Temple APA Issue 8

PARTY CRASH! wasn't the only thing I worked on over the last couple of months. I also managed to put together a festive little comic script featuring Santa Claus, which David Blankley illustrated and which appeared in the latest edition of online comics showcase Temple APA. This is a (lightly) Christmas themed edition of the publication, so I scripted to suit and came up with something as Christmassy as you can get. David's full colour art on this is absolutely glorious so please do check it out and get your yuletide groove on!



Download - FREE - from:
Clickwheel
Mediafire

or view as an E-book at Myebook (will require user account to view).

Happy Christmas!

Party Crash!

So they do this advent calendar thing on the 2000ad forum every christmas, where forum members put together 'gifts' to the board which are posted throughout the month of December. The gift can be anything from a single picture, to a full comic strip, or even a random act of kindness. I decided to take part this year and recklessly threw my name into the ring when the call for contributors came up. It was only after this that I realised I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. I'm not much cop with drawing, being more the writey-type, so my first thought was...write a comic script, get someone to draw it. But when I found out my good mate LocustsofDeath (real name) was already doing that, I tried to think of something else. Somehow, I hit on the idea of doing a 'choose your own adventure' story. This took various formats at the initial planning stage, until I eventually settled on the idea of having a 2000ad christmas party, which the reader gatecrashes, mingling with various 2000ad characters and getting mixed up in all kinds of shenanigans. When I started writing it, I thought it was going to be a breeze. But as I got into it, and 1 option led to 2 options, and 2 options led to 4 options, and 4 options led to EIGHT options...I soon realised I had created a monster. I won't lie - keeping track of this was a monumental task, especially when I ended up with 4 individual story threads that started to criss-cross amongst each other! It was tough. But with various spreadsheets and roadmaps I was able to keep a handle on it. Just.

I realised early on that one thing I was definately going to need was pictures to accompany the text, just like the old books used to have, so I sent out a couple of mass emails to various guys from the forum who I had been interacting with throughout the year. Everybody was extremely supportive of the venture and with one or two exceptions where people were genuinely swamped with work, everybody agreed to help out. I ended up with 29 completely original illustrations to incorporate into the text, and completely awesome illustrations to boot.

The whole project took 6-7 weeks to complete -- my laptop packing it in mid-way through the work didn't help and meant I had to play Frankenstein and bring to life an old desktop PC I'd stashed in the attic a couple of years ago, in order to finish the writing. But somehow, I managed to meet the deadline and get it ready just in time for my allocated slot on the advent calendar. Phew!

So, having said all that, and without further ado, here's the link to the game. Hope you enjoy!


(cover mock-up by Malcolm Kirk - using artwork by Chris Weston)


PARTY CRASH! THE 2000AD CHRISTMAS BLOWOUT, 2010! BY INVITATION ONLY!

Tales from the Emerald Isle

"Sinister Dexter: All Malone Again", my first ever script to appear in print format - that is, in actual ink, on actual paper! - appears in this brand new, supercool comic orchestrated and put together by David McDonald.

Its a 28 page black & white fanzine featuring 2000ad characters of Irish origin and I'm really excited about being a part of it. Apart from Sinister Dexter you will find tales featuring Judge Joyce, Maeve the Many Armed, Slough Feg and the Harlem Heroes, all accompanied by some fabulous art.

Only 100 issues have been printed and they are going fast so if you would like to support the venture (And me!) buy one - PLEASE! They won't last long!

More info about how to order can be found HERE.

So whaddaya waitin' fer! Go and buy one. Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go ON!!!! :)

Templeton Peck is Awesome!!!

...but that's beside the point.

Temple APA is also awesome, and it's almost time for issue 8.

Last time, myself and CONOR BOYLE brought you a pleasant little tale about a very helpful Ice Cream Man named 'Basking' Robin, one of the survivors of an Earth-ravaging zombie apocalypse. This time, I have teamed up with David Blankley (who I recently collaborated with on a Sinister Dexter tale) to bring you...Santa!!!

Yes, Santa, the one and only...(or should that be, one of many..?)

