The Mighty Yammer: 50

This week sees what is possibly the last episode of Yammer that I will draw. I’ve been drawing this feller for over ten years now, and I’ve finally reached the end. I do have an idea for more, but that is for waay down the line.

Starting next week I’ll be running the Yammer strips that ran as part of last Octobers Lost Property comic, alongside the Cannibal Salad strips by Bryan Coyle.

This week I’ve learned that if you don’t save multiple layer documents before you flatten them, then close, you will be left with a hard time trying to amend any of the layers.

I’m half way through the inks on the third Dreddheads strip with Paul Glasswell, and really enjoying myself. Hoping these will continue.

I’ve also been tempted to start drawing 2000ad characters for the message board as well.


Matt Tallon from the Mean Arena; A strip that has yet to receive a proper reprint.


Ace Garp, designed by the Maestro Bellardinelli.


and finally Nick Stone, another Bellardinelli character and a sketch I’m quite pleased with.

Dave

The Mighty Yammer: 49

This week saw the climax of the Albert & Myrtle strip, and it's delivery to the editors. Hopefully it will be available at Mecon in Ireland in the next few months.

I've also reached page 4 of the new Whistler strip for Dogbreath, as well as signing off on commissions for the first strips for the new comic. Exciting.

On the FQP Front, the cover to issue 07 of FutureQuake has been commissioned, and artists have been approached for interest in strips.

Forbidden Planet have just added a UK Small Press section to their website, and if you look under 'F' you may find something familiar...

Lost Property 03 has had some attention this week as well, with some new strips arriving and news of other strips that might be actually happening now. All good news there as I stil lhave 3/4 of the comic to fill.

Laters...

The Mighty Yammer: 48

Been a strange week, here at bolt towers, with the exiting of a script editor the completion of a set of line work pages and the commissioning of possibly the most fantastic opening script it has ever been my delight to read. More on 'that' particular piece of comic strip genius as it arrises.

Those of you out there who remember Jon & Gorath will be pleased to know that the first ten spisodes have now been accepted for printing in an up-coming title. No details as yet, but I'm very pleased to see those strips out there again.

I've also had a new batch of scripts, so when the Yammer concludes (12 weeks yet) I will have a lot more J&G for you to read.

Thanks to a recent sale in Thargs house of loveliness (www.2000adonline.com) I am now the proud owner of a Strontium dog action figure. Or rather I was, my six year old won't give it back and has taken to shouting 'Number four cartridge!' whist pointing the little Westinghouse blaster it came with. Dead proud me...

Dave

The Mighty Yammer: 47

This week has been steady. Got Albert & myrtle almost finished (line-art wise), so that strip ‘should’ be delivered soon.

I’ve had some nice strips sorted for Lost Property 03, so I’m pleased to see work beginning to trickle in for that.

FutureQuake garnered a pair of mentions in the current Comics International, which I’ll post here, and one of which raises an interesting question: What is the best format for presenting comics on t’internet? We currently have pdf’s of 1-3 on the FutureQuake website, with 4 to follow this summer. I can just sort another pdf, but is it the right thing to do?





I’ve had to replace the home printer and scanner this week, so I bought a lovely new HP printer/scanner from PC world. The quality of the scans is markedly up on my previous machine so I’m well chuffed.

Dave

The Mighty Yammer: 46

This week has seen me reach the inks on the long awaited Albert & Myrtle, which is progressing steadily. I've also completed two pages for the new Whistler series to appear in Dogbreath.

On another note, I'm wary of waffling here too much, as I think there are probably about 5 people who read it. That being said, those five will all know a lot of stuff anyway about me so why not?

Mark Woodland and myself have been approached to contribute some of our Jon & Gorath strips to a comic that is being produced and I've been helping sort out some images for a piece featuring Rogue Trooper. It will eventually appear on the 2000ad Review website. In fact, this is a pic I drew for that that the mighty Mini Bolt coloured for me. Think he did a bang-up job myself.



I've had word that someone appears to be running some sort of mini-vendetta against 2000ad related members of the UK Small press scene on Wikipedia. A bit pointless really, as most of those who produce the comics don't provide the Wiki info and so don't even know it is there. There is even a photo of me up on the Futurequake page that I didn't know about till Mrs Bolt found it! crazy.

Ah well, there are currently five episodes of Yammer left to finish the initial 50, so don't forget to check back next week for more!

