Comic Cuts: Brit Creators Reminisce!

Ace comic news site Broken Frontier are celebrating British comics with a week long flurry of articles and interviews. The Dandy gets some coverage with an insightful interview with editor in chief Craig Graham. A number of creators reminisce about their childhood favourites. I was pleased to be invited to contribute and you can read my few words here.

Enjoy!

Final voyage?

Shed a tear comics fans. The Sea Dogs end their current voyage today in The Dandy. Hopefully the strip has been popular enough for a return voyage soon?

I have a new 6 part mini strip starting very soon in The Dandy so watch out for that!

Hooray for comics!

Pass the Peril Returns

Hi, just a quick note to say that Beryl the Peril has returned to action in round 2 of 'Pass the Peril'.
I had the honour of kicking things off again. So why not head on over to The Dandy's facebook page and check it out.

And if you enjoy it please leave a comment.

Many thanks
Steve

Oh! And here is my contribution to Pass the Peril round 1. Enjoy! Artwork ©DC Thomson & Co. Ltd.

A bit too quiet!

Hi guys, sorry it's been a bit quiet on here recently. Basically I've been pitching a few ideas here and there and trying out a few new artistic mediums. Should have a couple of pieces finished to put up on here soon.

I'm trying out digital painting using my Wacom bamboo tablet, I'm really pleased with the results. I don't often paint, let alone digitally but it's something I've wanted to try for a while.

I returned to the hobby of painting war gaming miniatures after a break of probably 15 years! Blimey time flies. So loving that too. I hope to have some photos taken of some of my models to put on here.

The Dandy comic is being bombarded with ideas for silly comics, I'm hoping one will hit the target soon. If you have enjoyed either Daredevil Dad or Sea Dogs then please let the folks at the Dandy know, and who knows they may return. Here's some links:

Dandy website: dandy.com
Dandy facebook:TheDandyComic
Dandy twitter: @DandyComic

If you want to follow me on twitter hit @sjbeckettdesign

I've had two weeks with no paying work and going into a third! Things are getting a bit nerve wracking. But hey I've been in this position a few times before and things usually work themselves out. We have these quiet times for a reason. Sometimes it's good to reflect and maybe be pushed to step things up a gear, which is what I certainly intend to do. Before Daredevil Dad got picked up by the Dandy last year, I had never actually written a comic! I had drawn loads but always worked with a writing partner. I've now written 22 published comic strips and I think I've convinced myself I can write... a bit.

I just want to say I seriously urge you to support all your favourite artists. Buy the comics, make known your likes and dislikes and let the editors know. It really does make a difference.

I'd love to hear your comments. Cheers!

Pesky Pests!

In this weeks Dandy the crew of the Black Flea have a pest problem to contend with. I'm sure it will end well... don't you think?

There's lots to enjoy this issue with the continuing adventures of the worlds premier fruit based fighting force, Bananaman by the awesome talent of Wayne Thompson, and poor old George is feeling a bit flat but hey there's pizza!

Back to it's usual page count and cover price of £1.50 you can't go far wrong picking up a copy of the UK's longest running weekly comic.

Enjoy.

New series on the way very soon.

I had confirmation today that my new series for The Dandy will start in 3 weeks time.

I can't wait to see it. I'm really excited about it. I hope you all enjoy it too.

More details soon, I don't want to spoil things too much. I will say it's unlike anything I've done previously.

Watch this space.

Cheers

What it's all about!

One of my passions in life is to encourage kids and young people to be excited about drawing and expressing themselves through art. Be it with comics or more traditional methods.

In this weeks issue of The Dandy I had a lovely surprise when I saw this drawing published on the mailbag page. This young Dandy fan has drawn all his favourite characters and it was a real thrill for me to see the inclusion of my character Daredevil Dad!

For me, this is what drawing comics and entertaining children is all about.

Awesome!

Dare to Read Next Week's Dandy?

Crash Helmets at the ready... I'm pleased to announce that Daredevil Dad will begin to thrill Dandy readers next week!

Here he is, his first appearance on the back page of this weeks issue along with the return of Harry and His Hippo, by Dandy fave Andy Fanton.

If you enjoy the strip please let me know and more importantly let The Dandy know!

Who Stays? You Decide!

Aaaarrrghh.. FACEBOOK

Ok I've gone and done it, I've joined Facebook. Sorry.

Come and say hi.

Cheers

Steve

Dandy days

Well I must say things are going just Dandy these days.

Over the last month I've written and drawn 3 two page strips for The Dandy annual 2012 and am now embarking on my second series for the weekly!

I've got to keep it all under wraps, but I can say I'm really pleased with the way the comics are turning out. Now I just need to see some of it in print!

My first 6 part series for The Dandy should be appearing anytime in the next few weeks so I'll keep you posted.

Cheers

Tough Guy Appears in Mohawk Preview Comic

Just a quick note to say that the first preview of my new comic series written by Chris Bunting and published by Mohawk Media is available for free download here

The preview also includes a nice selection of some of Mohawks other titles including a chunk of the current Mr T graphic novel.

Enjoy

Multiverse

I've just finished reading issue 1 of the new comic news magazine 'Multiverse'.

It's a very enjoyable read especially if your interested in the current crop of US comics. The mag is very superhero heavy but this issue comes hot off the heels of the big US comic cons and superheroes are big news, so fair enough!

It's great to have this mag, I really missed Comics International when it folded and Multiverse is an admiral replacement. I hope, once it's found it's feet we will see reports and reviews from the wider comics scene, and more support for UK titles.

For another review on this magazine check out Lew Stringers blog at http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/

Multiverse web site http://www.multiverse-magazine.com/

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!

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.

Max Missions

OK so I'm now going to try and follow up my first General Jumbo strip with a new pitch to try and see if the Beano are willing to revive the character in either the weekly comic or the monthly Beano Max. I think with the recent track record these adventure style characters have had in the weekly comic's past I may have my work cut out for me with this pitch.

I'm also writing the strips myself which is a departure for me, but somehow it's seems to be working out?

I'm trying to keep these short and get a bit of humour in them so they sit nicely alongside the regular stuff.

Here are some pencils for this tryout.

Enjoy, more soon....

Destination Dinchester

What amazed me was the response I got from the Billy the Cat samples I sent.

The next afternoon I received a reply from the Beano ed. He liked the samples very much and offered me the chance of a slot in the Beano Annual 2011.

Awesome!! and even more awesome was the character I was given to work with...

General Jumbo. The school boy in charge of his very own remote controlled toy army. (Whoops, I shouldn't refer to them as toys.)

All this from my first proper pitch to an established title. Now it's been a long time in the making and I've spent years working towards this moment by creating my own comics and self publishing. I was overjoyed!

So to work. At that stage nothing was certain. There was a possibility Jumbo may not make it in the book at all due to restrictions on space. However I was up for the fight!

I've posted below a few of the sketches I sent through to try and win the editor over.

Enjoy.