STAR JAWS #55

The latest issue of Star Jaws is out now from Barnstormer Comics.

It features Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, Iskander Islam, and Paul B. Rainey.

My story, "Wacky Space Race 1980" also features. Here's a clip:

The entire issue is available online here.

FRED EGG COMICS REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2020

Here's my annual overview of what I've been up to comics wise this year. Writing this for 2020 was never going to be as straightforward as my previous efforts. Usually I list the comics and comics-related projects I've been involved with as they were released throughout the year, and say a little about each of them.

This time around, things were significantly different, due to COVID-19 and the impact it's had on the country, and the world. 

As the year got going before it hit, I knew I wanted to put out another anthology, and I knew it was going to be called Mount a Rescue. I'd completed or mostly completed a number of strips for it, and sent out scripts to many artists for them to draw guest comics. I'd started painting the cover and things were mostly going along nicely when coronavirus started to take hold. 

Around about March, I paused for a couple of weeks to consider. What does this mean? Is it appropriate to put out a comic in the middle of a pandemic? With an unknown number of people dying? I decided I was going to continue. Not doing comics as some form of solidarity, or in case it was in very poor taste, didn't make sense to me.

I was furloughed at work. Now, I do not make comics as a way to earn a living. Quite the opposite. I view it purely as an artform in which I am free to do and try whatever I want, and make the best comics I can. The negative side of this is that I spend a lot of my time at my place of employment, unable to get to work on my comics. I have been quietly resenting this for years, and sometimes just outright moaning about it to anyone who’d listen. But it is the deal I have made with my comics practice.

So when I was furloughed, you better believe I was not going to waste this extra time I had been granted. I worked on many comics projects throughout the year, and with all but one of them, they are fully coloured, either digitally or hand painted. Seven of these have yet to see print with their respective publishers. I can’t control that part of the process.

Mount a Rescue did come out in July and I was pleased with it. Everything had changed in a short period of time, and I hadn't mentioned the pandemic in the comic at all. I did a story called "Clap" for the back page, concerning the weekly applauding of the NHS.

As we got into the final third of the year, I proposed an idea I'd had for a while to my That Comic Smell podcast buddies. I reckoned I had enough time to work on putting together an anthology featuring work from all of us. I knew Mike was really getting up and running with his comics (see "The Real Prehistoric Beasts" - his first comic book), Tom would be up for writing scripts for us to draw (he ended up doing artwork too), and I'd always been intrigued by Nando's mention that he used to draw, but decided to stop and commit to reading instead of making. It was great to have him come out of retirement and do a comic for us. I worked hard on getting the comic assembled, completing it a few days before I returned to work. Then it was back to doing comics on a day off or odd hours here and there.

The TCS podcast itself has morphed into an online get together instead of the actual meet-ups we've traditionally had. These and Tony Esmond's regular Never Iron Anything have been great sources of pleasure, allowing me to chat comics with pals.

In any case, here’s how 2020 played out in comics land for me.

In January, Barnstormer Comics’ Star Jaws #30 continued running my Blade Runner tribute comic, “Los Angeles, November 2019”. Over the next six months it carried the whole story. I did my 25th Tay Bridge Disaster comic strip, and That Comic Smell podcast discussed European comics.

In February, I did my 26th Tay Bridge Disaster comic strip, and March presented two episodes of That Comic Smell; on Justice League International Vol 4, and “Holy Grails and Intention Fails”, in which we discussed the comics we really really want, and the ones we have but haven’t managed to read yet.

In April, I appeared for the first time on Tony Esmond’s Never Iron Anything podcast discussing Warlock by Jim Starlin. I did a comic for the Awesome Comics anthology, marking their 250th episode. That Comic Smell were busy, having our first remote meet-up discussing what we’ve been reading, and discussing the Top Three Comics Creators of all Time on video as part of Sparkcon. 

In May, I did “T-Minus: Not Happening”, a comic about The A-Team’s adventures in outer space, for Star Jaws #34.

In June, That Comic Smell discussed surreal / weird comics, and a marathon length movie chat was split into parts one and two. I was happy to go back on Never Iron Anything, this time to discuss The Cute Manifesto by James Kochalka.

In July, my latest comic book Mount a Rescue was released. That Comic Smell discussed heavy comics. I was delighted Star Jaws #37 featured a pull out middle section devoted to it. On Never Iron Anything, we talked Star Wars #80 by Mary Jo Duffy and Ron Frenz.

August was a busy month for podcasts. That Comic Smell covered comics aimed at children, Dark Horse, and “You Make Comics?” – comics created by people known for other things! I was on the Awesome Comics Podcast for their Brainstorming comics episode, and discussed Starblazer #69 “Nightmare Planet” on Never Iron Anything. 

In September Iestyn Pettigrew interviewed me about my influences and inspirations for the Zine Love website. I did my 27th Tay Bridge Disaster comic, a story called “Bunker Destruction” for Star Jaws #39, and artwork for the cover of Marc Casilli’s Liget #3. That Comic Smell did an episode called Who are you again?, on comic character changes, and a “bootleg” episode of The Lakes Comic Art Festival.

