Jim Connolly

'The Man Of Steel City' - New Print!!!

2012-01-27T15:00:00.002Z

It's been way too long since I've put out a Sheffield print and the latest features a spoof of the world's greatest hero, tweaking his nickname to make him a Steel City local. He can be seen racing down the dogs, sparring with a supertram, leaping the arts tower and fighting for sheff's rich cultural history. Going 'faster than a speeding whippet!', as they say. Available as Open Edition or Premium Limited Edition art prints.

Watch the promo vid by Northshot with music from the VCs and a sultry voiceover from my band-mate James (Sean Bean couldn't make it).

View the Video

Visit my Shop

Billboard

2012-01-02T12:12:00.004Z

Thanks to my pal Stevey for spotting this at Cineworld and sending me a piccy.Happy new year to everyone!

New print on it's way...

2011-12-21T17:18:00.003Z

I've been a pretty busy man this year and sadly missed the boat on a christmas print release. I'm glad to report that the new sheff print is well underway and due out (touch wood) by the end of Jan 2012. I've wanted to do an unashamed superhero print since the start and decided now is the time. Merry Christmas and thanks to all those who supported me this year!!!

Sheffield College Prospectus

2011-12-09T19:21:00.002Z

Earlier in the year I worked on the sheff college prospectus for the new academic year, having done it for the previous year along with some other mural work around the college. As previously it was a fun job, this time with a Heroic vibe down the 'Heroes' and 'Smallville' paths.

I've been quiet about my sheff prints since summer but the good news is that I'll be publishing the 7th print in a matter of weeks, with at least 2 more to follow in the first half of next year. I've been itching to get the set completed and on a wall and it's my current priority! More info very soon...

Beartown Wedding

2011-12-09T19:11:00.002Z

Crikey I've really been neglecting my Blog this year. I've been working in-house at Matmi for a few months which was a fun gig which has kept me very busy. Another cause of my lack of free time was that I married my lovely lady Melissa after nearly 8 fun years together. We tied the knot in Melissa's home town of Congleton which has a link to bears having once sold the town bible to buy a fighting bear. We went with the bear theme and had a superb day!

Tramlines

2011-07-20T16:05:00.002+01:00

The talented Nat Johnson kindly asked the Friends of Batman to take the stage this sunday as part of the free Tramlines festival in Sheff. We're on at 4pm-ish. It's been nearly 2 years since we gigged and we intend to have fun. Most of our songs are very rude just to warn you.

The Beat is The Law - Mixtape 1

2011-07-05T12:27:00.003+01:00

I recently did a small job to help promote the Eve Wood documentary 'The Beat is The Law'. I worked with Rob Planisher and Ralph Razor to create a downloadable mixtape curated by the latter gent.

'The Beat is The Law' is all about Sheff's rich muscial history and the social context surrounding it.
Check out more info about the mixtape here.

Tramlines

2011-05-27T13:19:00.004+01:00

I'm pretty chuffed to have been asked by Nat Johnson to play this years Tramlines on sunday 24th July at the Redhouse, aka the coolest gig venue in town. I'll be playing it as myself rather than as a Friends of Batman gig this time, but there will still be more FOB gigs in the future and the chaps will be joining me for a few cameos during the set. I'm on at about 4pm.

More info here.

Apocalyptic Sheffield Workshop

2011-05-27T11:47:00.004+01:00

As part of the John Martin exhibition planned at the Millenium Gallery, Sheffield I will be leading a one-day workshop in which I'll be helping those who come to create an apocalyptic vision of Sheffield in pencil, ink or acrylics.

The workshop takes place on Sunday 17th July.

Those who sign up will also get the chance to see the superb apocalyptic visions of John Martin to get some inspiration.

Places are limited and available here.

A successful escape!

2011-05-25T12:57:00.003+01:00

I'm happy to report that my stash of 'Escape' is now sold out! If anyone still wants one then West-End Picture Framing (on Sharrowvale Rd), The Old Sweetshop and APG may have a couple left.

I've started planning the next Sheff print which I'm hoping to launch on the Tramlines weekend in July if all goes well. More info coming soon...

Davey Jones's Kitchen

2011-05-04T20:16:00.004+01:00

My old pal Dave Jones kindly sent me this pic of some of my prints on his kitchen wall. Dave has bought the whole set so far so hats off to Dave and his fine lady Helen!!! I'm tempted to share a cr4p gag about Lincoln cathedral that me, Dave and his bro Tom have been repeating since we were teens but I'll spare you all...

Attack on Steel City

2011-04-22T11:30:00.006+01:00

My new Sheff-themed print is out now! It's a bookend to the 'Terror at Tinsley Towers' print in that the UFOs return to finish the job. The main focus is local football rivalry, which I've tackled in the style of a Godzilla-esque monster battle. Also, the seeds of doom have been laid at the Winter Gardens and the Surrey St Policebox has suddenly become activated!!!

Check out the ace trailer by Kieran Collins of Northshot: kieran@northshot.co.uk
Music by the Ape Drape Escape

View Trailer

Buy print

Coming soon...

2011-03-22T20:34:00.004Z

My first print for 2011 is shaping up nicely and due out in a few weeks time. Once again this will be strictly limited to 100 copies only so keep 'em peeled!!! More info soon...

