Cornell (who's name I didn't get wrong - but then he's a 'Paul', it's only if you're a Dave will I get your name wrong as Dave Taylor will no doubt testify), Liam Sharp from Mam Tor at long last, Roger Langridge and Paul Peart-Smith (both of whom are artists who contribute to the excellent Act-i-vate) and many many more.

As you can see from the photograph above SelfMadeHero had a banner outside the hotel (it was HUGE!). I signed a fair few copies of Hound of the Baskervilles - thank you to all those who bought a copy of the book and came up and said hello.

But now its back to work - back to Baker Street and A Study in Scarlet.

SHERLOCK HOLMES WEBSITE GOES LIVE

2009-05-06T15:27:00.013+01:00

SelfMadeHero now have a Sherlock Holmes mini site up and running! Go check it out for more information on the books.

GOSH! BASKERVILLES BOOKPLATE

2009-05-05T12:28:00.009+01:00

Over on the Gosh! blog you can see the bookplate which I produced for them.

"Holmes enthusiasts will be pleased and relieved by Edginton & Culbard’s back-to-basics approach, retaining the authentic tone and character of Conan Doyle’s original stories; hence no bumbling Doctor Watson nor deer stalker as added in later cinema and theatre versions."

ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR!

2009-05-01T12:16:00.010+01:00

HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES arrived this morning in the post. My advance copy and I am very very pleased and rather excited now. There's always that awful period of dread before it arrives, always wondering/hoping it printed okay. And I'm very pleased to say it did. SelfMadeHero have done a brilliant job in putting this book together.

The book comes with additional content at the back. A sketchbook which looks at numerous versions of Holmes and Watson from my early sketchbooks, a map of 221B and a four page preview of A Study in Scarlet which I am currently working on.

Now, about that. A Study in Scarlet has been presenting new challenges. It's a slightly different book in so much as its earlier in chronological order to the events which take place in Baskervilles. As such Holmes and Watson look a little younger - Watson returns from the Battle of Maiwand "thin as a laff and brown as a nut" and Holmes has slightly more unruly hair than before to complement a slightly more unruly, arrogant attitude. There's a greater abundance of floppy hair and sideburns generally in the book. And of course 221b gets a slight redesign - structurally exactly the same space, but there will be different furniture and different wallpaper etc.

Above is the first sneak peek from A Study in Scarlet (which comes out this October).

AND I'll be at the Bristol International Comic Expo on 9th and 10th of May. There's a panel scheduled in the Park Suite on the Saturday at 11am and Edginton and I will be signing copies of the book there. Also, later in the month, the book will be on sale at GOSH! in London with an exclusive book plate (limited to 200 copies).

MWAHAHAHAHA!! HUZZAH!!

2009-04-22T17:06:00.002+01:00

More HUZZAH!! plates now up. Click the picture to be beamed up.

VLAX IS BACK!!!

2009-04-08T19:42:00.006+01:00

New HUZZAH!! is up. Two HUZZAH's in one week. One for the all new HUZZAH!! NOIR (to be there from the very beginning, click here), and continuing the space opera epic over on the main HUZZAH!! site with the return of Bohaan Vlax (albeit briefly). Did this page super fast so the brush line's very loose again and the coloring is mostly running through a rince cycle with red sock (otherwise known as using 'photofilter'). The name Bohaan Vlax comes from the names of two dialects, one Mongolic and the other Romani.

HUZZAH!!NOIR

2009-04-06T18:15:00.007+01:00

HUZZAH!!NOIR is finally up and running. We've got some of the regular HUZZAH!! gang joining in and a few new face too. My first plate to kick things off is now up so go check it out - add it to your bookmarks/toolbar.

This HUZZAH!! is going to be a little different to the main HUZZAH!! in that it's Film Noir and as such all the artwork is black and white.

PRISON PLANET GO BYE BYE

2009-03-28T11:30:00.005Z

I have been waiting to blow up Prison Planet since page 1. So I was rather relieved when Page 30 of HUZZAH!! presented itself with the opportunity to do just that (even though technically its just the Prison Planet part and not Voldar itself that blows up).

THE SECRET OF VOLDAR

2009-03-24T12:19:00.003Z

My latest HUZZAH!!'s are up. The idea for the look of the Voldarians came from talking to Rob Davis who'd mentioned a design he had in his sketchbook of an race of Hairy-angler faced fish aliens with old men's heads instead of lights. I figured that at this point the secret of Voldar had to really be a lot more than just the Uroborus child and figured on the planet of Voldar itself actually being the prisoner given the events of chapter 5. So now the concept of a prison planet isn't so much a planet full of convicts but a restraining device that coats and existing planet in an artificle surface. The silos you see from page 1 onward are essentially gigantic restraining bolts dotted all over the prison planet's surface.

DAVE GIBBONS USING MANGA STUDIO!!

2009-03-19T13:08:00.003Z

Dave Gibbons with a demonstration of how he uses Manga Studio.
(cheers to Faz for the heads up)

WE INTERUPT THIS PROGRAMME TO BRING YOU --

2009-03-17T00:09:00.003Z

I absolutely love this track and was delighted to hear it being used as the title track for Stewart Lee's new series "Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle". It was an international hit for Elias and his Zig Zag Jive Flutes back in 1958.

SPACE OPERATIC

2009-03-10T15:27:00.008Z

New to STRANGE PLANET? Not aware of HUZZAH!!? Click the picture! NOW!!!