Jacks February Update

 

Hi folks. We're now a month into 2026 and the gears are starting to grind on a few projects. As mentioned previously, a lot of the stuff I'm working on is going to take some time, so expect long quiet periods with not much to report. That being said, I'm still planning on getting out there to promote my stuff. With that in mind, here's what's happening in the next few months.

I have, at present, four confirmed conventions set for this year.

- On 7th March I'll be returning once again to the Whitehaven Mini-Con at the Solway Hall, with a second table selling old graphic novels that I want to get shifted.

- On 28th March I'll be at Carlisle Comic Con at the Richard Rose Centre. I had a really great time last year so I'm hoping once again to meet some great people and share my work.

- On 23rd May I'll be at Newcastle Comic Con at Sports Central. First time giving this one a go, so not sure what to expect but I'll be bringing my A-game as always.

- On 14th June I'll be returning to Newcastle for Newcastle Unleashed at the Vertu Motors Arena, so if you're in Newcastle you have two opportunities to pick up physical copies of my work drop on by.

Additionally, some other stuff to put out there:

The Beacon at Whitehaven is currently showcasing the Famous and Forgotten Comics exhibit. It's a cool little gallery with some original art from iconic stories and historically significant series. Plus the Beacon gift shop has a stock of my Whitehaven Siege comics, just in case you fancy picking one up on the way out.

Last month I put out a column going through my thoughts on a potential Warhammer 40'000 TV show. If you missed it you can read it here. It was pretty well received and got some good conversations going. I'm considering writing up some other columns on similar subjects, so keep your eyes peeled.

With that out of the way, as ever, you can find my work, art, thoughts and whatever over on Bluesky, AO3, Tumblr and Deviantart.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's September Update, or Why Things Have Been so Quiet Around Here Lately.

 

Hi folks. It is news to nobody that this blog has been pretty slim on both updates and content recently. In fact it has had the least amount of updates since I started this blog in 2008. There's a reason for that, and I figured I'd go into some of the details here, maybe just for my own benefit than anything else.

Truth is I've kind of been in a depressive spiral since November of last year. 2024 was a hectic year. There was a lot of stuff that I wanted to get done, like the print editions of my work, and multiple significant conventions that I wanted to make the most of. I figured if I just got my head down and kept at it, I could just then relax over the Christmas period and brace myself for the new year.

However, the Christmas period did not relax me. I'd burnt myself out over 2024, so I decided to dial back the amount of events I'd do in 2025 and projects that I wanted to take on. This then had the knock-on effect of demoralising me more, making me feel like I was lacking forward momentum and squandering the year. Combined with some personal stuff just making things worse, I started to feel swamped even with the reduced workload.

Eventually I could feel myself slipping back to the anxiety ridden depressive that I was before I went through therapy in 2016. I knew then that I needed to get myself checked out. I'm currently back in therapy now, and while it's slow going, just admitting to the problem managed to take some of the weight off my mind.

I haven't been completely unproductive. I've been spending a lot of time working on the script for a 16 issue long comic series. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I'm leaning towards turning it into a webcomic. I've been practising page layouts to get back into the swing of things.

I've also been making plans to try and consolidate my works online. Right now this blog is only getting me so far, and I could really use a proper website that collects all of my most recent work, as well as directs people to where they can buy my books and comics. I think if I want to start taking things seriously I need to focus a lot more on the admin side of things.

So, where do I stand right now? I'll be away travelling for a few weeks in September, which hopefully will let me take my mind of things and release some of the pressure. I've no more conventions planned for this year, but I do have a couple projects on the go that'll be going up some time later this year.

In the meantime I'll still be working on my artwork as normal, and trying to figure out what I'm eventually going to do with this script. As ever, you can find me posting on Bluesky, Tumblr and Deviantart.

I'll leave you with a couple of 40k fan comics that I did for practice.

Thanks for reading!

Jack's March Update

 It has been a while since my last update, and honestly the main reason is that last year took a lot our of me so I've had to have long hard think on what projects I want to work on this year and how much time to devote towards doing conventions and such.

With that in mind, a lot of the stuff I'm working on at the moment I'm undecided on whether to pursue, but I'll be getting back into doing conventions, so here's more details on that.

- On 22nd March I'll have a table at Carlisle Comic Con.

