Just like heaven....

Hurry chums - the good folk at Aces Weekly have some new Grace's Imaginary Menagerie in their latest issue.  Go and get stuck in and enjoy some super comics why don't you?

Needles in the camel's eye

Evening chums - I hope that you're both well?

I'm not doing too well at keeping this blog-a-ma-tron thing up to date am I now?  In truth I tend to put more of my sketch book stuff on twitter when time permits.  Nonetheless, I'll rattle a bit here about what I've been up to recently.

So, first up is a super comic called Dead Silence where I've had the pleasure of working with one David Cooper.  He does a far better job of telling you, my gentle reader all about it here than I ever could.  Do check it out via his online store - I think it's a great little read.

I've also been lucky enough to paint a mini wolf for the splendid Wolves in Wolves art festival.  I painted a wolf on behalf of the Howling Wolves Community Choir, and my humble painting is currently in Wolverhampton Art Gallery on proud display until the middle of September.  Go say hello and remember me to him / her.

Now, I suppose that I ought to get doing some drawing eh? 

'Pah! Doomlord suspects that puny earthling Taylor is wasting time staring at the wall again when he should be drawing!'

Dry the rain

Evening chums,

Are you likely to be stuck for something to do on Saturday July 9th?  Why step this way, for me and various chums have organised an official Small Press Day event at Wolverhampton's very own Forbidden Planet.

In attendance will be myself and chums Laura Howell and Tony McGee, whereupon we shall be flogging our own comics and also running a few mini comic making workshops for your entertainment.  'Well, huzzah and hurrah indeed!' I hear you cry, 'That does sound a super and mildly interesting afternoon out.' 

Do pop along people.

In readiness for the event, I was handily invited to run some mini comics workshops with a local school last week.  We all had a great time drawing characters, daft stories and (even dafter) superheroes.  Check a rare photo of me frantically drawing a comic on some new fangled white board device...

 ....what you can't hear are the twenty odd children shouting out ideas all at once. 

'You were amazing with the children today and they really enjoyed it, thank you so much!' was the mighty kind testimonial from the teacher in charge.

I'd love to do more of these sorts of workshops and so if you are a teacher around Wolverhampton who's interested in inviting me to draw comics in your school, please get in touch via email, at theboytaylor at hotmail dot com

Cheers chums
RT 

Inner city blues

Evening chums,

You may have noticed (or equally you may have not) but I've designed the poster / flyers for this year's Birmingham Beer Bash.  It promises to be a top wheeze and do feel free to buy me a gentle ale should you see me there cowering in the corner.  I don't get out much you see.

Anyway, if you're one of the weirdos who like seeing the process for these things then I shall attach pencils and finished poster below.

Hurrah for beer.
RT

Reindeers are better than people

Some daft mini comics for you chum.
RT

Blimey!

It's been a while......

(The Angels Wanna) Wear My Red Shoes

Evening chums,

A gentle note to inform you that my well-I-think-it's-amusing-comical-strip, Grace's Imaginary Menagerie will be making it's triumphant return to the always splendid Aces Weekly next month.  It'll be appearing in issue 15, starting on March 2nd.

If you've not yet checked out Aces Weekly then shame on you!  You're missing out on a super, super digital collection of comics fun.  Go there now, and tell them that I politely sent you.

(Don't forget, you can also grab my comics through my comicsy store here)

RT

Time of the season

Evening folks,

I'm quite determined to use this blog a bit more to promote my work in coming months.  Looking through it, there seems lots of mildly interesting content, but precious little in terms of finished pages?  Let's put that right shall we....

I'll paste a few selected black and white pages from various bits and pieces what I've done in the past year or two for your collective perusal....

First off, one of my fave pages from Rol Hirst's super 'Too Much Sex and Violence'

Then a selection of pages from my on-going work on the 'Grinning Mask'....

How's that?
RT

Black Sheep Boy

Once again folks, I have returned from Thought Bubble and feel compelled to say how absolutely super it is.  I have just spent a weekend surrounded by some very inspirational people and really can't compliment the organisers and volunteers enough on putting together what has (for my money) got to be the UK's best comics show.

If you've never been before, then you really owe it to yourself to get along next year.  I can't quite frankly imagine how the team will top this year's event, but nonetheless I'm confident that they will.

Can you tell that I had a super weekend of it?

