Gary Northfield's TeenyTinySaurs storm Gosh!

Excellent childrens' books illustrator and Phoenix-contributor Gary Northfield has released The Terrible Tales of the TeenyTinySaurs, a delightful new kid's book from Walker Books - and Gosh London are celebrating it with a launch party on Friday 31st May.
 
Is it possible to fly to the moon in a bubble of snot? Can you really have an argument with a cloud? Are there bogey monsters at the bottom of the garden? 

All these questions and more are explored in The Terrible Tales of the TeenyTinySaurs - an hysterical and charming collection of comic strip adventures, following a teeny tiny gang of dinosaurs as they wind each other up and muddle their way through the myths and mysteries of prehistoric life.


• The Terrible Tales of the TeenyTinySaurs Launch Party Friday 31st May, Gosh London, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR
 
• Here's a link to Gary's website with several teasers: http://www.garynorthfield.com/2012/07/24/teenytinysaurs/

Dandy 75: Artists Signing At The ABC Show

The ABC Show section of the London Comic Mart on Sunday 2 December had a Dandy theme with a selection of original artwork for sale as well as plenty of back issues. The Cartoon Museum and Phil Comics both had sales tables while there were also a number of Dandy and Beano artists there to talk to and sign items for the punters.

 

Henry Davies (above centre) talks to two fans while Gary Northfield (left), Lew Stringer (right) and Nigel Parkinson (with back to the camera) compare notes.

Henry had a good selection of his artwork on display and for sale.

Nigel Parkinson (above) was feeling somewhat under the weather but still managed to sign items. You can find out more about Nigel's work on his blog, Nigel Parkinson's Cartoons.

 

Lew Stringer (above right) signs a copy of The Art And History Of The Dandy as Nigel looks on. You can find out more about Lew's work on his website while his blog Blimey! remains indispensable reading for fans of old British comics.

All photos by Richard Sheaf.

The last print issue of The Dandy, a 100 page special including a reprint of the first issue from 1937, goes on sale on Tuesday 4 December with a cover price of £3.99. 

Anyone concerned that they will not be able to find a copy of the issue, which has a print run of 50,000, can order it directly from the DC Thomson on-line shop. The on-line shop also has a special offer of a Dandy Collectors Pack of a copy of the last issue as well as a copy of the hardback book The Art And History Of The Dandy signed by the last two editors of the comic, Morris Heggie and Craig Graham.

It's The Dandy Show! Final print issue to be celebrated at London Mart

With the final print edition of The Dandy comic imminent - a 100-page special that includes a facsimile of the first issue - the London Comic Mart is marking its transition to a digital format on Sunday 2nd December by hosting a special Dandy-themed day to celebrate 75 years of the much loved comic.

Launched on 4th December 1937, The Dandy hits 75 years at the beginning of December – but, sadly, the anniversary will see an end to the print edition. Hopefully, the move to an entirely digital comic will prove a success – DC Thomson have been working on it for months, so fingers crossed!

To celebrate the anniversary and to tie-in with the final print issue of the iconic DC Thomson comic, Showmasters is hosting a special edition of its ABC Show. Held on 2nd December from noon to 4.00pm at the Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London WC1, the festivities are an addition to the regular London Comic Marts held at the same venue.

In attendance will be such contemporary Dandy artists as Henry Davis, Laura Howell, Gary Northfield, Lew Stringer and others.

Original artwork from The Dandy from the 1930s to the 1960s will be on display, as well as issues of The Dandy from the same period.

Organisers say this is a unique opportunity to meet the people behind The Dandy, hear them talk about their experiences working on the comic and see some of the rarities from the weekly’s history.

In addition, Hunt Emerson - also a Dandy contributor - will be at the event, signing copies of his new book, Dante's Inferno; and author David Ashford will be signing copies of his latest book The Art of Denis McLoughlin, published by exhibitor Book Palace, who will also be showing off the first issue of illustrators , the quarterly publication devoted to the finest European illustration.

Dealers at the event will also be offering comics and memorabilia from across the wide range of British comics in general.

• London Comic Mart, Noon - 4.00pm Sunday 2nd December 2012. For more details visit the Showmasters website here: http://londoncomicmart.co.uk

Gosh London's 'Phoenix Activity Day' kicks off at 1.00pm today

Back on Free Comic Book Day, Gosh Comics in London got a bunch of artists to come in with their pencil cases, draw all over their windows then sit down at the big Gosh! table and drew cartoons with kids all day. Sarah McIntyre (Vern & Lettuce) was one of those amazing pen-wielders and has some pictures over at her blog.

