Yes, I'm back!!

Hey,
Hows it going out there? Yes, I know its been a ridiculously long time since I've posted (yet again), and I always end up apologising for it. Well, you know what? Not this time. I'm busy, get over it!!

Seriously though, I've been keeping my head down and doing lots of drawing, and now my new comic is finished!! Its an anthology called Short Sharp Shocks, and I sent it off to the printers this morning. It will be available on Indyplanet soon, so stay tuned for the details. I'll have proper hard copies in a couple of weeks and I'm going to start selling them in June. Why June? Well, it seems to be the month things are happening in Irish Comics. First off is the 2D comics festival in Derry, and the following week there will be a comics fair at the new Point Village right here in Dublin. I'll give you lovely people more details closer to the stage.

So expect some shameless self-promotion on the way!! In the meantime, here's some artwork I've been working on to keep you all happy.

Till next year, err, time!

Is it getting dusty in here?

Hey people!

Whats it been? Three months? Dear God, I'm really bad at this blogging thing! In my defense, its been a busy few months with other stuff, so its not like I had much drawing stuff to post up. Never let it be said I talk too much & have nothing to say, eh?
Over the last little while, I've basically done a few Transformers things. A couple of commissions for people, a Mosaic for the IDW project (which is currently being coloured by fellow Irish artist & TF fan, Gareth Watson) which I will post up as soon as possible, and the strip below.
As some of you know, some months ago, TF Ireland online launched a forum (check it out here). Recently they have started a project called "Trans-Missions", which is a group of 1-page comic strips with an Irish slant on things (i.e. they don't take themselves too seriously!!). My contribution features the websites mascot, Blackstuff, and is called "Bad Day at Blackstuff's". Its the first time I've done something completely digitally - no pens or paper invloved! It was.. an experience, I'll say that much. Its not a bad way to do things, and I can understand the advantages, but personally I think I prefer the old-fashioned way. I spend way to much time on the computer in work as it is!

So whats up next for me? Well, I'm starting to work on a new comic (which I'm hoping to have ready for Derry next year), and getting a few new pieces ready for the Dublin convention in November, so watch this space!

In the meantime, enjoy "Bad Day at Blackstuff's"

Hot Town, Summer in the city...

For any of you living in Ireland at the moment, you may have noticed something; its bloody hot! After a month of what can best be described as "schizophrenic" weather where I could be both roasted and soaked on my ten-minute walk to work, it seems to have finally settled into the hot week to ten days the we Paddys laughingly call "summer". I could go on about what a pain it is for me and my milk-bottle complexion, but you are not here to listen to me moan, are you?

So what have I been up to since the last time I updated the blog? Drawing like a lunatic!
There are two conventions coming up in the next month, 2D Fesitval in Derry is on this weekend (4th-6th June), and then Edition Book Arts Summer Edition 2009 is on the 4th of July in Temple Bar, Dublin. I'll be at both, selling comics, sketches, spare body parts or anything else I can get people to buy! They should both be good events, and are both free to the public, so come along and look out for me there! Heres a couple of pics to whet your appetite, enjoy!

Id like to thank...

Well, first off, thanks to everyone who voted in the "Design an Irish Transformer" competition. My design, Blackstuff, won! So now I get to draw more pictures of him...

Celtic Knights wise, I'm about a third of the way through the artwork. Stephen & Barry are off to Bristol next week to sell more comics, so I did up a five page preview of the next issue they can hand out at the con. Check it out;

Giant Irish Robots are coming!

Hello all,
Since Im back to regularly drawing Celtic Knights again, I thought I may as well keep the blog updated too. And no Aprils fools jokes, I promise!!
Well, things on the Knights front are progressing nicely, I have enough art ready for a preview. We are just working out the best way to distribute it and it should be ready to go, whetting your appetites for the next installment of the advenutres of Junker & company. Watch this space!

In other news, I've entered a competition to design a mascot for Transformers Ireland Online. My entry is below (Blackstuff, No.7) Please pop over and have a look at the entries, and vote for me!

Voting for a winner is by email.

If you would like to vote for me to win, then simply send an Email to tfirelandonline@gmail.com
and enter the number 7 in the subject box, 7 is the number of my submission for the contest.
Voting ends on April 15th 2009

Thanks & talk soon!

Ger

Holy neglected blog, Batman!