- On 5th April I'll be at the Sheffield Comic and Film Fair.

- On 17th May we'll be having our fourth Whitehaven MiniCon, which has only gotten bigger as each year has gone by.

At each of these conventions I'll be selling art prints and stickers, along with print editions of Sea of Spheres and Scoundrels, Scumbags and Schemers.

I'll also be looking into doing more conventions as the year goes on.

In the meantime you can keep up to date on all of my goings on here, and over on Bsky. Tumblr and Deviantart will have artwork posted there as usual.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's October Update

 This year has been pretty exhausting and frankly it's going to continue being exhausting. With that in mind, here's what's coming to close out the year.

- First big news: I will be exhibiting at Harrogate Thought Bubble this year. I'm astounded that I've been able to get in at short notice, so I'll be doing my best to try and get as much print editions of my work out as possible.

- Speaking of print editions, an update will no doubt be dropping in a week or so detailing the first print volume of my Sea of Spheres stories, all illustrated in colour by the ever wonderful Windlass.

- Additionally, a print collection of my short comics will also be coming soon, which will include behind the scenes materials and a brilliant new cover by the amazing FlopsComics.

- Coming sooner than all that is Fantasycon 2024. I've detailed this previously, but it's all happening next weekend and I'll have a plethora of art, comics and books to get out there to the eager masses.

- In other news, from the start of November onwards I'll probably be reducing my social media usage, mainly to avoid spoilers for Dragon Age 4, which I'm going to be saving for Christmas. I'll still post artwork and stuff, but conversation will be at a minimum.

It's going to be a busy few months, and I hope the payoff will be worth it. In the meantime, thanks for checking out my stuff, and keep on reading.

Jack's July Update

 As mentioned in previous updates, things have been a little quiet creatively this year due to it basically being an admin year where I shuffle stuff around and get my affairs in order, that being said there are a few announcements of things coming up.

- First though, some bad-ish news. In case it wasn't obvious, Obscure Comic of the Month has now officially come to an end. I've been kind of overwhelmed with stuff at the moment and couldn't motivate myself to get out a column each month, and the comics I wanted to cover deserve better than something I was phoning in. That being said, it's had a good run, and may very well be resurrected again someday.

- My guest appearance in the BatMinute Beyond podcast is in the can and I can't wait for you to all hear it. Get ready for childhood trauma and an intense hatred of the Highlander cartoon. Details will be here when it drops.

- In case you missed it my short comic, Damned Another Day with art by Brian McCray, went up last month, you can read it here. It's also planned to be included in a print edition anthology comic that I'm looking to put out later this year.

- I've given all of my Sea of Spheres stories a once over in anticipation for their own print edition. If you've still not read them then there's never been a better time.

- Another convention appearance is right around the corner. August 17th Is Carlisle Megacon at the Richard Rose Academy. I'll be on Table 40. See you there.

Alright, that's all for now. 2024 is very much about wrapping things up, but I'm still putting out artwork and whatnot, so you can follow me over on Twitter, Tumblr and Deviantart to keep up to date with my random doodling.

Thanks for reading!

Jack's April Update

Things have been quiet here of late. I've been working on a lot of behind the scenes stuff, but I expect that this year will be a little dry for new story content. Still, here's an update on where we're at and what's going on.

Conventions

- I'll be at the Leeds Comic and Sci-fi Fair on Saturday 1st June. As ever I'll have copies of all my print stories and comics, along with art and whatnot.

- As with last year, I'll be at Carlisle Megacon on 17th August. It was great to see the event come back from a prolonged absence last year, and here's hoping it continues to grow this year too.

- I mentioned last time that I'll be at the British Fantasy Society's Fantasycon at Chester on October 11th - 13th, but I'm repeating it again here in case you missed it. It's a three day event, so here's hoping I can use the opportunity to get my work in front of some new eyes.

Blog Stuff

- You might have noticed that I did not upload an Obscure Comic of the Month review for March. This was partly due to it being a hectic month. Easter was earlier than usual and I had prep for Sheffield all at once. However it was also down to me just not being able to motivate myself to write about comics at the time. I didn't want to just pump out something half hearted. You can expect the column to return this month, but I am toying with the idea of making it a more irregular thing, and possibly using my time to write about other subject matters instead. We'll see.