The story is called "Claus Encounters of the Santa Kind" and here is a little preview.

Issue 8 of TempleAPA is due to go live on the 28th November. Be there!!!

Redbats, episode 4

Enter the villain of the piece: Dark Bahts!


Previous Episode

Hallowscream 2010

This time last year I was browsing the 2000ad forums when I saw a thread promoting the publication of "Hallowscream", a web comic which had been put together as a homage to the old "Scream" comic of yester-year, fondly remembered by many. I downloaded the comic and thought it was marvellous, and when I noticed it featured work by a lot of the guys I conversed with daily on the forum, I wondered why the Hell I didn't have anything in it! The answer was --- because I wasn't writing comic scripts at the time! That all changed soon after though, and when the call-to-arms (or pens) went out for the 2010 edition, I was ready and raring to go!

The new edition is out now and its a doozy. 84 pages of blood-curdling, spine-chilling, and occassionally laugh-out-loud funny tales from a variety of talented creators, its a beast of a magazine and a whopping good read. It's completely free to view also, you can't say fairer than that!

To make up for missing out on last year's premiere edition, I've managed to slip two strips into this years. The first, "Speed Date", I have already provided a teaser for HERE. The second tale is called "Promise", which features art by FILIP RONCONE. A teaser panel for this strip appears below, after which you will find a few links via which you can download the magazine.

So what are you waiting for?

If you haven't read it already...grab yourself a cuppa and go and read it now!



HALLOWSCREAM 2010 - MYEBOOK

HALLOWSCREAM 2010 - CLICKWHEEL

HALLOWSCREAM 2010 - DROPBOX

Redbats, episode 3

The Story So Far...

In the Kingdom of Baht, there is only one who is Red. An outcast from society, this quick-tempered Baht with a homicidal mean streak and a propensity for ultra-violence lives in isolation, plying his trade as a Merc for Hire, the so-called "Red Bat-talion (of One)". Hired by the Blue Realm to retrieve Princess Flo Batina from the invaders who stole her from her Palace, Redbats now attempts to lead her to safety...




It's not going too well...


Previous Episode

Next Episode

Icarus...living dangerously!

Wow.

That's all I can say about this.

I have a story coming up in PARAGON called "Icarus Dangerous", which starts where the classic Greek legend ends...and takes off from there. In big style. The series is due to debut in issue 7 of the comic, which should be out by Christmas, all going well.

I've been EXTREMELY lucky in that my story has bagged the cover slot for the issue. And I've been even luckier in that the artist signed up to realise it was "pencilmonkey" extraordinaire and all around great guy MATT SOFFE. Just look at this! How could you possibly improve on it? It captures the character better than I could have imagined and sets the tone of the piece - ie, DANGER, because this strapping young Greek chap (he's not gay) is going to be getting himself into a LOT of it in my tale - perfectly.

Feast your eyes on this little beauty!

Halloween is for Pussies.

Who says Halloween has to be all horror and spookiness. Pfffft!!! That's for WUSSES. What you really want is some heartwarming, uplifting ROMANCE at this frosty time of year. ROMANCE, I tell you, to enliven the soul and sweep back those approaching tendrils of Winter. And ROMANCE is exactly what myself and LIAM "GHOSTPOCKETS" BYRNE plan to deliver in this year's edition of HALLOWSCREAM from BACK FROM THE DEPTHS, coming very, very soon to a computer near you.

ROMANCE, damnit!!!

It will make you feel all warm and mushy inside!

GUARANTEED!!!

Redbats, episode 2

So far so good with sticking to the weekly schedule...but it's only the 2nd week so early days! Enjoy and feel free to leave your comments. I'm particulary proud of panel 2 here and will endeavour to include one such panel in every installment. (Told you it would get nasty!)

Previous Episode



Next episode

The boys are back in town...

...but which town, exactly?

"Tales from the Emerald Isle" is a new 2000ad fanzine being put together by David McDonald, which turns the spotlight on those characters from the comic with Irish blood running through their veins. There are more of them than you would think! Being Irish myself I was eager to get on board with this project and offered my scribing services. The result - a short and snappy Sinister Dexter tale which revisits some places and faces from Finnigan Sinister's past.

