Von Doogan on the cover The Phoenix!

That's right, adventure fans! Those of you hoping to get a full collection of Von Doogan goodies had best pick up this week's copy of THE PHOENIX COMIC, as our bequiffed hero begins his new adventure - The Great Air Race - and stars on the cover!

Here's a little peek at the artwork, but you really need to pick up the comic!

Not only that, but for the duration of the Air Race adventure, the winner of each week's puzzle competion will win a Certificate of Airborne Awesomeness, AND an exclusive Great Air Race poster, illustrated by little old me!

Get some!

The Hand that rocks the Autobot...

Halloween is on the way folks, which can only mean another spooky slice of action from the Etheringtons!  Past years have seen us writing creepy comic stories for the Strange, Strange World of Weird (now available as part of the Pearson Education Bug Club series) or producing a bonus Baggage offering in the form of a vampire special for the Times newspaper (which you can read HERE).

This year I've decided to absolutely terrify a small boy and a giant robot because, well, someone has to!  All the shock and horror can be found in Issue 4.12 of the Transformers Prime Magazine!

In 'The Evil Shred' Raf is charged with tending to Bumblebee when the plucky robot is injured during a firefight with those pesky Decepticons. But things do not go as planned after the pair settle in for a soothing night of monster movies at Autobot HQ.  And when I say 'not as planned', please refer to the opening page of the comic as seen below.

Yes ... your eyes are NOT deceiving you ... BUMBLEBEE IS BEING ATTACKED BY A DEMONIC HAND!!!!  Gosh, I love my job.

To get your hands on this thrilling slice of spooky smack-down madness (illustrated by the ever excellent Dario Brizuela), visit any good UK comic retailer, newsagent or supermarket.  Or, for ultimate convenience, you can purchase a subscription to the title online HERE!

3d animation of one of my concepts by Finnish Games artist Mikko Kautto

Check out this awesome 3d Animated model based on one of my sketches by the extremely talented Finnish games artist Mikko Kautto! Absolutely amazing!


And here's the original concept:

Monday Art: Nine Robot Concepts

More recent inky scribblings from my sketchbooks ... Enjoy!

Lorenzo!

Heroes are funny...

Last month we were contacted by the independent reading and writing charity, Booktrust.  The Booktrust has a fantastic aim; "...to inspire everyone to enjoy books, reading and writing and the lifelong benefits that they bring ... to build a literate, connected and creative society."

But what did they want with us? Well, they were keen to know if we'd write a guest blog all about HEROES.  I mean, honestly.  Could a subject be more relevant to us Etheringtons?

We obviously said yes, and you can read the entire feature HERE!

But for those of you who've clicked through enough links today, here's a little excerpt:

"...after years of being surrounded by heroic friends (and some super villains!) I began to write my own stories. But none of my heroes were … traditional. In fact, very few of them acted like heroes at all!  Over the years I've conjured angry bears, daft robots, moody monkeys, sneaky crows, failed wrestlers, hopeless barbarians and disaster prone squirrels. Not only were none of them particularly brave, but absolutely NONE of them had any sort of special powers whatsoever. All they had was a brain (even if they didn't always chose to use it) and a desire to do the right thing when faced with impossible challenges. Which doesn't sound all that heroic, right?..."

3 Books That Changed My Life...

...is the title from a special feature in this month's brand new BOOKSHELF magazine. It was also the tricky question I had to ponder when asked to be a part of the article.

Bookshelf is a new addition to the regular Peters Guide to Children's Publishers, a guide that showcases the very best titles from the wide, wide world of children's literature.



So what did I pick?  Well, to be honest, this wasn't an easy challenge, but there were three books that made a real difference to me as a reader AND a writer, and here they are!

Ah, makes me want to read them all over again ... in fact ... I think I will!

- Robin!

Brand new art: 3 STRANSKI magazine portraits

Happy Friday...!

Chewing the Phoenix fat...

Who'd like to listen in on a big round table comic chitchat between myself, Patrice Aggs, Neill Cameron, Daniel Hartwell and Adam Murphy?  What's that?  EVERYONE???  Very well, your wish is granted.

At the end of August I attended CAPTION, Oxford's small press comic convention.  It was a lovely day and I had been invited to join two panel discussions, the second of which was all about the mighty Phoenix comic.  The entire session was recorded and you can download and hear the whole caboodle NOW by simply clicking HERE.

Alternatively hit the image below and you'll be taken the Panel Borders page where you can listen online by simply clicking the PLAY button on the right of the screen.  ENJOY!

Many thanks to Alex Fitch and David O'Connell for inviting and hosting/invigilating on the day.

3 new environment concepts...

More new stuff from my sketchbooks today!

Lorenzo!

Desert Island Comics

Here's something fun to share on a wet Monday morning (well, it's certainly been raining hard here in Bristol).  A short while back I was invited to contribute to an ongoing series over on the Forbidden Planet International comic blog.  The feature is called Desert Island Comics, and each week it offers their guest of choice the chance to tackle the following quandary: if you found yourself shipwrecked on an island with only 8 comics for company, which 8 would you select?  Oooooh, what a tricky problem to solve!

My selection, and reasons for each title's inclusion (these eight volumes are ESSENTIAL reading, in my opinion) has just been posted and you can read the full piece HERE! 

As a little sneak bonus for you guys, here's a cover gallery of the comics that made my final cut.  If you want to get a head start on your Christmas List for Santa, I recommend adding the lot!

- Robin

 

1st Plymouth International Book Festival

Having grown up on the South Coast, we Etheringtons feel a close affinity with the ocean. Our Dad is a keen sailor, our older brother William used to live on a barge, Lorenzo ... er ... likes ice cream, and I like sunbathing. Er, yep.

Anyway, you can imagine our pleasure at being invited to the inaugural Plymouth Book Festival, the first show we've done where the stage actually overlooks the open sea.  The setting, beside the lighthouse on Plymouth Hoe was brilliant!

After applauding the winner of the first Plymouth Young Laureate and watching her receive her prize (Ailie Kerr, and an iPad no less!) we took to the stage for laughs, lessons and comic-based japes.

We then spent an enjoyable hour chatting to the audience and signing and sketching pictures for all the children (and adults) present, before hopping on a train back to Bristol.  We were honoured to be part of a brand new festival, and in such sterling company (not sure Simon Callow was impressed by my Jenga-style tower of banners, but you can't please everyone!).

Many thanks to Kate Wilson and all the festival staff for making us feel so welcome and for all their help and assistance. We look forward to returning in the future!

Interview and step-by-step guide to how I design book covers...

I was recently interviewed on my book cover design process for the excellent Once Upon a Bookcase blog. You can read all about how I approach design, lettering theme and final artwork, along with seeing illustrations of the various stage of production RIGHT HERE!