Black Boar Blogger

Happy New Year...oh, wait, that was a good few weeks ago now. I had a busy December which meant working solidly to get a short story illustrated for the legendary Pat Mills. Of course, I didnt mind, the chance to work with such a staple of the industry does not present itself very often. I can see why he has the 'Godfather of British Comics' tagline, because he turned a very grim poem into a very grim, but meaningful, story. When I first read the WW1 poem 'Dead man's Dump' on it's own, I must admit to not being overly enthused by it. Whilst it was undeniably very gritty, there didn't seem to be anything to grab onto to illustrate in a sequential way. Well, I need not have worried, Mr Mills used a very clever mechanic throughout... using the unfeeling, untouchable General Haig as a foil to the horrors of the battlefield, which gave the story a great deal of emotional impact. It was a battle to do, as I put a fair amount of effort into it over a relatively short period of time, had to, to hit the deadline. Anyway, im pleased with the result, Pat calls it a 'Mini Classic' so I can't wait to see it in print. Coming from Macmillan, a US publisher --- I'll let you know when it's out. Amongst that lot, I had 7 character busts to do too for a few collectors, phew, times to put my feet up and get some reading done ;)