Desperate Measures - Character Studies

Here are some of the character studies from the upcoming GrayHaven Comics story 'Desperate Measures' featuring the very talented Edward Whatley.

How incredibly good are these.....

Desperate Measures - Artist Revealed!

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Edward Whatley will be bringing his incredible talent to my script 'Desperate Measures.'

Check out the artwork in his his superb comic 'Dober-Man' which can been found here.

As I mentioned here, the story will be a part of an large anthology project named 'The Gathering' and will be produced by the mighty American comic book publisher GrayHaven Comics.

Here's a sample of his work...

(Nope, I can't wait to see what he can do with my story either!)

100% Biodegradable #7

Issue 7 of the fantastic 100% Biodegradable is OUT NOW!

It features a story called 'Happier Times' by myself and JT Pegg (that's Jake Lynch to you and me!) as well as a raft of other top notch creators.

Grab yours for the bargain price of only 69p!  Available here:-

http://www.comicsy.co.uk/biomekazoik/store/products/100-biodegradable-issue-7/

Zarjaz #22 Review

Click on the link below for a nice review of Zarjaz issue 22 by Judge Tutor Semple

https://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/2014/11/28/zarjaz-issue-22/

It's not often small  press comics like Zarjaz gets reviews, so it's nice when you see your name mentioned in one!

Where Dreams and Visions Live

One of the first short stories I ever wrote, has finally made it's way into print.  'Open Your Eyes' was my first go at writing something a bit longer than flash fiction.  Two years later and after a bit of editing, 'Open Your Eyes' has been accepted into 'Where Dreams and Visions Live', an anthology complied by author Mary Blowers.


You can buy the eBook from Smashwords as an epub, mobi (kinde), pdf and other versions.  Click here for the link.

Also available as an ebook from Amazon here or as a paperback here

GrayHaven Comics Success

Well, I've finally broken into the American market!

One of my comic scripts has been accepted at GrayHaven Comics and I'm over the moon.  GrayHaven are a good sized comic book publisher in the US and they're packed with an array of talented editors, artists and writers.  Take a look at their feature print comic The Gathering.

I actually wrote this story a while ago, but when GrayHaven opened their submissions window, I jumped at the chance.  After a few changes (too many words!), 'Desperate Measures' is now awaiting an artist to hopefully see print next year.

More updates to follow!

Zarjaz #22 Published!

Another day, another story published!

This time it's an all-singing, all-dancing 2000AD love fest!

As mentioned previously (here), after getting my Chopper story 'Different Strokes' accepted by Zarjaz, I used my bestist Jedi Powers to persuade Art Droid, Jake Lynch into doing the artwork (for which I'll always be eternally grateful.)  He then asked another Art Droid, Pye Parr, into providing the titles and BOOM! - a story even the Mighty Tharg might be proud of!

Zarjaz is of course published by Futurequake Press and the link to their blog for #22 can be found by clicking on Jake's Chopper below...(!)

Hallowscream Published!

The sixth edition of Hallowscream has been published and is now available to download for FREE!

It became something of a mission for me to get into this comic and after several failed attempts, my story 'It's A Dirty Job' was finally accepted.  I managed to persuade Paul McCallan to lend me his fantastic art skills and here were are... mission accomplished!

Click on the picture below to go to the Theatre of Terror page, where you can download the comic for FREE!

First Story For Something Wicked

Having had a couple of stories printed in Futurequake and with my upcoming Chopper tale in next month's Zarjaz, it rounds things off rather nicely to have a script commissioned for Something Wicked.

Something Wicked is the sister 'horror' comic to Futurequake and my tale is called 'One Hell of a Night.'  It's going to be drawn by the awesome talent of Johnny McMonagle.

Although it'll be well into next year before this story sees print, Johnny's work appears in next months Something Wicked.  Here's a teaser of his brilliance from his own website...

Zarjaz #22 Cover

So here it is... the cover for Zarjaz #22 by PJ Holden and Steve Denton.

The cover was chosen for my Chopper story 'Different Strokes' and it features artwork and titles by two of 2000AD's Art Droids - Jake Lynch and PYE-01 !

Zarjaz #22 will be available from FutureQuake Press in November.

Hallowscream - It's A Dirty Job

I've just seen the pages by artist extraordinaire Paul McCallan for our upcoming story that'll be appearing in the 2014 edition of Hallowscream...

...and they're fantastic!

The FREE digital comic comes out in October, so watch this space for more details...!

Meanwhile, here's a quick teaser....

Flingers Pinup by Dan Cornwell

Dan Cornwell's been practising his 'Monkey Drawing' skills before he starts work on our story 'Nemesis Rising' for The Shit Flingers project.

