20 Dec
2010

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    2 Comments

Ye End?

AT THE end of last week I finished off the last of the initial run of George vs Dragon for The Dandy. The panel to the left is a sneky, sneaky peek of that final strip…could it REALLY be all over for the hapless dragon? Could it? COULD IT?

Hopefully not, as I LOOOOVE doing the strip, and from the looks of it, it’s gone down well with those very important folk – YOU, the readers!

If you are enjoying the medieval madness, then let The Dandy know you’d like to see more, by voting in their online poll, or by demanding more via Facebook, Twitter or electronic mail.

The fate of the kingdom is in YOUR hands!

- Fanton.

18 Dec
2010

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    8 Comments

Rejection!

Or: How I learnt To Stop Worrying And Love Rejection Letters.

IN ANY cartoonist’s working life, one of the most awful things to crop up is the dreaded rejection letter.

After pouring your heart and soul into what you think will be The Best Thing Ever, it can be more than a little disheartening to get a letter back saying ‘URRRRGH, this looks like POO’, or something to that effect.

However, not all rejection letters are quite as horrible as that, and indeed some can let you down rather more gently, and sometimes give you some very useful advice – if you choose to listen to it.

After rooting around in a big box of my paperwork and scrawls, I stumbled across these two rejection letters from Andrew M. Sturrock, who was working for a certain well-known comic when I first submitted some ideas, back in 1999…

Obviously I was disappointed that The Dandy hadn’t leapt upon my ideas and offered me a BILLION SQUILLION POUNDS for them, but upon closer reading I realised that it was more than just a rejection, it was also encouraging, and full of advice. Plus it came with a couple of free, Fun-Size Dandys. SCORE!

Anyway, I did my very best to adhere to the points raised in the letter. Ever since I got that missive, the words ‘middle-distanced’ have constantly circled through my head as I layout my comic pages (which hopefully shows in the final pieces these days). And I did learn to colour my comics using computer, and colour them all myself to this very day.

I was only 20/21 when I submitted stuff to The Dandy originally, and after getting this letter, and still convinced I was The Next Big Thing In Comics, I wasted no time in sending some more stuff Mr. Sturrock’s way. He was pleasingly prompt in his reply:

Oh dear. My second batch were even less worthy, it seemed, being in a ‘old Viz offshoot style’, and not suited to The Dandy AT ALL. I can’t remember what I sent exactly, but I think one of them was about a boy wizard (I could have been J.K Rowling!) and my old regular, The Carrotty Kid. The latter was one strip that Mr. Sturrock saw potential in, and once again I heeded his wise words and decided that rather than spreading my efforts across a few lesser characters, I’d focus my energies on The Carrotty Kid.

And so, I did, reworking the concept as an idea for television along the way, which I then submitted to Cosgrove Hall Films, with much more success.

During my time working with the wonderful people at Cosgrove Hall, I learnt a great deal about plotting and characterization, and about laying out scenes, making frames dynamic and interesting, which all fed back into my comic-strip work.

And so, we fast-forward to this year, when the LOVELY Jamie Smart got in touch to let me know that The Dandy was looking for new characters and cartoonists. Feeling a bit more confident that I’d developed my style and skills in the ensuing decade,  I submitted again. Happily, this time there was no rejection letter, and now I find myself doing what I tried to do ten years ago , thanks to Mr. Sturrock’s invaluable advice and the fact that I took it on board and learnt from it. So  a big, heartfelt thank you to Mr. Sturrock!

And so, the next time you get a rejection letter, don’t be too despondent. The people doing the rejecting (usually!) know what they’re talking about, and if you listen, you may well be able to turn that thumbs-down into a firm thumbs-up in the future.

- Fanton.

15 Dec
2010

Posted in: Blog, Pictures, Words
By Fanton    6 Comments

The Knight Before Christmas

AND SO begins the special, festive TWO-PAGE George vs Dragon, which appears in the bumper SEVENTY-SIX page Dandy – on sale from TODAY, for the next two weeks! Ho-ho-ho-hooray!

Getting two pages in the BIGGEST EVER issue of The Dandy is quite the festive treat for me, even if the strip did prove a bit tricky to write. I foolishly opted to write the whole thing in verse (in a parody of ‘The Night Before Christmas‘) but failed to take into account how tricky that’d be! I had to first write a good, solid poem (with a story!) and then effectively illustrate the thing – it was almost like writing a condensed kids’ book in a dozen or so panels. Hopefully it works though, and I ho-ho-hope you enjoy it!

Speaking as just a big fan of comics, I have to say the entire Christmas issue of The Dandy has bowled me over somewhat. From the lovely wraparound cover, to the cut-out-and-keep decorations and The Dandy pantomime, the whole package looks excellent and super-Christmassy. Plus, of course, there is SNOW on the LOGO, which always delights me and heralds the Christmas season in my eyes.

SNOW! Snow on the logo! HOORAY!

Craig, Michelle and everyone at Dandy HQ should be very proud to have put out a truly excellent, properly SPECIAL Christmas special – it’s really very, very excellent indeed.

It’s a much stronger issue than the Christmas Beano, I’m sad to say, which weighed in at a mere 48 pages, of which only about over half were comics. What was there was great, though (and yes, there WAS snow on the logo) and I do like the Beano beanie hat that came with it…but compared to the Dandy’s effort, it just feels a little less special, somehow. Maybe I’m just biased, I don’t know.

Anyway, go and buy both, each will keep you (or your little ones) entertained thoroughly over the Christmas holiday! Promise! Find them in any good stockist for £3.99 apiece!

Talking of Christmas, as well as my double-page festive George vs Dragon, I’ve also knocked up a little Christmassy Carrotty Kid comic strip for you all to enjoy – just click on these words you’re reading right now to read it!

I don’t know, I’m like some sort of skinnier, less-bearded Santa, or something.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, all!

- Fanton.