Stonechat Productions

2012-01-11T03:28:00.000-08:00

The December Geoscientist.

Only ~11 months to Christmas remember!

New game for the ZX Spectrum

2012-01-07T09:22:00.001-08:00

I've finished another game for the ZX-Spectrum: Endless Forms Most Beautiful.

It is a simple platform game but has a lot of random generation in it to give maximum variety: blocks, space invaders, imps, names, layouts. It also contains rainbow graphics, which gives the appearance of breaking the spectrums 2 colours per character square rule. The loading screen is also composed of predominantly random space invaders too, different every load.

A tank of thank to Dr Thomas, who did the excellent Schubert music.

Can be found here. It works best on the 48k spectrums but is compatible with other models, I'm hoping to do get some help & do a Russian version.

Time to start picking my pens up again methinks.

Happy New Year all.

November Geoscientist

2011-11-23T10:14:00.000-08:00

The following 3 months are ones I drwe recently, last minute & out of practise unfortunately. Set aside a week for getting back into this tho.

October Geoscientist

2011-10-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

September Geoscientist

2011-09-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hope this one makes sense. It's a bit whimsical perhaps.

I've started work on a new batch of these, it's been a while since pen has been applied to paper, the results aren't toooo appalling...

New Game for the ZX Spectrum: WUNDERCHAR$

2011-08-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

Any computer nerds might be interested in a new game I've written for the Spectrum, compatible with 48 + 128k. I would say it's not as good/exciting as Stamp Quest in terms of playability but it has a lot to offer, including a slideshow if you complete it. It's a tribute to the 8x8 graphic and the spectrum ROM font.

Master of 1 bit music Mister Beep did some brilliant intromusic to this, but my dodgy programming cannot make work as yet, but I'll try again + some other changes and upload the result.

WUNDERCHAR$

If you fancy a go details of where to download spectrum emulators can be found here.

Beware: If you can't work out what to do you won't be alone...

August Geoscientist

2011-08-02T05:20:00.000-07:00

The August one. It reminds me of a crab trace in sedimentary rocks while doing fieldwork in Ireland, was a really nice trace fossil. We called it the 'snuffle mark', unfortunately an inconsiderate person whacked it to bits, attached for 300 millions years, removed in seconds. Grrr.

July Geoscientist

2011-07-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

I'll be drawing some new ones soon, my last big batch is almost finished. One thing I didn't think about with this one is that in July people don't tend to need fireplaces, well in the UK at least. Ho hum.

June Geoscientist

2011-06-07T02:54:00.000-07:00

This months offering, also, I made a mistake last month, I've uploaded the correct cartoon for that.

May Geoscientist

2011-05-03T03:01:00.000-07:00

This is the correct one. To think posting an April fools cartoon in May, lunacy! The drawing is based on a real Geological field sketch of the Cliffs of Moher.

April Geoscientist

2011-04-06T03:46:00.000-07:00

This months Geopun. I thouroughly failed to do an April fools post this month.

Norman...

2011-03-23T01:17:00.000-07:00

...wished he'd never insulted Bill Oddie.

Graeme Williams, stand up and take a bow. There's no web link for Graeme, but I think he should create a blog. Graeme, please email and explain how the hell you do these in Excel?!!! (really, he says he does them in Excel)

Thanks so much for this submission!

Mr Miyagi

2011-03-22T04:46:00.001-07:00

Ant Mercer has done a neat 3 min animation. He said it was a cheap gag but we know it's much more than that. It's about perseverance.

Let's see if we can make it 'go viral', as the 12 year olds say.

Stamp Quest

2011-03-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

A half decent review of my game Stamp Quest at Retrogamer. Given 70%, though it's become clear I've not explained how the ports work properly, I'll be posting additional instructions at some point.

Also, there's an absolutley cracking Norman submission coming soon...

Norman..

2011-03-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

..enjoyed his time in London.

A fantastic submission from Ant Merker here, referring to the recentish student protests in London. An outstanding display of penmanship and digital skill too. Bloody hell! Good eh?

His new website is also here.

March Geoscientist

2011-03-07T00:20:00.000-08:00

The latest.

Norman..

2011-03-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

..wasn't too happy with the way his early appearance in the Burgess Shale took such a dramatic turn.