The Mighty Yammer: 45

Not a lot to say this week.

Dave

The Mighty Yammer: 44

The mighty Yammer: 43

Agh! Missed a week! So much for a strip a week!
Any road- This week I’ve finished the second Dreddheads strip, which will see the light of day eventually. I’ve taken part in a project for the 2000ad Review site.
I’ve plotted and begun pencils on a strip that will hopefully be part of a project for MeCon in august and I’ve also finished the first page of the new series for Whistler.

Also, some scribbles for a strip for the next FQ: Father Whiplash!




A busy time in the house of Bolt!

Dave

The Mighty Yammer: 42

Well, Bristol went fantastic. We sold really well, and I’m currently waiting on a second set of FutureQuake and something wicked from the printers.

It was great to meet so many folks over the weekend, and it really helped recharge my battery. So much so that I (and Richmond Clements) have agreed to take over producing Dogbreath for Amanda.



Dave

The Mighty Yammer: 41

It is Bristol Weekend! I've collected the comics and everything should be on sale tomorrow AM.

This week I have completed all the Jon & Gorath scripts I'd got, ready for them to return, and I've pencilled a single page strip written By Al ewing for a project for the end of the year.

A weird thing about this years Bristol. It will see a strip see print that I had the pencils for at LAST YEARS event! Check out DogBreath 14 for the results.

The Mighty Yammer: 40

The Cd’s for both FutureQuake 06 and MangaQuake02 are in being printed, and everything else seems set for the Bristol weekend!

I’ve completed 3 new episodes of Jon & Gorath this week, ready for them to return after what seems like an age!

Also Dreddheads is proceeding well, the page is half pencilled and should be finished this time next week.

Dave

Dreddheads: Intro panel

This is the new intro and title panel I've done. The space at the bottom of the panel is for the title of the episode...

The mighty Yammer 39

The ink has just dried on the art for Yammer 50, so that means I am finished with all of the strips I want to do with this character.

I’ve begun work on a new ‘Dreddheads’ strip that will see publication somewhere and the next batch of strips for Jon & Gorath are all planned out as well.

In FQP News:
I have received a copy of Something Wicked, and it looks superb, really pleased at how it has come out.
This weekend also sees the final final deadline for FutureQuake and MangaQuake. Cue pulling out of hair as last minute problems arrive.

Dave

The Mighty Yammer: 38

Howdy!

First thing you might notice is the re-appearance of the Mighty Yammer, I’m almost 100% through with this guy, so hopefully I’ve timed this right and there will be a new episode here for the next 22 weeks.

Previously: Yammer is on the trail of a stolen military grade robot, which has ended up in the hands of an American Gangster. Also involved is Euro-thief N’il Point, who has just learned that the Yammer has been sighted. Now read on…



In other news: I love the corp is all finished with, and the majority of the pages have arrived for the next pair of FQP titles. Things are still fairly fluid, but as print deadline looms, that will change.

Dave

Strontium Dog: The cup-cake case...

This week: I’ve finished the pencils for I love the corp, and I’ve been working on a page to be seen in the next edition of Dogbreath. A nice little parody of the old Twinkie Ads in the comics of my youth, this has been a breath of fresh air for me.

The Bolt-mobile is back from the car doctors, and is now undergoing a steady period of rehab.

Today is Mrs Bolt’s birthday. Like all true ladies she doesn’t wish for her age to be discussed, so I won’t. However this is an opportunity for me to shout to the masses that my wife is wonderful and I would be lost without her.

Something wicked is in at the printers, and despite a last minute faff with the cover (I didn’t allow for trim space on the artwork) all seems to be progressing nicely.

The next two weeks see the print deadlines for FQ and MQ approach, so I may be a bit more frantic than usual next week.

Dave

By the peolpe, for the people

This week has been a quietly productive one, with the finished story appearing on2000ad Review , and I’ve even managed to complete four episodes of the Mighty Yammer. I’m hoping to keep up the pace and begin showing the episodes here in the next fortnight or so.

Did I mention the bolt-mobile was off the road? The cam belt went last week and I’ve been stung with a hefty bill for repairs. However, at least the money was there, unlike other times in my life, I’m finally in a position where getting some money together is actually possible.

I love the corp is continuing, with the second page taking shape at the moment. According to Dan, the pile of potatoes looks nice… sigh.

Dave

More Whistler

The return of Whistler!