If you missed it, then never fear, because today (Saturday 3rd November) Gosh are doing it again, this time to promote stellar weekly kids’ mag The Phoenix.

If you’re yet to pick up a copy of The Phoenix, Gosh urge you do so so forthwith for the benefit of your wee one, especially if you’re still mourning the loss of the much-loved DFC. "As they say on their website, it’s aimed at 8 to 11 year olds but they’ve got fans as young as three and I’ve seen dudes in suits buying it for themselves," a Gosh spokesperson declares on the fab shop's blog. It’s full of weekly strips, long-running stories, one-off strips, competitions and all sorts, by the likes of Jamie Smart, Dave Shelton, Nick Abadzis, Kate Brown, Simone Lia, Chris Riddell and more, for £2.99 a pop."

this afternoon frm 1.00pm, Gosh Londn play host to three Phoenix artists – Neill Cameron, Lorenzo Etherington and Gary Northfield who will be there to agan plaster the shop's windows in cartoons and ink.

If you’re aged between 6 and 13, come on down and draw some stuff with people who get to draw stuff as their actual job. It’s free! And you can ask them how to be a cartoonist. They’re captive and have to be nice to you.

• Gosh London is at www.goshlndon.com online

 

Blank Slate's 'Nelson' in the spotlight at Hay Festival

(via Sarah McIntyre's blog): If you're in Wales at the Hay Festival this weekend, don't miss out on what is sure to be an awesome panel by six of the comics creators who made NELSON, published by Blank Slate - including Sarah McIntyre - on Sunday.

"I'm so completely proud of this book," says Sarah, who will also be doing a 4.00pm reading of Morris the Mankiest Monster in the Family Area, if you want to stop by to say hello.

Rob Davis, Woodrow Phoenix, Gary Northfield, Kristyna Baczynski and Will Morris are also on the NELSON panel.

If you're at Hay the following weekend, Sarah is back doing a bunch of other stuff, including a sold out panel with Philip Reeve, Martin Brown and Cathy Brett called Illustration Game of Consequences. Inspired by suggestions from you, these amazing artists draw live on one giant piece of paper.
"It will be random and it will be fun," says Sarah.

On Saturday 9th June at 10am, Sarah hosts Cartoon Craziness, a chance to meet this brilliant illustrator and learn how to invent your own cartoons. Expect pirates, monsters, princesses, dinosaurs, cowboys and, of course, Vern & Lettuce.

Then, at 1.00pm: Philip Reeve talks to Sarah: get along and discover a wild world of magical creatures and heroic adventures from the extraordinary imagination behind Mortal Engines - and, hopefully, a sneek peek of their forthcoming series Seawigs.

- Full info on the Hay Festival web site

Beano's Derek The Sheep On Stage

While there have been a good few British comics characters that have made it onto the cinema and television screen, from the infamous Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd to the delightfully unique BBC TV version of Jane, there have been very few that have made it onto the theatre stage. It is good therefore to report that Gary Northfield's Beano character Derek The Sheep will be appearing at Merton's Colour House Theatre over the course of the next week.

As part of the south London Merton Abbey Mills complex's AbbeyFest 2011, Derek will be appearing in The Quest For The Googly Glasses, written by Gary Northfield and performed by the Legend Theatre Company. Already previewed on Sunday 24 July at the New Cross Turn Left small press event, the show will take run from Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 August with a final show on Saturday 13 August. All shows take place at 2pm with adult tickets priced at £7 and concessions at £5.

As for other British comics characters that have appeared on the theatre stage we know of two different versions of 2000AD's Halo Jones from last century plus the somewhat bizarre sounding Dan Dare The Musical in 2003, while 2009 brought us The Sunday Post's matriarch in The Maw Broon Monologues and Kate Brown's The Spider Moon from The DFC. If you know of any others that we may have missed then leave us a comment.

There are more details about the play on Gary Northfield's blog, Stupid Monsters.

There are more details including booking information for Derek The Sheep in The Quest For The Googly Eyes at the AbbeyFest 2011 website.

Panel Borders: Derek the Sheep, the Mouse Guard and other Comical Animals

In a packed final show on radio show Panel Borders for 2010, Alex Fitch concludes his look at anthropomorphic comics, with a survey of recent titles for all ages – Gary Northfield’s ‘Derek the Sheep’ who appears in The Beano and Beano Max comics; Mouse Guard, a series of adventure comics and graphic novels by David Petersen; and ‘Comical Animal’, a new website devoted to funny animal strips, curated by Jim Medway.

The show features interviews with all three creators, recorded variously in Streatham Library, near Euston Station and via transatlantic phone line!

