I’ll be signing copies the excellent new book, Nelson at Forbidden Planet, 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8JR tomorrow, Thursday 24 from 6-7pm. For anyone that doesn’t know by now (where have you been?!?), Nelson is the brand new book edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix, featuring over 50 artists telling the story of Nel, from birth to the present day, published by the excellent Blank Slate Books.

There’s a whole host of great artists (too numerous and great to list here) and, er, me, as well as great storytelling and all profits from the first 4000 books sold are going to the homeless charity, Shelter.

It’s had really good reviews from The Guardian and The Observer and is now on sale through the Blank Slate site and at all good comic and book shops.

There’s a load of events lined up to launch the book this week, details here, including a celebratory do at Gosh comics in London, on Friday night from 6. See you, who (?), there?

Anyway, the main event last month, was my involvement in the Goethe institute and Kommisia Moscow Comics Festival led project, ‘Respect‘ in Yekaterinberg, Russia, alongside a host of excellently talented fellow comic artists from Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Finland and Russia and some lovely Russian organisers.

The basic idea, developed after the last Moscow Comics Festival, involves the creation of pocket comics dealing with issues of tolerance aimed at Russian school kids and college students. There’d already been some really interesting results from the last project and we were invited last month to thrash out ideas, give talks and workshops for students, listen on local and national issues and attend a special exhibition of our own, translated work.

The whole week was a great opportunity to meet and work with Russian and European artists through discussion, debate and copious amounts of Vodka, made more enjoyable with my fellow Brit travellers, Rob Davis and Karrie Fransman.

Here’s a link to the project’s website and Facebook page, with loads of piccies from our workshops, meanderings and our sub-zero, freezing our dumplings off tour around the old Soviet city of Sverdlovsk.

Many thanks to Anna Voronkova, Heehoos, Sergei Simonov and all the other Respect team for making us so welcome and introducing us to Russia.

Check this page out soon for sketches and roughs from my Respect project.

спасибо

Gaz, Buster and Waz (before the wig fell off).

Those rag-tag, Brighton dwelling brothers of ill repute, Gary and Warren Pleece, once again tread the boards of comic promotionalisation with a lightning visit to the esteemed meeting place of Cartoon County, tonight at 7.30 p.m., upstairs at The Greene Room in The Cricketers pub in Brighton. Hear them talk about their latest books and projects, The Great Unwashed and Montague Terrace, as well as chucklesome reminisces of the Velocity years and what made/ makes them tick in a comicy fashion. Free sandwiches and nearby vicinity to a bar, make this event a must, even if you have to listen to those goggle-eyed bastards blowing their own trumpets!

Had a great time last weekend as a guest of the Helsinki Comics Festival, that also featured a healthy (?) contingent of Brit comics bods, Bryan and Mary Talbot, David Peter Kerr, Sam from Nobrow and the Comica Festival gang, Paul Gravett, Peter Stanbury and Megan Donnolley, alongside an impressive array of talented and enthusiastic Finns. Kiitos Puljon to Otto Sinisalo, Janne and Marie and everyone else at the festival involved with chaperoning us through the lovely city of Helsinki, from main tent to main bar and back again.

You can see pictures of the various events and peebs here.

Special thanks to Lottie and Saskia Pleece for making me so welcome!

As a precursor to that, I’ve been invited to the Helsinki Comics Festival this weekend, 16-18th September where I’ll be doing some signings and giving a talk entitled ‘Self-Publish and be Damned, or How not to make it in Comics’, covering the early Velocity years, so, hopefully not too po-faced, through to the latest web publishing ventures.

Tons more stuff to come soon, so watch this space.

You know who you are. Do I?!

Dandridge © copyright Rebellion 2010

I’ve just finished a short 5 episode run on the new 2000 AD series Dandridge, written by Alec Worley which is out now (progs 1710 to 1714)! This series revives, in a way, the dandyish hero with more than a passing resemblance to 70s cad Jason King, Dr. Spartacus Dandridge, originally featured in our previous collaboration, Antiquus Phantasma and is set in an alternative 1980s London full of retro-harnessed spooks. The first two episodes are out now, hardly before the pixelated inks had a chance to dry and I urge you to check it out at your local newsagent. More details here from the 2000 AD website and here’s a link to Alec’s blog, currently featuring a guest slot from the good Doctor himself.

I’ll be posting up more artwork and sketches soon.

Zarjaz indeed!

Two posts in one day must be a record and an added treat to my legions of followers, both of you.

If having two exhibitions wasn’t enough for my ego this year, along comes “That’s Novel”, as part of this years collaboration between The Comica Festival and The London Print Studio. Me and brother Gary are exhibiting our old Velocity strip, Pig Custard, soon to be featured in our new (but old) anthology, The Great Unwashed from Escape Books, alongside a great line-up of British and international comic types.

The show starts tomorrow, October 22nd (opening party tonight from 6 p.m.) and runs until December 19th at The London Print Studio in Westbourne Park. Details and info here.

Square Fish Books, an imprint of Macmillan, have just released a new version of Life Sucks with extra pages, chapter breaks and for only $8.99 (not sure what that is in pounds yet, but it’s a bargain!). They’ve also done a brilliant job, so if anyone out there is yet to be convinced to pick up a copy, wait no more. You can find out more here or buy it online at Amazon of course.

There’s a 5 star review in the latest Time Out for the Hypercomics exhibition and apparently a whole page from Marvo showcased in the magazine!

Comics are really grate! (coming soon from Escape Books…)

Four comic artists all trying out something different within and outside the medium.

Admission is free and the show runs until the 26th of September.

There’s also an ipad ap coming out soon and a mini site to compliment the show.