More Whistler scribbles. I’ve decided upon the last member of my new ‘team’: a poor fellow who secretes vast amounts of oily substances through his skin, named ‘Slippo’.

Also, I’ve got some sketches of who might be the overall bad-guy for the strip. Don’t want to say anything about him, but his surname is Watson.

In other news, I’ve finished the third illustration for Richmond Clements’ story to be hosted on 2000adreview, and I’ve burned the CD for something Wicked.

Dave

This is a pic of part of a display wall at the Natural history museum in London.
We took little Nano-bolt there for her birthday so she could see the dinosaurs and had a great day.

D

Whistler vol1 reviewed

"DOGBREATH PRESENTS: WHISTLER, Reviewed by Ben Dickson

DOG BREATH PRESENTS: WHISTLER

(Bolt-01, A5, 36 pages, £2.00)

I should preface this by saying that although I have read Strontium Dog in the distant past I don't remember it too well, and have not read any issue of Dog Breath. The reason I say this is because I found many aspects of Whistler confusing, and this may simply be because I'm not that au-fait with either the original strips or the fanzine.

Whistler collects six chapters of a story initially published online at 2000adonline.com. Whistler himself is a Strontium Dog bounty-hunter, whose mutation has left his head looking suspiciously like that of a parrot. After an excellent and highly enjoyable introductory first chapter, the story settles into one of conspiracy and corruption amongst the Strontium Dogs themselves, as Whistler tries to get to the bottom of just what's going on.

The illustration of the book is superb and well-suited to Strontium Dog fan fiction. The art is clearly very heavily influenced by Carlos Esquerra, and is very effective in its execution, with well-drawn figures and backgrounds, and containing a similar vibrancy to Esquerra's 80s black and white work.

I must confess, despite having read it three times, I still don't entirely understand what happened in the story. Most of the strip is well-written, with strong dialogue and good characterisation, and plenty of interesting and entertaining things happen, but the plot itself seems to make giant leaps of faith in terms of the reader actually understanding what's going on. Whistler has conversations with characters where the conversation itself is actually missed out, leaving a sense of confusion and frustration. Other plot points in the book are also assumed as read, and if you read Dog Breath it's possible they are as read. Yet for me, this book either doesn't stand up on its own or simply assumes too much foreknowledge or assumption of its own plot.

Well worth picking up if you're a reader of Dog Breath, but readers should be wary if they are not too familiar with Strontium Dog. (BD)

Contact: whistlerstrip@aol.com

http://emperorowl.blogspot.com/"

This is the first time I've seen this, though I must admit that since it was sent to me via an Email, I'm not sure when it was written.

As a review, it is pretty good, with some very welcome comments about the art & story. I must take it on the chin about the poor plotting overall, as the strip was only written as each new chapter was due to appear- something I'm rectifying for the second story.

The accompanying pic is the first time I've drawn the man himself for ages, quite pleased with it though.

D

FQ05 review

Whistler is back.

The return of Whistler!

So far this is only in the planning stages, but I’ve finally got a storyline that holds together. Details are still a decent way off, but this time, Barnes will not be alone in his adventures.

One of the things that I’ve been thinking of is the working of the Dog-house. The strip has it set-up in a very undefined way, with it being little more than somewhere for the SD agents to hang around. This would not really be the way it worked. I imagine that a cut of each bounty was retained by the agency to fund the upkeep of the base, and that it would have quite a few staff involved in the upkeep and maintenance. Why would the doghouse not also have a ‘shop’ based armoury, where the agents would buy the ammo and equipment needed for the missions? That would be a solid way for the doghouse to gain funds and to stop the mutants from acquiring too much in the way of financial security. I finished the last story with Barnes taking up a post on the doghouse as a combat instructor. I open the first episode with him returning from a training run with a group of ‘puppies’ fresh to the doghouse.

Those accompanying Barnes are: ‘Smudge’ Williams (?) who has purple skin, ‘Fuzzy’ Frazer(?) who is possibly related to other overly hirsute Agents, ‘Elbows’ Adams who has massively elongated arms and one other I’ve yet to realise.

As before, these strips will appear on the 2000ad website before I put them out as a collected title for Dogbreath. At least, that is the plan. I may actually run all of these in Dogbreath if Dr bob carries on with the title.









Dave

For the People...

Here are the initial sketches I’ve done for a series of illustrations to go with a story by Richmond Clements. Called “For the people, by the people”, it is going to appear on the 2000ad review when ready.