(Obligatory photo of my table before the show)

I was happily debuting the 4th issue of the Grinning Mask which seems to have gone down very well with the comic buying public.  If you missed it, then I've updated my Comicsy store where you can order stuff and read freebies PDFs.  Go seek.

Amongst other scribblings over the weekend I was jolly chuffed to be asked to do a commission of that super character the Shadow.  Being rather unsure how to tackle this one, I actually did two piccies - a comical version and a more serious one.  See if you can tell which is which and then go and visit the comic art gallery where these now hang in pride of place amongst some other very talented artists.  Do take a browse and see the fantastic body of work that is being collected here.....

(If you're interested in commissioning me, then do get in touch at theboytaylor at hotmail dot com)

A great weekend, and here's to the next one.....

Your chum
RT

Oh you pretty things

Quick note for you chums.

Following a handful of requests, I've started to put together a pre-show commission list for Thought Bubble.  If by any chance you'd like to pay me to draw you something ahead of everyone's-favourite-Leeds-based-comics-show, then do drop me a line at theboytaylor at hotmail dot com, and we can have a hopefully pleasant chat about the whole thing.

(Ziggy commands you)

I shall leave you to it then chums.  Some exciting news about the next edition of the Grinning Mask will be appearing here in the coming weeks.....

RT

Cold as ice

Well chums, I'm running around in excited readiness to get my stuff together for ICE this weekend. 

Hopefully I'll see you my solitary gentle reader there?  It promises to be a top wheeze and I shall be trying to sell comics, junk and sketches in earnest.  I've even got some freebie comics (whilst stocks last) for anyone popping by my table and saying the secret pass code 'Everything's all and it's rosy, it's a beautiful day'.

Pop by my table to say hello and feast your eyes on the goodies neatly stacked thereon....

Toodle pip
RT

Astronomy Domine

Howdy chums,

Some duff news and some good news for you now I'm afraid.  The slightly duff news is that I won't be having a new issue of the Grinning Mask ready in time for the lovely ICE show in Birmingham.  Boo I hear you cry in unison.

The rather splendidly good news however is that the reason for this, is that I'm merrily working away on a super strip called Grace's Imaginary Menagerie which will be appearing very soon in the award winning Aces Weekly.  Hurrah you now cry eh?  The more astute of you may remember it from very early appearances on this blog.

Seriously, I am very, very, very excited to be working on this one.  Not only am I having loads of fun drawing and writing this (with the plethora of animals that it entails), but it will be published in a massively exciting digital format.  Just look at the very talented people who've also worked for this comic - aside from David Lloyd himself of course, Lew Stringer, John McCrea, Shaky Kane, Herb Trimpe, David Leach (of Come Dine With Me fame of course) far too many more talented people to mention, and now by some fluke of luck, me.

(Ok, I'm not getting quite as excited at this pesky comics colouring lark, but you can't have everything)

I will have a portfolio full of pages from this one for preview at ICE, and maybe even some extra bits and pieces for my table.  I look forward to seeing you, my solitary gentle reader there.....

Toodle pip chums
RT

Money

Grrrrrr.  In honour of the forth coming return of Birmingham's favourite comic show, I'm giving away freebie pdf's of ALL of my comics over at Comicsy from now until then.
Go grab them why don't you?

Happy Shopper

What ho chums!

In honour of the recent Free Comic Book day, I've updated my digital comics store over at the very lovely Comicsy site with freebie digital downloads of a couple of my comics.  That's right, you can believe your ears....

Pop over there now and grab some free comics why don't you?  I'm not planning on ending the super sale any time soon.

Your chum
RT

Jobseeker

What ho there chums - it's been a while has it not?

I thought it best to dash off a quick blogpost for my earnest reader whilst I can.  It's been a busy couple of months so let's have a mini think of what arty stuff I have been up to????

First off, the very splendid Comic Heroes magazine saw fit to do a very splendid write up of my work in a recent issue.  Fame at last gentle reader, fame at last....

That's not all - I was also invited by the equally lovely, but noisy Kerrang! to join in the fun of their Kerrang! Komic.  My humble scribblings featured Asking Alexandria - a popular beat-combo or so I'm told.

In other news, whilst I procrastinate away, I idly wondered if anyone out there in internet land would be interested in commissioning me to draw them something?  I'm exceedingly reasonable and none too shabby with a pencil.  Drop me an email at theboytaylor (all one word) at hotmail dot com with what you'd want (if you're in any way interested) and I'll get back to you.  Tell your friend as well why don't you?