Toast Magazine interview

2011-02-02T19:54:00.002Z

A kind fella I know called Hal Walker was good enough to interview me for Toast Magazine about the 'Steel City Heroes' series of prints I've been doing. The mag is available around the mean streets of Sheff or should be online soon-ish I'd imagine at their site.

Massive thanks to Hal and the other Toastmasters!!!

Mrs Cavazza

2011-01-05T17:14:00.007Z

2010 came to a fun conclusion with this commissioned piece for my friend Tom. It features Tom's wife and was inspired by the italian comic-book character Dylan Dog, particularly issue 1 which is seen below. The italian title at the bottom says 'Dawn of the Dead Students' I believe. Cheers to Tom for throwing me a cool job!!!

Sharkman character concept

2011-01-05T10:13:00.005Z

My writer friend Marcus commissioned me to whip up some designs for a potential sharkman monster for a project he's been working on. I must admit this was some of the most fun I've had since I first picked up a pencil as a kid. The style is more realistic than my comic-book stuff (drawn in pencil with photoshop colours) and I was looking back at some Ralph McQuarrie Cantina scene concepts when I tackled it.

BBC Radio Sheffield interview

2010-12-16T09:01:00.004Z

Stephanie at BBC Radio Sheffield was good enough to set me up with an interview with Howard Pressman yesterday afternoon to promote my new Sheff print 'Escape From The Moor'. I'm not the world's greatest public speaker but had a good time and was pleased that Howard seemed genuinely into my stuff. Stephanie also updated a previous article she wrote when I put out Steel Finger which can be found below. Big thanks to Steph for all her help and Howard for a fun interview!!!

Listen to the show (I'm on from about 1:10.45)

Read Stephanie's article

The article in pictures

Escape From The Moor

2010-12-09T15:03:00.009Z

Here's a brand new print about Sheffield, more specifically the mid-regeneration shopping area known as 'the Moor'. My (mild) exaggeration of it's current state sees it become a wasteland of post-apocalyptic poundshops over-run with unruly OAPs (with a cult 80s film twist).

Limited Edition of 100 copies only
A3 quality digital print on 280 gsm
All signed and numbered.
When they are gone, they are gone...

I've wheeled in the big guns to promote it in the form of Kieran Collins who has made me the superb trailer below. Drop him a line if you want his vid skills to enhance your own work! The great soundtrack is by Pygmy Globetrotters who are available to play weddings and riots (preferably riots). Cheers lads!

Watch the trailer

Buy the print

News

2010-12-07T18:01:00.003Z

Hi there,
well the bad news is that the 6 print series with Archipelago has come to an early end. The good news however is that 'Escape From the Moor' is at the printers now and will be available online by the weekend. More details and trailer (woohoo) to come but for now here's a sneaky peak...

Sheffield Prints BACK IN STOCK!!!

2010-10-18T15:52:00.002+01:00

Digital versions of my 4 Sheffield prints are back in the shop now at a tenner each unframed. Booya!

My shop

Sheffield College Murals

2010-09-21T20:09:00.005+01:00

Recently I was working on some murals to brighten up the walls of Sheffield College's shiney new City Campus on Granville Road.

I did a window image...

An image for the main reception...

...and an image to brighten up the atrium wall.

Cheers to my old pal James for putting a good word in!!!

Space Pirate Emperor

2010-09-02T23:54:00.003+01:00

If you read about the Iron Maiden job I did below then you'll know I did some cut-scene illustrations for their latest viral game as part of their 'Final Frontier' album launch.

I was asked by developers Matmi to draw a nemesis for Eddie in the form of a Space Pirate Emperor. I decided that he needed to look hard enough to f*ck with the Edd-meister so went for a cross between a Sith Lord and a death metal Ming the Merciless, whilst also referencing Matmi's cool spaceship designs as a guide to his outfit etc.

It's not everday I get asked to design a character who will kidnap Maiden's drummer and give Eddie the finger so he was mucho fun to work on. Here's one for the salty space dogs!

Sheffield College Prospectus

2010-09-02T23:35:00.005+01:00

Earlier in the year Sheffield College's Publicity Dept hired me to do some illustrations for their new prospectus. It seems to be on their website now so I think I'm okay to post these snippets.

After school I did a foundation year at Sheff's Norton College (before heading off to Mancland) so it was a good feeling to get this work from a place I had good times at as a student.

I've just nailed a bunch of mural work for the impressive new and swanky City College building which will be up very soon I'm told. Massive thanks to my old pal James Ape for bigging me up and to Julie and all at Publicity for throwing me some fun work!

Carbon Partners

2010-08-28T13:52:00.006+01:00

Earlier this year I did a job for Decsy who deal with education for world change. I designed a logo and created an animation for a new site about global inequality in-terms of compared carbon footprints in the UK and Africa.

The style is a bit more organic and serious looking than my usual freelance work but it was nice to try something a bit different for a worthy cause. Check the animation out on the website here.

Iron Maiden: The Final Frontier album launch game

2010-07-31T14:08:00.010+01:00

A badass Macclesfield based games co called Matmi just threw me my biggest bone to date. I got a call out of the blue when hiking up some welsh cliffs asking if I wanted to draw Eddie in some comic-book style cutscenes for a Maiden viral game. Needless to say it didn't take much time to decide what to do. Play the kick-ass first mission here. A second one is available when you buy the album.

Check out Matmi's impressive portfolio which includes a similar game for the fab new Gorillaz album. Thanks to Matt Eagles for passing on my card to Matmi, Geoff and Stewart at Matmi and also to Guy for his help managing my other commitments.

