The Highland International Comic Expo!

I will be attending the Highland International Comic Expo on the 2nd and 3rd of February. This is the first convention for me this year so get in early! More details of guests and location here. The usual sketching, signing and selling at a table for the whole weekend. Any aspiring comic book artists should bring along their portfolios for a quick review too. See you there.

Macbeth graphic novel by Classical Comics.

My good friend Jon Haward's new graphic novel of Macbeth is due to be released next month. It is a stunning piece of work with a script by John McDonald and beautiful colours by Nigel Dobbyn. Jon has been working on this for over a year and it is his best work to date. Have a look over at the Classical Comics site and see what publisher Clive Bryant has to offer. A great selection of books including more Shakespeare plays and other literary classics.

Jon's next book is The Tempest and I have already seen pages from it. It promises to be as good as Macbeth with more imaginative and creative visuals and sumptious vistas. Clive's approach is to produce good looking graphic novels with great stories by established artists and the classic literature of Shakespeare is beyond reproach. Cleverly, he has produced three text versions of each play; one for schools with the original text, a standard edition in plain English and a 'quick text' version for the nervous, first time reader. Having tackled Shakespeare at school myself I think this is a good decision as it allows people of varying interests to enjoy the series and hopefully the 'quick text' readers will venture further into the world of the Bard with this helpful introduction?

You will find plenty of sample pages up online and a free download of the 2008 Key Stage 3 English Text for schools. It clearly shows what Classical Comics is trying to do with the series and highlights the other classic authors to be published later this year. John M Burns and Mike Collins are also part of the team and new talent Declan Shalvey is shining on Frankenstein. Will Volley is another name to look out for on his wonderful Romeo and Juliet. Enjoy the site!

Dan Dare interview by Wakefield Carter online.

Wakefield Carter interviewed me late last year about Dan Dare and his article is online here. This is the full un-edited version of Q&A's read in the recent interviews for Deathray magazine, SFX and The Independent. A good selection of colour and lineart only images are included too. Thanks must go to Wakefield for allowing me to put across a lot of Garth's ideas and letting me discuss the approach to the Dare book. So much to cover when dealing with the Dare Legacy. Enjoy!

Army@Love in Print Magazine.

The February Print Magazine has published an article on graphic novels covering war in a comic book medium and includes a mention of Army@Love written and drawn by Rick Veitch. Some nice pics shown but clearer images on my MySpace site in the Photo Album section. Go see!

Dan Dare in Deathray magazine!

This month's Deathray magazine has a feature and interview on Garth Ennis' Dan Dare. I haven't read it yet but I gather it appears to cover most of the Dare Legacy and quite rightly so. There will always be respect for Hampson's original and those who followed.

Army@Love trade out in the shops!

The first Army@Love trade paperback is out in the shops this month. Written and drawn by comics veteran Rick Veitch it collects the first six issues of the acclaimed Vertigo series. Criticial reviews from The Washington Post, Variety and the Military Times bode well for the book and are deserved for Rick. He is a rare talent and a pleasure to work with.

Garry Leach's cover for Dan Dare part two.

Garry Leach provides the stunning cover for Dan Dare part two. The variant cover is by John Higgins and the issue is currently out in your local comic book shop.

I am very pleased to have them on board this series. Future cover artists include Ian Gibson, Glenn Fabry and Brendan McCarthy (who worked on the aborted Dan Dare television series) and the brilliant Dave Gibbons (another Dare player with the 2000AD version in the late eighties) It is a privilige to have these great British artists working with Garth and I on the Dare book.

Dan Dare goes to second print!

The news from Virgin Comics this week is that Dan Dare will see a second print of the first issue due to public demand. The comic has sold out in many stores and copies have already appeared on internet auction sites such as eBay for many times the cover price. Hopefully the second print will allow fans to purchase the premiere issue at the standard cover price. You can buy Dan Dare at specialist comic book stores and online at Virgin Comics.

Alternatively you can download serialised episodes of the new Dan Dare here.

More galleries uploaded to MySpace!

I have uploaded more galleries to MySpace. Dan Dare covers, promos and pencils available to look at. There is also a small selection of Star Wars covers and most of the popular Army@Love covers by Rick Veitch, Brian Miller and myself. Go see!

The Highland International Comic Expo.

I will be attending the Highland International Comic Expo on the 2nd and 3rd of February. This is the first convention for me this year so get in early! More details of guests and location here. The usual sketching, signing and selling at a table for the whole weekend. Any aspiring comic book artists should bring along their portfolios for a quick review too. See you there.

Dan Dare: Virgin Comics and Garth Ennis.

On the 27th August, Virgin Comics gave the official November release date of Garth Ennis' Dan Dare. I have been working on this book for most of the year and had to keep quiet till today. There is a cover image by Bryan Talbot on the Virgin Comics blog but unfortunately I am not able to post any of the interior artwork or the gorgeous colouring. Very frustrating! After the disappointment of Jack Cross it feels great to be back on full art chores and working with Garth Ennis again. Really pushed my approach and direction for the series. Proud of this book!

Will post images as soon as I get the green light from Virgin. Feedback from fellow professionals and colleagues (who have seen selected pages on my desk) has been good. More to follow.

