On a recent trip to Switzerland I witnessed something I have not seen since those halcyon days of Beano and Dandy dominance in the late 80's and early 90's ... a comic product being advertised on television. My eyes grew wide as images of Asterix, Largo Winch and Blacksad flitted across a screen in a busy bar. I put down my frosty beverage and stared ... I HAD to have this thing - whatever it was!

Fortunately the product in question had just hit the newsagents shelves and I was able to bag a couple of copies of Planete BD, issue 1 ... and WHAT a marvelous purchase I made!

It is almost impossible to describe how cool this thing is. A weekly encyclopedic, pre-hole punched, 40-page guide to anything and everything in the world of European comics. Just look at some of the contents (apologies for the repro quality of these pics!)

From previews of yet-to-be-released books, to interviews with the most talented creators in the business, explorations of the creative process, historical analysis of defining moments in the medium, and SO much more, this magazine has it ALL! Plus you get a free art print with every weekly issue!

Now for the very good and the VERY bad. The good is the price point of the launch issue...

ONE Swiss franc ... or 99 cents ... or 70p!!!! HOLY MOLY what a bargain.

And as for the bad? It's only available in France and Belgium.

Trust me, if you live abroad and can place an order for this little gem, then do so AT ONCE! 

You'll thank me. Because comics have never been THIS much fun!

15 days until Monkey Nuts and the Diamond Egg of Wonders!

Oh! Oh! It's just around the corner! Have you picked up your copy yet? My post last week reminded me that I had never shown a proper-sized shot of that prison interior, so here it is in all it's glory, enjoy!

More VERY soon!

Lorenzo!

16 Days until Monkey Nuts and the Diamond Egg of Wonders!

There's no denying it. As we draw ever closer to the launch of Sid and Rivet's first adventure, Monkey Nuts fever has begun to sweep across the world, captivating fans of all ages!

But don't take our (somewhat biased) word for it - believe the evidence presented before your very own eyes!

Case Study #1 - This discerning little chap is Rocco Lavender.

He lives in Morzine, France, where he cares for his two elderly parents (Chris and Helen, also pictured).

He is 17 weeks old ... and he KNOWS what he likes!

(My hand was simply there to stop the sheer weight of our comic wonder from dragging Rocco off his perch!)

Case Study #2 - Meet Finley Mannering, 10 weeks and counting. Currently residing in a palatial mountain retreat of his own design.

Fin was so distraught to discover that he still had two weeks to wait before his press agent, Milly (pictured), would be able to secure him a copy that he immediately took to the hard stuff.
Poor little sod.

NB: No beer or babies were spilt in the making of this blog post.

Etherington Bros interviewed in FRONT magazines' "Best Jobs EVER" feature!

Morning everybody! Well, how's about this...

Gentleman's Monthly FRONT magazine has a big feature in their current issue (No 146) called "The best jobs EVER" and guess which two comic scribbling brethren they've interviewed as part of it. Erm...US!

Obviously, this is not a magazine for children, seeing as it features a lot of boobies, but I thought you'd all appreciate us representing in this manner! The article is very cool, and other jobs covered include Director, Stunt Man, Record Label Boss to name but a few, so we're in very good company! Many thanks to Front for putting us in their bonkers mag, we're proud to be in there!

Making comics for a living...officially AWESOME!

Lorenzo!

20 days until Monkey Nuts and the Diamond Egg of Wonders!

20 days to go until Monkey Nuts: The Diamond Egg of Wonders is released! Another little preview today, here we have a scene in the Spike Island Maximum Security Prison. Oooooh....!

Lorenzo!

22 days until Monkey Nuts and the Diamond Egg of Wonders!

Saw this Graffiti in Bristol yesterday morning, it reminded me of something...

Lorenzo!

23 Days until Monkey Nuts and the Diamond Egg of Wonders!

Here's a little something VERY special for you fans and fanettes out there.

You see this window...

On the 7th October, from 6:30pm to 9pm, this window (and the entire bookshop) will be OURS!

And the best part of the deal - you're ALL invited to the party!!!!

Full details will follow shortly along with More Monkey Nuts Month Madness as it breaks. 

24 days until Monkey Nuts and the Diamond Egg of Wonders!

24 days to the launch of Monkey Nuts: The Diamond Egg of Wonders! Today's post is a little breakdown of the layers of the Chump Town Bank reveal page. Enjoy!

Lorenzo!

27 days until Monkey Nuts and the Diamond Egg of Wonders!

H-okay, so I'm going to do my best to dedicate this coming month purely to MONKEY NUTS: the Diamond Egg of Wonders, since September the 2nd is national Monkey Nuts day, due to the launch of the first book in the series.

You can expect previews of the book, behind the scenes goodies, and lots of other such things. Oh, and you can buy the book HERE!

Lets' start off then, with a few previews of the interior of the book...

Lorenzo!

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!