In other great news I got engaged to my good lady Melissa :)

Blood from a stone

2010-06-25T22:56:00.005+01:00

Here's me as an easter island head, or rather a just a pic of an easter island head as they look like me anyway. Not the most exciting post but more to come soon, along with the new Sheffield print.

I'll be back...

2010-06-07T19:43:00.002+01:00

I've not been posting for a while mainly as I've been really busy and tied up. When I get a thumbs up to post some illustration commissions I'm working on they've go up here like a shot. I've also got a small animation job to show off soonish.

I used to do the odd poster job for Sheff uni union via a fella called Nick Simcock a few years back. Nick is now a honcho at Leed's 'Dead Young Records' who are doing some interesting stuff you should check out. He was good enough to sell some of my wares and plug my work in this Meadowhell shot video when he ran a temporary vintage shop last week in said venue. Nice one Nick!

Robin Beck (whose work is also in the vid) is showing off some of his work in a show kicking off this thurs at Archipelago. Details here.

Finally print 5 of 'Steel City Heroes' will be done as soon as I've completed a chunk of illustration work. It's titled 'Escape from the Moor' and features a bit of biting satire about the current state of the Moor in sheffield in a parody of the 80s Kurt Russell classic.

BBC Radio Sheffield interview

2010-04-19T15:05:00.004+01:00

I spoke to Stephanie Barnard at BBC Radio Sheffield last week and she's just published a very nice article all about my recent work. Check it out here. Top marks to Stephanie!!!

Today I also went in to chat live to Rony Robinson which, despite my initial nerves, turned out to be a fun experience as he's a very easy-going chap. To hear me being a bumbling fool on air click here. I'm on from about 1:07 into the show.

It should on the site until 26th april.

Johnny Hicklenton RIP

2010-03-31T00:29:00.002+01:00

'Anjan's Head on Fire'
Sketch by Johnny Hicklenton.

I just heard that the artist Johnny Hicklenton died earlier this month. I met him at the Sheffield Doc Fest a couple of years back when me and my illustrator buddy Anjan gatecrashed a graphic novel discussion event. Johnny was visiting sheffield to premier his documentary flick 'Here's Johnny' aimed at raising awareness of multiple sclerosis which he had suffered from for many years. He was a likabley irreverant chap who seemed pretty chuffed I'd brought along a 2000ad special featuring 'Pandora', a character he'd based on his partner. He was so grateful he wanted to draw me a sketch so I asked him for a picture of Anjan with his head on fire - he even threw in Dredd for good measure!

Whenever I think of a truelly twisted, evil and nasty as fuck comic style I'm unable to imagine anything more horrificly pleasing than Hicklenton's. I'm glad I got to shake his hand and tell him so.

Documentary info here.

Volcanoes EP Launch

2010-03-31T00:13:00.003+01:00

Volcanoes will be launching the EP I drew the cover for at the end of April in Sheffield. Hard copies are limited edition and on sale at the gig. The tracks are available to download from the 26th and the hardcopy is available to pre-order at their shop.

Food Glorious Food!

2010-03-22T11:07:00.006Z

Weston Park Museum is running an exhibition all about food and I was very happy to see my work used as part of the Henderson's Relish cabinet and stall. I used to attend many art workshops at Weston Park when I was a kid so it'll always have a special place in my heart. For info on the show check the link out here.

Whilst I was there I also spotted an image I worked on a couple of years back for Weston Park for which I took lots of drawing by kids about alien eco systems and made an alien world out of them. Cheers to Laura T and Teresa for getting me involved!!!

All digital prints are back on sale now!

2010-03-09T21:24:00.004Z

I've now got a respectable batch of digitals again burning a hole in my studio floor. This includes the brand new Steel Finger prints which are going fast! My apologies to anyone that has been waiting for them.
Jim

Star Wars Cover Interview

2010-03-04T23:37:00.003Z

My old pal James McVeigh asked me for some guff to back-up my cover design for Exposed this month. They gave me a respectable chunk which has inflated my ego somewhat this week.
I managed to name-check Cam Kennedy who drew the breathtaking Star Wars 'Dark Empire' series in the 90s. James' whole article is well worth checking out as following my lame ass he's got C3P0 himself in conversation. Mwwaahhh (chewie howl)

Volcanoes - EP inlays

2010-03-03T10:43:00.008Z

Here's the inlays for the Volcanoes EP sleeve. The band asked for these comic-book interpretations of themselves to go with the front cover. I liked that Shirles ended up looking a bit like Venger from Dungeons and Dragons.
The band are playing 3 mini launch gigs for the murals they commissioned this saturday. This starts at 8pm in West street live, 8:40pm in the Grapes (where my mural is) and culminates at the Harley with a gig at 9:30ish I believe. I'll be out to mark the end of a fun job and my first sleeve in quite a while. Vive Volcanoes!

Star Wars - Exposed Magazine Cover

2010-03-02T11:03:00.003Z

Some kind of audio/visual live Star Wars show has come to Sheffield and Exposed asked me to take a stab at the cover design. I went for a simple Vader & Solo design. I originally intended to ram it full of characters but they started to look crammed in after I'd drawn these two so I decided to just stick a few more Star Wars refs here and there instead. I thought it'd be a bit too obvious to just fill the background with a black space scene and thought vader would look good slapped on a white background. This isn't the exact cover but you get the idea...