It's ironic I've written a Sinister Dexter tale really. When the story first started in the pages of 2000ad I absolutely detested it. Abhored it. Couldn't stand the sight of it! I gave up on reading 2000ad around about then, and every time I considered returning to the comic over the course of the next 10 or so years, I would pick up a copy in the shop, have a quick flick through, find Sinister Dexter was still there...and walk away. Not for me, I thought. Stupid, pointless story.

Fast forward to 2006 and I did come back to the fold, for prog 1500, from which Sinister Dexter were relievingly absent. Or so I thought. In truth, a story called "Malone" which I really, really enjoyed, turned out to be a Sinister Dexter story in disguise, catching me completely off-guard...and making me interested in Sinister Dexter for the very first time. Fast forward again to 2010 and now I own all the Sin Dex trades and the series is one of my favourites ever to appear in the prog!!!! Go figure!!!

Anyway, while you all patiently wait for the release of "Tales from the Emerald Isle", here's a teaser panel from my story, with funting great art by David Blankley. Enjoy...and be sure to pick up "Tales from the Emerald Isle" when it comes out!

Hello Beautiful...!

Here's a little teaser for the upcoming strip I wrote for "Dr. WTF?!", the Dr. Who-homage fanzine being put together by OWEN WATTS.

Art on this is by NICOLAS BANNWARTH and it's looking glorious! Looking forward to this one coming together!

Introducing...The Red Bat-talion (of One!)

In an effort to make this blog a little more interesting for the casual viewer, I have decided to try a little experiment, namely, posting my very own newspaper-style cartoon strip as a regular feature.

Unfortunately I am really quite poor at drawing, and as I can't afford any fancy drawing software I'm going to have to rely on my old pal Microsoft Paint to produce it. On the plus side, this means the strip will be very colourful. On the down side, it means I am limited in what I can draw, so I'm dusting off this old cartoon character I created in my distant teenage past and putting him to work for me. It's all about recycling these days anyway, isn't it?

A handful of you (friends and family members) will remember ol' Redbats from a series of comic strips I did when I was 17 or so (2 of which appear in the very first post on this blog). This is going to be a much different take on the character though, as I put him into a proper story and turn him into a serious comic character. I have the story roughly mapped out and the first 6 - 7 installments fully plotted so...let's see how it goes. Don't let the colourful cartoony appearance fool you, things are going to get pretty nasty!

My INTENTION (hope) would be to post a new installment every week. How practical or feasible this is remains to be seen, and depends on a number of factors (mainly, how much free time I get during the week to work on it!) This first installment took 4 days to complete - with a max of 2 hrs per day being spent on it, I hasten to add - so it may end up being fortnightly...but, again, let's just see how it goes.

Anyway, enough blathering, here's the first brightly coloured episode of "Redbats", in which not very much happens but the scene is set for lots of fun things to happen in the very near future!

Dirk.




Next Episode

Doctor WTF?!

Owen Watts, who posts on the 2000ad forum as Crazy Fox Machine, is putting together a Dr. Who fanzine, which will present a variety of stories featuring completely original "alternate" versions of the good Doctor. There's been a lot of interest and a lot of great artists and writers have signed up for the project. I was a bit late to the party but once I found out about it I was keen to get involved and contribute so I put the old thinking cap on and came up with an idea. The following is the result of a few hours messing around on Paint (my illustrative tool of choice!!) and will serve as my inspiration as I put the script together.

Weimaraner's eh?

Coolest. Dogs. Ever!

Thank You Carlos.

This is the piece myself (writings),Ghostpockets (drawings) and Jim Campbell (letterings) put together for "Super Squirrel Undefeated", a"Secret Project" Mark Howard masterminded in order to produce a unique, one-of-a-kind "Get Well Comic" for the artist Carlos Ezquerra, to wish him well in his recovery following a major operation. Carlos has been drawing for 2000ad since the beginning and it was his work on Judge Dredd that first attracted me to comics in general and 2000ad in particular, making me the lifelong fan I am today. It was an honour to be part of this along with so many of Carlos' friends and fans(amateur and professional creators alike) and I still can't quite believe Mr. Ezquerra now has in his possession a one of a kind comic book that contains some work of mine! Strange and awesome. Here's to Carlos!!

