It's Dandy Day!

Yes yes! This week's Dandy comes out today and BOY! What a monster! A whopping 44 pages of comic goodness, including epsiode 2 of YORE! Whoop!

Add to that no less than SIX pages of the incomparable Jamie Smart's glorious comic goodness, along with strips by Nik Holmes, Andy Fanton, Wilbur Dawbarn, Lew Stringer  and Nigel Parkinson, and you have yourself a serious bundle of goodness! To celebrate the launch of the new issue, here's some previews of environments and character concepts for episode 13 of YORE! Enjoy!

Back to School with a Blast!

Recently we had the great pleasure of visiting the Bristol Grammar School and holding a workshop with 140 year 7 students and their teachers. Here we are in action.
The camera can be so cruel when you're caught in the middle of a sentence...

It was a fantastic day and it gave me good pause to think about the school experience in wider terms. A lot has been written about the education system and many notable individuals have added their own thoughts, some supportive, some negative and some just amusing. A good example of the latter comes from the pen of American author, Walter Percy:

"You can get all A's and still flunk life."

Wise words, Walt, wise words. But my absolute favourite (serious) quotation, and one we Etheringtons try our very hardest to live up to, was coined by famed 20th Century poet, William Butler Yeats:

"Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire."

If you want children to pass exams they have to learn FACTS. This we know. But if you want to light the fire of inspiration, well ... that can be far harder. One great way in which schools seem to be really embracing this ideal however, is through their visitor programme.

Sportsmen and sportswomen, artists, authors, musicians and more are invited to talk to small and large groups, and share their experiences. We were delighted to be invited by Lucy Shepherd to host a workshop at BGS and, judging from the photos below, I think it's fair to say everyone had a good time!

It is with immense pride that we share our creative process and use our experiences to encourage students of all ages to think about their work in new, exciting ways.

If you would like to know more about our school workshops and maybe even book us in for a visit (we want to spread the good word far and wide) simply drop us a line at: theetheringtonbrothers@hotmail.co.uk.

Burn the Behemoth!

Valentine's Day not your thing? Fear not - we Etherington's have the answer and solution to your every entertainment need. If romance is not on the cards then why not indulge in a little harmless lightsaber action. And don't try and tell me Star Wars is not your thing ... I simply won't hear it!

Yes, it's a brand new Etherington penned, Clone Wars comic strip adventure, set deep in the outer rim. The powerful iron city of Thousand Thousand has survived countless conflicts without assistance - so what new threat could cause its inhabitants to cower in fear?

Discover all the answers by picking up an action-packed copy from your latest newsagent TODAY!

Everything's better with YOU

Happy Valentine's Day! A little piccie to start the week for my wonderful girl, who continues to be my best friend and my greatest inspiration. I love you, baby!
x
Lorenzo!

Baggage Cover Revealed!

Happy Friday, comic fans!

We've something VERY special to share today. A little bonus charge to energise that already electric end-of-week feeling.

Amazon have just updated the full profile for our forthcoming graphic novel, Baggage, which is due for release in October. And best of all - you can now wrap your eyes around the book cover in all its Lorenzo glory!

Looks pretty, right? But what's it all about?

Here's the Amazon lowdown to get your mind tingling:

"Baggage tells the tale of Randall, a happy-go-lucky but disaster-prone lost property officer working for the Tram service, deep in the heart of Triptych City. After a particularly destructive incident, his weary boss presents him with an impossible ultimatum. Either he locates the owner of the oldest item stored in the immense lost property warehouse by the end of the day, or he's out of a job. So begins an adventurous journey through a wondrous city. Randall's enquiries attract a myriad of bizarre, often amusing, and sometimes dangerous characters. Clues are uncovered where and when he least expects them, and help arrives from the strangest of quarters. But wherever Randall goes, trouble is sure to follow. Will he succeed in his impossible mission? And even if he does, just how much of the city will be left standing?"

The book is available for PRE-ORDER now!

We'll be talking a lot more about the book, the launch and the new tour later in the year, but for now, settle back and just enjoy that cover ... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

A Good Group Blog...