Cheers to James McVeigh and Carl Reid.

Volcanoes mural @ the Grapes, Sheffield

2010-02-19T11:36:00.004Z

Last night I took the mural to The Grapes and hung it with Kev from Volcanoes. It was actually quite a laugh trying to hang it in the narrow corridor next to the bogs whilst various toilet users clambered by, including some middle aged boozey joiners who offered us their unasked for opinions on putting in screws ;)

The corridor stank of stale piss which was quite appropriate for the 'shit machine' theme of the mural. It's been hard to get a really good photo of it so head down and check it out if you live nearby. I played my first gig at the Grapes (and most of the gigs I've played since hehe) so it was nice to soil their walls with my scribbles.

Volcanoes - Sugar and Snarls EP

2010-02-17T14:17:00.006Z

Rising stars of the UK indie circuit Volcanoes (cool name I reckon) commissioned me to design their latest EP cover 'Sugar and Snarls', which will be available to buy and download in the near future. I've been listening to it whilst working and it's really got my toes tapping so check it out! They asked for this crazy scene of a lethal pin-up Medusa, zombie window attack and a dissident evil games console. I'm working on the inlays now I'll post soon.

They also commissioned this mural for the Grapes in Sheffield. I've been unable to get a photo that properly shows it off yet (as I need a bit strong man to help me carry it somewhere with better lighting) but here's a taster. The prize for the most bizarre thing I was ever asked to draw goes to Volcanoes for this shit powered epic piece of toilet action/adventure. I put a Sumatran Rat Monkey in the image as it just felt right.
Top marks lads!

More Volcanoes murals by other artists here.

Steel Finger

2010-02-08T02:54:00.007Z

This print is now available as a limited edition screenprint via my site or as a cheaper A3(approx) digital print available for £10 unframed from my shop. It was made in collaberation with the Archipelago Press Co Sheffield.

It's been a while since I put out a print for the 'Steel City Heroes' project and I wanted to enter the second half of the madness guns blazing. Print 4 is a parody of the classic Bond poster showing Sheffield as the backdrop in an action homage to our city's fine landmarks.

The initial inspiration came from an exhibition of Bond paperback covers I saw in Edinburgh a couple of years ago called 'Bond Bound', where I realised that any suave guy in a tux with a gun could potentially look alot like Bond without breaching copyright shennanigans.

I also did a Bond sketch card (for a chap I've mentioned before called Wynn Ryder) which got my cogs turning along with Wynn's very cool Bond collage. He's done loads of film related collages that are worth checking out aswell.

Steel Finger sketch

2010-02-02T20:56:00.004Z

I'm just waiting on sign-off of print 4 of the sheffield series
so have posted the sketch for it above for now. It's a parody
of the classic Bond poster as if 007 has traded Paris, Cairo and
Venice for the far superior charm of the Steel City. It'll be
hitting the street very very soon.

Moronoid Blog

2009-12-29T19:33:00.002Z

Get yourself over to the Moronoid Blog to keep up with what's
happening in that aspect of things.

Desq Xmas

2009-12-19T13:29:00.004Z

I worked on the 2009 Desq Xmas game which is now online
via facebook or just online here. Fair play to Nancy for some
great Flash skills.
We went for quite a loose textured style on it and the characters
at the end are all 1 minute scribbles. This lad is my personal fave.
Have a go and see who you are most like...

2010

2009-12-10T23:13:00.004Z

I'm working on Print 4 of the Sheffield-themed series which
will be done realistically for around the end of jan/start of feb.
The prints have been well received so this is a pretty exciting
time for me. Check out and buy the current prints here.

Also on the cards for next year is a comic project for an urban
dance group and a potential EP cover design for some talented
young chaps.

It's been a bit of a sporadic year of change and I'm looking forward
to a few mince pies and my Nirvana: Live at Reading '92 dvd.
Merry xmas.

NHS Magazine

2009-12-10T23:03:00.004Z

Thanks to my friend Debs I unexpectedly won a commission
to illustrate a cover for this magazine for the NHS Procurement
Alliance. This is my first commissioned magazine cover and
features Mark Britnell who's a bit of a mover and shaker in the
world of health service politics it seems.

Royalstock T-shirt

2009-12-10T22:35:00.002Z

Here's the finished T-shirt I designed for Royalstock which is
available to buy online or in places like the Forum or the old
sweetshop.
There's an assortment of badass looking designs from various
other talented designers on the site. I'm pretty tempted by the
Tom Newell t-shirt - a fella whose work keeps catching my
eye of late.
I'm really flattered to be involved in this series of Tees.

Exposed preview Moronoid

2009-12-03T21:00:00.003Z

Carl at Exposed Magazine gave Moronoid this very nice
write-up which is greatly received. Nice one bud. The comic
is now in Rare and Racy or online here.

Online Shop

2009-12-01T15:32:00.004Z

Hello again. I've just done a bit of work on my site and built
an online shop. I'm selling digital versions of my Sheff posters
on it but screenprints are also available from me by emailing
me at my portfolio site. I'm also selling selling copies of
'Moronoid', the comic me and Anjan have just published.

Visit the SHOP

Here's a taster poster Anjan cobbled together for Leeds to
advertise Moronoid. It's actually £2 to buy it online sorry...