Thanks again to Mojo, bringing colour and life to my blog!

His submission is based on this picture of the Burgess Shale, a Cambrian era fossil assemblage of outstanding preservation.

Norman..

2011-02-28T03:38:00.000-08:00

A lovely 2 framer from Rob Jackson here! I've been thinking about taking Norman to the next level, ie a bigger cartoon. This makes me think it could work. Ta Rob!

Because of Robs kindness I will not be forced to give Mr Tiggiwinkle red wine with his tuna chunks tonight, he will be getting chardonnay as usual.

Robs 2 frames mean he is safe until Tuesday, at which point I will break out the Black Tower...

Norman

2011-02-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

..wasn't sure to hold his guitar the right way. Nobody's watching, who cares?

A fine tribute to the clash and a very apt phrase, thanks to Mojo for the submission, and a smidgen of colour that's been missing recently.

Before this a few days passed without Normans, so I was forced to take action: I made one kitten watch a full afternoon of Top Gear on Dave and tickled another to distraction. Happy now?

My Hero 1: Bill Watterson

2011-02-20T12:56:00.001-08:00

Full of life and humour, Calvin and Hobbes has to be the greatest strip cartoon in the universe. He refused to allow C&H to be made into a movie (saying to his agent "why would I want to talk with Stephen Spielberg?") or tacky merchandise, either of which would have made him unimaginably rich. Bill Watterson is an example of someone who hasn't sold out, worked on his own terms and has artistic integrity. When it looked like C&H was his meal ticket, he quit while he was ahead, stating that he'd said all he wanted to say. I wish Matt Groening did the same.

Now he (Bill) paints with his father.

Does merchandising mean selling out? I think so, just look at Garfield.

The bidding for the above sketch starts at £15.

You can view an alternative, slightly disturbing sketch of BW at SinCat's site.

Norman

2011-02-17T05:34:00.000-08:00

...should have known that living for too long on cat food was bound to have side effects.

Ta very much to Mojo (who started off this wonderful string!) for this one. I also have some more sketches that I'll post next week, they feature Norman and are slightly more haunting...

Keep 'em coming!

Norman

2011-02-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

Realised that some costumes weren't gender neutral.

A tank of thank to Tori Holder for this one!

Mr Tiggiwinkle is safe...

...for now....

Norman

2011-02-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

...had lost his beautiful new pet.

Every day that passes from now without a Norman submission, I will do something unspeakable to a kitten. YOUR FAULT!

TeaToastTellyOwl

2011-02-14T11:15:00.001-08:00

Good morning sunshine!

2011-02-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

Better.

Ugh.

Norman...

2011-02-05T03:07:00.001-08:00

..forgot to do a nutter check when he got on the train.

Still accepting submissions......

New year, new crap game

2011-02-04T13:06:00.001-08:00

Well, unfortunately my ZX Spectrum games 2010: a philatelists odyssey and Geoff Capes: Budgy Breeder failed to win the Sinclair Crap games competition last year, just not crap enough (congrats to Dr Beep and all the other entrants). I've now recovered and will put some energy into scraping the bottom that little bit further for 2011.

Congrats also to the Mojon twins who lost the competition and have the 'honour' of hosting the 2011 competition, which can be found here, along with many of his/their funny reviews. You can also find my first effort of the year, Egg Scotcher.

Maybe you're a vegetarian who has never scotched an egg, maybe you just love scotch eggs, maybe you're not sure about the whole idea of Scotch eggs. Either way this game is for YOU! You have an amount of time to fully wrap a hard boiled egg in a scotching envelope. Maybe you're Spanish, in which case there's a grammatically correct Spanish version, Huevos Escotia!

Both can be found at the Crap Games Comp 2011.

Crap!

Drawing fans can expect a Norman soon.

Feb Geoscientist

2011-02-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

Due to a strange stellar configuration and a mild fluctuation in the earths magnetic field, there was no January Geoscientist. There is however, a Feb one. This one is based on personal experience, where on buying a geological map of my birthplace I found it to consist of mainly sea and a little bit of drift (neither of which are solid enough to whet the appetite of any right thinking Geologist).

Stamp Quest

2011-01-09T04:23:00.001-08:00

Well, you may have guessed that drawing's taken a back seat recently. I've been busy writing games for the ZX Spectrum.

