Comics in Kendal

Last year I was privileged to be one of the guests at the Lakes International Comics Art Festival in Kendal and thoroughly enjoyed it. As so many people work in the comics industry, this year has a different guest list. I won't be there but I'd advise anyone who has this weekend free to check it out. The event takes up several locations throughout the town and has a varied choice for everyone interested in comics. You can find out the full details at their official website, which provides a handy PDF of the event programme you can download.
http://www.comicartfestival.com/

As you can see, there's an impressive array of guests from home and abroad, and that's only some of the comic industry greats attending. Although not on that list, Beano artists Laura Howell, Nigel Parkinson, and colourist Nika Nartova will also be in attendance. Brickman will be there too, as Nigel will be selling copies of Brickman Returns on my behalf, so if you haven't bought one yet, see Nigel! (You can read Nigel's glowing review of the comic here:
http://nigelparkinsoncartoons.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/dropped-brick-man.html )

John Freeman will also be there, and he recently interviewed some of the guests for his Down the Tubes blog. Go to the site here and scroll down for Comic Creator Interviews.
http://downthetubes.net/ 

My best wishes to everyone attending the festival and to the organizers. Have a great weekend!

Beano Christmas Special 2015

Cover by Nigel Parkinson.

Christmas comes early this week with The Beano Christmas Special in the shops now! This extra edition is 68 pages full of strips and puzzles, plus a sheet of 30 free stickers inside. 

I haven't seen it myself yet but I'm reliably informed it's out. You can also buy it by post directly from the D.C. Thomson shop here:
https://shop.beano.com/annuals/beano-christmas-special-2015.html 

2016 Annual cover previews

D.C. Thomson have now released the cover images for The Dandy Annual and The Beano Annual dated 2016, which will be published soon. Both covers are drawn by Nigel Parkinson. 

You can pre-order the books at the D.C. Thomson website here:
https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/our-brands/beano-shop/books/pre-order-double-trouble-pack.html

Thanks to Beano fan 'Beanomaster1' for the heads up on Comics UK.  

New Dennis the Menace book

Diversity is the key in the British comics industry today. Solely relying on the old 'business model' (hate that term) of traditional comics in newsagents isn't enough. Using the characters in other formats is a good way to reach more readers, whether it be graphic novels, digital comics, or whatever. 

Case in point, the new Dennis the Menace and Gnasher book The Golden Catapult by Cavan Scott and Nigel Parkinson. On his blog, Cavan says "The Golden Catapult is a bit different. It’s part novel, part comic, part puzzle, and stars loads of Beanotown favourites including Dennis, Minnie the Minx, Roger the Dodger, Calamity James and the Bash Street Kids".

The book is to be published by Puffin on 1st October and they describe it as:
"STONKING STORY! COOL COMICS! AWESOME ACTIVITIES!

When Dennis, Gnasher and the rest of the infamous Menace Squad find out about a rare and legendary artifact, they set off on an amazing adventure to track it down. Only the most menacey Menace will get to it first!

Read the story and complete the puzzles to find out who will reach . . . THE GOLDEN CATAPULT!"

For more info keep an eye on the blogs of writer Cavan Scott and artist Nigel Parkinson. 

Here comes Summer!

Summer Specials for both The Dandy and The Beano should be arriving in the shops in June, or you could order them directly from the publisher DC Thomson. (Update: Available around June 16th.) 

Yes, although The Dandy sadly ended as a weekly in 2012 it still continues as a Summer Special and an Annual. I'm not sure how much of The Dandy Summer Special 2015 is new or how much is classic reprint, but I know some of its contents are new. (Nothing by me in there I'm afraid.)

According to the cover blurb, The Beano Summer Activity Special contains "All New Beanotown Adventures", but I haven't seen either Special yet so I don't have a clue as to the contents. Covers for both issues are by Nigel Parkinson.

I presume that, as with last year's editions, both publications will be in the squarebound 'bookazine' format with card covers. 

Summer has well and truly arrived!

D.C. Thomson have moved into merchandise quite a bit in recent years, with various items available using their comic brands. Amongst the items you can now buy are a Dennis the Menace long-sleeved stripey T-shirt, a box of 100 Beano postcards, and T-shirts featuring covers from Jackie comics magazine. Check out the DC Thomson Shop for more information.  

All images in this post are Copyright © D.C. Thomson and Co. Ltd.