Would you believe its almost a quarter of the way through 2009 already?!? And this is my first post of the year! So, eh, happy new year everyone!
So what have I been up to? Well its been busy, I'll say that much. After taking a bit of a break and not doing any drawing at all in December (well, almost none!), most of January was too busy to do anything much either. We went to Hazels sisters wedding in Wales at the end of the month. It was lovely, a great weekend and a really nice place, but organising two adults & six kids to go anywhere takes a serious amount of preparation, so I couldn't really sit around drawing while Hazel did it all. So I got out of her way mostly. I'm nice like that.
So between getting back and now I have been a very busy chap, as you might imagine. First off, I had my latest Transfomers Mosaic, "Where the spark is" finished & published. I'm actually surprised at how quick it got out into the world, as these things usually have a few months of a waiting list ahead of them. Its possible that the fact it was written by Josh van Reyk, writer of the upcoming "Spotlight: Jazz" and one of the organisers of the Mosaic project, might have something to do with it. But hey, who's complaining? Check it out below.
Next on the list was a commission for some pictures of some Irish Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) stars, for which I was handsomely rewarded with a shiny new website! So now there are even more place for me to bug you all on the internet! Its www.gerhankey.com, if you want to have a gander.
Oh yeah, Celtic Knights, almost forgot about that!! (Kidding, Stephen, honest!) Sales of Issue 1 have been going great guns, thanks everyone who bought it. If you feel the need to buy another copy, just in case your first one spontaneously combusts or something, by all means do. Its better to be safe than sorry!
Stephen has been inundated with people asking him when the next issue will be out, as well as some slightly stranger questions, like whats Rubinettes bra size and does Junker have a Dublin 4 accent?!? I'll leave you to field those ones, Stephen...
As for when Issue 2 wil be out, the answer is.... sometime this year! Its going well at the minute, but I'm happy enough with the quality that I don't want to rush it to meet a deadline. Plus, I have to let paying work take piority. What I will say is that we will have a preview ready for the Bristol & Derry conventions in May & June respectively, so keep an eye out if you are going.
Thats enough of me for now, I'll leave you with a few bits I've done over the last while to keep you all quiet till the next time I post.
September, if past form is anything to go by!!

Its beginning to look a lot like...

Ho! Ho! Ho!
Well, my favourite time of year is almost upon us again - I am just a big kid after all - so I thought I'd put in a quick entry to my recently neglected blog just to make that little guilty feeling go away. Lots of comic news for you all. First up, the colour covers of Celtic Knights Issue 1 have arrived & Stephen is dilligently dispatching them to comic book shops as we speak. So If you are doing some last minute Christmas shopping in Dublin City Centre, pop into one of our great cities fine comic book establishments and ask for your copy. If they don't have it, tut and shake your head disapprovingly. They might be guilt-tripped into picking it up!! If you are elswhere in the country, just drop myself or Stephen a line & we will be glad to post you out a copy. We are those kind of guys. We do hope to be able to distribute to comic shops around the country in the New Year, so watch this space!

The reviews of issue 1 are in! David O' Leary, of Comic Related wrote this review for the website:

"Book Summery: 90% of Earths superheroes are either dead or in hiding. This is the best of what's left.

I wasn't sure what to expect of this when I first got it. What drew to me to it before anything else in my stack was the homage cover to X-Men #11, I had been picking up a lot of smaller press items recently and some of it was lukewarm but this; By issues end, I wanted more. As in now!

Stephen Paul Coffey is a published novelist of Zodiac: A Rosemary Herbb Adventure and a very capable comic writer. I adored the idea of an Irish superhero team and was very curious to see if it could be pulled off. The story opens at the International Mega-Human Headquarters in Dublin where we learn that 90% of the worlds superheroes are dead or in hiding after the fail safe files on the heroes were stolen with the purpose of wiping out the heroes by the villain "The Broker" General Blake then sets about recruiting the best of what is left and what is left is a rag tag bunch of misfits. Coffey injects a wit and enough sharp dialogue that it was a genuine laugh out loud read. I cannot tell what it was like to read a superhero comic where places like Dublin and Tallaght are referenced and the accents are written as they sound and the jokes are funny to those who know the region and to those who are not. I now know how New Yorkers feel when the read Marvel Comics! Now that the set up issue is out of the way I hope that we see a continuation of the book soon. Coffey's cast of characters are not exactly what you would call world class. Take for example Fallout a guy from a galaxy far away, who has all the powers of an A-lister buy whose control over gravity is unreliable. Or Rapid who has an overbearing over protective mother who comes along to the recruitment meeting but has to walk because the militaries vehicle has its wheels stolen while in Rapids house. Viciously fuuny!

Ger Hankey is currently involved in the "Transformers: Mosaic" projct run by the IDW publishing. So far he has been invloved in the production of six pieces for the project. This is my first exposure to his work though and I found the black & white interior art suited the story quiet well. His art is very easy to follow and where needs be the facial expressions of just about all the characters are well suited to the story allowances. There is a very strong base here for Hankey to build on .

I was very surprised to find that the book was as strong as it was. I have great hope for the book as it was a very funny read with a lot to draw in a local audience. If anyone overseas can get hold of this book then I very much recommend that you pick it up. As for Stephen Paul Coffey and Ger Hankey, bravo gentlemen."

Well thats about a good a note to end the year on as any, I suppose! I'd like to thank both Stephen and Barry for all the hard work they put into both projects, and hopefully we can do it all again bigger & better next year!
I'll leave you with a couple of recent Transformers pictures. I'd like to thank everybody for your support & praise, and I hope you all have a great Christmas & a very Happy New Year.
Now, where are those presents...