I've updated my Norman game into a faster, more fluid machine code game: Stamp Quest. It's available on the World of Spectrum Website and there's a video walkthrough at the RZX Archive (played by ZX SPin). Details of how to ply the game are in my Norman post. Best played (if using Spin) in 128k mode so you can hear the sound and with flashload off so you can see the loading screen appear. It plays too fast on some PCs, so you may want to slow the emulation down, I can vouch that the speed is correct for a real rubber keyed speccy.

I will be drawing again, I've not been enjoying planning the big projects of late, so there'll be some smaller stuff.

Happy new year all!

Uhhhhhnnnnnnnnnn....

2011-01-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

Thankyou very much for your patience, normal service will resume as soon as possible.

Merchandiser!

2010-12-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Special iPad offer over at Tabella. Less than two spond for an ebook from 25th Dec to 5th Jan.

1 and a bit days to go to xmas, good luck everyone. (Ditto the England 11), not that you need it. Surely you were buttock clenchingly bad last time to keep the series interesting eh? TMS presenters: please wait until both sides have batted before gloating...

More reviews

2010-12-19T04:21:00.000-08:00

Yep, another year and I'm still dining out on Thomas Wogan is dead reviews, maybe I'll have a new book next year. Ho hum.

Still there's been a couple of good reviews of TWID:

http://www.comicbitsonline.com/2010/12/09/thomas-wogan-is-dead/

an interesting read this one:

http://www.handdrawnawesome.com/?p=924

This one slams the cover, presumably it's a bit pristine. I'll take the blame as I chose this from a large & selection from Ant Merker's repertoire. The font was a technical compromise at the last minute before a print deadline.

Having said all this I like the cover!

Giiiinnnnn Paalllaacccccceee Tooooo!!!!!!!

2010-12-12T04:20:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit slow on this one, Gin Palace 2 is out. I reckon this anthology is one of the best small press anthologies out there. On sale at Rob Jackson's site. Lots of good stuff here.

Contributors:

December Geoscientist

2010-12-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

I've nothing against these T-Shirts really...

Didn't go for the christmas theme this time.

Yesssssssssssss!

2010-12-06T19:15:00.001-08:00

Norman...

2010-11-27T08:12:00.001-08:00

...was feeling a little retro.

Just for a change from drawing I've been messing about with old computers, the Sinclair Spectrum to be precise (did any of you have or still have one of these?), as it was the computer of choice in the house I grew up in. I do love this computer, for I feel closer to understanding how it works than I do the magic box that I'm sitting in front of at the moment. It's limitations mean you have to use your imagination more and forces programmers to be more creative.

I always wanted to write a game, and I've entered it for the 2010 comp sys sinclair crap games competition, but against games like 'overtake the pope 2' and 'John Terry's Quest for the Golden Bra' it doesn't stand a chance.

It's based around my Norman character and has 10 levels, like Delia Smith's Boudoir and the Screaming Habdabs to name a couple. Fancy a game? If so here's what you do:

1-Download an emulator from http://www.worldofspectrum.org/emulators.html, I would recommend ZX Spin, just scroll down a bit.

2-Download my game from the crap games website, and check out the other great, sorry crap, games while you're there.

3-Open the game file with ZX Spin and you're away!

I've entered it for the crap games comp as it's written in Basic, so slow as hell, and the object detection doesn't work very well, so you have to hover over them. If you want, in the emulator, you can increase the emulation speed to say 7 or 14MHz to make it more playable.

If this tickles your fancy and you complete it before xmas, email me & I'll send you a substantial prize. All you would need to do is tell me what the ending sequence is (i'll know if you cheated ;))

None shall pass!

2010-11-23T05:31:00.000-08:00

Sci Fi Art Now!

2010-11-17T12:32:00.005-08:00

I received my copy of SciFiArt now today,& it looks pretty smart. The thing I like most is the mix of styles, from the more 'standard' realistic heavily airbrushed works to the livelier rougher exaggerated pieces. I've obviously betrayed my preference in that last sentence, but the important thing is that there's something for everyone. If push came to shove I'd say my favourites pieces were Nelson Evergreen's Built with a Smile and Jim Hatamas Falcon Guard, but I can honestly say I found most of the art very pleasing.

