Making Waves - 'Formers style!

Tremble, Pathetic Earthlings, before the might of mighty me - that's MEGATRON!  
(In absolutely no way am I actually Robin masquerading as a Decepticon Overlord.)

I COMMAND you to purchase the latest and greatest issue of Titan's Transformers Comic (available NOW from all good newsagents!) featuring a thrilling story about my loyal lieutenant, Soundwave, and a battle across TIME!

The human artist known as Jon Davis-Hunt has done a remarkable job in capturing the enigmatic power of a Decepticon in flight (as in 'flying' NOT 'running away' ... although he does seem to be running away in a few of the panels....)

And just look at his sonic cannons in action! Truly we are unbeatable!

  




















I don't know who this hack human transcriber, Robin Etherington, thinks he is (he's certainly not ME) but he's recorded the action quite admirably. For a meat bag.

I SHALL RETURN ... when that traitorous Starscream will be up to his old tricks again ... honestly ... why don't I just throw him into the Sun?...

Find Chaffy!

YES-YES! Find Chaffy day is nearly upon us!

In two days time we will all be celebrating the release of Jamie Smart's Awesome new book FIND CHAFFY! I had hoped to do a brand new piece of artwork to celebrate, but current busyness has prohibited me. I did, however manage to rustle up these cutting edge super modern promotional images to help spread the word. Now GO HERE and buy the book! YAY!

Lorenzo!

A busy month...

So, this is a huge month both for us as a studio, and for me personally!

Work-wise, we're finishing our new book Baggage, getting things ready for the launch of Monkey Nuts: The diamond Egg of Wonders on the 2nd September, starting work on our new book series and getting things in place for an ongoing promo tour. Rather more importantly, I'm also getting married at the end of the month, so as you can imagine, a few things are going to get neglected for the the next four weeks or so. Stick with us, and it'll all be back to normal soon!

Cheers!

Lorenzo!

20% Off until 01/08/2010

Okay folks, you're gonna have to move fast to take advantage of this one! We're offering you 20% off El sketchbook Lorenzo Deluxe collection and/or Malcolm Magic Big Kahuna Collection until 01/08/2010. That's a massive £4.99 off the sketchbook alone! Just GO HERE, choose the books you want and enter the code "TWIST" at checkout to make your lovely big saving! You're welcome!

When Pen meets Paper - BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Today is a GOOD day. And not just because the A-Team movie is finally dropping in the UK and we've got tickets!

Regular readers might recall us mentioning a potential Etherington Brothers illustrated novel series that had been in development for a while. Like every creative endeavor it has taken time to mold this project into the perfect vehicle to satisfy our comic and storytelling sensibilities. We set out to create a series that WE'D have been desperate to read as young boys and our fantastic editor David Fickling has been instrumental throughout the process. It's an absolute delight to team up with David and Random House again and follow Monkey Nuts and Baggage with the first two titles from our forthcoming (ongoing) children's series. 

Yes, that is my actual hand signing the paperwork this afternoon!

So what (baring the NAME of the series) can we share about our latest literary foray?
Will the books be jam-packed with action and adventure? My goodness, yes.
Will the books be filled with page after page of illustrative wonder courtesy of Lorenzo's scribbling paw? Oh, like never before!
Is this a permanent departure from the world of comics? Not in the slightest!

This is an exciting undertaking for our little studio but the fun of sequential storytelling is in our blood. As such these books will contain more than their fair share of speech bubbles and comic panels! 

Young and old alike - you're in for a treat!

(Those with a criminal leaning will be annoyed to discover we've partially deleted, adapted and reconfigured the sig. Ha!)

Interview in Imagine FX

Hey-hey folks!

The latest issue of the awesome Imagine FX has a full-page article/interview with me about my 600 page El Sketchbook Lorenzo Deluxe Collection sketchbook!

Go out and buy a copy of the mag, then why not treat yourself to one of my monsterous sketchbooks ;)

Lorenzo!

There is a land I'd like to tell you about. It's a land where comics and graphic novels flow like colourful, stapled and papery water. A land where over 4800 new comic books were published last year alone. Where national comic sales topped 40 million. Where individual book sales of 300,000 copies weren't the stuff of fevered dreams, but a cool reality enjoyed by a good number of creators. Where passion for quality and quantity is matched by a living wage and a professional, structured industry.

I am talking, of course, about FRANCE!  
Terre du libre, à la maison du courageux!

From late 2005 to spring 2007 I lived in France simply drinking in the immense volume of comic material on offer. But it still wasn't until a recent trip to Brittany that I was made aware of just how accepted and available this wonderful storytelling medium has become. See fig 1 below.

This is me gurning away beside the BD section in a NEWSAGENTS ('Tabac' for those with a continental leaning) in the tiny fishing village of Douarnenez. A town about the size of Falmouth. A small place. Very small. And just LOOK AT ALL THOSE BOOKS! Wow...

Today, dear France, I salute you ... you're one more reason why comics have never been so much fun!

It has come to my attention this morning that Lorenzo and I, although united in theme and purpose, often apply ourselves in quite a different manner. Where his day is enviably structured, mine remains adroitly chaotic. Where he is inspirationally diligent, I become distracted with stupefying ease. Wave a hobnob in my direction and all concept of prose and plot goes out the window. Sad but true.

Yet there is one aspect of the creative process to which we both adhere with unflinching, blinkered joy: the development of stories and characters that both satisfy AND subvert expectation.

To demonstrate, let's all take a look at this lovely piece of art from Tom Gauld.

This is a good list. An amusingly rendered collection of well known character types for a certain genre.
Using this as a basis Lorenzo and I would apply our unique take on just a single individual, thus:

Robin - Hmmm, I'd like to have a 'Birdman' in our next adventure but let's make sure he can't fly.
Lorenzo - Ha, he's a Penguin birdman!
Robin - No, wait, he's a penguin keeper! Who discovers that one of his charges can fly.
Lorenzo - But I'd still like him to be a BIT penguiny. Around the beak.
Robin - Yeah, sure, that goes without saying.

And there's just no distracting either of us when we're in THIS zone!

Except perhaps with a Double Decker ... or a Twix...

Robin

The Lore of the Things Episode 2!

Episode 2 of The Lore of the Things is now online! read it HERE!

A little sketch...

Here's a little sketch I recently did in one of my big 600 page sketchbooks for our good friend Julie over in Paris. It's a little like my old One Night in the City stuff, for those of you who remember...

Next up, Lore of the Things Episode 2!

Lorenzo!

Cracking News, Gromit!

Tuesday is rarely a day for great news. The best thing one can normally say about Tuesday is that it's not Monday. However all that changes TODAY as I am delighted to reveal that I've joined a stellar team of writers working on the Wallace & Gromit daily cartoon strip for the Sun Newspaper!

Well there's a turn up for the books, eh, lad?

Eh, lad, indeed. My first weekly adventure drops in a couple of months so I'll give fair warning nearer the time but I was too excited to hold the announcement back any longer.

It's wonderful to be involved in a genuine British creation, especially one as loved as these two plasticine pals!

Now where did I put that wensleydale?...

Robin 

Baggage hits the Top 20!

You've got to love stats. Especially when they work in your favour!

Following on from Lorenzo's earlier announcement, we were delighted to see Baggage leap into the Amazon Top 20 bestselling Children's Graphic Novel list at 14, and the Top 100 for Graphic novels in general!

Nope, we have NO IDEA how their system works but we're not complaining! It's jolly nice to rub shoulders with the big boys. Especially when your book is yet to possess a cover!

More amusing news as it breaks!