So, only a short update this month, but gears are turning, and I expect to have more significant updates for you very soon.

Cheers

Jack's January Update!

Hello all. It's the start of the year once again which means we're currently stuck in the doldrums of the post festive deflation. So what better time to steel ourselves for the coming months with a look ahead at the good stuff in store. For me, it's going to be a busy year. Here's a few thing you might want to keep an eye out for.

- My final Sea of Spheres short story, Choose Your Weapons wisely, has now been posted in full, and can be read here. Updates for it are not yet complete, however, as Windlass is still cooking up some final artwork for the starting chapter, which should be coming soon.

- The magnetic Brian McCray is currently working on the artwork for a four page comic script of mine. I'm super excited to see the final piece and if you're a fan of my writing I think you'll get a particular kick out of this one. Watch this space.

- I'm currently working on a secret project with Turbomiracle. This may or may not happen, depending on how things pan out, but It's an idea with legs, and will no doubt see the light of day in the long run if it doesn't happen this year. You can see a sneaky peek at some blueprints for this up above.

- With all that in mind, writing will be taking a bit of a back seat this year as I move some pieces from here to there on some more physical projects. Information will be here as it comes through, but Obscure Comic of the Month will still continue as normal.

I'm always looking to pencil myself in to as many convention appearances as I can, and this year is no different. While I've had to deal with some moved dates and cancellations, so far I can confirm three as being set in stone.

- Whitehaven Mini Con is back on February 24th for it's third year and a second at the Civic Hall. Always really happy to see this convention do well, and I'll be there showing my full support. Also, I'll have an extra table selling second hand graphic novels and books for low low prices, if you fancy taking a peek.

- I'll be returning to the 6th April Sheffield Comic and Film Fair at the Showroom Cinema, which I had a fantastic time at last year. For such a small venue it managed to see a turnover of varied and interesting people, and I'm eager to jump back out there to reconnect with those audiences.

- For October 11th - 13th I'll be attending FantasyCon at the Chester Hotel. This one I'm particularly looking forwards to, as a lot of my prose writing tends not to do a lot of action at comic conventions, so an event more dedicated to fiction writing will hopefully be a good chance for my more wordy works to find an untapped audience.

I hopefully will have more conventions lined up as the year goes on, as well as some podcast appearances and whatnot as things tic over. As ever I'll be posting critical updates here, but you can find more off the cuff comments, rambles and doodles over on Twitter, Bluesky, Tumblr and Deviantart.

Happy New Year and Stay Cool

Jack's July Update

 

We're living in uncertain times folks, but you know what you can count on? Me continuing to write and draw. Here's an update on what's coming up.

- I'm happy to announce that Turbomiracle is working on the art for a comic script I wrote. We've got a short four-page supernatural action story in store for you, and you can see some of the concept art above. I'm really excited for this one and can't wait for you to see it when we're done.

- In case you missed it, another short four-page comic, Precious Resources, dropped last month with art by the ever fantastic Kristina Amuan. You can read it here.

- My sixth and, for now, final Sea of Spheres story is currently in the works. It's called Choose Your Weapons Wisely and I expect it'll be dropping some time before the end of the year.

- My Warhammer 40k short story, Who Killed Warboss Batgutz, is ready to go, and I'm just waiting on the amazing artwork by Alex Crippled Giraffe, which is shaping up to be something special. You can't rush these things.

- All of my comics currently in print are now available at the small press aisle at Travelling Man Newcastle. So if you've wanted a physical copy of The Whitehaven Siege, An Illustrated Guide to Drinking Beer, or One Hell of A Night, you can pick them up there while stocks last.

- The BatMinute Podcast is currently on it's run of Mask of the Phantasm, and as you can expect I'll be gusting on an episode later in the year.

- As mentioned previously I have two more convention appearances lined up for this year. Carlisle Megacon on 19th August and The Lakes International Comic Art Festival on 29th and 30th September. I'm toying with maybe squeezing one further appearance in somewhere before the year is up, so you'll hear here first if that happens.

- Most of my ramblings and periodic updates can be found on my Twitter, but given the current instability of that site who knows how much longer it's going to be sustainable. Either way, I'll still be uploading most of my art to Deviantart and posting regular updates on my Tumblr. As usual, it's here where all the definitive updates will happen.

