More Smiley Street
I've just posted more Smiley Street. If you don't see a "big grin" smiley as one of the characters you may have to press refresh on your browser.

Web Comic of the Week
It's that day again when I suggest to you another of my favourite comics. Until two minutes ago I had no idea which one I was going to choose, but as soon as I opened my favourites list this one jumped out and suggested itself to me. So, who am I to argue with a suggestive favourites list...?

My choice for Web Comic of the Week is the brilliantly thoughtful Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim



This story is complete and not an ongoing story like many other strips are. Though Derek has plenty of other comics to read once you have finished this one, all of which can be found by starting from his comics page.

What really makes Same Difference such a wonderful piece of comic strip brilliance is the way he uses the characters, not only to tell the story, but make you think beyond the story. The way you do when you think, "yes, I can relate to that." And he defines those characters so completely that the story unfolds in such a natural way it almost takes you by surprise.

Not only are the characters all so beautifully drawn in a clear line and muted tones, they are also defined by the story and dialogue in a way rarely seen anywhere. When I say they are beautifully drawn, I want you to understand that I am so totally impressed by the way Derek manages to use his linework to make the characters richly vibrant, but in a cleanly rendered style that gives the impression of being much simpler than it really is. Each panel has a beautiful clarity and works within the whole piece to give the visual story-telling an almost invisible quality because you are never jarred by the process taking place as you read.

The story itself I am not going to discuss for I fear to do so would rob you of your own interpretation and the way it could relate to your own past experiences. Suffice to say that there were a few instances of soul-searching during and after reading this wonderful story.

The dialogue is beautiful. Initially it may seem that there is a high percentage of the page covered by the spoken word, but not only is this really on the nail dialogue, it's perfectly natural for each character and if all they ever did was sit around in the restaurant and talk it would still be a better comic than 95% of all the comics out there. Maybe that's even on the low side.

As you can probably tell, I really love this comic. Try it yourself and if you don't like it I'll give you your money back.

Late with Dane & Joe
I thought that the latest Dane & Joe strip would have been posted on the Just Adventure site by now, but you'll have to check there later this evening or tomorrow, I guess.

You're so kind
The visitor numbers to my site continue to increase, so I'd just like to take a moment to thank all those people who visit my blog here and my cartoon pages. Without the support you show by visiting regularly it would be much harder for me to continue. Knowing that there are people coming along regularly keeps me inspired. Thanks everyone.

Moody Cat 2
Came home this evening and she seemed to be fine. So I threw her out for ten minutes. See how thoughtful I am.

Bad timing
The sun has decided to come out with only five minutes of my lunch break remaining. If it had come out earlier I'd have gone for a walk instead of spending it at the computer. Of course, you then wouldn't be entertained by my astounding wit and quality writing (I wish). Do I hear you praying for the sun to be out every lunch time? :)

Oh my god, not again!
We've been planning the work we have to do over the next couple of months and it looks like we're in for another very busy period. Design is a notoriously difficult thing to schedule and no matter how hard you insist that you need a two-page document every two days, it doesn't mean that this is going to happen. I think the only solution is for me to superglue everyone to their seats and put a bucket by their side...

Moody Cat
The seemed to be in a bit of a strange mood this morning, refusing to go out until June picked her up and physically threw her out the door. When she came back in about twenty minutes later she went straight to her bed and remained there. With this in mind we've left her in the house for the day. I hope there are no unwelcome presents when we get back tonight. And I hope she's not ill.

Pretty busy evening
I've just finished updating the Smiley Street pages on my sebsite - I realised that the titles and descriptions for all the pages were completely wrong. It's what comes of copying an existing page and modifying it. There's also a new strip posted, too.

I'd just drawn and coloured a new Dane & Joe strip which I've sent off to Just Adventure for them to post tomorrow.

I've also started on the large job of colouring the black and white Sapphire Claw episodes. I'd forgotten just how many were in black and white so it's going to be a big job...

Smiley Street is back!
I'll try and update at least a couple of times a week, but the first of the strips can be found on the main Smiley Street page.

Scripts
Last night I wrote ten scripts for Smiley Street. I quite surprised myself how quickly they came to me after I'd been looking through the existing strips. There's a chance I may just bring the series back to life. More later...
To read the existing strips, start at the beginning of the Smiley Street archive.

My son's a blogger, too
My youngest son, Jason, has just started up his own blog. There's only one entry so far, but if you're interested take a look here.

League of Gentlemen
With June not being a great fan of this particular TV series, I've done most of the watching of this on my own and from video. At least, the first two series were on video before I had apparatus on which to play discs of the DVD variety. Yesterday I bought series 3 on DVD and started to watch it last night. I've only seen a little of it so far, but what excellent work, with a richness of character and a darkness of humour rarely found anywhere. For those of you who don't know of the series, it's written by four guys, three of whom play the vast majority of the characters - including the females - and is amongst the best writing I've ever seen. I heartily recommend this gem to you.

Of things ancient
There was a fascinating programme on the telly last night. It suggested that the current royal family shouldn't be the one on the throne. There is very strong evidence that one of our kings (Edward IV, I think) was illegitimate, so everyone descended from him has no right to the throne. The programme then tracked down the person they thought should be king by looking at the line of descendants from the legitimate successor of the time. It turns out that he's an Earl who moved out to Australia in the 1960s. He seems like a really down to earth bloke, in spite of the aristocratic connections, and actually voted for a republic in the referendum they had in Australia recently. So in a sense he's voting against his own claim to the throne.

Tonight I've just been watching Time Team. I love the way this programme brings archeology to a wider audience and makes some genuinely fascinating discoveries. Tonight they unearthed one of the largest mediaeval monasteries of its time with an overall width of 100 feet. That's one heck of a roof span to support. Excellent stuff.

Juniper Crescent fully coloured
I have at last brought all my Juniper Crescent strips up to date and they are all fully coloured. The latest ones to be coloured can be found here, here and here.

I now want to get all of my Sapphire Claw strips coloured and until I do that there will be no new episodes. Juniper Crescent and Dane & Joe will continue as normal.