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...

So now what?

I know that I'm a few days late updating the blog this week, so apologies. I wasn't going to bother at all this week but I wouldn't want you all thinking I was just using the blog to sell comics at the convention.....
It all went very well actually. Both comics were very well received, with Celtic Knights selling out of all the copies we brought with us!! There are a few more copies on sale in Sub City, Exchequer St. here in Dublin, and once our second print run arrives it should be in a few other places too. I'll keep you posted so watch this space!! I got to meet a lot of fellow Irish comic creators (there are too many to mention by name, but I was very impressed with the standard of Irish independent comics out there) and a few of the bigger names in the business. Irelands own Nick Roche, of IDW Transformers fame, did a great sketch for me (have a look below), and was showing off artwork for the first two issues of his latest project "Maximum Dinobots", which looks great.
I spent most of the convention sketching robots for people & trying to force sweets on them, so if you bought a copy of either of the comics or some artwork- thank you, and I have the number of a good dentist if you want it...
So next on the agenda are some more robots... I have a commission piece and another mosaic to do before I get cracking on Issue 2 of the Knights. I'm taking a break from anything too pressing between now and Christmas though, so I'll probably not get anything at all done...
No picutres by me this week, but one of me! Top one is Ultra Magnus by Nick Roche, and the bottom one is the Celtic Knights/Rosemary Herbb table at the convention. I'm the one in the middle about to get a smack on the head from Stephen, with Barry wisely staying as far away from it all as he can. Next convention, I'm sitting on the end...

Get comics, check. Tidy portfolio, check. Write blog...

Well, its the last blog entry before Dublin City Comic Con kicks off, bright and early on Saturday morning. I'm all(most) ready to go, I've pretty much done everything I can at this point, so all that remains is to turn up and enjoy the weekend. There are one or two panels and workshops I'm looking forward to seeing, and one where we get to "launch" the comic. I'm a little nervous about that one, but not too worried. If we manage to sell a few comics then I'll be a happy bunny. That said, I won't turn any of the major comic companies away if they offer me a job either!
Apart from the comics, I'll be selling a few pictures, (mostly transformers stuff) I have done, and doing a few sketches on the day. If you are coming, make sure and pop by to say hello, I promise I won't bite (though I can't make any guarantees about Stephen....)
Also going on sale at our table will be the fantastic "Rosemary Herbb: The Return", worth buying if only to look at Barry McGowans jaw-dropping artwork (the lettering is pretty good too, though!), and a few posters. Actually, when its all written down like that, it looks like I'm in for a very busy weekend!
Well, with all that to do, I'll leave you all to it. I'll no doubt have a post-mortem of some sort (hopefully a good one) next week, but till then I'll leave you with a quick sketch I did of Judge Dredd, just to keep the old fingers moving...

Well, with little over a week to go to the Dublin City Comic Con & the launch of the Celtic Knights comic, I'm happy to say that everything just might work out ok! The comic has been sent to the printers (with two different covers, no less), so I'm just polishing off my portfolio & stuff at the minute. For those of you not able to make it to the con, the comic will be on sale in some comic shops in Dublin, and we are making arrangements for those of you further afield, too. I'll update the blog with details as soon as I get them.
Aside from selling the comic (and tempting you all with sweets), I'll be doing sketches and selling of a few of my original drawings too (at a very reasonable price!!). Have a look at my DeviantArt page, and if anything takes your fancy, let me know and I'll keep it aside for you.
Thats is for now, this weeks preview is the the coloured comic cover (so you know what to look for!!). Till next week!!

And we're done!

Well, by tonight, I will be! I'm just putting the finishing touches to the cover, and then its off to the printers with the Celtic Knights! After five months of hard work, I'll have some of my spare time back. For a little while, anyway.
Well, a little over two weeks to go to the Dublin City Comic-Con. It should be a fun couple of days. There are a couple of people going that I want to meet, and basically have a good nosey at what everyone else has on offer. So if you are there, make sure and drop by and say hello, we will be the ones with all the sweets!
Right, I'd better get off and actually finish this cover so. In the meantime, here are the pencils for the cover for you to have a look at. Enjoy!

Starting to breathe again!

And more importantly, sleep!! I have finally finished the internal artwork for Celtic Knights, and I'm working on the cover and other little bits and bobs too. All those late nights, early mornings, and luchtimes without lunches are paying off and I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Now if we can get a few people to buy it, I'll be a happy man...
Rosemary: the Return is now ready to buy online, for those of you who wont be at the convention or near a Dublin comic shop. You can buy it here now, and its well worth the money, believe me. We will be doing the same thing for Celtic Knights in due course, don't you worry.
As for the convention itself (now a frighteningly close three weeks away), not only are we selling the comics at our table (as well as original artwork, sketches, and a bucket-load of sweets to lure you in with), Barry and I will also be attending a "New Title Launch" panel, where we will give a presentation of the comics, and have them reviewed by C.B. Cebulski, former Marvel editor. So, you know, no pressure or anything...
I have a preview of some actual artwork from the actual Celtic Knights comic for you this week (I haven't done that in a while, have I?), its the page with the first meeting of all the Knights. Enjoy!!