Paragon

This weekend, I'm going to be dipping into the latest issue of Paragon. I've just finished the first story, Spencer Nero and the White Spider, by Greg Meldrum, James Corcoran, and John Caliber. Spencer Nero only started one issue previously, but it has fast become my favourite part of the comic. A tightly written story that plays on supernatural themes in a refreshingly original way.

Matt Soffe's cover art.

It would be dishonest of me not to admit that I have a somewhat selfish reason for drawing your attention to Paragon. You see, I also have a story in it; Rise of the Mekkosapiens part 4, written by my regular collaborator Matt Mclaughlin.

So maybe you would like to check out Paragon? You can find out how to get hold of it over at the Paragon Blog. It is available in both super-cheap-digital-format, or much-more-meaty-planet-destroying-paper-format.

Time-And-Space-Rupturing-Super-Violence

This week I am finishing off my work for the next episode of Rise Of The Mekkosapiens. For this first panel I was aiming for a John Blanche vibe; a few heroes fighting off impossible odds, continually missing missiles exploding behind them in such a way as to never obscure the action.

Maybe that's why villains never hit the goodies in these stories. Perhaps they would have more luck if they used hitiles rather than missiles.   

Melting Robots And Other Such Delights

Things are going from bad to worse for G-127! Anyone paying close attention will be able to see how this is a bit of a cheat as far as artistic captions go, but to find out the full story, you'll have to check out the forthcoming 10th issue of Paragon. More details on that soon!

In other news, I have recently received the contributor's copy of Dr WTF?! 2012. This will be going on sale at the Inverness comic and sci-fi convention  Hi-Ex, which takes place at the end of this very month! If you can't make it to such far flung Arctic tundra, I'm sure editor Owen Watts would love to help get a copy into your grasping hands, so hop over to his blog and drop him a line. The price will be around the £4.50 mark.

'Tis the season for chronologically confused celebration, for fresh on the heals of Christmas wishes comes a whole heap of Halloween! Indie horror comic Hallowscream has now been released in tree-terrorising printed glory! Don't worry if you still find your soul wracked with existential uncertainty though; you can still download all three issues, absolutely free!

That's all the signal boosting for this week. I must now return to finishing my work for Paragon; tune in next week for more previews of what I've been drawing!

End Of Year Review

Last year I discovered that there is something of a tradition among small press bloggers of creating a yearly review of everything recently accomplished. I found this out a little late to write anything up myself, and probably would not have thought much of my achievements at the time.

This was unfortunate, as it meant I failed to thank my brother for getting me to create this blog, the Legendary Shark for dishing out his scripts to all who would wish to practise on them, Matt Mclaughlin for seeing this practise work and for letting me work on his own strips, and the wonderful people at Temple APA for publishing our first collaboration; Lugal.

Lugal: Temple APA Issue 8

Not to worry though, as this time I am more prepared! The year got off to a good start when Dirk Van Dom saw my art on Lugal and asked me to contribute to Vanguard. The first issue was released in July, and my story Halo And The Gryphon was met with pretty good reviews.

Halo And The Gryphon: Vanguard Issue 1

As we were working on this project, Owen Watts released Dr WTF?! in which I provided some art for Oscar Maltby's story of Apocalyptic Whovian Fan Girls. I got to draw varying standards of cosplay, and expressed my view on the term "Homo Repticular" (no italics).

Back To The Wreckage: Dr WTF?! 2011

By the time Vanguard burst free from it's release date, I was already working on episode 3 of Rise of the Mekkosapiens. Matt Mclaughlin once again trusted me to put my pen to his words and I got to draw crowd scenes, chase scenes, and all round robot action. This has recently been released in Paragon 9, so go check it out.

Paragon Issue 9: Rise Of The Mekkosapiens Part 3

Halloween saw the release of Hallowscream, which answered some reviewers requests that I put fewer lines into my art work. I got to add another writer to my list of collaborators, and Lizzie Boyle seemed pretty pleased with the results. Don't forget this one is available for free, and can be enjoyed not just at Halloween, but every other day of the year as well!