All good book shops and Amazon! 20 spond.

Estate agent

2010-11-12T03:31:00.000-08:00

This guy could equally be presenting top gear. Only kidding, estate agents are the salt of the earth.

November Geoscientist

2010-11-08T03:14:00.000-08:00

I posted the wrong cartoon earlier, if you saw it you're a lucky thing. This one is more apt that the weather, and is the one that appears in this months Geoscientist.

SciFi Art Now

2010-11-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Do you like Science? Do you like Fiction? Do you like Art? Do you want them NOW?

Then you want to get a copy of SciFi Art Now.

I've got a piece of work in it and it has some bloody good company. Edited by John Freeman , this is a great book bringing together pro and amateur artists work into a great edition.

It'll be out very soon, if not already. Details on the SFAN blog.

How the magic happens..

2010-10-29T04:01:00.000-07:00

Not been drawing much of late, but this is how my Gin Palace 2 story started..

Moley

2010-10-26T06:17:00.001-07:00

Ed Reardon's back!

2010-10-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to hear everyone's favourite curmudgeon Ed Reardon back on the radio, I'm gutted as it's from a show at the Edinburgh fringe. I would have gone to Edinburgh this year if I'd known. Here's how I picture Ed, a greyer grumpier version of the writer/actor Chris Douglas.

Top stuff!

Norman

2010-10-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

I hope it's ok my posting this before the end of the month.

Plenty many thanks to Gin Palace contributor, oddity merchant and small press polariser Sin Cat for this Norman. It's great to see some different styles of Norman here.

Sin Cat's NEW website can be found here.

Norman

2010-10-08T03:35:00.001-07:00

...had a tremendous new sense of confidence after his brazilian wax.

Sunflower head

2010-10-04T03:01:00.000-07:00

Pity poor sunflower head. He can't eat, see or hear, he has never tasted the sweet nectar of a womans kiss. And bees keep landing on his face.

October Geoscientist

2010-10-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

Science loves it's pseudos.

Gin Palace 2

2010-09-29T08:06:00.001-07:00

I managed to finish my story for Gin Palace 2 this week. It's the story of some foul play on an allotment, and some bloody big pumpkins. It looks like there's been a flurry of submission near the deadline so it looks like it'll be another cracking anthology. Details can be found over at Robson Jacks website.

Norman

2010-09-29T00:57:00.000-07:00

...was not very keen on the new food fad: crapas.

(too much? Sorry)

Gwen John

2010-09-27T05:37:00.001-07:00

Gwen John, self portrait, big face, scotch Egg, Bosh.

If I keep going...

2010-09-23T07:36:00.001-07:00

....to Greggs.

Ack!

2010-09-08T05:07:00.000-07:00

Immersion therapy: one way of dealing with a phobia.

Hi Tech Wogan

2010-09-06T03:29:00.000-07:00

Wowser! Tabella Publishing have made Thomas Wogan is dead available on iTunes for the iPad.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/thomas-wogan-is-dead/id381999249?mt=8

September Geoscientist

2010-09-01T03:03:00.000-07:00

It's a really nice walk this, not to mention some cracking sedimentology.

A feast of art

2010-08-21T04:25:00.001-07:00

Back from the framers the other week, my art collection is accreting nicely. Here's the original artwork for the Pasty Anthology cover by Rob Jackson. The guy in the frame shop liked it too. Just need to find a nice bit of wall to put it on now...

There's no time like the present

2010-08-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Beautiful isn't it?

This great series has drawn to a close in 13 issues. I could never have seen the end coming & Paul ties it all up nicely. A great rollercoaster of a story of love, life, time travel, Dr who, and much much more. Highly recommended, I would love to see this collected in a single bumper issue..

Available from Paul's shop at his website.

Peter Falk

2010-08-13T01:46:00.001-07:00

Zombie Nettles

2010-08-11T23:20:00.000-07:00

Zombie Lansbury

2010-08-11T00:45:00.000-07:00

Zombie Poirot

2010-08-10T02:54:00.001-07:00

Zombie Wexford

2010-08-09T01:24:00.001-07:00

The neverplayed symphonies

2010-08-06T03:07:00.000-07:00

Here's an old cartoon I found in the attic, submitted to 'Birds' the RSPB magazine. Editor Rob Hume said he liked it, but wasn't sure where it would fit into the magazine. Little did he know I would have refused anyway, as I was saving it to show on my blog several years later. I never decided on a title for certain, but the working one was Twitch.

and here it is with some hasty photoshopping..

