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!

Me And The Rest Of The Internet Went To Thought Bubble...

... and it was simply brilliant and I'm going to ramble on about how much fun I had. For the easily bored, there will be pictures, and oh... what pictures!

Now, I am not one for crowded spaces full of people. As such, I would like to congratulate the organisers for making it feel less packed than last year. I am going to assume this is because they spaced the tables a bit wider apart, that was a brilliant idea. If the space was in fact created by lower attendance, then, er, just forget I said anything. I do not believe this could be possible though, last year was good fun, who wouldn't come back? And this year was even better!

First point of call was the Zarjaz stand, for which we were waved down by Bolt and Owen Watts. If you like 2000ad, then you will like Zarjaz and its sister publications. I will need to wax lyrical about these at some point, but I feel that is a post for another day. The stand also had some copies of Dr WTF?! for sale, which was pretty cool as I haven't seen these in the flesh before. Here is a picture of me with my art!

We met the Planet Replica people, and Matt Booker and Ian Edington, and that was all wonderful. Then it was time to head back over and see what was happening at the 2000ad stall.

Simon Davis was doing sketches, that was what was happening. I hesitate to call them sketches though, for despite considering the sketch to be a proud and noble art-form, such a term falls short of describing what was happening. At several points I thought he was finished, but then he just kept on going, and, well, look at this, just look at it.

Simon Davis's Sky Ripping Elder Horror

He charged me nothing for this, and as he handed it over to me he said, "I'm sorry, the paint is still wet." He was apologising for giving me this thing of beauty. I felt humbled.

This feeling continued as I headed over to see Mick Mcmahon. He was giving away free sketches too. I got a Hammerstein for myself and a Deadlock for my wonderful lady friend. Mick was also the very definition of lovely.

Mick Mcmahon's Deadlock

Mick Mcmahon's Hammerstein

So was Henry Flint, who, it would seem, looks just like his avatar! He has released a book of non-comic art that he claims are 'doodles,' and this was the launch day! The people who sold me this book told me that Henry would "be along shortly to give me a 'personalised doodle'," and so I was expecting a quick scrawl that would none-the-less be pretty awesome. I love a good doodle I do.

So anyway, I wasn't expecting this.

Henry Flint's Nemesis

He also did that thing where every time I thought he was finished, he just kept on going. Once again he wasn't charging anything! There was another person who had stood beside us while Simon Davis was working our magic, and she ended up with us here as well, due to having similar exquisite taste. Henry drew her a Shakara, and my friend Jenny got... well, Jenny got what I consider to be a somewhat Christmassy picture, so I'm going to ask her if I can scan it in and post it up here as we reach the festive season.

That was my time at Thought Bubble. In a mildly intrusive moment of My Other Life (the life I live when I'm not on the internet or drawing comics), I haven't been overly well recently. This day has cheered me up no end. If I ever need reminding of the fact that there are good people in this world, I'm going to look up at these pictures as they hang from the wall, and think back to meeting all these brilliant people. It will help me, so thanks all, and if you've got this far in reading the post, I thank you for that as well.

Goodnight all, see ya next time.

Hallowscream: Storage

This cheerful chap is Mark. He likes surfing and quad-biking. He enjoys a good night down the pub, but also relishes the quiet solitude of the open countryside. His favourite book is The Beach, though he didn't think much of the film.

Mark works at a storage warehouse. It's Saturday evening, and he was just getting ready to lock up when the inevitable happened. Because there's always one isn't there? Someone who turns up mere minutes before you head off home. But you grin and bare it, because that's just good customer service. 

And then they start messing about...
  

 

Find out what happens next in this year's Hallowscream. Over one hundred pages of horror themed comics, all at the super cheap price of Absolutely Free! The story you are looking for is Storage, the second story in, page 9 according to the contents. It's written by one Lizzie Boyle, drawn by myself, and lettered by someone who appears to be uncredited, sorry mysterious letterer! Previous editions of Hallowscream are still available, also for free! Why not check them all out?

Some More Reviews!

Some of you may remember a few months back when I posted some reviews of my work. Well, I'm back to do more shameless self promotion, on this blog that is almost entirely shameless self promotion! Go me!