Just wanted to point you in the direction of The Super Comics Adventure Squad blog, as it's an awesome group blog frequented by some seriously top creators from the DFC and beyond, where you can comment and discuss a multitude of quality offerings by some of the best creators in the UK today! Click the logo above to go check it out!

Cardiff Comics Expo in two weeks!

Just to remind all you comic-lovers that the Cardiff Comic Expo is a matter of weeks away! We'll be there on Saturday 26th of this month, along with a ton of other awesome creators, be sure to come along, and bring your friends! More details HERE!

Hey, hey...

... and there are MANY reasons to celebrate!

Jamie Smart - all round top gent and comic guru - has put together a list of 6 reasons why you should pop out and treat yourself to a copy of the oldest running children's comic in the world (that's not one of the reasons ... just an interesting fact).

Read Jamie's list of cool, HERE!

And Andy Fanton - fellow comic whizkid and chipper chap - has blogged his own tasty preview of this weeks offering.

Go HERE to see Andy's pick of the pack!

YORE! Begins in just THREE days' Time!

Yes, 'tis true! YORE! launches with episode 1 in the Dandy this week! Whoop! Wednesday the 9th you'll be able to go into your local newsagent and join us for the beginning of our brand new series!

Let's celebrate with a few more glimpses at some environments, a little rant from PIGGY, and a taster of some of the incidental characters who crop up...

Save our Libraries Day - this Saturday!

As some of you may be aware, the UK is currently suffering from an ongoing recession and spiraling national debt. One of the saddest repercussions of the Governments extreme debt collection plan is a HUGE reduction in council spending. This has brought about a proposal to close a large, large, LARGE number of public libraries across the country.

This would be an unforgivably, irreversibly bad thing. They will never reopen.

Libraries are a free access point to education, literacy and communication for all. They offer a service that is all-inclusive and benefits all ages. At a time when literacy levels are plummeting across the UK, it would be criminal to kneecap one of our last great resources for the written word.

AGH - WHAT CAN I DO? I hear you scream in astonishment (glad to hear you're on board!)

As much or as little as you like! CILIP (the chartered institute of library and information professionals) have put together a great list of activities that take you between 2 minutes and half an hour to complete, and will seriously help the cause to save our libraries. From tweeting and writing to your MP, to simply going in to your nearest library and taking out a book, every little helps. Go HERE to find out more!

OH YEAH, AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING, ETHERINGTONS? I hear you wryly ask (and rightfully too)

As part of our year long GO NUTS tour Lorenzo and I are trying to work with as many schools and libraries as possible, in order to help promote the potential of the service. In April we'll be visiting Chesterfield Library for a full day of workshops and in May we'll be holding another full day of events with Birmingham council at their Young Readers event. If any libraries are interested in hosting future Etherington events, please just drop us a line.

So tomorrow, when you're out and about, take a moment to pop into your local library (if you're passing one) and tell those hard working staff that they are appreciated. Trust me, we'll all miss 'em when they're gone.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DO!

YORE! Begins WEDNESDAY 9th FEBRUARY!

That's right! If you have a copy of this week's Dandy you'll see in the bottom left hand corner of the inside back page a little ad to let you know that next week YORE! launches as a weekly strip! More on this next week, obviously!

Lorenzo!

Many, many, many happy returns....

Today is a rarity ... it is without exception the ONLY time you will not find Lorenzo glued to his desk, scribbling away (well, okay, Christmas is an exception ... and ... er ... anytime we're on the road I suppose ... um ... and whenever we go to the cinema ... okay so there are LOTS of exceptions but stay with me on this!)

Yes, today is a very special day, for it marks the anniversary (many years ago) when my life irreversibly changed for the better. I was three years old at the time and largely concerned with trying to eat anything that wasn't nailed down. I didn't really understand the importance of Mum's words as she explained that I now had a little brother. That didn't matter however as Lorenzo entered my life with the force of a cannonball fired through a castle wall made of matchsticks. He was a wind-up, dribbling ball of laughter who loved chocolate, Lego and passing the blame for his unending mishaps in and around the home.

We were great friends back then, when we didn't even really know why, and we're incredible friends now.

Happy Birthday, buddy! Now put down those pencils and let's make it a good 'un!