At the moment I'm concentrating on bigger projects, but perhaps in the future I'll try some more periodical magazine subs.

Norman

2010-08-04T03:22:00.001-07:00

...never meant to spoil the funeral.

You didn't see this. Best to move on to another website.

August Geoscientist

2010-08-02T04:53:00.000-07:00

The August one. This is hilarious because Norman Bowen, petrologist, who created his reaction series that explained magmatic differentiation, has the same surname as Jim Bowen, presenter of TV's Bullseye and probably a bit more.

Super, smashing, great.

The Osprey of Hope

2010-07-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

Saw one of these beauties at Leighton Moss last week.

Norman

2010-07-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

..whilst excited with the results, realised he had bought the wrong little blue pills off the internet.

Thanks to Andy for this one, though we shouldn't chuckle too much as this is based on one of his true life experiences. Fortunately it was during the winter so he could wear heavy jumpers to disguise them.

If you want to see some fine art photography and musings, why not pop over to his Decoding Static blog.

Norman

2010-07-21T04:23:00.001-07:00

A bank of thank to Graeme Williams for this one. Absolutely brilliant. Done in Excel according to him.

Zommmbiiiieeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss

2010-07-16T03:06:00.001-07:00

A few sneak peeks at my artwork for the upcoming Accent UK Zombies 2 anthology, or rather 2ombies. I was provided with a fine script by Ryan Doman and eventually got cracking on it. This is my first time drawing somebody elses writing so I was apprehensive, I'd say it worked rather well though.

I wonder if I should have researched this more thoroughly, y'know by watching dawn of the dead, putting greasepaint and masking tape on my face and wandering around slowly at night. Having said that, perhaps my lack of zombie knowledge has helped to produce a story that's a bit different.

I'm also pleased to say I didn't have to confront any zombie 'don'ts', like should they run or traipse around, and that was thanks to Ryans imaginative script.

All in all, great fun!

Goblin Hall

2010-07-14T05:22:00.001-07:00

Not been buying many books of late, so got myself a copy of Goblin Hall by Rob Jackson. A good read, I found myself returning to some chortleworthy bits a few times afterwards, especially a bit about worshipping a magic pig. I like the new, larger size and covers that bleed all the way to the edge. Well worth 3 spond, available from his website.

Norman

2010-07-12T05:40:00.000-07:00

..hadn't realised he would be modelling swimwear at the charity fashion show.

A google thanks to Sarah Taylor for this one. Show me a person who doesn't find the concept of a 'mankini' funny and I'll show you a liar.

It was the 22nd of June and Norman's internet purchase wasn't all he'd hoped for...

2010-07-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

...he'd wanted 'Three Lions' on his shirt and not 'Three lines'. Still in a couple of days it's turn out to be a wise purchase.

Thanks be to Dave West of AccentUK for this Norman. I was hoping Dave would do one as the Norman stuff fits very nicely with the style of his weekly webcomic.

Norman..

2010-07-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

..was exceptionally good in the centre couch position.

A tank of thank to Dr Claudia Moeckel for this submission. I hope it's ok that I changed the words a little bit as I'd rather it began with 'Norman'. You might guess from the name that Claudia is German, and I should point out that this cartoon was drawn before Germany narrowly beat England last week. She is not what you'd describe as a football fan, rather, for her, these matches are an opportunity to take advantage of the quiet streets und shops. All the same, congratulations on the zehr gut victory over Argentina!

Some more cool Normans received and awaiting posting (thanks all), not to mention one from a rather established cartoonist, don't want to say tooo much yet but would the words Bill Watterson mean anything to you? Get on the winning team and send me a Norman!

