Bots of Honour

Last year I got involved with a project called "Bots of Honour", which is a series of Transformers fan comic stories. It was officially unveiled to the public over the weekend, with one of the stories I worked on, "Inscription" being the first to be released. You should keep an eye on this one, all the work that has gone into this is fantastic. you can have a look at it here: http://bots-of-honor.deviantart.com/ do check it out, there a great cover design by James Biggie for this story too.

So here's the whole first story for you to have a look at. Line art is by me, colours & story by John-Paul Bove, & letters by HdE.

Short Sharp Shocks Issue 2 is ready to go, and I'll be selling it at Dublin Comic & Toy Mart, Wynns Hotel, Abbey Street, in Dublin this Saturday (21st May). I'll also have copies of Issue 1 and a few other goodies on sale too. See you there!

Nearly there!

About the last time I posted in this blog (back in December) I started work on Short Sharp Shocks issue 2. And now, after nearly five months, its almost ready to go. I have four pages of story to draw up, get it printed and thats it! I'm quite surprised its gone quite well, considering its considerable bit larger than issue 1 was (this one's a whopping 33 pages of new strips, and possibly a couple of other goodies thrown in aswell).
So if things go OK for the next couple of weeks, there is a very slim outside chance I'll have a few copies ready for the Dublin Toy & Comic Mart, which is happening in Wynns Hotel on the 21st of May. If not, it will be early June and hopefully I'll be able to arrange a launch at some point, so I can sign a few copies and do some sketches.
Unfortunately I won't be able to make it up to Derry this year, but I may be able to send a few copies up anyway.

Ger

I know its going to make me sound really old, but 2010 really felt like it flew by. Its not like in my day, when the time would drag along like its supposed to. Damn kids, yadda yadda...
I've been very busy the last few months, even though if you were looking at this blog it may have appeared that I fell off the face of the Earth. I have been pottering away on three Transformers strips, hopefully they will be seeing the light sometime in the new year.
I've also become a contributor to Sketchpaddys, a regular blog where Irish artists Robert Carey, Ciaran Finnegan, Cormac Hughes (and now me) show off their talents. Have a look, but some of the stuff is slightly NSFW (Robert Careys, er, interpretation of Brian Cowen probably isn't safe for civilised society full stop!) There's a black & white version of this Judge Dredd pic up on there too.
My plan over the Christmas break is to get as much of my outstanding artwork out of the way (though I did have a bit of a chat with Santa, so I know what my kids are getting, and I may end up getting slightly distracted!), and start work on Issue 2 of Short Sharp Shocks in the New Year. I'm hoping to have something to show by the time the next Irish comic convention comes around. So I'd better get my thinking cap on and do a bit of writing!
Thanks to everyone who bought a copy of Issue 1 this year (if you still want a copy you can buy it from Dublin City Comics & Collectibles or online at Indyplanet. Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year

Ger

Bots of Honor!

I've been pretty busy the last couple of months doing Transformers artwork for a new project. It's been kept under wraps for the last while, but they have let a little preview out so I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it.
The guys behind the Transformers: Mosaic project (a fantastic idea for fan comics, if you are anyway interested in robots or comics you should check them out) have decided to organise a massive undertaking. Here's the official low-down:

Logo by James Biggie. Art by; Ger Hankey, Kris Smith, Andrew Griffith, Daniel Light and Jenny Son.

Even in the most peaceful of times, when the people are happy and safe, there are those that would bring misery and suffering unto others. Those that would seek selfish gain. Those that would plunge the world into darkness. But, there is always a light to ward off the dark. A beacon of hope for the helpless. A symbol of justice that watches over all. There is always......a Prime.Patrolling the streets of the capital city of Iacon, the newest link in the Prime Legacy, Optimus Prime, keeps an ever-vigilant optic over the citizens of Cybertron. Armed with the power of the Matrix of Light, Optimus Prime has the ability to create any object out of pure energy, and uses the accumulated wisdom and skills of the Primes before him to battle the forces of evil, wherever and whenever they prey upon the weak. No one bot stands alone, and there are many other protectors of Cybertron who have dedicated their sparks to upholding justice. As Optimus Prime hunts down wrong-doers, he is joined by these heroes, each with their own unique abilities and talents. Together, these "Bots of Honor," strive to maintain the peace that has blessed Cybertron for many meta-cycles. But, all good things must come to an end. Although the various villains that Optimus and his friends battle, dangerous as they all are, may seem random and un-connected, there is a dark force rising that could threaten the whole of Cybertron. Will Optimus Prime uncover the truth about this hidden threat before it's too late? What will the consequences be, not only for our heroes, but for every Cybertronian on the planet if they fail? In 2011, get ready for action and adventure like you've never seen as everyone's favourite 'Robots in Disguise" do battle on a whole new level! If you want to stay up-to-date on all things "Bots of Honor," check out our deviant art site here; http://bots-of-honor.deviantart.com/ Just to get you a little bit more excited, here are the full character designs featured in the above promotional piece;

Optimus PrimeGrimlock
Wheeljack
Galvatron

Megatron

And just because the design for Optimus Prime isn't 'new,' here's a pic of his alt-mode;


So that's what I've been doing with my time lately. I'm nearly finished my part of that, then I've a one-page story for the afforementioned Mosaic project to do. When I'm finished those it will be time to sink my teeth into a really big project (for me anyway); I have written a script which I'm hoping to have turned into a comic for sometime next year. So stay tuned, and I'll keep you updated when I have some news!