In October I did a couple of spots on Never Iron Anything; one on Peter Bagge, and another with Tom Stewart on Kent State by Derf. I also did a comic for Funtime Comics #33, the anthology from New Zealand (congratulations to them for dealing with COVID-19 effectively).

In November, I did a guest comic for Olivia Hicks’ Sarararara, and a story called “Journey into Space (interrupted) for the Race into Space! Anthology. I also discussed Mary Fleener on Never Iron Anything.

In December I had a David Prowse tribute comic in Star Jaws #42, then a couple of Christmas themed podcasts; a discussion of Christmas with the Super-Heroes from 1988 on Never Iron Anything, and the annual That Comic Smell Christmas do comparing our favourite comics of 2020.

I've completed work on my ongoing Tay Bridge Disaster comic, and will be releasing that next year in a natty landscape format. First time I've tried that.

That Comic Smell Comic will be out in early 2021.

There are a lot of comics completed for my next anthology, which I do know the name of, but am not telling yet. And I have started writing a longer narrative, which I aim to have completed over the festive period, and then get to work drawing.

Thanks for reading. I hope 2020 has been good to you, and let's try to make next year a good one!

THAT COMIC SMELL: Christmas Do! (Our Best Reads of 2020)

The new episode is online now, celebrating Christmas and discussing our fave reads of the year.

From the website:

"HO! HO! HO!

Get ready because not even distance can stop the TCS crew from having their Christmas party and catch up.

We delve into what we have been reading this year and what we would consider out favourites of 2020. There is also a bit of general chatter as always but we mainly stick to the comics this time surprisingly.

It’s been a funny old year and we even had a bit of a break near the tail end of it to recharge and bank some more episodes. We have had to adapt to the new way of doing the show but we have plowed on and continued to enjoy talking comics and having you all listen. So thank you. A very Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year.

Cheers!

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Don’t forget to Like, Share, Subscribe, Rate & Review.

Thanks again for listening and supporting the podcast

The Best of The Spirit (Will Eisner)

Pulp (Ed Brubaker, Sean Philips)

Blazing Combat (Archie Goodwin, plus many artists)

Once and Future (Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora)

La Casa [The House] (Paco Roca)

Kent State (Derf Backderf)

What We Don't Talk About (Charlot Kristensen)

New Gods (Jack Kirby)

Journey to the Surface of the Earth (Fraser Geesin)

Sarararara (Olivia Hicks)

Star Jaws (Robin Barnard)

Star Trek The Enterprise Logs (Gold Key)

Atomic Hercules (Adam Falp, Tony Esmond)

Tony Esmond is a Movie Star (Cliff Cumber, Tony Esmond)

Firepower (Robert Kirkman, Chris Samnee)

Homunculus (Joe Sparrow)

The Junction (Norm Konyu)

What We Mean By Yesterday (Ben Marra)

Follow Me In (Katriona Chapman)

V For Vendetta (Alan Moore, David Lloyd)

Apollo (Mike Collins, Matt Fitch, Chris Baker)

Graphic Biography of Malcolm X (Randy DuBurke, Andrew Helfer)

The Three Jokers (Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson)"

STAR JAWS #42

The latest issue of Star Jaws is out now from Barnstormer Comics.

It features Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, and Paul B. Rainey.

My story, "Green & Black" also features. A tribute to Dave Prowse. Here's a clip:

More information on Star Jaws over at the Images Degrading Forever website here.

STAR JAWS #39

The latest issue of Star Jaws is out now from Barnstormer Comics.

It features Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, and Paul B. Rainey.

My story, "Bunker Destruction" also features. Here's a clip:

More information on Star Jaws over at the Images Degrading Forever website here.

BUNKER DESTRUCTION colour

 

Here's a panel with colour from this comic which will appear soon in Star Jaws.

BUNKER DESTRUCTION layouts

 

Here are pencils for a story I'm doing for Barnstormer Comics' Star Jaws.

STAR JAWS #37 - MOUNT A RESCUE pull out section

The new issue of Star Jaws is out now from Barnstormer Comics.

Inside is work from Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, and Paul B. Rainey.

In the middle is a "Star Jaws previews pull-out" dedicated to Mount a Rescue.

It's great to see this! It reminds me of comics pull out sections Marvel UK used to do. 

Many thanks to Robin for having this in Star Jaws. More info on Barnstormer Comics can be found here.

STAR JAWS #36

The new issue of Star Jaws is out now from Barnstormer Comics, featuring the work of Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, and Paul Rainey.

This issue also features the final part of my comic, Los Angeles, November 2019. Many thanks to Robin for running my story.

More information here.

STAR JAWS #35

The new issue of Star Jaws #35 is out now from Barnstormer Comics.

It features work from Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, and myself.

More information at the Images Degrading Forever website.