Feast your eyes on this...!

Zarjaz Cover by PJ Holden!

It's finally been revealed that Art Droid Supreme PJ Holden is doing the artwork for my cover story in Zarjaz.

I couldn't have asked for more!

That's the cover by PJ, artwork by Jake Lynch and the titles by PYE-01

That's THREE OF 2000AD's ART DROIDS working on my story!

Dream come true!

Here's his rough for the cover so far...

Chopper Script Moved Forward

As mentioned here, my script 'Chopper: Different Strokes' was originally slated for Zarjaz #23 coming in March 2015...

Drumroll please...

It's now the COVER STORY for Zarjaz #22 launching in November!  BOOM!

So who's the Cover Artist?  Stay tuned, hopefully all will be revealed soon...!

Zarjaz Script - Chopper: Different Strokes

Dave Evans of Futurequake once told me that a good way to get into Zarjaz was to write something 'different'... i.e. "not Dredd"!

Chopper has always been one of my long time favorite 2000AD characters and so with Dave's words still ringing in my ears, I set about trying my hand at a Chopper story.

Fast forward a few weeks and not only was the script accepted, but I'd managed to talk 'Art Droid Extraordinaire' Jake Lynch into having a look at it.  It turned out he liked it enough to offer his services, which for a pro artist, I was eternally grateful to him for.  After he'd roped Pye-01 into doing the titles, I rather felt like I'd been working for Mr Tharg himself!

The story itself won't be out until early next year, but to be going on with, here's a little teaser...

Exciting New Project- The Shit Flingers!

When I first heard about The Shit Flingers Anthology, I was understandably intrigued.  The name enough was incentive to find out more, but when I'd read the whole of the incredibly detailed back-story, I suddenly found myself NEEDING to be a part of it!

The story premise is based around a group of 15th Century French soldiers who, as a result of a curse, are transformed into a variety ageless monkeys.  Their former personalities are now locked into differing monkeys, apes and even an orang-utan!  Forming a team to fight evil, they work on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church against various enemies including their former leader Courtard.

All in all, who'd not want to be a part of that!

So after several rejected ideas, I eventually came up with one that worked for The Flingers joint creator, editor and main writer Jimmy Furlong,   So next onto creating the script itself... which took a lot longer to write than expected, but thankfully Jimmy also liked it and I was officially part of the team.

Now I'd secretly hoped that Dan Cornwell would be interested in the project too if I asked (okay, begged) him to draw the script.  I knew he was busy with our ongoing comic Next of Kin, but as it's publisher VS Comics had recently folded, I decided that it might be worth keeping NoK on 'slow burn' whilst working on something more immediate.  Thankfully he didn't take much persuasion and 'Team Redfern/Cornwell' were back in business!

What's to become of Next of Kin I hear you cry?  Well, as I say it's still an ongoing project and once we've got most of the story drawn, lettered and it's ready for print, then I'll be pitching it too various publishers or (deep breath) I might even run another Kickstarter to ensure that it sees print.  After the problems of my first COLT-45 Kickstarter, this time I fully intend to have the artwork finished before I even start with the crowd funding!

So, more info on the Flingers as it comes, but you can keep up to date with any of the links below.

Facebook Page:- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shit-Flingers/327143877433397?fref=ts
Twitter Page:- https://twitter.com/ShitFlingers
Tumblr Page:- http://shitflingers.tumblr.com/

Area 101 - Page One Magnificence!

Here's a look at Page One of 'Area 101'.  This is a story I did with Dan Cornwell for the Metaverse Anthology.

Think of this as a teaser for a NEW and MASSIVELY EXCITING project we're about to embark on!

More details to follow soon....!

Blast Into The Past - The Scientist

Another superb character study from Trystan for our ongoing project - 'Blast Into The Past'

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...

'The Scientist'

FutureQuake #25 - DTT Review

A great review of FutureQuake #25 from the legend that is John Freeman.

He even said that my story 'Call of Duty' was one 'of particular note' - high praise indeed!

The review itself is on Down The Tubes and can be found here:-

http://downthetubes.net/?p=15892

and FutureQuake #25 can be bought here:-

http://www.futurequake.co.uk/shop.php

Blast Into The Past - The Sergeant

The third crew member from 'Blast Into The Past' has arrived!

Now some of you might have noticed similarities between previous characters and their youthful companions.  Not so much here though.... hmmmm.  I wonder why....?!

Trystan's next totally awesome character is....

'The Sergeant'

Uproar Comics Zombies Hi #9

Out now from Uproar Comics is their latest issue of Zombies Hi.