Ger

Last weekend was Summer Edition, and the last comic "event" in Ireland for a few months. Its a bit different in that its not exclusively a comics event, there are a number of other small press and self-published works for sale. Some of the stuff people produce is just amazing. I'll make a point of hyping this a bit more next year cause even if you are not a comics fan, and like a nice book (of nice looking things in general), its well worth your while stopping in. A big thanks to Phil, Paddy & Katie for all their hard work in organising this and well done on its sucess. I had a great (and worthwhile) time at it and most of the people who I talked to did too.
I started doing a few little sketches on postcard-size card, and sort of using them as a "business card" type of thing (I was giving them away with every sale and they had my contact info on them). The seemed pretty popular and are fairly easy to do, so I think thats going to be an idea I'll be sticking with.
"Short Sharp Shocks" is selling well, so thanks to anyone who bought it! If you want to let me know what you thought of it, feel free to drop me a line with your tuppence-worth.
I've a couple of things in the pipeline at the minute; two Transformers strips that I'm currently working on and then its on to my next self-published project. Its the biggest thing I've tried so far, and I'm just hoping I turns out OK!

Brace yourselves, this ones long!

Hello there again! After a busy cople of months on the comics front, I thought it might be a good time to sit down and write about it before it gets mental again! And one of these days I'll set myself aside a few minutes each week to actually write this bloody thing too, cause my memory isn't what its used to be and its a strain trying to remember back a month... what was I talking about again?
First off, I recently had a new Transformers: Mosaic piece published. It's called "What'cha gonna do?" and was over a year in the making. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the response it received. Have a look for yourself;

The summer months of June & July are becoming the "convention season" over here in Ireland, and it was kicked off in Derry with the 2D comics festival, which is my favourite convention. My wife Hazel and I went up and she got to see what I do in my spare time. Needless to say she sees me in a whole new light! If you have a chance next year I would recommend you give this one a go. It's free (always a good thing!) and there is a great mix of big-name comic celebrities and independent creators all mixed in together. I made a few sales & had a portfolio review with Steve White, editor of Titan Magazines in the UK. I didn't get any work out of it, but he was kind enough to give me a few good pointers, and enough compliments to send me on my way without feeling completely crushed. As usual at these, I had a great time with all the small press crowd, the guys from Longstone Comics, Tommie Kelly, Andy Luke (and his impressive harmonica skills!) to name but a few. A big thanks & well done to David Campbell & all at the Verbal Arts Centre for putting on another good event. Have a read-up of Andy Luke's coverage of the event, and I think he might have said something nice about me in there too!

The following week (told you it's been busy) was the inaugural Point Village Market Comics Festival, organised by the hyperactive Hilbo Lawler. For its first run out, it proved to be a big sucess, though I think I (and most of the other exhibitors too) spent more than we made at the food stalls in the market! I brought two of my sons along for the day so they could attend the excellent comic workshops. They had a great time and made me look good too, which is a plus! I think it suffered slightly from the fact that the market itself is only finding its feet, and its just ever so slightly far enough outside town for people to think twice about heading out there, but hopefully those little bumps will be ironed out by the time the next one rolls around. I did pretty well on the sales front as well as a mention on bleedingcool.com, so all in all I'd have to give it a big thumbs up. Once again, a big thanks to everyone involved in the orgainsing & running of this and the workshops too. By the way, I have to give a mention to Marty & the guys at Comics & Collectibles in Derry, who were selling at both events and had some great deals. They are really cool approachable guys who make it fun to go browsing & buying comics. Thanks to Marty my house now has a Hawkman & Blue Devil fan!

Next up is Summer Edition 2010, on in Filmbase in Temple Bar on the 24th of July. This one is a little different as it is a much wider range of small press creators as well as us comic book types. I was at this on last year too, and I was really impressed with the range & quality of the stuff being put out by people on their own. If you are around the city centre at all, its well worth spending an hour of your day here.

As for what I'm doing while I'm not sitting around trying to sell people stuff? Well first off, my comic Short Sharp Shocks, is geting some good feedback, which is great. In fact, I think I'll have to start thinking about a second print run soon! A number of people have told me different stories in the comic were their favourite, which is great, its nice to be able to appeal to a wide range of tastes. If you have a copy, please drop me a line & let me know what you thought of it (even if you hated it! I'm a big boy, I can take it!). If you want to get your hands on a copy, its on sale at Indyplanet and I'm hoping to have it in a few comic stores soon too. As for upcoming projects, I have one or two little things on the go at the moment, which I'll post about when there is actually something to see! My next small press comic project is also now in the works. It's a comic about Irish superheroes. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, haven't we heard this before? It's a big departure from Celtic Knights, and possibly my most serious work so far. It's also the biggest thing I've done too, so I'm not putting a deadline on it. Lets just say it will be done when its done. I'm also hoping to work on the next issue of Short Sharp Shocks at the same time, so I'm racking my brains for a few new stories for that too!
Anyway, thats it for now. I'm sure I'll post again some time in the futue. Did you sit down and read through all that? Well done you, have a picture!