To start with, my work for the next Dr WTF?! is already getting good feedback, and I'm not even past the preliminary sketch stage. Greg Meldrum seems happy with the work so far, while over on Facebook  Owen Watts claimed that "This is easily going to be the MOST INSANE story in Dr WTF?! 2012." So while editor, writer, and artist all stand around slapping each other on the back and marvelling at their own brilliance, let's anchor this post to the ground before it disappears up our collective backsides. 

Forbidden Planet International has a less glowing review of Vanguard. It's not a completely bad review, but is certainly the least positive we've had so far. Here's what it says about my work;

The art by Louis Carter starts out so strongly, that very first page above of really nice, almost abstracted shapes as the Halo makes planetfall. But after it gets too damn busy, panels just so full of detail, with everything a mass of lines and shading. It’s not bad, not at all, but if it were stripped back just a little, to what we saw on the opening couple of pages it would be so much better. But the potential here is huge.

Not to worry though, for if that was our least positive review, this next one is the most positive! Comics Bulletin has seen some cutting reviews in its time, and I think many of us were waiting for this one with nervous anticipation. It all turned out well though, take a look at this;

"Halo and the Gryphon" feels like an underground comix adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix; the big selling point for me is the art of Louis Carter, a strange and evocative mix of fine detail on the characters and a far more blocky, abstract approach to backgrounds. It looks like nothing else I've ever seen -- aside from perhaps David C. Sutherland's artwork in the early days of Dungeons and Dragons, and even that's not quite the same -- but it's stunning work.

Amusingly, the page that they picked to illustrate the Comics Bulletin review was the one that I find the most crowded, while the Forbidden Planet one chose a page in which only one of the six panels has a background to distract you.

Still, I welcome constructive criticism, and I will be considering my strengths and weaknesses as I continue working on part two of Halo and the Gryphon. As such, I would like to offer my thanks to Richard and Kelvin, and all those who have taken the time to offer their opinions elsewhere. The next few weeks should see me posting some sketches of some new characters, so don't forget to drop by again!

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!

Back To The Wreckage

Owen Watts has begun collecting scripts for Dr WTF?! 2012. You can keep an eye on forthcoming developments over at the Dr WTF?! facebook page. While you're there, why not drop Owen a line and get yourself a digital copy of the 2011 issue?

My contribution to Dr WTF?! 2011 was some art work for the story Back to the Wreckage, written by Oscar Maltby and lettered by David Withers. You can see this entire story right here, by simply scrolling down the page and enbigginating this artwork!

 

Vanguard Is Out!

Cover by Liam Byrne

Last night, I watched The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. This film includes a brilliantly realised Griffin, and upon seeing it I was compelled to speak out to my fellow viewers on my admiration for Ray Harryhausen. For the Griffin is a treacherous beast. It looks so majestic, so regal, so in control of all it surveys. The king of the animals and the lord of the birds, fused together into one single being.

Yet look closer, and you will see the animal is not all it seems. That look of supreme poise can only be maintained as long as the thing stays perfectly still, its front legs locked straight. The moment it moves, you realise...

A Griffin has four knees!

Oh what a cumbersome creature it becomes. This four kneed fool falls suddenly from regent to jester, cantering about in such a way as to leave the whole animal kingdom jeering at its folly. The courtly mountains are replaced by a wicker cage, and this king for a day pays the ultimate price of the cycle of life as it is left screaming out that the crops will not grow and the harvests will fail, and next it shall be we who are left burning in that pagan idol!

Er, by which I mean... Harryhausen solved this problem by giving his Griffin  the front legs of the lion rather than the eagle. Brilliant! I chose the other option. I broke the Griffin. My Griffin has four elbows instead, and I feel dirty just thinking about this crime against anatomy.

What Griffin am I talking about? Why, the Griffins that feature in the rather wonderful comic Vanguard! You can follow that link for more information, though the most important bits are here:

The best way to order is via paypal.
Our paypal ID is vanguardcomic@gmail.com
Costs are as follows:

In the UK:
Comic - £2.00 Postage - £1.50
In NI:
Comic - £2.00 Postage £1.00
In ROI:
Comic - €2.50 Postage - €1.00

So why not go order a copy today?