Would you date this man?

Well, not unless you're a lady, and even then, probably not.

This is "Tucker" (Tuckah!!!) Liam Byrne's rendition of the main character from "Speed Date" (ever so slightly based on the actor who will take the role in the short film...EVER so slightly...I don't really know somebody who looks like this! Honest!!) :)
Nice work Liam, looking forward to seeing more!

Different interpretation of Atomic Call's "Angie"

This is a pretty cool version of my character Angelyna Cale, from my Atomic CALL series. Art by Johnny Boy Baptista, bringing to a close the set of 4 character studies he did for me. Always nice to see different artists' takes on your own characters!

Update August 2010

So it's been a pretty productive year so far! I've now got quite a few projects on the go, and if you'd told me any of them would be happening back in January before I started all this, I would have laughed at you.

I've got a good few comic scripts currently being done up by various wonderful artists for inclusion in a variety of superb publications, both print and digital. As well as a few one-off horror tales and a strip based on some popular 2000ad characters being done up for a new 2000ad fanzine, I have a few strips in the pipeline for Paragon, some tales featuring that magazine's flagship character "Jikan" and also my own series "Icarus Dangerous", which will be drawn by Jikan creator Davey Candlish and will be very fun and awesome!

I also have my Atomic CALL short story lined up to be serialised in the new Starscape storycomic, of which the first issue will be launching imminently and for which the accompanying illustrations are developing nicely. My story won't be debuting until issue 2 or 3, depending on a couple of factors, but that's cool...good things are worth waiting for, after all! :) (I will post info about issue 1 of this magazine when it is officially launched). To coincide with the running of this prose Atomic CALL adventure, I have written a 7 page Atomic CALL comic strip, which serves as an introduction to the main character, Call Malone. Art on this will be by an amazingly talent artist called Richard Jordan, and the strip will appear as a webcomic on Starscape Online. Really looking forward to that one!

Along with this, things are progressing nicely with the short film adaptation of my comic script "Speed Date". A quick update on that first - unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, the original artist on the strip, Kyle Smart, has had to - reluctantly - leave the project. It's a shame, as I was looking forward to working with Kyle on this, but these things happen and can't be helped. I'm sure we will work together on something else some time in the future. But never fear, ably stepping into Kyle's shoes is Liam Byrne, another artist I have recently collaborated with on a separate project (which I can't talk about yet, as it's still "secret" :). Liam's work is as awesome as Kyle's and I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with for the strip. As for the movie - well, filming went ahead on Saturday the 28th of August with Producer/Director/Location Scouter/Prop Builder/Casting Agent/Make Up Artist and Set Dresser extraordinaire Alan Rogers at the helm (did I mention he also plays the lead role??!?) It was a one day shoot and was a great success with a couple of the - usual - hiccups along the way. So that project is one step closer to completion...next stop...editing Hell!!!

That's the end of August update for now! But I have a feeling I'll be posting a lot of tantalising tidbits over the coming months as all of these projects begin to take shape!

Cheers!

DVD

Speed...Date?

So one of my little comic scripts "Speed Date" has been chosen by a small local production company (Big 10-4 Productions) to be adapted into a short horror movie. As there is already an Irish movie out there with the same name, the name for the film version has had to be changed and will be titled "Speed Kills" instead. Things are progressing nicely with this. Location has been scouted, auditions have been held, casting is imminent. The comic strip will feature art by Kyle Smart, who has agreed to let us use some of the finished panels in the end credits. Mike Marshall (a very nice guy who goes by the name LARF on the 2000ad Forum) and his company eatsleepthink design have kindly put together the title logo which appears above. We held a table quiz last night as a fundraising exercise (although most people involved are offering their services for free, there is still the minor issue of props and set dressing to be addressed) and it was an excellent night with a good turn out and a decent sum raised. Filming is due to occur on August 28th. Should be fun!