Zombies Hi #9 is packed full of explosive storytelling and stunning artwork and as an added bonus, it also features a short story from myself and artist Davey Francis called 'Endless Love.'

You can get hold of a digital copy here:-

http://www.uproarcomics.co.uk/shopping/product/digital-download-zombies-hi-issue-9/

and the print version here:-

http://www.uproarcomics.co.uk/shopping/product/zombies-hi-issue-9/

Get your dead on.......!

FutureQuake #25 - Out Now!

The juggernaut of the British Small Press that is FutureQuake Press has just released its latest edition...

Featuring myself and a whole load of fantastic creators:-

• Call of Duty (writer) Chris Redfern & (artist) David Clifford
• Consumer Channel X(writer) Lawrence Rider & (artist) Patrick Brown
• I Don't Like Monday Quests (writer) David Griffiths & (artist) Jim Lavery
• Junk Box (writer) Jimmy Furlong & (artist) Brian 'Clank' Bennett
• Out of the Closet (writer) Dave Roberts & (artist) Danos Philopoulos
• Packaged Holiday (writer) Andi Ewington & (artist) Conor Boyle
• Pleiatoc Monaidies(writer) Tom Davies & (artist) Leonardo Vergari
• Synched (writer) Mo Ali & (artist) Indio
• The Final Terminal(writer) Arran Frood & (artist) Steven Austin
• The Idiot Box (writer) Jonathan Stevenson & (artist) Stephen Prestwood
• The Travelling Salesman(writer) Tim West & (artist) Matthew Harrower
• The Grimaldi (writer) JJ Robinson & (artist) Alex Paterson

You can check out the teasers from each story here and buy it NOW from here

Also available, is the equally fantastical Zarjaz #21 from here

Blast Into The Past - The Doctor

Another sneak peek!

Here's another one of the main characters from 'Blast Into The Past' - a story that has been chosen for the British Showcase Anthology.  Once again Trystan's ability to create a real 'character' out of one my very rough descriptions is a sigh to behold!

'The Doctor'

Zarjaz!

A bit of a dream come true this one....

Those super chaps over at FutureQuake Press have accepted one of my latest scripts and after a bit of 'friendly persuasion' (begging) I've managed to get Jake Lynch on board too!

So...

A story about Chopper, drawn by a 2000AD artist and appearing in Zarjaz.

Nope, doesn't get much better than that!

Blast Into The Past - The Pilot

As the title suggests, the first crew member of 'Blast Into The Past' has arrived!

Here's what Trystan rather modestly calls a 'warm up sketch' of one of the main characters...

'The Pilot'

I know, I know.... absolutely incredible or WHAT!??

Now I'm not going to give the game away, but there's a good reason why both of the characters are called The Pilot, look the same and dress the same.  You might even say that they're related...!

Trystan, I doff my hat to you already Sir...!

British Showcase Anthology

I recently submitted a comic script to the British Showcase Anthology.  For those unfamiliar, this Anthology is a graphic novel published by Markosia intended to highlight an array of either upcoming or established British talent.

Imagine my surprise when the story was accepted!

Then came the hard part.  How do I tell Trystan Mitchell that I'd volunteered him to do the artwork!  The truth was that I wrote the story with him in mind, but I really didn't think it would have any real chance of getting through the submission process.

To his eternal credit (& helped no doubt by a certain strange 'Boltonian Karma') Trystan agreed to the project, despite having to fit it into a limited timescale between all of his other paid work!  Thanks Trys!

The story's called 'Blast Into The Past' and involves a spaceship crew who get themselves caught up in a time-twisting wormhole, with surprising results!

More details to come in October, when all the other writers and artist will be announced.

Zombies Hi #9

Uproar Comic's flagship title 'Zombies Hi' is back!

Issue #9 is available for pre order now and has 32 pages of fully coloured zombie filled goodness.  It also includes a short story by myself named 'Endless Love,' which is wonderfully drawn by Davy Francis who lends his distinctive 'cartoony' style to really bring the story to life (*groan*!)

Here's a quick teaser for my story 'Endless Love':-

and here's some of the stunning interior artwork:-

Uproar Comics:-
http://www.uproarcomics.co.uk/
Preorder issue #9:-
http://www.uproarcomics.co.uk/shopping/?product=zombies-hi-issue-9

FutureQuake #25 Cover(s)

Due to some unforeseen publishing issues, FutureQuake #25 will now be available with two different covers, (story here).

Released in early July, it contains a story of mine named 'Call of Duty.'

So now you have to buy it.  Twice.

'Next of Kin' is Go!