Roy Deadman

2009-11-17T15:56:00.008Z

This is the 5 page pitch I reworked into a 2 pager for Moronoid.
Roy Deadman is a mild-mannered postman who discovers he
will one day end the world (and possible the universe). His cat is
based on a mysterious cat called Ninja who came to visit us when
we briefly lived in Buxton.
Not sure what the future holds for Roy but here he is...

NYC Horror Film Festival

2009-10-28T21:10:00.003Z

Fresh from my Celluloid Screams work in Sheffield I wrote
to a few other horror fests and was pretty chuffed to get
this commission from Michael Heine of the NYC Horror
Film Festival. It seemed appropriate to watch Ghostbusters
in celebration!!!
Their current website logo is pretty unbeatable so I took the
same concept and gave it my own slant. Hoping to bag more
Horror Fest work in the future fingers crossed!!!

Celluloid Screaming

2009-10-26T13:30:00.003Z

Just had an enjoyable weekend at the Showroom getting my
full value for money out of the free pass Rob&Margot threw
in ontop of the payment (cheers guys!)

I thought I was pretty up on the horror scene but I saw plenty
of great flicks I'd never heard about. 'Paranormal Activity' had
the biggest impact on me and was in all honesty the scariest film
experience I've had since I was about 12. 'I Sell The Dead' and
'the Burning' were also pretty enjoyable, along with a nice
selection of short films nicely mixed up with the main events.

It was great to be involved and hoping they'll call upon me again
in the future. Working on a small job for another horror fest I'll
post this week.

Royal Stock T-shirt design

2009-10-19T18:06:00.005+01:00

I did a t-shirt design recently for Royalstock, run by
a guy called Lord Bunn whose work I've often admired
from afar. He's gathered together a bunch of Sheff
-based talent and given us a free reign on a tee.

I drew this when my ear problem had totally floored
me and think in retrospect it comes across in this distressed
looking chaps face.

I'll post a pic of the actual t-shirt when it's printed and
available to buy...

Scream from the rooftops

2009-10-17T23:15:00.004+01:00

The Showroom have gone all out to get the word out about
the upcoming Sheff Horror Fest I recently did some work
for, including putting up some posters and banners in the
Showy itself. They're only slightly outgunned by the no
-fucking- about 'Hallam Booze' shop sign.

As part of it I also talked to a nice lady called Rachael
Clegg from the Sheff Star whom I spoke to about my recent
stuff over a crackly phone line.

The Interview

Bond Pixels

2009-10-05T03:32:00.002+01:00

Early today at BICs I bumped into Wynn Ryder who flattered me
quite severely by asking for a sketch of James Bond for a very cool
looking collection of mini Bond images by people he likes, most
notably a Neil Adams sketch of Connery.

The above picture isn't what I drew today but by some weird twist of
fate I just stumbled upon it from some old work I did years ago when
I had a few days designing images for old school mobile phones.
To credit myself I do like this one although I'll admit that to me Bond
was always about the Rodge.

BICS - I fought the Law

2009-10-05T02:28:00.004+01:00

Just back from a brilliant weekend at the Birmingham Expo
where I managed to retain my professional attitude and
business-like cool at all times.
We managed to shift some copies of Moronoid which felt good
so we celebrated in style on saturday night, stumbling upon
the coolest and quirkiest little club/bar I've been in in years
which no doubt we'll never find again.
I definately want to do more of this sort of thing and keep
Moronoid cooking away for a few years (touch wood).

Birmingham International Comics Show

2009-09-29T11:12:00.006+01:00

This saturday myself and Anjan are driving down to Birmingham
to flog 'Moronoid' at the Comics Expo. We went last year as a sort
of reconaissance so it should be interesting to be on the other side
of the table this time.

I'm not exactly Mr Charisma but it's cool meeting other creative
types and seeing what's going on. I'll post some pics up here soon.

Kill or Cure

2009-09-18T23:45:00.006+01:00

A hard copy of Moronoid isn't far away now. We'll be setting up
a Blog specifically for the comic but for now here's a 3-pager I
did for Issue 1 with scribe Marcus Daley of the Electric Soup Kitchen
and Roomy Radio.
It features a metalhead called Ian who, on his way to work, fails to
notice the obliteration of the planet by belligerent alien forces.
I love the simple punch in the face-ness of Future Shocks and
asked for something in that vein and Marcus really delivered.

My girlfriend's brother Steve was kind enough to pose as Ian for
me and threw himself into it big style. 100% Utah!!!

Moronoid Cover

2009-09-15T02:48:00.003+01:00

I finally got the chance to nail my version of the cover for
'Moronoid', the comic I'm publishing with Anjan Sarkar,
with contributions from irish comics badass Phil Barrett
and pro scribe and podcast misfit Marcus Daley.

Originally, I intended to draw my own versions of the other
guy's preview bubble images but I realised that it would
look loads cooler to work in their original pics instead.
I always loved this kind of slightly dated preview approach.

For the central character I used a character called Ian from
the story I did with Marcus (see first page below). We'll be
selling these soon at the Birmingham Comics Expo and
Thought Bubble in Leeds. We'll also get them into a few
shops and online once we've got our shit together. They'll be
cheap to buy as we'd rather shift them and do another next
year.

Rightio I'm going to fall asleep in a corner somewhere...

