Tuesday 23 December 2014

Merry Christmas

Usually, I like to make and send my own Christmas cards but this year I've not been bothered. Instead, in recognition of the publication of the There's No Time Like The Present graphic novel, here are a couple of cards from the past that I sent while I self published the 'singles'.

xmas_2005
From Christmas 2005! From at least a year after I started work on There's No Time Like The Present.

xmas_2006
From 2006

You can buy There's No Time Like The Present from...

And, of course, the Escape Books website

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Personal Appearance in Orbital Comics


This Thursday I will be in conversation about my graphic novel, There’s No Time Like The Present, at Orbital Comics in London. 

The definitive collection of my long running comic has recently been published by Escape Books. During the 1980s, Escape Books published the earliest comic work of Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean and Eddie Campbell. More recently, they’ve returned to the publishing game starting with a collection of Pleece Brothers comics called The Great Unwashed. So, as you can imagine, having my work published by them is an honour.

For the collection, I have grey-toned the art, added some additional artwork, tweaked the appearance of some of the characters for consistency and corrected the spelling and grammatical mistakes. The result is a beautifully produced 350 paged hardback that has exceeded my expectations.

Currently, the book is going through what I refer to as a ‘soft release’. Distributors and shops will not have the graphic novel made available to them to order until next year for a Spring release but because we are eager for people who might want the book for Christmas to be able to buy copies it is currently available via limited outlets. They are…

GOSH Comics in London
The Escape Books website
And, of course, Orbital Comics.



I would love for you to attend this Thursday’s launch of the book if you’re able to. I am being interviewed by Chris Thompson and then I will be signing and sketching in the limited, book-plate editions of There’s No Time Like The Present exclusive to the evening.


Monday 8 December 2014

Corporate Gig

On Friday, I did a 'corporate gig'. My brief was to attend a Christmas party and draw what I observed. The party was held in the art gallery which is why many of the guests were in fancy dress (or, as we refer to it these days, "cosplay"). 

Anyway, it's occurred to me that there might be other people or organisations that may like me to provide this type of service from them. If you're running an event and are interested in me live-drawing what I observe, then please contact me via email in the first instance.


Photos of some of the drawings that I did during the event. 

Sunday 16 November 2014

There's No Time Like The Present

On Friday, over ten long years after starting work on it, I received my advance copies of my graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present, published by Escape Books. Here are some photos I took using my smart phone.


Peter Stanbury of Escape Books has done a great job on the design of the book. 


For the book collection, I toned all of the artwork which was just in plain old black and white when I originally self published the comic in episodes.


Here's another sample of the toned artwork.


And another. Did I mention that it's a beautifully produced, hefty hardback?

The book is being rolled out for sale over the coming weeks. Please watch this space or my Twitter or Facebook accounts or Escape Books for details as they occur?

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Personal Appearances

UPDATE: Unfortunately, There's No Time Like The Present will not be available at these events but I will still be attending and hope to see you there.

My strip, Dear Richard And Partner, has recently appeared in The Mammoth Book Of Cult Comics. To mark it's recent release, on Friday Nov 7, I am appearing with fellow creators ILYA, Carol Swain, Rob Davis and Andy Oliver on a panel to discuss What Makes A Cult Comic which is part of this years Comica Festival. The talk is taking place at Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road in London.


The Mammoth Book Of Cult Comics contains work by over twenty cartoonists including me.

On Saturday, along with many other great comic artists, I am exhibiting at the Crouch End Comic Art Festival where I will be selling copies of my comics.


The poster for the Crouch End Comic Art Festival drawn by organiser Sean Azzopardi. Take note of Thunder Brother, dead centre there. Brilliant! I love it when other people draw my characters.

Thursday 23 October 2014

Thunder Brother: Soap Division Review

Andy Oliver has written a review of the first six issues of my comic Thunder Brother: Soap Division for the cool comics website Broken Frontier. " In Thunder Brother: Soap Division Paul B. Rainey shows himself to be a true craftsman of the comics narrative, affectionately sending up the history of the genre he is satirising to sly effect  but always doing so with a knowing and amiable wink at the reader." Read the full review here. You can buy every issue so far of Thunder Brother: Soap Division from my shop here.

Monday 13 October 2014

West Distance

The second graphic novel collection of the fantastic West by my friends Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable has just been published. It includes a selection of shorts drawn by various guest artists including a four-pager called Badwater Lake by me. You can buy copies from the publisher's Comicsy store here.

Friday 19 September 2014

The Mammoth Book Of Cult Comics

My comic strip, Dear Robert And Partner, is one of many appearing in the new collection The Mammoth Book Of Cult Comics, edited by Ilya and published by Constable & Robinson next month. Dear Robert and Partner was originally drawn and published by myself around eight years ago. Now, a slightly adjusted version (see if you can spot the difference) appears in this giant collection also featuring strips by Eddie Campbell, Oscar Zarate, John Bagnell and loads, loads more great creators. The Mammoth Book Of Cult Comics retails for £12.99 and is published on October 16th.