After the success of our Metaverse story 'Area 101', both Dan Cornwell and myself now move on to our biggest challenge to date... Next of Kin.

Without giving too much away at this early stage, the story revolves around several young adults who find themselves thrown into the middle of an ongoing struggle between demonic creatures and those that hunt them.

The story has been picked up by VS Comics and Dan now has the artwork well under way.  He intends to complete all of the pencils, inking and colouring himself, which is no small task, but if the very first panel of the first page is anything to go by, this comic is going to be truly, truly amazing.

Stage Fright on Postcard Shorts

Postcard Shorts is an excellent little website that I stumbled upon only recently. The idea behind it is that any story must be able to fit onto a postcard, i.e. be only about 250 words in length.

After being reviewed by a panel, the best stories are then published.

Here's the link to mine, which is titled 'Stage Fright.'

http://www.postcardshorts.com/read-2227.html

After being told it had been accepted, I received this rather excellent tweet!

Futurequake - Call of Duty

So, there was this 3 page script that I sent to Futurequake in July 2012....

Guess what?  The artist has just finished it!

I believe that this is his first (to be) published comic artwork, but to be honest, I don't know for sure because he never responded to any of my emails in the last couple of years!

Dave Evans, Editor Extraordinaire of FQP, has kindly given me permission to show this teaser image from the story 'Call of Duty.'

Storm Cycle Published

'Snipers In The Sun,' is a story I wrote in November of last year that was published on the website A Pound of Flash.  That website and others form part of Kind Of A Hurricane Press who have just released their annual 'Best Of' anthology Storm Cycle.

Storm Cycle can be downloaded as an ebook here:-

http://www.kindofahurricanepress.com/p/bookstore.html

or purchased as a 480 page paperback from Amazon here:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Storm-Cycle-2013-A-J-Huffman/dp/1497508576/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1400021315&sr=8-16&keywords=A.J.+Huffman+poetry

The Brothers - Initial Artwork Sneak Peak

Although Trystan describes them as 'first passes' - I think this sketch is just too cool not to share!

It depicts the two brothers who are integral to the plot of 'Timepoint', a story that we're producing for The Pschedelic Journal of Time Travel.  Trystan's opted for a 'Ruritanian' look which, as they say in America, like totally works.

It's A Dirty Job... Artist Revealed!

So, after using my incredible metal powers to bend him to my will (I asked him nicely!), the extremely talented Paul McCallan is to do the art duties of my Hallowscream story (post here) which is named 'It's A Dirty Job...'

I targeted him specifically because a.) he's brilliant and b.) his style is absolutely perfect for this short, two page horror story.

Paul has appeared in Futurequake #23 which was the same issue that featured my first published work.  When it came out, we talked on Twitter that it would be cool to work together sometime and so now here we are!

Here's one of Paul's panels from FQ#23 - click on it for his website!

Hallowscream Success

When I was younger, the only comic that I had on weekly subscription was The Eagle.  In 1984 (yes, I am that old) the Eagle picked up another title, incorporating it to become Eagle and Scream.

 

 

Scream had survived for 15 issues on its own before being cancelled and even joining with Eagle only prolonged its life slightly.  The final issue of Eagle and Scream was to be in March 1985.

 

However, Scream now lives on!  Albeit in a slightly different name and form. Brought to you by the team of dedicated horror specialists at Back From The Depths , they now produce the annual horror anthology called Hallowscream.

 

All 5 issues can be downloaded for FREE by clicking the picture below:-

 

 

 

Anyway, the point of all this is, that after (last count 3!) failed attempts to get a story accepted, I've finally managed to write a script good enough for Mr McNasty himself to approve.

  

No artist attached as yet, but I'll keep you posted!

 

Something's Brewing Now Available

The latest anthology of short stories and poems from Kind Of A Hurricane Press is now out!

It's named 'Something's Brewing' and everything within concerns the subject of coffee.  My own story is called 'Coff-E' and concerns an evil space overlord.  Like you do.

The ebook is completely FREE!

Here's the link to the website (click the pic)

and here's where you can order the print version from Amazon:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Somethings-Brewing-A-J-Huffman/dp/1497342171/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1396639951&sr=8-4&keywords=A.J.+Huffman+Poetry

Councillor of Time Coloured!

The ammount of work that Trystan's putting into our two page comic 'Timepoint' is astonishing.  The character study that he completed a few days ago (here) is now fully coloured!

Remember, this is only a character study and not even a page from the comic! Fantastic effort Trystan!

Here's a link to Trystan's own blog about our team up (& Bolton & Helicopters!):-

http://bigfootstudio.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/time-travel-adventures.html

The New Library

'The New Library' is a short story of mine appearing today on Fifty Word Stories.