Menacing revelation

Here's a story ripped from today's headlines; the current Dennis the Menace is the son of the 1980s version! It's been mooted in the comic before but this week's Beano makes it official with a story by Nigel Auchterlounie, drawn by Nigel Parkinson. 

Older readers who say "It's not the Dennis the Menace I grew up with" didn't know how right they were! I'm sure they'll be dancing in the streets tonight now their comment has been justified. Although they'd be best to hold fire on their usual follow up "He's not even allowed to use a catapult these days" considering the cover of this week's Beano....

For the full background story see the Wired website here:

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-05/01/dennis-the-menace-father-the-beano

Nigel Parkinson in The Guardian

It's good when newspapers do a respectful article on comics, and double-good when it's an interview with a humour artist. (We sometimes get left behind when the media big up 'graphic novels'.) Today The Guardian published an interview with Nigel Parkinson who has been drawing top strips for The Beano (and the late lamented Dandy) for years. Read what he had to say here:
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/mar/26/how-do-i-become-a-cartoonist

This week's Beano is a Comic Relief special

Press release from DC Thomson....
The Beano gets a red and gold makeover for Red Nose Day

09 March 2015 09:00

The Beano celebrates Red Nose Day with a red and gold pop art inspired cover. Unlike any previous covers, it features Dennis the Menace’s many faces (and noses) to encourage readers to support Red Nose Day’s ‘make your face funny for money’ campaign. The special issue of The Beano goes on sale Wednesday 11th March 2015.

The cover is the creation of Dennis the Menace illustrator Nigel Parkinson, and is inspired by an illustration from a vintage Beano Annual. To celebrate the special issue, the cover also features a rarely-used gold metallic ink. The ink is used by the title to mark significant occasions, and has only been used once before, to celebrate Jessica Ennis-Hill winning Gold at the 2012 Olympics.



In the Red Nose Day Special, Red Nose Day comes to Bash Street School. Competition hots up as Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx and the Bash Street Kids all enter the funny face contest. Determined to win at all costs, mischievous troublemaker Dennis the Menace enlists the help of his dog, Gnasher, to scare Teacher off letting anyone else win. The funny face competition takes a number of turns, including Bananaman aka Little Eric’s secret identity almost being revealed, Lord Snooty being disqualified for cheating (shock horror) and Plug finally winning the ‘Funniest Face of Bash Street School’ award – despite thinking it was a beauty contest!



The Beano Editor Craig Graham said, “This week’s special issue sees The Beano celebrating all things Red Nose Day. We want to encourage our readers to get involved with the ‘make your face funny for money’ campaign, and Dennis and the gang show them how to do just that, albeit in the most mischievous way possible.

“We also hope that fans of the comic will like the cover we’ve created. It’s based on some beautiful classic artwork from a vintage Beano Annual and we thought it perfect for this occasion; the number of frames fits the number of Red Nose Day noses perfectly – it was clearly meant to be!”



The special Red Nose Day issue of The Beano goes on sale Wednesday 11th March 2015. Red Nose Day returns on Friday 13th March, and this year the public have been asked to ‘make your face funny for money’. For more information on Red Nose Day, go to www.rednoseday.com.

Beano best seller

Cover by Nigel Parkinson.

I was pleased to hear that The Beano Annual was the best selling annual for Christmas, beating its nearest rivals with 50% more sales.

The Dandy Annual did well too, achieving the number nine spot with 18% higher sales than the previous year.

John Freeman has the details and you can read more about it on his long running Down the Tubes website of British comics:
http://downthetubes.net/?p=19301 

Christmas Comics: The DANDY (1998)

Throughout its 75 year run The Dandy was a top class comic, and the Christmas issue of 1998 was no exception. A fantastic front cover by Keith Robson served as a perfect taster for an excellent edition. 

There was so much good material in this issue that it wasn't easy narrowing it down to a few to show here but here we go, starting with an Owen Goal page by Nigel Parkinson and a really nicely designed festive logo...

On page 10, Beryl the Peril by Robert Nixon, who excelled at Christmas scenes. Just look at that final panel, crammed with festive iconography...

Next, The Smasher drawn by Brian Walker. Just about as Christmas as it gets. Excellent stuff.

This issue had a number of special one-off strips, such as The Night Before Christmas by Ken Harrison...

There were three pages of jokes in this issue under the title Tis the Season to be Jolly, all by different illustrators. This one was by veteran artist Ken Hunter...