Retro Post - Bern, Switzerland June 2007

Photos from our short trip to Bern, Switzerland up on MySpace. Mhairi had to attend a conference there and it provided an opportunity for us to stay a couple more days in that lovely town. We travelled through with her colleagues from work (a pleasant three hour train journey) and met up with some friends in the evening after the talks. The weekend was ours to tour the shops and restaurants.

Would defintely return to Bern and spend more time exploring further afield, especially La Gruyere where HR Giger's museum is housed and the famous bar. Always been a fan of his work on Alien and have most of his major books. Enjoy the photos. More soon.

Retro Post - Istanbul, Turkish August 2006 Grand Prix photos online.

I have uploaded the photos from last year's Turkish Grand Prix to MySpace.

Mhairi and I spent five short days in the city and attended the race over the long weekend. Unbearably warm ( about 40 degrees ) but thankfully we were under shade for the day on the main stand with a great view of the pits and Jenson Button ( sixth on pole! ) Massa eventually won the race with Alonso third but it was a terrific day and quite a spectacle. Our seats were perfect to capture the whole event and we would definitely return to Istanbul, hoping next trip to spend more time at the Grand Bazaar and visit the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet and the surrounding area.

Recommend - Marie Javins World Tour and blog.

Marie Javins' blog and World Tour site are by far and away the most entertaining of my regular reads and finally gets a mention. Marie is a writer and editor currently in Cairo working with Teshkeel Comics She also travels and blogs and writes real books. Pop over and have a look at her sites? The photos of her previous travels are so inspiring and have me searching the studio for my passport with every read. I won't be blogging for 24 hours so you have no excuse not to visit. Go now!

Army@Love covers up on MySpace.

I have finally put up the covers for Army@Love on MySpace. Pencils are by the wonderful Rick Veitch (who also writes the series) and colours provided by Jose Villarubia and new team member Brian Miller (who also worked on The Filth) Our editor is Pornsak Pichetshote with Karen Berger at the Vertigo helm .

The series has been getting good reviews from a variety of sources (including Military Times) and the graphic novel of the first six issues is coming out in September. Check out the DC site for an overview. Lots of fun on that book and covers will hopefully give you a taste of the madness to expect if you haven't read it already?

New Photos up on MySpace.

I have started to uploaded new (and old) photos onto my MySpace site at the following address www.myspace.com/garyerskine Follow the link for pics. This site will journal most of my travels and life in Germany and feature artwork too. Higher resolution pics ( like Sagrada Familia, above) will end up on this blog. Enjoy the pics?

Chris Weston's The Twelve!

Chris Weston can now reveal that 'The Project He's Not Allowed To Talk About' has officially been given a press release. Check out his blog for links and interviews and some tantalising excerpts from the book. The Twelve (written by J.M Straczynski) is due out in January and I can't wait! Order placed as soon as.

Chris has been a big influence on my art approach over the years and a good friend and colleague. We have worked together on various titles ( Johann's Tiger, The Filth and The Fantastic Four: First Family) and it has always been a pleasure to ink his work ( albeit with looong hours per page but that's dedication! )

I will hopefully get a selection of our work together on my MySpace site very soon.

Michael Jackson's Thriller!

It's not often I am lost for words but this article and video clip on the Metro site (thanks, Kevin) has genuinely thrown me for six. There are a lot of viral clips out there. Some good. Most bad. This one is to be filed under the bizarre. 1500 Philippinian prison inmates dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller! Enjoy?

Doctor Who - Blink!

Currently enjoying the third series of Doctor Who with episode 10 ‘Blink’ returning to the core values of Doctor Who… scaring the hell out of small kids (and young adults!) Statues that are actually quantum aliens that only move (come to life) when you don’t see them (or blink) proved to be the surprisingly scariest episode I remember since Planet of the Spiders (Jon Pertwee) and The Brain of Morbius (Tom Baker) It has been thirty years since I last thought about hiding behind the sofa but this particular episode really struck a cord. Simple idea, scary execution and a well-crafted end montage of statues around Cardiff adding to the fright! (are there more scary living statues around?) No need to invent ridiculously silly aliens or outrageously inappropriate costumes or masks. Just choose the most mundane, normal, everyday object and inject a simple premise or conceit that it only comes to life when you can’t see it. Brilliant!

The Doctor and Martha Jones were hardly seen in this episode (with only a minor role) and it was left to Sally Sparrow to run around for 45 minutes. Cleverly written time-travel (mis) logic helped create a nicely crafted episode and a welcome return to form. Had the classic feel of a Twilight Zone episode or a 2000AD Futureshock. Well done BBC Cardiff!

There is a small trailer on the official Doctor Who site for those who dare?

Retro post - Barcelona photos up on MySpace!

My photos from Barcelona are up on my MySpace site. They date back to my first trip in November 2005 and cover a five day visit. I overcame a seven year 'aversion' to flying and fear of heights in order to get there and enjoyed every moment. I have since returned to Barcelona twice (both times with Mhairi) for the Spanish Grand Prix and Festes de Merce and will be spending another week there in September. Missed some of the wonderful galleries last trip. Photos from the other two previous visits will be put up later this week.

Please leave comments and prints are available on request! ;)