I will make further reports on the progress of this little venture as it becomes available! :)

The Ice-Cream Man Cometh...

CHING-CHINGA-LING-LING-LING...
What's that sound?
That's the sound of Issue 7 of Temple APA, which is now online.
Lots of cool strips and artwork within, including the new comic strip myself and Conor Boyle put together.
Click on the link below and have a read - hope you enjoy! :)

Temple APA Issue 7

Call Malone

And here she is, Call Malone, head of Atomic-CALL and my favourite creation. She's been living in my head for over 10 years and all I could ever visualise her as was a Winona Ryder clone... Now I finally have a real image of her, courtesy of Johnnyboy Baptista...and she's perfect. Nice one Johnny! :)

It's a Wonderful World...

"Basking Robin's Wonderful World of Delight" is another new comic strip I've written, this one with art by Conor Boyle.

This 4 pager will form part of my entry in the new issue of Temple APA, a digital showcase for new comic writers/artists.
You will be able to download the issue here:

http://templeapa.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Its not online yet but I will be sure to let you know when it is! :)
In the meantime, here's a panel to whet your appetite!

Promise

She's coming to geeeeeeeeeet you...
Here's a teaser panel from a new story called "Promise", which is due to appear in "Tales of the Supernatural" this Winter. Wonderful art by my partner on this project, Filip Roncone....

Sucked

Heres the complete "Sucked", written by me for inclusion in a "talent search" comics writer Mark Millar started up on his blog, in search of material for a new publication he is putting together. The art is by Elchivo, and is clearly awesome. The letters are by Jim Campbell, and are also awesome. Whether or not this is interesting enough to capture the mighty Mark Millar's attention or not is another matter entirely. But even if it doesn't, I had a blast writing it and Chivo had a blast drawing it so .... its all good, eh!

Sucked teaser

A panel from a little strip called "Sucked!", written by me, art by Elchivo, letters by Jim Campbell. With this strip I've finally been able to take a phobia I've had for a long time and put it to good use, in comic-strip form of course! This will be submitted to Mark Millar's search for new talent and will hopefully find a home someplace else as well. Elchivo definately needs someone to take notice of him soon! And Jim's lettering should be on everything!

Blood Monster

Here's another pics from Atomic-CALL "Reign of Blood", which will appear in Starscape this Winter. This is a "Blood" monster, one of the girls enemies in their first tale.
Awesome art by Shane Collins.

Atomic-CALL's Mandy and Raquel

Here's a couple of character studies of Mandy and Raquel from Atomic-CALL. The girls will appear alongside Angie in the "Reign of Blood" story which will be serialised in Starscape. Art on that will be by Shane Collins but these pics are commissions I got done by JohnnyBoy Baptista, to establish the look of the characters. Very cool stuff!

MANDY S.N.A (Surname Not Applicable)


RAQUEL WISEMAN

The Frog Commander (finished page)

Here's the finished strip. Just a wee bit of froggy fun. :)
I wrote, Ryan Thomason drew and lettered. What WILL the Frog Commander do next???

The Frog Commander

Here's a conceptual drawing of a little frog soldier, as drawn by Ryan Thomason for a one page comic strip I wrote for a competition on Millarworld. Isn't he cute! Will post the full strip as and when it is finished.

Atomic Call Update

The first four illustrations for Reign of Blood are complete and in the can. Here's a sample. Great work by Shane Collins who has made Angie his own and is really bringing her to life. These pics will accompany chapter 1 of the story when it appears in the new Starscape storycomic towards the end of the year.

In other news, I have completed and placed four comic scripts so far this year, all of which should have appeared in print by the end of the year. First up is "Basking Robin's Wonderful World of Delights", art by Conor Boyle, to appear in Temple APA issue 7 in the summer. Then there are two horror stories due out around Halloween time, "Weep" in Back from the Depths' "Hallowscream", and "Promise" (my personal favourite piece) in Down the Tubes' "Tales of the Supernatural". Art on both of these by Filip Roncone. Finally, for the moment, I have written an episode for Paragon's Jikan entitled "Griffins Bounty" featuring my favourite mythological creature (and inspiration for my son's name) the gryphon.