Finally, a text story, Bedtime Tales by Bradley Bedsock. Actually it was illustrated by Dave Sutherland...

Another Christmas treat soon. Which year will the Blimey-Timey Machine choose next? 

FOOTBALL GALAXY kicks off!

A new comic magazine appeared on the shelves a few weeks ago, - Football Galaxy, a 40 page glossy all-colour publication for £3.99. It's bagged with gifts, as these mags usually are now, but amongst its features you'll find nine pages of brand new comic strips. 

All the strips are by Nigel Parkinson (with some scripts by Paul Palmer) and take place 'far away in time and space', centering around a football team on another planet. Here you'll meet cyborg soccer star Billy Basher...

...the fans of Space Kop...

...Old-time intergalactic groundsman Pop...

...and others including a tentacled alien in a sheepskin coat. The rest of the magazine is taken up with football features such as this...

The tone of the mag is very lighthearted and irreverent in the vein of Toxic and Mega, although there are also informative features on today's footie stars for the young fan.

Football Galaxy is published by Shubrook Bros. Media LLP, and I think the frequency is every three weeks. Issue 2 is in the shops now.

Website: http://www.footballgalaxy.co.uk/  

Nigel Parkinson's blog: 

http://nigelparkinsoncartoons.blogspot.co.uk/

Bonfire Beano, plus Daily Mirror freebies!

If you thought that the traditional 'fireworks issue' of children's comics was a thing of the past, check out the latest issue of The Beano. It features a fireworks-themed Minnie the Minx story drawn by Nigel Parkinson, and a great bonfire cover by him too. In the shops now!

More Beano news. If you hop over to the Daily Mirror website you can download a free digital Dennis the Menace comic worth £1.49 compatible with iOS or Android devices. The offer runs until Saturday November 13th. Full info here: 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/free-beano-digital-comic-download-4532214

Speaking of that paper, this coming Saturday (November 1st) the Daily Mirror will contain a free special promotional edition of The Beano containing many of the regular strips in new stories. Never Be Without A Beano!   

Christmas comes early to Beanotown!

The Summer Specials are still in the shops but now there's also The Beano Christmas Special No.1 alongside them! The 64 page squarebound comic features a mixture of brand new material and reprint, plus various puzzles and activity features. It also contains a sheet of 21 free stickers. 

All the main Beano characters are included and the special kicks off with a new, nice looking six-page Dennis the Menace story illustrated by Nigel Parkinson...

I drew a couple of festive activity pages for the comic too. One of which is Who Ate All the Mince Pies?...

All the reprints are relatively contemporary; Tom Paterson Minnie the Minx and suchlike. No classic 1950s-70s material. This is a bright, fun, stocking stuffer, not a trip down memory lane. Well worth it though for Beano fans! The Beano Christmas Special 2014 is out now, priced £4.99. 

Six new strips arrive in The Beano

Cover by Nigel Parkinson.

 A few years ago The Beano came under criticism from some readers on forums for featuring a few pages that were reprint, and for frequently being polybagged with "plastic tat" (or gifts as they're known). Some of the criticism was valid, although in fairness editors had to work within a budget (hence the reprints) and the bagged gifts were a logical way to compete with rival publications (which are always bagged). 

Times change, and in recent years The Beano has implemented some considerable improvements. The reprints are all gone and the content is now 100% new material. Bagged gifts have been a rarity the last couple of years, with only the Christmas issue and one recent issue carrying gifts in the last several months. There's also been a shakeup of content, with mini-strips helping to increase the number of characters in each issue, and relatively new artists joining established creators.

This week, The Beano adds six new strips (four minis, two half pagers) which are mostly revamps of some old favourites. Now we have Bea-Beware by Nigel Parkinson, Constable Caveman and Emlyn the Gremlin by Andy Fanton, Tom, Dick and Sally by Steve Beckett, Pun Direction by Stu Munro, and Lord Snooty by me.

There's a good range of differing humour styles in the comic these days, including Nigel Parkinson's Dennis the Menace, Wilbur Dawbarn's Billy Whizz, Alan Ryan's Number 13, Diego Periera's Pieface, Hunt Emerson's Little Plum and Steve Waller's Gwyneth's Book of Records. It's all good stuff.  

If you haven't read The Beano in a while (or, horror of horrors, you've never read it) the current issue would be a great starting point. Issue No.3737 is in the shops now, and at £2.00 for 36 full colour pages is still the cheapest comic on the shelves.