July Geoscientist

2010-07-01T01:08:00.001-07:00

The latest. This one was originally due to appear later in the year but I brought it foward as I thought it possible that the world might be bored of twitter by the end of the year. I don't think this will be the case, and I'm certainly no snob about it. It does seem to bring some people together and keep some people in touch, certainly for comics people anyway. And I do read other peoples twitter pages without joining like some dirty voyeur. I thought about setting one up for myself, and one for Dalston in the cartoons, his geological posts might have read:

Just had a pie.
----------------
Idea for soap opera: amygdale farm
----------------
Just bought a T-shirt, it says 'tuff schist'. titter.
---------------
Why does my backside always itch when I'm giving a lecture?
--------------

Then I realised I couldn't be bothered and didn't have the energy. My personal posts would just read "making some pasta and having a glass of homebrew", "where's that foisty smell coming from in my house?" or "trying to write" anyway.

Can someone explain to me why...

2010-06-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

The streets seemed frightfully quiet today, it must have been because England won a decisive match in the cricket. The strange thing is there were numerous Germans wandering around making a nuisance of themselves, looking oh so bloody happy, they clearly didn't understand the value of a well delivered leg cutter, googly or sweep stroke. They clearly don't know anything about current affairs.

Trip report a

2010-06-27T01:29:00.001-07:00

A fine day. En route to Crosby to view Anthony Gormleys 'Another Place' statues at Crosby (details to follow) we popped by Poulton le Fylde to sample comic creator Rob Jackson's homemade ice cream. Bloody good it is too, between us we tasted blackberry, gooseberry, rhubarb and sweet potato (which has been rubbed off the blackboard as we bought the last one). Don't be afraid of the sweet potato, it was nice, and personally I can't stand them usually. For me, the blackberry was the winner.

I fancied trying the Kreik (cherry beer), but there's only so much ice cream a man can cope with in one day eh?

Highly recommended.

The day involved a feast of art too, as you may note from the photograph that I've purchased the original artwork from the cover of the pasty anthology off Rob. I can't wait to see this one on the wall.

Norman

2010-06-23T05:19:00.001-07:00

...really, really didn't like the black eyed peas.

I know they're an easy target, but jeez, what appalling bubblegum.

Just for completeness, I nearly did this one instead, perhaps I should wait and see for later eh?

Come on lads!!! Please?!

Norman

2010-06-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

As the balloons carried him ever higher and higher, Norman realised this whole 'Guiness Book of World Records' thing had been made up by his brother to get out of buying him a birthday present.

A tank of thank to Rob Jackson, who has sent me this top Norman cartoon. And congrats to him on an auspicious start to his homemade ice cream business. Have a butchers at his website and why not buy one of his many small press comics while you're there?

More contributions welcome!

Norman

2010-06-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

..is taking contributions! Mojo did this rather splendid 'Norman' cartoon and has published it on his blog. It's a great combination of Belgian nature photography, travelogue, art and oddity, well worth a look. The big box on the right says 'Happy Jumbo' by the way.

If anyone else fancies having a go at a Norman cartoon it would be most welcome (please!), and if I get enough I would publish them in the final book as well as my blog. I'd be interested in seeing a wide variety of ideas and styles.

Norman...

2010-06-14T03:16:00.000-07:00

...wished he'd locked the hotel room door.

or maybe 'Norman was just trying something out'

Socialist..

2010-06-09T03:27:00.000-07:00

...sparrowhawk.

Not popular with the union of songbirds though.

Mothy moth

2010-06-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

No new drawing to report this week. There are things I should be doing but am not getting round to, such as a fine script I've been given for the upcoming Zombies 2 anthology. It's a difficult one to draw, and zombies are not usually my thing so I'm finding it especially challenging. It will be fun though.

Here's a moth in the meantime. A brimstone moth. It did a little moth poo on my hand. Silly moth.

June Geoscientist

2010-06-01T02:56:00.000-07:00

Here we are again with this months Geoscientist, I always like the idea that complex or difficult situations can be explained away with terms like 'zone of complexity' or in the case of Petroleum Hydrocarbons, 'Unresolved complex mix' which is just a bunch of chemicals that are too much effort to separate more properly.

As for frame 4, I'm not sure I can comment on the state of anyone's office/workspace, but hopefully it reaches the holy grail any strip cartoonist strives for: being mildy amusing for the target audience. I would love to be organised but I'm a messy bugger, I can't even say I have a tidy mind.

Norman

2010-05-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

...didn't enjoy falconry as much as he'd hoped.

Hmmm. A couple of things about this, the bird isn't actually a falcon, and I think the photoshopping makes it look terrible. I'll definately redraw this one for the book.