I'm currently at work on an Atomic Call comic strip and a new story called Icarus Dangerous...more on these as they develop!

Cheers!

Angie Cale WIP

Some more WIP of Angie from Atomic-CALL. Shane is finetuning her appearance and injecting some personality. Coming along nicely. Not inked yet as wanted to make some last minute changes. Looking forward to see the finished piece when inked and with the background added.

Escape from New York Comic Adaptation

Escape from New York told in 6 panels
Script by me, art by Conor Boyle

Well chuffed with how this turned out.

I did this as an entry to a competion, the brief being to condense an entire movie into 6 panels, in such a way that the plot of the movie could be understood by somebody who had never seen the movie before.

Seeing as I can't draw for crap I asked for some help on the 2000ad forum and Conor Boyle stepped up to the plate, producing some amazing work. Look at that Ernest Borgnine in panel 3 for instance. Brilliant!

I tried to squeeze as many classic lines from the movie into the script as possible.

Reign of Blood Extract

Mandy S.N.A (Surname Not Applicable) kicks some ass.
Extract from my new atomic-CALL novella "Reign of Blood".
This story will be published in 6 installments in the forthcoming Starscape storycomic.

*****


Secure the cockpit, she’d said.

Take out the bad guys.

Turn the ship around.

No gunfire.

Mandy scoffed as she studied her M.A.T’s digital display, glowing within the grip of her customised mobi-gun. A scan showed there were four targets on the other side of the door she was facing, a nondescript panel that sealed off the cockpit.

"Gimme a challenge, why dontcha," she sneered, pressing a button on the remote in her other hand and detonating the explosive attached to the door.

A muffled ‘thud’, an explosion of smoke, cries from beyond the threshold, the metal panel crashing to the ground... Mandy ignored all these things, tossing aside the bomb remote and rushing into the billowing smog.

One to the left, on the balustrade, four metres, she thought, entering the cockpit and lifting her left arm, letting her coat sleeve fall back to reveal the utility band around her wrist. She bent her hand back to activate her dart-gun and a single bolt spat forth, cutting through the swirling mists and finding its mark, a scream reporting her aim was true. She heard the man crash to the floor as she reached the railing at the edge of the walkway, slammed her free hand down upon it and catapulted herself out into open space.

She was falling then, towards the floor of the cockpit, dropping clear of the smoke and seeking out her other targets.

One at the bottom of the steps, she thought, aiming her gun and squeezing the trigger once, a single bullet slamming into the goon’s forehead and sending him reeling back into the wall.

One right below, she thought, as she came down on the third man, kicking him to the ground and landing astride him. She bent over, snaked an arm around his neck, squeezed hard and twisted.

His neck broke and his body convulsed violently.

And one more dead ahead, she thought, watching the last of the creeps rush her from the front of the cockpit, brandishing a rusty sword above his head.

Her mobi-gun spat once more and he took a bullet in the chest, which plucked him off his feet and punched him back like a battering ram.

Man and sword hit the ground and came to rest, and silence descended on the cockpit.

Mandy holstered her mobi-gun then strolled casually to the ship’s controls.

Secure the cockpit.

Take out the bad guys.

Turn the ship around.

What was the last one?

"Gimme a challenge, why dontcha," she said again, then set to work re-directing the Cruiser...

Angelyna Cale and Redbats

First blog entry!

Realisation of Angie from atomic-CALL.

Art by Shane Collins.

This is Shane's first work on the character, just getting a feel for her...the tail was a bit of artistic license...Angie don't got no tail so tail she going bye-bye! (I'm keeping the stripes on the face though, another contribution by Shane which I didn't originally imagine - but which look great!)

Also, just to give these a home, here are 2 silly comic strips I did about 12 years ago, when I was seemingly all emo and shit. Although that term didnt exist then, so I didn't know it! (Thank God!)