New Young Pony Club DJs @ Fitzwilliam College

2009-09-10T22:23:00.003+01:00

Here's a new commission for Soundcheck, a night
in Fitzwilliam College Cambridge. A fine young fellow
called Harry spotted my Sheff prints and got me on
the case for this. Originally Phil Jupitus was meant to
be DJing but was double booked ('Buzzcocks' was always
about Mark Lamarr anyway in my book - mutter mutter).

New Young Pony Club are the kind of band I would have
known about and loved a few years ago but now I'm a
burnt out old fart I only knew one of their songs off an
advert, albeit a very good song that goes...
''I can give you what - you - want''

Sadly, my cousin Ronan died around the time I was
working on this so alot of it was drawn through teary eyes
before I had to dart off to Limerick for the funeral. He was
a lovely guy with a big heart I'll dearly miss. RIP brother.

Celluloid Screams final poster

2009-09-10T22:00:00.003+01:00

Here's the final version of the Celluloid Screams poster.
I wanted to ink it for real on my drawing board but
ran out of time so I pumped out the ink phase mainly in
Adobe Illustrator and coloured it in Photoshop. I kept
the colours pretty plain and flat as there's talk of it being
reduced down into a T-shirt.

I walk past the Showroom alot, have worked behind it
since 2000 and spent many a day in my youth sipping
coffee and pretending to be cool there, so this was a very
satisfying and gorey commission!!!

Quite keen to bag more work in this area as I think my
style lends itself well to horror (plus I like drawing gorey
stupid shit). As well as the obvious horror refs I dropped
in a subtle ref to Sheff band 'I Monster'. My good pals
James McVeigh and Jo Sims did lots of posing for this so
cheers guys!!!

Celluloid Screams Poster Stages

2009-09-01T23:36:00.006+01:00

I keep reading how people I'm into build up an image
so thought it'd be fun to do the same. I usually start
off by giving the client a few very simple scribbley
versions to give idea options.
In this case I did about 16 in total as this is always
the most fun part. Some of them were real duds but
3 or 4 would have worked well I think. They chose
the bottom right image which was in my top 3 choices.

Next I work things up further in pencil and add a few
washes in photoshop to quickly show how the colours
will hilight the central characters. Originally the top
section was going to look all EC Comics but this got
turned into a simpler layout at a later stage.

I thought it'd be appropriate to let the Festival honcho
Rob decide on the T-shirt design rather than wading in
and he went for Ash's 'S-Mart' logo which I reckon works.

I'll paste the final thing asap

Moronoid Comics - 'Kill or Cure'

2009-08-30T19:23:00.003+01:00

Just completed 2 short stories for 'Moronoid Comics' which myself
and Anjan will be flogging at the Birmingham Comics Expo in Oct and
Thought Bubble in Leeds in Nov (aswell as online and in a few select
shops).

'Kill or Cure' is a 3 page future-shock-esque tale I collaberated on with

scribe, Electric Soup Kitchen Podcaster and all-round good guy

Marcus Daley. Really pleased with how it's turned out and got into a
looser pen & ink style to christen the new artboard.

Will link to the Moronoid Blog when it's up. Just finished the Celluloid
Screams poster so expect that up here as soon as I'm allowed to show
it.

Tis good to be back.

Celluloid Screams further info

2009-08-05T20:40:00.003+01:00

Here's some more info on the Celluloid Screams fest.
The previous version of this ad read as-if 'Birds' get in
cheaper. Glad to report I'm not a 1970s-esque sexist hehe.

Been busy on Moronoid pages and will post some peeks
soon...

Celluloid Screams Horror Film Festival

2009-07-22T22:58:00.004+01:00

Friday nights at the Showroom have recently seen the rise of a
cult film club known as Celluloid Screams. Now they're planning
an explosive Halloween festival and have got me on the case with
some branding work and a poster. Try not to sit behind me in the
cinema as seeing this badboy on the big screen may cause my
head to swell to Mekon proportions.

They've not announced which films are on the bill yet but I've got
it on good authority that it'll be pretty spesh. Alright I admit it I
don't know either but I trust the man holding the cards.

If you buy a pass now it'll save you a respectable amount of money.

I also finished my Royal Stock Tshirt a couple of weeks ago but I'm
going to hang fire until Bunn has printed it and post a pic of the
final article. He's getting a bunch of local talent involved with a
launch do in Oct.

Golden Orbit Comic Fair Sheffield

2009-07-11T18:30:00.007+01:00

Today me and the lovely Melissa went to the Golden Orbit
Comic Fair in Sheff. It was a fun if sweaty afternoon where
we met some very sound people and were cheered on by
some of my mates who kindly bobbed by.

Looking forward to Birmingham now and a nerdy weekend
with Anj and Marcus to launch Moronoid.

Sci-fi/ Comic Fair - Sat 11th July

2009-07-02T21:49:00.003+01:00

Hello,
I'll be flogging some prints at the Golden Orbit Sci-fi/
Comic Fair on sat 11th July.
It's in the foyer of the Workstation which is next to
the Showroom in Sheffield. Happy to sign any prints
bought on the day or previously so come and say hi.

Talking of the Showroom I've just started on some
promo work for an upcoming Horror Film Fest at
Halloween, run by the crew of the locally infamous
Celluloid Screams night. Tickets are loads cheaper if
you buy them now apparently.

Hiatus

2009-06-22T23:37:00.002+01:00

I've been pretty tied up working flat-out for Desq over the past few months but me and my co-pilot Chris have almost reached the end of a fun but tough project. I've got a pile of cool commissioned work backed up that you can expect to see on here soon including a Tshirt design for Royal Stock, a Horror Festival ad campaign and of course the 2nd half of the Archipelago prints.