Storage: Hallowscream 2011

That's the last of my publication credits for the year, but it certainly doesn't finish the list of work I've been involved with. The art for Halo And The Gryphon part 2 is already finished, and my work for the next Dr WTF?! continues apace. I've also managed to ensure that I have made over 52 blog posts this year. That averages out at one a week!

Next year I'm hoping to be even more productive, but I feel that will be a tale for another day. Hope you all enjoy your new year's celebrations, everyone. See you in the future!

Paragon 9: Rise Of The Mekkosapiens Part 3!

You go and say something like "That's all my blogging for this month," and then the inevitable happens, and by 'inevitable' I mean 'something I can't wait until Thursday to shout about!'

Paragon 9 is out!

Jikan the time travelling Japanese warrior could well be fighting some sort of demonic incursion. Icarus may possibly continue to have his mind blown by the alien mermaid who rescued him from the whole flying too close to the sun thing. Nazi secret societies will likely be getting up to all sorts of nefarious deeds, only to have their plans potentialy thwarted by the heroic Spencer Nero. And there's a one off story called No Compromise which looks like it might be about cowboys maybe?

Want to find out how many of these predictions are fulfilled by reality? Check out the comic and see for yourself. It is just 99p from lulu! The last 'jumping-on issue was number 7, so you may want to pick yourself up that one and number 8 as well, just to help you follow the stories.

My entierly biased reason for bringing this to your attention is that I have some art in it! Matt McLaughlin's Rise Of The Mekkosapiens Part 3 sees me drawing some robots, who end up having all sorts of adventures! I enjoyed drawing them, and hopefully you will enjoy reading them!

An Agglomeration Of Things!

Thing 1: Vanguard Revisited

The much mentioned small press comic extravaganza Vanguard is now available on-line! Download it here for £1.01, or here for £1.00. I... don't really understand why there is that difference, sometimes life is just strange like that I guess.

Here is some slightly stripped down praise for Vanguard; cut from its source material in such a way as to highlight its comments about me! The links provided take you to the pages where good stuff is said about all the other people involved.

Everything Comes Back To 2000ad "liked the art in this which felt very kids story book." Hilary Lawler over at Irish Comic News liked it even more, saying "Halo and the Gryphon is great.  The style is busy but throughout  the detailed artwork you don’t lose focus on the story.  Overall the page layouts are fluid and easy to follow, with some beautifully drawn pieces nicely scattered between pages.  This is a well crafted original take and a completely fresh approach to comics which works." Thanks Hilary!

Thing 2: Rise Of The Mekkosapiens

I've just finished drawing a strip for the next issue of Paragon. I would have mentioned this yesterday, but I was too busy debating which individual picture to post with the news. The sequential nature of comics left no individual picture with quite the right 'feel'. Writer Matt McLaughlin solved my quandary by shoving these three pictures up onto the net together, as they were always meant to be seen. Thanks Matt!

This story will be published in Paragon 9. While you're waiting for that, why not check out Paragon 8, which has just been released, continuing stories that began in Paragon 7, a good 'jumping on' issue for those new to the comic.

Thing 3: The Future

So now that art is safely heading the letterer's way, what lies in store for me next? Well, Van Dom has already sent through the script for the second part of Halo and the Gryphon, Dave Candlish has offered me the art duties for one of next year's episodes of Rise of the Mekkosapiens, and just to prove I'm not in a rut, I've got another project lined up as well! Over the next month or so, I'll be working with writer Lady Festina on a script for the annual Halloween comic Hallowscream! More on all of these as they develop!

Thing 4: Going So Far Into The Future That It's Mildly Scary

I have a twitter account. I'm not completely sure I know how it works, and I can in no way guarantee that I'm going to check it on a regular basis, but I'm going to give it a try. You can follow me if you like, I'm LRGCarter.

Well, that's all the news I can think of at the moment. See ya later, internets!