Wednesday 13 August 2014

Sunday 3 August 2014

Thursday 3 July 2014

Viz 237


Viz issue 237 is now out. It features all of your Viz Comic favourites including a new Eric Pickles: Fighting For Your Consumer Rights strip drawn by me.

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Aces Weekly Vol 11, Issue 2

I have become an occasional contributor to David (V For Vendetta) Lloyd's on-line subscription comic, Aces Weekly. This week's issue sees the return of the 14 Year Old Stand-Up Comedian in his first full colour strip, "Plays The Mega-Academy!" In it, the under-aged funny man headlines Britain's largest comedy venue. You can read this new story only by subscribing to Aces Weekly



Saturday 28 June 2014

There's No Time Like The Present

It's been a long time coming but the previously announced collection of my graphic novel There's No Time Like The Present is scheduled for a September 1st 2014 release. Below is the book design posted onto the Escape Books website with slight apprehension as change may still occur. I still have the end papers to draw and a handful of panels to redraw (I want to modernise some of the technology that the characters use) for the book. My website is a good place to follow but please also also add Escape Books to your list of sites that you regularly visit for official updates.

Wednesday 18 June 2014

The Charlie Brooker Story

charlie-brooker

The Charlie Brooker Story originally appeared in Viz 235.

Thursday 29 May 2014

Viz 236


The new Viz is out today. I have two episodes of a strip called Chancellor Osborne Master Of The Mystic Arts in it this time.

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Sketch

spider-pike

Despite attending Caption most years since the early nineties, I had never contributed artwork for the charity auction they hold on the Saturday night until recently. This is because I've been terrified that nobody would bid on it and it would sit there, unsold and looking crap. Anyway, to my amazement, somebody bought this sketch I drew of Magnus Pyke. Hopefully, they kept it and didn't throw it into the bin on the way out.


Thursday 22 May 2014

Sketch

earlobe
Upon reflection, I think I should swap entry 9 around with 10.

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Sketch

cufflinks

Actually, one up from a sketch but one down from a full drawing (by my standards, anyway). I had a half-idea for a series of single-framed jokey things that I decided didn't work. Of course, this isn't stopping me from posting them here.

Sunday 4 May 2014

Jimbo

jimbo-1
jimbo-2
I drew this strip for an exhibition four years ago. All I was given to work with was the phrase "mechanical elephant". I thought I drew a pretty fun strip in the circumstances.

Thursday 24 April 2014

Viz 235

The latest issue of Britain's brightest comic is out today! Viz 235 features a short strip drawn by me called The Charlie Brooker Story. I'll be honest with you; I think I might have peaked with this one.

Saturday 29 March 2014

Gosh British Comics Spotlight

Visitors to Gosh Comics' blog late yesterday will have learned that I am one of their British cartoonists of the month. I am described in the entry as "Master of the parochial Sci-Fi Epic" which is a description that I am very happy with.  Please go here to read the entire entry and to add their always excellent blog to your feed list.

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Friday 28 March 2014

Sci-Fi Strips

Here are a handful of strips I produced as a pitch for a cult film and TV science fiction magazine. I think I drew these around 2003, shortly before the return of Doctor Who starring Christopher Eccleston. They really are of their time, I think, but I still like a couple of the jokes. 


dreamwatch1
dreamwatch2
dreamwatch3
dreamwatch4
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Wednesday 19 March 2014

Viz 234

The latest Viz is out tomorrow. It features a strip by me starring Eric Pickles "Fighting For Your Consumer Rights." Available on the top shelves of all good newsagents and supermarkets.

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Friday 14 March 2014

Catalogue of Rejections

As discussed before, I currently have an arrangement with Viz where I can send them ideas for strips in rough form for consideration for publication. Here are a few that they didn't want.

 I always felt that the title for this one was a bit lame but the strip as a whole worked. Obviously, Viz didn't agree with my second assumption.
I like to think that this one got rejected because of the sheer quantity of dentist strips Viz already had in the slush pile to print.  peter-the-slow-greeter-v1
I love drawing Peter The Slow but I think that this rough was too rough.


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Tuesday 18 February 2014

IT Gags

Not only should you be surprised but also disgusted to learn that making comics is something I have to do in my spare time and that I earn my living by working on a Computer Helpdesk. Recently, I given a few hours off the phones to produce the following two cartoon gags for an event.
bath


click
I recently had the following pitch, inspired by my day job, rejected by Viz which is a shame because I really enjoyed drawing Lou Dite with her freakishly long arms and puffy shoulders.
lou-dite-pitch
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Thursday 13 February 2014

Viz 233

The latest Viz is out today and features a new strip by me called “Pope Francis Goes To The Dentist”. This is the first in a series which will, hopefully, be appearing over the next few issues. Viz already have a another four episodes in the bank awaiting print while I, because I enjoy drawing Pope Francis so much, have drawn even more. 


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