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 

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

Sea of Joy

Howdy chums,

Welcome one and all to my official pre-Bristol Expo blogpost.  You may be very slightly interested to hear that the Grinning Mask issue 3 has now arrived from the printers and it's looking super-duper.  You may also note that I've upped my printing budget and gone with a USA comic book sized format for this issue.  Not only has it given me more space on a page to fit in lettering, it's also saved me a great deal of dull time spent hunched over a stapler bundling photocopies together.  Can I hear a collective hurrah from the cheap seats?

I have sneaked in a loving homage on the cover and do you know, I'm going to offer a mini competition for the three avid readers of my blog.  First to spot it and get in touch 'wins' a piccie commission of their choice drawn by my fair hand.   If that doesn't cause a global internet sensation then I don't know what will.

Many thanks to the good people at Pulse Print for their patience, and very speedy turnaround times.  Be sure to push your custom their way should you find yourself with a comic to print.

Whilst I'm thanking people, the mighty Forbidden Planet blog ran a mini preview of meself and Mr. Bolton's forthcoming Bristol trip.  What splendid human beings they are.

If you happen to be popping by Bristol this coming weekend, I shall be selling the new Grinning Mask comic in bundles with the first two issues.  Do feel free to part with your hard earned cash at our table.  I shall also have some prints and greetings cards for sale.  I do believe that they make the perfect gift for your fair deserving acquaintances.

I'll also be trying my hand at sketches etc over the weekend, and so if there is anything that you'd like to see drawn in a particularly nervous, ham-fisted manner, then do pop by our table in Old Station.  (Although I know that most folk like super hero sketches in these situations and so I shall probably already be at a disadvantage in the drawing stakes....)

Hope to see you at the weekend in Bristol then gentle reader.

Your chum,
Ryan.

Hello?

'Hello? Hello? What's that you say?  Ryan Taylor is featured in Desert Island Comics on the Forbidden Planet Blog? Why, I'd better head over straight away and see what that insufferable dandy has to say for himself......'

'.........and no I'm not interested in double glazing.  Do you know I'm with the telephone preference service? You don't care? Well that's hardly the attitude is it now....'

This is the end my friend...

A quickie today - the Midlands Comics Collective anthology 'The end of the world', got a fabbo review over here at the Forbidden Planet blog.



Hurrah.

RT

Animals

A few quickies for you today chums.

My strip 'Grace's Imaginary Menagerie' is making it's full colour debut over here at Jim Medway's loverly Comical Animal publication. Do tell him I sent you and take a peep through the top strips and stuff on offer.

Also, there's a review of 'Too Much Sex and Violence' issue 2 over at the Forbidden Planet Blog. They've been good enough to print a snippet of one of my finished pages therein. Go grab the finished comics here courtesy of Reliable Rol Hirst.

Until next time,
RT

FP Blues

By Jove! There's a review of the second issue of the Grinning Mask over here. Take a look why don't you?

RT

2 H.B.

...nearly there.

At last, the second Grinning Mask is ready to go. I've got the proof copy today and it should be ready (fingers crossed) tomorrow...

In the meantime, the lovely people at the Forbidden Planet Blog did a quick preview of it ahead of BICS.

Also, as promised a sneeky preview of the swag I shall be taking along to the show on Saturday. As well as copies of the Grinning Mask, you could also treat yourself to some mini-prints of bits and pieces what I have drawn. I'm also going to be making some into comicsy greeting cards.

If you feeling generous and in the slightest bit interested, then pop by on Saturday and throw some cash at the goodies.

Hurrah,
RT

Telephone Thing

There's an interesting bit on the Forbidden Planet blog about graphic novels in libraries over here.

It's definitely worth a quick read if like me, you think more folk should read comics.

RT

Everything's gonna be cool this Christmas

In view of the approaching festive season, and in the absence of any half decent creative Christmas-y ideas, I've made up some cards using a few sketches of the Avengers I dug out of my sketchbook.


Looking at the master file above (which I trimmed into four neat cards), I suddenly like the idea of doing some sort of wallpaper border in this style. I do seem to like making work for myself....

Speaking of work, whilst I slave away on Grinning Mask No. 2, the Forbidden Planet Blog recently ran a very nice review of the first issue. Hurrah for them I say. You can check out the review here. All good, constructive and a bit flattering stuff.

RT