Dave

I Love the Corp!

This week I have begun work on my strip for the next Futurequake. Written by Gary Wilkinson, ‘I love the corp’ will be four pages.




I’ve also finished my first Illo for the next edition of the ‘End is nigh’. I was going to load up all the preliminary scribbles but Nano-bolt decided to use them for her latest ‘Art Attack’ so they were cut up into shapes.

Work continues on ‘Something Wicked, with the cover finally being released and a mini feature being placed on the FQP Website.

Dave

Thursday 16 Feb 2006

No picture to show this time, as I’ve run out of J&G at the moment, and the next Wave of Yammer is coming together quite slowly. It will finally finish the end of runaraound robot though, and then lead into the yammer strips that appeared in Lost Property 02.

I’ve finished my work on serpents tale, and the mighty Mini-bolt is now photoshopping the pages to add tones and create the ‘feel’ of the strip.

I’ve accepted a few illustration jobs, and one of those has actually turned out to be a single page strip that I’ll be working on the for the next

On top of all this I’ve begun to have ideas for where to take Whistler next. When it gets to the stage that I’ve actually got a strip worth drawing I’ll be posting scribbles for comment.

D

Jon & Gorath 18

Howdy.
Wild West Wendy is complete, and work on the ‘Serpents Tale’ is progressing really well.

We’ve had some hiccups on the FQP front, with deadlines needing to be re-written for the whole launch of Something Wicked. Hopefully the new date will allow us enough time to make sure that the finished comic is something special.

We’ve also had some amazing news about a future release that I can’t spoil yet, but it is possibly a massive boost to the comic.

And finally, cosmic Ray got in touch last night so the bolt-01 last minute special is on the road again.

D

A night on the town.

Back at the end of last year, I was asked to contribute to a comic to be called 'Loup Garou', which was to feature all werewolf strips.

I was given a script, by Rich Clements, and got on with the tale. Upon completion the strip was delivered and I waited to hear about publication.

Unfortunately the title was not to be, due to a variety of reasons that aren't mine to talk about.

That left me with a quandry- where could I get this strip seen? FQ- not likely as the strip is A5 size. Lost Property- not really the sort of strip I run there. That left me homeless, so until such time as I hear of an A5 title wanting a werewolf strip it is going to be here.

let me know what you think.




Dave

Jon & Gorath 17

The Stag Party is away to be coloured! At last, after what seems like forever, the exploits of the Fatties will be seen.

Having finally gotten that strip out of my immediate box I’ve begun the two page framing sequence for Something Wicked. Nice to be doing something so soon after getting it going.

The cover to Something Wicked has now gone for proper colouring, after Mr LMS sent his pic earlier this week. It is a lovely piece and the cover as a whole is outstanding.

I’ve also nearly finished my pic for the Wild West Wendy wanted gallery. I got to draw a reasonable horse and I’m pleased with how it looks (as of this writing)

D

Jon & Gorath 16

First post in my new posting! A busy week learning but I’m settling in.
The above J&G didn’t appear in Lost Property 02, though it will appear in issue 03 (Now due for Brighton this year, as I’m having to adjust to new schedules at work which eat into any time I can put to other things) when the time is right.

Something Wicked reaches the deadline for artwork on Monday, and I doubt that I’ll have much till the week after that. I’ve booked the printers though so I’m hoping that I’ll make my delivery deadline.

Stag Party: I finished inks on page 5 (of 6) last night so it is rapidly approaching completion. After that I’ll move onto the pages that I should am contributing to Swicked.

D

Jon & Gorath 15

Happy new year! First post since then.

In a bid to increase my page turnover for this year, I have finally started on the inks for Stag party! I have finished the first page and I’m a third of the way through page 2. I want to have this strip finished asap now, as I started it about 16 months ago.

I’ve also been working on two pages that are due to appear in Something Wicked, a horror spin-off from FutureQuake that will hopefully be going to press in the next couple of months.

In other news: I leave my comfy stores on the 13th Jan. I have been in this post for almost 13 years but I’ve accepted a secondment position that will ‘hopefully’ lead on to something more permanent. The end result is that I may not be able to maintain my workload of titles, with Lost Property being the likely loser. I’m not going to call time on the project yet, as I’ll try to get a third issue produced, but I don’t see myself carrying on after then.

The competition on SFX has now closed, and the winners comics have been posted by myself today.


D