Here's the link:-

http://fiftywordstories.com/2014/03/28/chris-redfern-the-new-library/

First Timepoint Character

Trystan has recently started working on some character studies for our comic story called 'Timepoint', which is to be published in The Psychedelic Journal of Time Travel.

Although it's only a two page story, Trystan has excelled himself with creative effort already!  The detail and design work that's gone into this 'Councillor of Time' character is remarkable.

Seeing a character that you've invented in your own head suddenly come to life through the imagination of a talented artist like Trystan is most definitely the best thing about this writing lark.

Amazon Link for Darker Times Collection Volume 2

Two of my short stories that appear in the Darker Times Collection Volume 2 can now be ordered from Amazon.

Print version:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darker-Times-Collection-Volume-Two/dp/149737099X/ref=tmm_pap_img_popover?ie=UTF8&qid=1395589603&sr=8-1

Kindle version:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darker-Times-Collection-Volume-Two-ebook/dp/B00J2C97BA/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1395589603&sr=8-1

Comicsy Link for Psychedelic Journal Volume 3

So, you can finally get your hands on some of my work in printed form!

The Psychedelic Journal of Time Travel has a story by myself and 2000AD artist JT Pegg, as well as a host of other exciting adventures! Get it here:-

http://www.comicsy.co.uk/crazyfoxmachine/store/products/the-psychedelic-journal-of-time-travel-3/

Twiction Addiction

One of my micro-fiction stories was published on Twiction Addiction today.

Here it is:-

Timepoint Artist - Trystan Mitchell - Boom!

The Editor Supreme of PJoTT, the legend that is Owen Watts has pulled a blinder.

 

He's managed to persuade Trystan Mitchell to lend his incredibly impressive art skills to my 2 page story 'Timepoint.'  Have a look at Trystan's website and prepare to be amazed.

 

 

 

 

To be honest, I'm feeling pretty bloomin honoured that Trystan's making the time around his commercial obligations to work with me and I cannot wait to see what he conjures up!

 

On the subject of his website, the Free Paper Toys that he produces in kit form are simply brilliant.  Click on the picture below for more:-

 

 

General News Round Up

Firstly, this Saturday sees the launch of The Psychedelic Journal of Time Travel Volume 3!  Exciting times, as it contains a story by myself and the 2000AD artist JTPegg called 'Primative Possibilities.

 

Secondly, those kindly people at 'Psychedelic HQ' have also just accepted another of my scripts, this one entitled 'Timepoint.'  As yet there's no allocated artist, but as soon as that happens I'll be the first to let you know.  The story itself is due for publication in Issue 5, which will be about this time next year.

Thirdly, another one page script has been accepted over at Uproar Comics.  It's my very first zombie story and I'll update when it has been fully commissioned.

 

Fourthly, a short story of mine named 'Coff-E' has been chosen to appear in the new Kind of A Hurricane Press Anthology, this book being themed around the word 'Coffee.'  It's due out in print towards the end of the month and so more news to follow then.

Lastly, two of my short stories that were both 'Runner Up' and 'Honourable Mention' for the September 2013 competition at Darker Times, are due to be published in print very soon in a collective anthology called Darker Times Collection Volume 2.  More details soon!

 

 

 

First METAVERSE Review

Terry Cooper, one of the editors of the METAVERSE Anthology, has been reviewing each of the stories within the book on a daily basis until its launch on 1st March 2014.

Today it was our turn!  Here's what he (very kindly) had to say about myself and Dan:-

http://geekscomeoutatnight.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/metaverse-review-part-12.html

Thick Jam Publication

Thick Jam is an online fiction magazine to which I've been submitting stories for a while now, but with little success.  They have incredibly high standards (which is a good thing) and only publish one piece per week.

So guess what?  Success!

Although the magazine's editor did admit he doesn't normally publish stories this short, he did say that he liked it enough to make an exception in this case.  There's a confidence boost for my work!

The story itself is called 'The Meeting' and can be found here:-

http://thickjam.com/no-365

Atomic Control Character Studies

As revealed last month (here) - my artist on an upcoming story for 100% Biodegradable is the very talented Hardy Lynch.  A total newcomer to the world of small press comics (as opposed to myself who's just a newcomer!) this was always going to be both a really good learning experience as well as a fun project.

When he sent me some character studies he'd done in preparation for starting the artwork, I was really, really impressed.  Hardy has an almost 'cartoony' style, very reminiscent of anime or manga and one which will work brilliantly with this particular story.

What was that?  You want a look too?

Well...okay then, but just a quick peak...