Your chum

RT






 

The Wagon

How splendid is Thought Bubble then gentle reader?  The answer (in a superlatives fail me type of manner) is wonderfully splendid.

This indeed was mine and chum Bolton's first trip to the festival and we had a tip-top time.  The whole shebang was well organised, there was lots to see and do and best of all, there was a fabbo 'chum-like' feeling to the whole weekend.  Huzzah for the team of volunteers on hand at the show - from their careful managing of the queues for signings that threatened to overwhelm us small-pressers tables, to the merry distribution of drinks and sarnies to us over the weekend.  It's quite often the case that the work of the folk behind the scenes at these sort of shows gets overlooked, but their work was indeed invaluable. 

Huzzah also then for the folk who organised and put the show on.  I know that I'm not the most experienced of convention-comic-seller, but I'd be massively surprised if this doesn't become my favourite show of them all. 

(Am I managing to sell this to you yet?)

Like I said, we had a grrrrrreat time.  I sold a fair few comics (and brought a whole lot more), talked to a whole load of lovely people (far too many to mention) and got simply overwhelmed by the amount of fantastic work that is being done in the comics world - all handily gathered in Leeds the past weekend.  I've come back from up north nothing but inspired by the work I've seen and really can't wait to get cracking on with new stuff of my own.

The only criticism then (and hardly a fair one), is that there was almost too much to see there.  I did only nip away from the table for an hour or two over the weekend but have come away kicking myself about the people I was keen to meet and talk to, but simply didn't find the time.  I'm looking at you, Paul Rainey, Rob Jackson, etc, etc, etc.

So, some piccies then......

Meself and Bolton's table - just up the road from the very pleasant Peter Doherty and equally lovely Geof Darrow.  I do hope that they weren't too intimidated by sitting this close to my humble scribblings gentle reader.

The obligatory bag of swag what I came back with....

I'm not going to list these in too much detail (they're all worth your while picking up), but honourable mentions here to Laura Howell's always-super Gilbert and Sullivan, the second issue of the fabbo Hitsville, the spook-tacular Boo! anthology, and my personal hit of the weekend - the fantastic Fever Dreams by Adam Murphy.

(Top also to catch up with chums Steve Quirke, Kel Winser, fellow MC2ers and Stephen Aryan, amongst other peeps)

Our only task now is to sort through the pile of cracking entries what we had to our drawing competition over the weekend.... Leeds was indeed full of very talented young (and not so young) artists.  Watch this space for news on the winners.....

 Yippee for Thought Bubble then chums.  I'm already looking forward to next year's.....

Your chum
RT

The wage don't fit

Oh fiddle de dee eh gentle reader?  My once-mighty blog is getting more and more neglected with each passing week.

Whilst I seem to struggle to find time to update this part of the web, rest assured that I'm still fairly active with my ramblings on curtain twitcher.

To you, my dear reader, I shall update you with what I'm up to over the coming months.

I shall be sharing a table with pesky Bolton at Thought Bubble in Leeds on 23rd-24th November 2013.

I shall also be sharing a table with pesky Bolton at the Volume book fair at the new library in Birmingham on 5th-7th December 2103.

AND.... I've just booked a table at this very lovely looking show in Birmingham in August next year....

It's all go.....

RT

Dread Lion

Evening chums,
Sorry for the quiet blog as of late chums.  I'll just take a quick few minutes from working on the final issue of the Grinning Mask to point you in the direction of a very lovely review of the first three issues at Broken Frontier.  Mighty kind words indeed.
As well as Thought Bubble, myself and that Mr Bolton will also be peddling our wares at Volume - a book fair to celebrate the opening of the newly refurbished library in Birmingham.  This takes place Friday 6th - Saturday 7th December.
Phew.  Don't forget you can buy my loverly comics here.
RT

Long Haired Music

Phew!  A loverly review of the third issue of the Grinning Mask can be found over on the Forbidden Planet Blog.

Go read it and then buy the comic from the lovely people at Comicsy.

Hurrah
RT

Brand new, you're retro

A quick note for you chums.

You can now buy my splendid comics from Comicsy - hurrah for small press fun.

Form an orderly queue now.

RT