Like a famous austrian cyborg once promised I'll also most definately be back, although I'm less likely to drive a truck through a police precinct reception in the process. For now here's a glimpse of a short strip I'm sitting on for a while (and don't want to jinx by talking about it)...

Sheffield Star Interview

2009-04-21T16:50:00.004+01:00

Photo by Roger Nadal

Doug O'Kane just ran a very flattering article about me in the
Sheffield Star which exceeded all my expectations by being
a full page!!! I've been laid up with my dodgy ear again so this
was a welcome boost. It focuses on the prints I've been doing
about Sheff lately. Read it below...

Interview

Wynn Ryder - Star Wars pic

2009-04-15T14:26:00.002+01:00

The other day I saw a fantastic black and white Star Wars
pic by Wynn Ryder and, just as Vader was seduced by the
dark side, I was unable to stop myself downloading it and
adding a quick splash of colour. It was a welcome distraction
from being deaf all weekend.
The force is strong in that Wynn guy...

Tharg Sketch

2009-04-13T16:02:00.003+01:00

Despite being the most boring man in the galaxy at the minute
I'm fucking ill yet again and have had to accept being stuck in all
day on my own :(
Decided to cheer myself up by testing out the new art board I just
blew 140 galactic groats on with a sketch of everyone's favourite
Betegeusian.
Hopefully I won't be getting sent a ''Rigellian Hotshot'' off Tharg
for my handywork...
Borag Thungg!!!

Quinto's Spock

2009-04-04T15:35:00.004+01:00

Lately I've been a bit busy as Desq, where I normally
work part-time, asked me to go full time for a bit to cover
a large workload. I've struggled to fit the comic-style work
in and had to turn away some jobs I was flattered to be
asked about (sorry to all concerned), but I couldn't resist
this commission for James McV's film collumn in Exposed
as it was a fun quickie.

I saw a pic of spock last year by Wynn Ryder which I loved
and used it as inspiration for this bad boy. Quinto is a perfect
choice for Spock in my book and looking forward to the flick.
Live long + all that stuff...

Bargains of the Damned

2009-03-26T20:32:00.003Z

Print 3 just got sign off from the guys at Archipelago so
should be hitting the streets within the next 2-3 weeks.
The subject is a mock zombie film poster satirising my
own experience of a certain shopping mall.

I ended up choosing a palette inspired by John Higgins,
whose imput on Watchmen and the Killing Joke is often
forgotten.

I'm halfway through building my own online shop so
people can buy directly off my site so keep your eyes
peeled. The next print is very likely to have a theme of
Steel so get saving your brass!

Zombie Rejects

2009-02-23T17:18:00.004Z

My zombie pic is getting ever closer to completion now. In
celebration here's a couple of zombies who I was asked to
remove due to their unattractive nature.

These 2 ugly bastards are my friends James (aka MC Terrys
Allgold) and Si Fitton (DJ Baron).

Ta for posing guys and I'll try and slip your handsome selves into
a future project instead.

Kurt - Happy birthday

2009-02-21T04:04:00.002Z

Yesterday I thought it'd be a good idea to post this pic on Kurt Cobain's birthday or something. By some weird coincidence I just looked it up on wiki and it was yesterday. Maybe I have some strange and unknown powers I can't consciously control - if so could there be a link to my little eyes??? Happy birthday old pal.

The Friends of Batman

2009-02-16T21:19:00.002Z

So I don't have to read my pretentious blurb about Collateral anymore here's a pic of those shambolic boozey comedy punks The Friends of Batman.

We're gigging with the Clench on March 5th at the Grapes in Sheff.

Peace out!

Collateral - hidden ending???

2009-02-15T18:59:00.004Z

Okay so I'm really straying from the reason I set this Blog up now but I promise there's a new print coming very soon (as soon as I get the chance to finish the bugger). Anyway, I was watching this Michael Mann flick for the 2nd time last night with my lady and I was struck by something slightly bizarre.

For the first 3/4 of the film the tone is fairly serious and shot in an almost believable manner, albeit with Mann's trademark fast-paced action thriller antics. Jamie Foxx's mild mannered cab driver is befriended/kidnapped by Cruise's sociopathic hitman and forces him to be his companion on the journey. A sub-plot evolves of Cruise attempting to convince Foxx that nothing really matters and he should psychologically let go and escape the control of others/life. Eventually Foxx accepts this philosophy and, knowing that he can never realistically stop a professional killer any other way, flips his cab (when neither are wearing belts) causing it to spin several times which would obviously kill them both. Point proven, what a good ending, except...

...after this scene Cruise then emerges and runs off to try to kill, coincidently, a girl Foxx met earlier and fell in love with. Foxx then persues Cruise, saves the girl and takes out the trained killer in a shoot out. I'd argue that the film even changes genre at this point, going from exaggerated thriller to laughable action adventure.

Maybe I'm talking out my arse but I'm guessing Mann made the film he wanted and ended it with a car crash and the death of his 2 leads. The implausibility of the final 1/4 seems so great that I think he was sending out a wink to the film bods to hit the off button post crash. Okay I'll piss off now.