STAR JAWS #34

The new Star Jaws issue 34 is out now from Barnstormer Comics, featuring work from Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, and myself.

The comic includes part six of my "Los Angeles, November 2019", and another story called "T-Minus: Not Happening". The latter is previewed above.

Also included is the true story of how I saved Dirk Benedict's life.

More information at the Images Degrading Forever website here.

STAR JAWS #33

The new Star Jaws issue 33 is out now from Barnstormer Comics, featuring work from Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, Gareth A. Hopkins, and myself!

More information at the Images Degrading Forever website here.

STAR JAWS #32

The new Star Jaws issue 32 is out now from Barnstormer Comics, featuring work from Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, and myself!

More information at the Images Degrading Forever website here.

A-TEAM COMIC PENCILS

I'm working on a comic for Robin Barnard and Barnstormer Comics' Star Jaws.

An A-Team comic!

Here's a blurry wee snapshot of  the pencils:

STAR JAWS #31

The new Star Jaws issue 31 is out now from Barnstormer Comics, featuring work from Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, Rozi Hathaway and myself!

More information at the Images Degrading Forever website here.

STAR JAWS #30

"A brand new decade, with the same old stories..."

The new Star Jaws issue 30 is out now from Barnstormer Comics, featuring work from Robin Barnard, Doug Chapel, Martin Hand, and myself!

More information at the Images Degrading Forever website here.

THAT COMIC SMELL: Christmas Dinner

The new episode is now online. This is a goodie - you are invited along to our Christmas dinner, wherein we enthuse over our Christmas annuals, and talk about comics we've loved in 2019!

From the web:

“Come, they told me, Pah-rum-papumpum”
Before we get into things, we just want to take a second to thank all of you for listening. The stream of support we have received for the podcast this year has been beyond overwhelming. We tried a couple of different things these past 12 months and you folks have been so open to listening to them and have came along with us on our comics chat journey. Thank you!
In this episode, the folks here sit down to their Christmas meal and chat about that good old British tradition of Annuals! We also take a look at our picks of what we read in 2019.
This and all the usual comics chat on the only comics podcast who’s made a list and most certainly is checking it twice…
That Comic Smell!
Merry Christmas and A Very Happy New Year Everyone!
Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @thatcomicsmell
Get us on…
Soundcloud: tinyurl.com/y8vzeh3c
Spotify: tinyurl.com/y2qtu2cs
YouTube: tinyurl.com/yajnxcno
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and most places you find podcasts.

2000AD
Batman
Battlestar Galactica
Conan the Destroyer
The Dandy
Danger Mouse
Eagle
Fantastic 4
Flash Gordon
Garfield
Marvel Super Heroes Omnibus
Mighty Heroes
Monster Fun
Moschops
Oor Wullie
Raiders of the Lost ark
The Real Ghostbusters
Sparky
Spider-Man
Star Wars
Superboy
The Super Heroes
Thundercats
X-men

Star Jaws (Robin Barnard)
Long John Silver (Xavier Dorison, Matthieu Lauffray)
In Waves (AJ Dungo)
The Whore Chronicles (Tony Esmond)
The Immortal Hulk Omnibus (Al Ewing, Joe Bennet)
Satan's Library (Adam Falp)
The Intercorstal (Gareth Hopkins)
Batman #66 (Tom King, Jorges Fornes)
Sky in Stereo (Sasha Mardu)
Green Lantern Vol 1: Intergalactic Lawman (Grant Morrison, Liam Sharp)
Death Inc. vol 3 (Charles H Raymond)
Ell Tesoro del Cisne Negro (Paco Roca, Guillermo Corral)
Stand in your Power (Rachael Smith)
DeadEndia (Hamish Steele)
Death Wish (Barrie Tomlinson, Vanyo)
CYDO (John Tucker)
Solipsistic (Various)

STAR JAWS #29

The new issue from Barnstormer Comics is out now, featuring work from Robin Barnard and Martin Hand.

They've also began running my Blade Runner tribute comic, "Los Angeles, November 2019."

More information on Barnstormer Comics can be found here.

STAR JAWS #3 (of 3)

Cover by Martin Hand.

Barnstormer Comics' latest issue is out now.

It features work from Robin Barnard, Martin Hand, Andy Smith, and myself.

Previews of my two stories:

Training Days

Was there Always a Bigger Fish?

Thanks to Robin Barnard for using my two stories.

You can see Barnstormer Comics at the website here.

STAR JAWS #23 - The final issue

Cover by Martin Hand.

The latest issue of Star Jaws is out now.

It's the final issue, and I am honoured to have a story in there. It's a personal tale regarding a lifetime of being a devoted fan. It's called, "Goodbye, Star Wars"

Here's a preview:

Read the rest of the story in the new issue here.

Robin has been putting Star Jaws out for a few years now. It's a fun, bizarre, surreal read. I'll miss the regular issues.

If you haven't read them, they're all collected at Robin's website Images Degrading Forever.

Thanks for having me, Robin. All the best for the future.