Current Comic Scholars

I'm in the middle of a set of sessions with some of the youth group who attend Carmoor Rd West Indian Centre. I took their photo at the start of the first session, then presented them all with a copy of this group portrait ...

...and so they drew me.

Cool Cats Cafe

Hayfield May Queen celebrations are given a different theme each year in which to decorate shops, homes and floats - this year decades. In doing up Katy's dad's office at the top of the town we went for the 1950's, turning it into a milk bar (based on Stockport's famous 3 i's cafe). On the left - the greasy bikers. On the right - the tweedy intellectuals clutching Steinbeck and Orwell. In the background - me trying to fit in. Somewhere in the middle (very small) is our certificate for Best Dressed Premises FIRST PRIZE!

Teen Witch no.1

Work has begun on Teen Witch number 1, which very excited about! I won't be posting updates on it as I just need to sit down and get the thing done, though you will be the first to know when it's finished. At a whopping 8 pages long this will form my most ambitious and challenging work to date.

WWII Comic Project

Here's a few images from a recent Creative Partnerships project with Year 6 of St Mary's RC Primary in Eccles. I'll be putting a full report on my proper site soon.

We realised that the felt tips all had different funny smells. Several were passed around for all to sample.
Over 8 full days we covered all the skills required to write and draw comics, resulting in Wicked War. A small sample -


During the sessions we learnt about the history of comics, different styles and genres, even making our own romance comic. We also got to watch lots of old cartoons and read all kinds of war-related comics, including amongst many others Ethel & Earnest and Barefoot Gen (which blew them all away). We all really enjoyed working together, and the work they produced was consistently brilliant. Many even felt that they had learnt stuff -