I’ll be selling my last remaining copies of the officially-sold-out-never-to-grace-the-face-of-this-earth-again Derek The Sheep book. Not got a copy yet? Then you’d better hurry up cos it’s officially a masterpiece and one of 1001 comics YOU MUST READ BEFORE YOU DIE!!!!

I’m on page 785 (I know that page off by heart now). Here’s the evidence, purposely shown at low-res so you have to go out and buy the book, (which is actually an amazing read I have to say, including many reviews from fellow Fleece Stationer Ellen Lindner and her partner Stephen Betts, mastermind behind Eurocomics translation site Comics Influx)

(See Mr. Beano? See what you’re missing?)

I’ll also have my extremely scarce Bad Dog Newspaper, collecting all my favourite Bad Dog strips from over the years. I’ll not be reprinting this one either, seeing as it cost me a million pounds* to make! (*approx) Yeah, I know it’s more expensive than all those lovely full colour newspaper anthologies doing the rounds, but this is ALL ME and I only made 50 of them, so they’re FLIPPIN’ RARE!!! So get those before they disappear.

Hot off the press will be a Burp mini-comic fold out thingy…

And last, but not leastly, I’ll be signing NELSON at some point. Nelson the brilliant anthology from Blank Slate…

I’ll talk about it more another time, but here’s a panel from my little strip in all it’s sparkling, clear glory…

So, that’s it. Hope to see you all at the weekend!

Prices are:

Full Price Tickets: £7.00 per seat
Concession Price Tickets: £5.00 per seat
Adults: £7
Children: £5
Family Ticket: £20

Box office 0208 767 8886

Woohoo!

If you work at a school or library and fancy having Derek strut his stuff for your kids, then do get in touch with Legend Theatre or even me for prices.

Whilst the nation still mourns the loss of regular comic strip shenanigans in the Beano from our favourite woolly nutjob Derek the Sheep, it’s time to rejoice at his major new reappearance this Sunday 24th July at the spectacular festival knees-up New Cross Turn Left!

Check it out!

At 2pm you can bear witness to my brand new Derek the Sheep play for all the family, starring Chloe Lewis as Cecil the Bee and Nick Ofield as Derek the Sheep! Directed by Robert Clayton of Legend Theatre, this production will bring to life the madcap comicstrip craziness we all know and love in front of your very eyes. It’s very stupid and perfect for the kiddies, but kids of all ages (i.e. everyone) will undoubtedly love it too!

The actors aren’t being paid, so punters are encouraged to donate spare change to show their appreciation. I’ll also be selling and signing limited copies of Derek’s book.

And there’s plenty more going on at New Cross Turn Left! As well as exclusive exhibitions in the Olde Police Cells (including a topical, slightly deranged, performance piece by me and Matt Abbiss), there’ll be Lauren O’Farrell‘s Graffiti knitting workshops, comedy with Shabs and Nathaniel Metcalfe, comic clinics, an exciting book launch, DJs in the evening and a plethora of comics for sale during the day (alongside tea, cakes and booze for sale).

Here’s the timetable:

Check out the website for regular updates and directions.

A big thank you to Ellen Lindner for organising this amazing event! Check out her new comic Art History Dropouts co-created with Barnaby Richards exclusively launched in the evening!

Hope to see you there!

The caterpillar is invented. His name is Bob. Bob Caterpillar.

This month sees Derek’s final appearance in a Beano mag for the foreseeable future.

After 7 long, mad, crazy years, 70-odd stories, including 5 Beano annual appearances, his own book published by Bloomsbury, a Booked Up Booktrust selection shifting 24000 copies of said Bloomsbury book, a French edition under the moniker Norbert Le Mouton, and everso nearly his own cartoon series; Derek The Sheep has chomped his last blade of grass for the BeanoMax (or The Beano for that matter).

A new editor = a new direction = a kick up the bum for Derek the Sheep out the back door.

It’s been a brilliant, fairly surreal experience writing and drawing for such an esteemed comic as The Beano the last few years. Hats off to my original editor Euan Kerr for taking the chance on me and Derek and for his childlike glee and enthusiasm for the stories I produced. Thanks also to Alan Digby for keeping me in sheep stories (he also asked me to draw some Bash Street Kids Singled Out strips a couple of years ago, but my marriage blew up that very same week and I never found time (or perhaps inclination) to draw it. Life, eh?). And to John Anderson on the BeanoMax for asking me to be a regular contributor 18 months ago cos he was such a fan. Sir, you have been a great support and editor.

Derek wasn’t exactly like anything else in the Beano (still isn’t), so it was quite a risk for Euan to stick Derek in back in the day. But the risk paid off thanks to overwhelming support from young fans and parents alike. Well I say overwhelming, for all the fans giving Derek 10/10 in the  polls, there were just as many giving my stories 1/10 with very little in between; but the sheer fanaticism of those who loved him helped keep Derek a regular fixture in the Beano.

And that, for me, has been the best part about working on the Beano – the fans.

Whenever I was feeling down, or lacking in confidence over my work, I’d get an email in my inbox from a fan telling me how much Derek and his crazy antics would mean to them. One dad told me how he and his son would recite Derek’s adventures in the car on the way to school; another lad would carry Derek’s book around school all day, every day and all his mates would take the mickey, but he didn’t care. I’d even get emails from teachers telling me how a whole classroom would regularly fight over who gets to read Derek’s book at reading time.

Emails like these would instantly blow the cobwebs from my brain and I would triumphantly knock out another crazy adventure.

Fans, I salute you!

So what’s next for Derek?

Well, there’s a theatrical version of his nonsense from Legend Theatre, coming to a school or children’s theatre near you for one thing. And there was talk of maybe another French edition of Norbert Le Mouton. I’ve even been tinkering with the idea of bringing out a Quarterly Derek magazine to sell with the play…

Whatever happens, I’m sure Derek will be back in some form or another before you know it. Watch this space

Maybe they never went away, but I had one about a billion years ago which I used for bookmarking lovely comic stuff I found. It was only a personal thing, so I gave it the crummiest name: Comic Scrapbook. Innovative, eh?

Here’s some  tatty Tezuka book covers, just the sort of thing I loved to Tumblr…

Anyway, what with my over-burgeoning comic-related bookmark tab and a rise in brilliant Tumblrs to follow, I’ve dusted Comic Scrapbook down and I’ll be linking again to all sorts of lovely comic-related eyecandy.

This month features Derek looking after idiot savant Bernard the Goat whose shed has blown away. Bernard likes to eat underpants, so it’s all about the pants for two whole pages. I even get to use the word “undercrackers” (I love that word).

Here’s an hilarious panel:

Ho ho. And what japes are had!

I did have a scene where Rodney the Bull and Dave Goose were flushing loo paper down the toilet, but there just wasn’t room to fit it all in. The shame.

Here’s Rodney looking all innocent, DVD-extra-stylee:

And here he is in the strip all dressed up in loo paper:

So please rush out and buy the Beanomax, cos it’s brill and I’m in there every issue. Oh yes.