• Panel Borders: Derek the Sheep, the Mouse Guard and other Comical Animals airs at 5.00pm today, 16th December on Resonance 104.4 FM (London) / streamed at www.resonancefm.com


• Resonance FM will be running repeats from 20th December 2010 - 9th January 2011; each of the three interviews will be available at www.panelborders.wordpress.com as extended half hour podcasts between now and the end of the year: David Petersen at 5.30pm 16/12/10; Jim Medway by 5pm 23/12/10 and Gary Northfield with Ellen Lindner and the Streatham Library Graphic Novels Reading Group by 5pm 30/12/10

Let's hear it for some Comical Animals!

Bumble Billy by Gary Northfield

A quick reminder that Jim Medway's Comical Animal, a bi-monthly online publication for comic, cartoon and kids books aficionados, is on course for a proper launch in December.

Sponsored by Good Grief! and Blank Slate Books, Jim is taking submissions for strips, articles, reviews and illustrations for the first full issue, scheduled for December. You can get to the submission guidelines here.

The preview issue features strips by a host of British artists such as Dave Shelton, Gary Northfield, Lizz Lunney, Francesca Cassavetti, Rob Jackson, Dan Berry and many more.

• Check it out at: http://comicalanimal.com

In Review: Derek the Sheep

We mentioned Gary Northfield's popular Beano (and first creator owned) strip Derek the Sheep earlier today with good reason. The first collection of the strip, published back in September by Bloomsbury but which just arrived here at downthetubes (thanks, Gary!), is an absolute gem.

This quirky collection features the first 13 of grumpy Derek's daft adventures, which appeared in the Beano from February 2004 onwards. This edition comprises the same stories as the French-language Norbert le Mouton, published by Actes-Sud-l'An 2, earlier in 2008 (below), but the stories are presented more Beano-style in this version.

It's interesting to see how quickly the character and supporting cast develop, including an irritated squirrel, annoyed Derek's antics have interrupted his TV viewing; Bernard the Goat, who will eat anything (unless Derek and his mates get there first); and Cecil, a bee that just wants a friend (especially a friend that will help him find a flower he can call his own) and loves snow. (I told you it was quirky).

Gary's artwork is confident in its 3 x 4 grid styling throughout, its simplicity disguising just how much work has gone into storytelling and layout.

With is eclectic collection of characters and absurdist humour that reminds me of the work of Glen Dakin and James Tunrer, Derek the Sheep is a wonderful invention. Its success is well deserved (the more so for being creator-owned in a title that in the past rarely credited its makers, an age now thankfully over). The tales, which include Gone with the Wind (Derek gets blown up a tree), Let's Bee Friends (Bee seeks friend, obviously, but with motive!) and One for the Pot (Red Riding Hood wolf decides to make Derek lunch), work on several levels like all the best humour -- true fun for all the family and not just the core target age of Beano readers.

If you've never read Derek the Sheep before then this is as good a place as any to start. This collection is a perfect Christmas present for any Beano or animal lover!

(Beano readers should of course be bought the The Beano Annual 2009 and The History of the Beano: The Story So Far, too!).

• Buy the Bloomsbury Derek the Sheep hardback
• Visit Gary Northfield's web site
• View pages from Norbert le Mouton

• Buy The Beano Annual 2009
• Buy The History of the Beano: The Story So Far, too!

Derek the Sheep Unleashed!

Gary Northfield's popular Beano (and first creator owned) strip Derek the Sheep is out this week as a fab 64-page hardback from publishers Bloomsbury.

A day in the life of Derek the Sheep is no forage in the field. Oh no. It’s flippin’ hard work, what with all those other pesky animals on the farm! Wherever Derek might be or whatever he might be up to, you can be sure there’s something for him to get his wool in a twist about.

But the cantankerous Derek is also not one to miss an opportunity - especially if it means more juicy grass - and this collection features the first thirteen of Derek's most heroically daft adventures, that appeared in the Beano from February 2004 onwards.

Priced at just £7.99, this edition comprises the same stories as the French-language Norbert le Mouton, published by Actes-Sud-l'An 2, earlier in the year but says Gary, "with Beano-esque speech bubbles as opposed to handwritten, and with a totally different cover."

• Derek the Sheep fans (or, indeed, Gary Northfield fans), will be pleased to hear that the creator will be signing copies of the book at the Birmingham International Comic Show on the weekend of 4-5th October.

• Buy the Bloomsbury Derek the Sheep hardback
• Visit Gary Northfield's web site
• View pages from Norbert le Mouton