Punisher Warzone

2009-02-07T13:40:00.005Z

Okay so this has zero to do with my work but fuck it.
Last night myself and some mates had a guys night
out to see this bloodbath of a flick. I've not read
the Punisher since the mid-90s but this film comes
closest from what I remember of capturing the
hard-hitting meathead. Dominic West's 'Jigsaw'
was a high-point for me.
Weird that he's a Sheffielder.

Okay so it's basically a shit film but it's got balls
of steel and goes well with a few beers.
If you'd rather watch an emo-clown getting
A-team style punches that's your choice man.

The Friends of Batman - Gig

2009-01-31T21:36:00.002Z

My band the Friends of Batman are playing the Grapes in Sheffield on March 5th.
We'll be supported by the Clench and the Sicknotes so it should be a fun one.
I cannibalised a panel from a comic pitch I'm working on for the flyer.

Rother FM

2009-01-29T21:36:00.002Z

Rother FM's James Marriott was kind enough not only to buy my work but he also invited me in to plug it on his radio show. I'm not sure how long it'll be online but here's the link.

Big thanks to James Marriott for all his help!!!

Download the interview

Phil Barrett - irish comics guru

2009-01-26T13:37:00.003Z

This year I'm co publishing a small press comic-book with Anjan Sarkar and we've been lucky enough to lure irish comic genius Phil Barrett into the fold.
Phil even sent me this Crumb-influenced 'Note-to' featuring a hairy caveman that looks a bit like me. Top marks Phil!!!

Rorschach

2009-01-24T18:58:00.002Z

I just did this pic of old changey-face for Exposed's March film collumn. Must admit to being very excited about this flick and doubt Jack Synder will fuck it up. It's been about 9 years since I read it so I'll hopefully get the time to give it a scan again before the release.

Tony Hart story

2009-01-21T23:08:00.004Z

Ok so this Blog is meant to be purely about my comic
pics but the strangest thing happened to me today.

A couple of days ago I went onto Tony Hart's website
and left a brief message on his guestbook to mark his
passing away as, like most 80s kids, he's one of my
art heroes.

Anyway, this morning I opened my inbox to find an invite
from a lady at the Richard and Judy Show to come on
the show that day as a Tony Hart fan and talk about him.
It wasn't a wind-up but as it's based in London and I had
limited time to get there I had to leave it.

Pretty random + nice to be asked.

Ninja (the cat)

2009-01-07T14:06:00.002Z

I spent a week last year as a reluctant gardener pulling out weeds with roots like trees. The painful task was made easier by the regular visits of a mysterious cat I nicknamed Ninja. We've moved since then but I'll never forget Ninja.
I decided to use her in a comic pitch I'm working on. I just hope Ninja remembers me and all the sausages I gave her at our bbq.

Hotpants Romance

2009-01-03T01:54:00.002Z

Here's an image I did of Manc punk rock ladies Hotpants Romance.
I'm ashamed to admit I've never seen then live but after hearing their
bubblegum punch in the boyfriend tunes I was well-up for drawing this
for Sandman Magazine.

Paul Grist Interview

2008-12-21T04:30:00.005Z

One of the best days of 2008 for me was getting to interview one of my comic-book heroes Paul Grist for Sandman Magazine in the summer. The 'Jack Staff', 'Burgular Bill' and 'Kane' creator was astoundingly modest for someone with his back-catalogue and I had alot of fun penning the article.

It's a fairly light intro to his work which I hope will help spread the good word of the Grist!

Paul Grist interview for Sandman Magazine

Vive le Jarv

2008-12-21T04:17:00.006Z

I recently spotted that Jarvis was playing the Academy in Sheffield and, being a big fan, I tracked down a guy at the venue and asked if they wanted to commission me to do the poster. The venue were up for using a design I did but they ended up using a tour poster from his record co instead.
Nevermind, it was a blinding gig anyways which made up for it. Here's the poster design (minus text) that didn't make the grade. Can't win em all I guess :(

Holy Fan Comic!

2008-12-21T03:56:00.012Z

A while ago myself and Exposed magazine writer James McVeigh decided to celebrate our love of the Bat in a mini-comic inspired partly by the alternative takes on the Dark Knight in the Black and White series.

It's not sanctioned by DC but seeing as we're making no profit from it (and Batman isn't doing anything too shadey) I think we're okay to do this.

It's called 'Knightshift' and is a kind-of Batman vs Death stand-off. I think my style has evolved alot since I drew it (it looks a bit stiff) but I still like most of it.

download it for FREE

Happy Christmas

2008-12-21T03:44:00.005Z

One of the most fun jobs I do each year is designing the Desq Ltd Christmas game/card which gets sent out to clients etc. Okay so it's not technically in my comic style but they really let me go nuts with this one and I'm well chuffed with it! Merry christmas!

Check out the other game links on there too...

Desq xmas game

Hello!

2008-12-21T03:38:00.004Z

Hi there,
I finally decided to get my arse in gear and get a blog together as I don't get the time to properly update the 'news' section of my site often enough.
I thought I'd kick things off by anouncing the release of 2 prints I recently had published by the Archipelago Print Co. Both are about South Yorkshire with a satirical ref to the destruction of Tinsley Towers (and how it should have happened) and a super-powered use of local Henderson's Relish.

The plan is to do 6 of these in total and hold a show in Sheffield in summer 2009. Can't wait to see them all on the wall. Print 3 is a fake zombie film poster about northern shopping mall Meadowhall which I'm going to have done prob for late Jan-early Feb.

More info.