Category Archives: Cartoons

See you at Thought Bubble

Things are moving much too fast at the moment: I need to tell you about so many recent events. First though, let me remind you about the massive comics festival Thought Bubble, next weekend in Leeds. If you’re planning on coming, do drop into the New Dock Hall, where you’ll find me and Zara onContinue reading “See you at Thought Bubble”

It’s really really soon now, you guys

Woah, those Finns are arriving pretty soon! In case you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you might like to catch up on the history of my madcap idea to bring two complete strangers over to the UK to sleep on my sofa and talk about comics — hopefully to an audience, which is ofContinue reading “It’s really really soon now, you guys”

See you at the Lakes – & I’ll have a new comic with me

It’s not long now until my compadre in comics, Zara Slattery, and I hop onto a train to make the long journey to the Lakes International Comics Art Festival. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll come and see us. Here’s a map of the Clocktower building (click to see bigger) — we’ll beContinue reading “See you at the Lakes – & I’ll have a new comic with me”

We did it! Finnish cartoonists incoming

The crowdfunder to bring the Finnish cartoonists over to the UK was successful. Thanks so much to everyone who donated or helped spread the word — every tweet, email and penny helped. We launched the campaign at 13:53 on Thursday, and actually hit target on Friday at 16:17, which was a much speedier result thanContinue reading “We did it! Finnish cartoonists incoming”

Help me do one of the strangest things I’ve ever done

Bear with me while I introduce this story, because it needs a bit of explanation. It’s worth it, though! It has everything, well, if by everything you mean Finnish people, cartoons, and crazy ideas of international collaboration. For, much to my surprise, I find myself fundraising, with the aim of bringing two Finnish people toContinue reading “Help me do one of the strangest things I’ve ever done”

Scanning pencil crayon drawings

I know I’ve been quiet on here lately, but that’s not because I’m not drawing. In fact I’ve been drawing quite a bit, between a weekly life drawing class, comic stuff, and even a visit to the museum to sketch with my daughter. I just haven’t managed to blog about it. I’ve nearly finished myContinue reading “Scanning pencil crayon drawings”

Come to Comica

Don’t forget that it’s London’s comics festival, Comica, on Saturday. I’ll be at the Comiket Market with my pal Zara, selling our comics: Two Birds, our joint compendium Everything My Ten-Year-old Daughter Wore in November, my collection of daily clothes drawings If you are quick (I don’t have many left), Salon of Rejects, the anthologyContinue reading “Come to Comica”

Rooooooadtriiiiip! (Or, where you can buy our comics this year)

A few months ago, my compadre in comics Zara Slattery suggested to me that we apply for a stall at a comic festival or two. “Hm”, I said, “Maybe we should start off with something local and low-risk.” Seemed to make perfect sense for two creators just dipping their toes into the world of self-publishedContinue reading “Rooooooadtriiiiip! (Or, where you can buy our comics this year)”

What I said at Gosh Comics

The launch for Salon of Rejects last night was really fun. Thanks so much to Gosh Comics for hosting it, and for all the people that came out on a chilly Wednesday night. Since the pessimist in me was expecting an audience of two people and a pet dog, I was really delighted to seeContinue reading “What I said at Gosh Comics”

Two Birds released; plus, Salon of Rejects event

It’s been months in the planning, but Two Birds is now a reality, and you can buy it online here. A 40-page collaboration between me and Zara Slattery, Two Birds contains 15 full-colour strips. If you enjoy the work I publish here on this blog, here’s your chance to own it for yourself – nicelyContinue reading “Two Birds released; plus, Salon of Rejects event”

Building a ship with 50 Shades of Grey: when life imitates art

Here’s a funny thing. In 2013, my entry for the Comica/Cape/Observer Graphic Short Story competition pivoted around a charity shop worker who built a ship out of surplus donations. Those surplus donations were mainly copies of the book Fifty Shades of Grey. The whole thing came from my imagination. And yet… fast forward a coupleContinue reading “Building a ship with 50 Shades of Grey: when life imitates art”

Salon of Rejects – London launch event

Hooray – I’ll be one of the ‘Salon of Rejects’ cartoonists speaking at Gosh Comics in London on April 6. Come along! Drink booze! Look at drawings! Hear me deliver a flawless presentation on the state of modern-day cartooning and my position therein*. If you are a Facebook user, you can signal your intention toContinue reading “Salon of Rejects – London launch event”

Salon of Rejects: grab your copy now

Ooh look, what have we here? A lovely, shiny high-quality comic with one of my strips in it, that’s what. It’s a sumptuous, perfect bound 28-page comic featuring cartoons by six creators, including me. Buy it here! Why ‘Salon of Rejects’? Because these are all entries to the prestigious Cape/Comica/Observer Graphic Short Story contest thatContinue reading “Salon of Rejects: grab your copy now”

Nice timing, Comix Creatrix

(Image by the House of Illustration) I know it’s already been said by everyone, but the opening of the Comix Creatrix exhibition, featuring cartoons by 100 women, could hardly have been better timed, given the controversial (and plain wrong) statement from Franck Bondoux, executive officer of the Angouleme International Comics Festival: “Unfortunately, there are fewContinue reading “Nice timing, Comix Creatrix”

A round-up of my favourite #HourlyComicDay strips, 2016

I hope you enjoyed my Hourly Comic Day comics this year (in case you didn’t see them, they’re here). And if that whetted your appetite for this peculiar artform, here are some of my favourites from other people. It was much easier to find the good ones this year than in previous years – itContinue reading “A round-up of my favourite #HourlyComicDay strips, 2016”

My complete Hourly Comic Day 2016

So – was it more difficult completing Hourly Comic Day on a working day? You bet it was. There’s not very much of visual interest to draw, and it means you have to do a full day’s work and then put in several hours drawing into the night. I saw a few canny people shiftedContinue reading “My complete Hourly Comic Day 2016”

Eeek, it’s nearly Hourly Comic Day again

February 1st is Hourly Comic Day – a day when foolish people make a cartoon for every hour in which they are awake. It presents you with two options: If you are smart, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy as cartoonists around the world post up a rich deluge of comics on Twitter, Tumblr,Continue reading “Eeek, it’s nearly Hourly Comic Day again”

A cartoon about running

Click each page and then click again if you would like to view these pages at a larger size. Last January, I realised that I had run far fewer miles in 2014 than in previous years, and that this was because I’d got into the habit of skipping runs if the weather looked at allContinue reading “A cartoon about running”

Can I be a mother and a successful artist? Hmm, let’s see

This piece of graffiti is a fairly new addition to an underpass on one of my running routes. I enjoy graffiti and street art well enough, but my goodness, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piece of it that spoke so directly to my own concerns. I’d like to meet whoever scrawled this andContinue reading “Can I be a mother and a successful artist? Hmm, let’s see”