That's all for now, hope you've had a good first half of 2023 and if not here's hoping you have a good second half.

Thanks for reading!

Jack's May Update

 It's a busy year with lots going on but I'll try and be as brief as possible. Big news is coming, so here's what's been going on.

- As usual I'll be guesting on the BatMinute podcast, which is currently discussing Mask of the Phantasm this season. I'm coving minutes at the tail end of the film, so expect me later in the year.

- My short story, The Silent Approach is available to read in full now, but work is still being done by Windlass on some amazing artwork to go with it. Expect updates periodically.

- I'm currently working on a new Warhammer 40k story, with art by Crippled Giraff. I won't give away too much for the moment but expect some Orky goodness.

- A comic I worked on with Kristina is still on the way, and I'm eager to start collaborating with other artists on scripts also, so I'm hoping to hammer out some ideas fairly soon.

- The short comic, One Hell of A Night, with writing by me and art by Sam W, now has print copies that I'll be selling at conventions while they last.

Speaking of conventions:

- I'll be at Newcastle Comic-Con the 18th June. I'll also be at Carlisle Megacon on 19th August. As ever I'll be selling prints and copies of all my books and comics. Always happy to chat.

- Most critically, I'll be at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival on the 29th and 30th September. It's a pretty prestigious event, so you can expect I'll be absolutely bringing my A game, and I'll be hoping to have some additional work in print by that point to get out there to the people.

It's a busy year but I'm eager to keep putting out work and then getting that work out there.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's February Update

 

Happy New Year in this most miserable of months. It's been a while since I last checked in with the status of my current projects, so I figured I'd fill you all in with where I am.

First of all I just wanted to say that while things seem to be holding steady with regards to my wrist problems, it's still a issue that's bubbling under the surface. I've had a few twinges here and there, while this week it does feel to have gotten a little worse. I'm still cracking on with artwork and writing, but I may need to slow things down at times when it feels like it's deteriorating.

Anyways

- In case you missed it, I posted the short comic One Hell of a Night in December. I'm still amazed at how great Sam did with the artwork that I still can't shut up about it.

- My print comic, An Illustrated Guide to Drinking Beer, is now available to buy in The Harbormaster Whitehaven, and Dead Head Comics in Edinburgh. Be sure to drop by while stocks last.

- Currently Kristina is working on another small comic of mine. You may remember her fantastic work on my Warhammer 40'000 comic, A Conspiracy of Riches. I want to stay tight lipped on this one, but you can see a sneak preview of the artwork above.

- The first draft for my fifth Sea of Spheres short story is complete, and I'll be getting right on to the edits this month.

- While the Batminute Podcast has finished it's original run on the Batman saga, there's still other things to talk about, and I'll be showing up on a guest spot sometime soon. More information when it arrives.

So far I am pencilled in for three comic conventions this year, with hopefully more forthcoming later on. At present I will be at:

- The West Coast Minicon on the 25th March.

- Sheffield Comic and Film Fair on the 22nd April.

- Newcastle Comic-Con on the 18th June.

I'm trying to wrangle a couple more dates, so hopefully there will be more news in the next update.

In the meantime, I'm going to crack on with my projects and try and get them the best that they can be.

Thanks for reading!

Jack's October Update

As we continue through autumn into winter It's time for me to start rounding up my current state of affairs when it comes to the remainder of the year's projects.

As mentioned previously, I'm still having problems with the tendonitis in my left wrist, so I'm having to choose my projects carefully as not to exacerbate the problem. I was hoping that the pain would start to dissipate after a few weeks away, but it's sticking around. I'm currently investigating further treatment that will hopefully provide a permanent solution, but for now I'm going to try and not let it interfere with my creativity too much.

- As you may have already noticed, a new Sea of Spheres story, The Right to Know, has just commenced. Part one is up, with the remaining three following each Monday. Artwork, as ever by the fantastic Windlass.

- Work continues apace on my collaboration with SLAM! The artwork on this comic is looking fantastic, which you can see a little bit of below, and I can't wait to show more of it to you.

- I'm continuing to get The Illustrated Guide to Drinking Beer out there. Physical copies of the comic are now available at the Ennerdale Brewery and The Harbour Master Whitehaven.