Norman

2010-05-24T03:15:00.001-07:00

...regretted the tattoo after the drunken night out.

Not covered

2010-05-23T04:55:00.000-07:00

My brother got me some mixed comics for my birthday the other week, I had a bit of fun redrawing this one. I decided against submitting to coveredblog as I wasn't completely happy with it, the background especially. I quite like the fish tho. Will try again sometime.

Norman

2010-05-21T02:02:00.000-07:00

..wanted something to ease his sore shoulder, but got more than he bargained for at the massage parlour.

I might redraw and collect these 'Normans' into a little booklet to flog at Thought Bubble, just so I've got something new to show. I'm struggling with the captions though. In this one I've tried to suggest he wanted a massage but went to the wrong kind of establishment. Can anyone think of a better way to encapsulate this?

Norman

2010-05-18T03:11:00.001-07:00

Was very disappointed in the Mark Addy 'famous' cheese board.

I sometimes pop to the Mark Addy in Manchester for the 'famous' cheese board. The idea is for mates to congregate with wine and a gall bladder busting amount of cheese, literally, you would have to bring a doggy bag, all for abour 6 spond. For some bizarre reason they've cut the amount of cheese and bread about 10 fold. A sad day. Everything is wrong. I'm going to draft a stiff letter. If you've ever been to this establishment and feel the same way I'd recommend you do the same, forget that letter to your MP, this is more important.

Birdy

2010-05-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

Paprika and pathos

2010-05-12T03:11:00.000-07:00

This was going to be my back cover suggestion for Rob Jackson, who kindly asked me if I would do a back cover for his next Gin Palace anthology. I've decided however that it's not quite right for Gin Palace, so here it is as a blog post. I still quite like the story suggested by the picture though (I hope it's clear he's looking in the mirror).

Norman..

2010-05-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

..was probably a bit too keen on Paprika.

Five a day

2010-05-07T03:10:00.000-07:00

May Geoscientist

2010-05-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest. I'm well chuffed I am, I've created a safety bracket of strips leading up to October 2011! This means I won't have to do my usual thing of leaving till a day before the copy deadline, then frantically trying to remember what Geology is.

I've found..

2010-05-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

...one of Vincent van Gogh's lesser known Scotch Egg paintings in my attic. The bidding starts at 1 Million of her Royal Majesties pounds.

Dancing to Beyonce in my underpants

2010-04-26T02:57:00.001-07:00

This didn't happen.

Some things

2010-04-19T03:23:00.000-07:00

Firstly, get a load of this.

And this, I am the proud owner of a Rob Jackson original artwork.

And this, a blackbird nesting above a lab at work.

And this, erm, it's a newt we saw at the weekend. Dr Thomas thought it was a lizard. Silly Dr Thomas.

Mondrian FC

2010-04-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

We've got one, we've got two, we've got two more primary colours than you..

The picture of Darren Gray

2010-04-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

It was strange, Darren became more and more grotesque while his portrait never seemed to age a day.

Cliffs of Moher

2010-04-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

Just been doing some more Geoscientist research on the Cliffs of Moher where I once did some fieldwork. I needed a reference picture to draw the landscape and came across this picture, I hope it's a fake. They're 200m high! It makes my goulies shrink every time I look at it.

Son of Thatcher

2010-04-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

I've returned from a rather splendid and relaxing week off. My time was spent catching up on my Geoscientist cartoons, I'm pleased to say I have plenty many months worth completed to satisfaction.

Also, as a new homeowner I've been busy thinking about the many jobs required. I can say that I must be a real man now, as I own an electric drill. Here is a picture of some shelves I put up, they are reasonably planar, albeit a bit wobbly, and probably good for loads of anything up to a couple of kilograms. Don't lean on them whatever you do.

All of this is encapsulated in Paul Rainey's dead funny 'Son of Thatcher' strip from his Lovebomb comic (out of print I think, but if you can get your hands on a copy it's well worth it).

Some good books on the pile too: the latest There's no time like the present (penultimate one coming out soon), The Adventure Journal of Sin Cat (which goes hand in hand with the barmiest blog I've seen in a while), The Red Monkey stories by Joe Daley.

Some reviews of Gin Palace too: