David and Goliath

Well, 'Goliath and Goliath' really, according to the press! For 'Martillo' has just got the loveliest review imaginable over on Down the Tubes, courtesy of dear Owen Watts. Check it out here. What I particularly enjoyed about Owen’s sparkling prose was how bloomin’ insightful the review was – it’s funny to think that I’ve now written enough small-press comics that I’ve got an identifiable style or obvious area of interest. According to Owen, I tend towards: “Insane cultural & historical mash-ups – and ludicrously ambitious set pieces” – and you know what? It’s pretty hard to argue with that. Thanks, Owen!

Hammer of Foxes

It’s been awful quiet on the ol’ blog of late. Too quiet. Which of course means there’s doings a-transpiring / rumblings on the horizon / axes being sharpened in the basement / a tube of green, sentient, Satanic liquid taking control of worms, Alice Cooper and the low things of the Earth.

Sorry, went a bit ‘Prince of Darkness’ there. But speaking of the forces of El Diablo, I wanted to share this smashing piece of ‘Martillo’ fan art I was sent by the lovely Owen Watts of Psychedelic Journal fame – knowing that your work has inspired a fellow small-presser to a spate of creativity is a real reward.

Looks like it was worth starting work on the ‘Martillo’ spin-off after all...

Enjoy.

SPLURGGTHH!

Annual Incoming!

Art by Dave Candlish

As we speak (are we speaking? I am, anyway) Davey Candlish labours on this year’s PARAGON Annual, like Hephaestus at his forge, hammering panels into shape and beating scripts to even out the blemishes. It is said that this very week the annual will be unleashed upon mortals, its contents only guessable by the prophetic or the insane.

And that’s all true – except that there’s one bit I don’t need to guess at, for my own contribution this year is another Spencer Nero prose story. I enjoy writing these, particularly the conversations between Spencer and Mr. Alabaster: necessity dictates that the latter doesn’t get a lot of panel-time in the regular strip, so it’s always fun to flesh out their increasingly fractious relationship. (The trick seems to be that one of the pair is always trying to annoy the other – but who’s being irritating and who’s being reasonable frequently alternates.)

Anyway, more word on the annual itself once it’s out, but for now, here’s a special sneak preview of my tale, Spencer Nero’s Secret, which reveals a hitherto unknown* and extremely alarming fact about the Civil Centurion – a fact which may lead to his downfall! What is Spencer’s secret? Oh, all right, I’ll tell you. Read on:

A strange and awkward silence fell as Spencer looked at his hands. He was gripped by a piercing chill, as if buffeted by the icy winds of the grim North Sea.

 

“Are you all right?” Alabaster asked, noting the Civil Centurion’s sudden pallor.

 

“I… have a confession,” stammered Spencer queasily.

 

Alabaster smiled benignly, like a disapproving but not entirely unsympathetic uncle. “Spencer,” he began. “Is this about your secret collection of - ?”

 

“No!” interrupted Spencer. “This is worse. Much worse.” He paused, trying to collect himself. “It’s been my hidden shame for so long,” he finally blurted out. “I’ve never been able to admit it. I just couldn’t accept it was true. But the fact is…” He dropped suddenly to his knees, clutching his head in his hands. He tried again to speak. “The fact is…”

 

“Yes?” prompted Alabaster.

Oh, hold on. Turns out I’m not allowed to let it slip after all. Buy the PARAGON Annual if you want to find out!

*Well, unknown unless you bought the Spencer Nero Compendium.

Judged Read

Bet no-one’s ever done that pun before. (Cough.) Here’s a couple of reviews from Judge Tutor Semple aka Steve Hargett, a true gent who has cast his concise and critical eye over several things I’ve written in the past. Thanks for these, Steve!

Review for Martillo - "...a damn fine read", as Steve described it on the 2000AD forums.

Review for PARAGON #17

And on the subject of Martillo - if you're at Thought Bubble in Leeds in a few weeks time, expect to see David Broughton with stories of Spanish smiting on sale!

Madre de Dios indeed!

PARAGON #17: One Hump or Two?

Blimey, it’s been a while since the blog got an update. I’ve had plenty of things bubbling away in the formative stages, but not much out on the proverbial shelves to talk about. I can’t say I’ve got much more out this month – just an eccentric little three-pager in PARAGON #17 – but it’s not like I need an excuse to wax lyrical in a self-indulgent manner, so here’s the gen on Spencer Nero and the Dry Camel.

The first thing to mention is that this tale is taken in large part from American history and folklore – specifically the legend of the Red Ghost of Arizona, a camel with a headless military rider. Remarkably, camels were imported into the US in the 1850s for work in more arid regions – unfortunately, their surly dispositions and general unreliability made them less of an improvement on mules than might have been hoped. The ‘star’ of this particular story is the surliest of ‘em all – but that’s camels for you. They’re like the wasps of the mammal world, in terms of temperament. 

Despite this, the title of the tale hails from a song whose lyrics suggest an uncharacteristic (and, dare I say it, decidedly unwholesome) fondness for our dromedary chums - ‘From a Dry Camel’, by the wonderful early-70s rockers Dust. Spooky, psychedelic, and unutterably desert-y – and to partner it, I also sneaked the title of an equally atmospheric song by contemporaries Mountain into the narration. Bonus points if you can spot it. I am nothing if not shameless in parading my influences.

 

Art (and letters) are by the lovely Jim Cameron. This is the first story of mine Jim has drawn and he’s done a smashing job – although his style is cartoony, the camel is not without a sinister streak, and at times has a dose of Richard Corben-style creepiness about its sneering visage. (Jim also lends his charms to another rhyming Ganesh tale elsewhere in the issue.)

Meanwhile in PARAGON, the pages are dominated once more by a welcome double hit of El Chivo’s art on both Jikan and El Bigote. There’s also a chilling three-page one-off written by Davey Candlish and drawn by Baz Renshaw (new to PARAGON? One to watch - this story might be my favourite bit of the issue) along with a spot of two-fisted trans-temporalism in Bulldog and Panda. A line-up that, unlike the aforementioned camel, really holds water and is nothing to spit at!

“But wait,” you say. “A two-pager last time and a three-pager this time – aren’t you writing any longer PARAGON stories?” I’m glad you asked – and all being well, before the year is out, you might just see something a bit more substantial making its long-awaited (by me, anyway) debut in the magazine – something involving music, murder, mystery...  and this man:

Coming soon - Candlish permitting!