The Best Drawer in the World!

I had a fun afternoon yesterday. Myself and colleague Simon Cross was holding a figure drawing and character design workshop at the Ropewalk in Barton with a great class of 9 and 10 year olds.

We had some great ideas generated ranging from shape shifting killer robots to eco friendly plant pot girls. But the highlight for me was a comment from one boy who quietly said to me....

"Wow your the best drawer in the world!"... then he paused and said " Well the second best". He paused again and said, " No.. you are the best drawer in the world".

Most amusing!

The Dandy gets a fresh lick of paint

Last Wednesday saw the release of the all new singing and dancing The Dandy.

Featuring the new comic adventures of cover star Harry Hill, this new look Dandy is something really special.

I really hope that The Dandy will become a trailblazer in so much that it revitalizes the UK comics market. The Dandy features an all new exciting cast of characters created by some of todays finest cartoonists. This is the first comic I've read in sometime that has really got me excited and hopeful for the future of british news stand comics.

The Beano is doing a stirling job too offering kids today a fun packed read every week not relying on licensed properties and bagged toys and gimmicks.

I hope this is a turning point and other publishers soon follow suit and let comics be comics.

Beano Annual 2011

Just a quick note to say that the Beano Annual 2011 is out now featuring my first published work for the Beano, a cheeky little two page strip featuring General Jumbo.

Hopefully more Beano antics will be coming my way soon!

Enjoy!

Steve

Breaking into Comics

Well September has been a really exciting month for me.

Since I was 5 years old I have always wanted to draw comics for a living and I've been drawing my own comics as a hobby all my life. It's somewhat of an addiction for me, something I need to do!

Over the past 7 years I've seriously focused on trying to "Break into Comics" a term that has adorned the title of many a "How to" book I've read in my time. Despite being told time and again that it can't be done, I can now say to those people IT CAN!

Along with the soon to be released Tough Guy graphic novel from Mohawk Media, I'll soon be starting on a new strip for next years Beano book. And this month I have had a short series of comic strips commissioned by one of the UK's comic institutions. What makes it even more exciting is that the strips star is a character I have created myself and will appear in a soon to be relaunched version of the title with a whole host of new stars who will appear alongside some well established old friends.

What is this comic I hear you ask...

Well I'll tell you a bit nearer the time, chortle!

Will post some new art very soon.

Good Times!

Beanotown

Hi, long time no post!!

Well i've been busy exploring some new avenues of work.

The most exciting being given the opportunity to try out on some sample art

for the residents of Beanotown!

I've just finished a test script for a well known Beano character.

Waiting rather (im)patiently for the outcome.

More soon...

Below is one of my try out sheets.

Exclusive first look at Tough Guy

Here’s an exclusive first look at four pages from the official Tough Guy, coming from Mohawk Media in 2011.

Words by Chris Bunting; pictures by Steve Beckett; explosions by Tough Guy.

Tough Guy is expected to appeal to the young male market … and the ‘not-as-young’ male market too.

THE TOUGH GETS GOING WITH MOHAWK MEDIA

Publisher Mohawk Media has today released a teaser image following its acquisition of the license to produce original adventures of Tough Guy.

Tough Guy, the British publisher’s first title since the top-selling official Mr. T graphic novels, is written by Chris Bunting (Mr. T; Action Man) and illustrated by Steve Beckett (Beano Annual; General Jumbo).

Bunting describes Tough Guy as a “real throwback action hero, a punch in the eye of two major opponents: terrorism and rampant political correctness. He’s A-Team meets Bond and Indiana Jones, with the hard edge of Dirty Harry.”

Bunting continues: “Boys, both young and middle-aged, are bound to identity with Tough Guy, as he’s anything but yet another bland, demasculinised hero.”

Further details are due to be announced by Mohawk Media soon.