- It's been confirmed that a follow up to the West Coast Minicon will be happening on the 25th March 2023 and I once again will be in attendance selling prints and books. I'll post more details closer to the time.

- I'll once again be heading to Harrogate Thought Bubble in November. Not exhibiting, just visiting, happy to say hello and chat.

- Other than that I'm currently working on a few more projects that I'm not ready to give more details on, but expect more comics and short stories to be in the pipeline. Next month marks the one year anniversary of my revived Obscure Comic of the Month column so expect an extra long special in celebration of that.

As ever you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Deviantart and find all my recent writings on AO3.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's August Update

As ever, projects have been ticking along smoothly, but I thought it was time for an update to clarify the state of things.

However, before we get into what I'm working on, I just want to explain why things might be slowing down for a bit. The tendonitis in my left hand has flared up again, to the point where I might have to take it out of action again.

What this means is that I'm finding it difficult to do artwork or any writing for long periods of time. I want to try and keep up with things, but if it gets any worse over the next few weeks, I'll have to put most of my projects on hold until it improves again.

The upside is that my right hand is still fine. I won't be able to bang out any long form writing, but comic scripts should be manageable. Obscure Comic of the Month should continue as normal.

On that note, on with the updates.

- The West Coast Minicon was a resounding success, and I never expected so many people would show up for a con in such a small town. It sounds as though another convention might be in the works for later this year, so I'll post an update as soon as I know more.

- A fresh Sea of Spheres story is already 'in the can' and I'm currently discussing the artwork with Windlass, so expect that to go up some time later this year.

- I'm also working on a short comic with art by SLAM! which you can see a sneak look at above. I'm really excited for this one and looking forward to getting it out of the gate.

- Like last year, I'm planning on going to Harrogate Thought Bubble in November. I won't have a table or anything, just going for a wander around, but I am eager to talk shop with other creators there.

That's about all for now. More info as and when it comes through, and you can keep up with more of my stuff by following me on Twitter.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's April Update

We're hitting the part of the year where projects are starting to formulate into something and events can start to be organised. I'm still being cautious when it comes to convention appearances and trying not to overburden myself when it comes to work as I don't want to backslide on my writ problems. That being said, here's a quick rundown of what's coming up.

- The revisions on An Illustrated Guide to Drinking Beer are almost done and I'll be moving to a print release for local sellers and conventions very soon. As far as digital is concerned, I'm planning on releasing an abridged version of the comic with the basic intro free online in order to promote the full digital version that I'll put up on Gumroad.

- The third story in my Sea of Spheres series is almost ready to go up. Just need to give it another read-through while I wait for the wonderfully commissioned artwork to be completed for it to be finalised.

- As far as convention appearances go, West Coast Cosplay is running a small Minicon on the 23rd July at the Whitehaven Marchon Club. I'll be in attendance as a way of easing my way back in to the con routine. I'll be selling copies of my previous books, some prints and I plan to have the beer comic ready to go by then. If you can make it, come and say hello.

- The BatMinute podcast recently concluded it's series with Batman and Robin. I've had a great time as a recurring guest, and while it's sad to see the 90s Batman era come to an end, I have a feeling this won't be the last we'll have seen of Niall and Jon, nor me guesting for them.

- I was recently contacted regarding my old Jenny Everywhere comics by someone looking to update the Jenny Everywhere wiki and had noticed that the old images were hosted on Photobucket and since expired. I've now re-uploaded the comics to be accessible once more (Something I need to do for a bunch of other posts on here,) and as I did I gave them a read and realised they hadn't aged very well. While they're far from significantly problematic, a few things here and there that come across as poorly researched or ignorant of people's identities, so I've put up a short statement to that affect so new readers are aware of that.

- With the above in mind, I sort of felt it was my duty to go back and do a more modern take on my Jenny Everywhere ideas, so I'll be putting together a short comic to see how it goes down. More on this, as it develops.

Other than that, as ever, feel free to check out my other works on Twitter, Tumblr and DeviantArt and remember that all my most recent stories are posted and kept up to date on AO3.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's End of Year Update

 Wow, 2021 sucked huh?

Here's a quick update on where things stand, regards to both my current projects and my health.

- Recovery is going well for the tendonitis in my wrists, but I'm not quite there yet, with some occasional deterioration happening with my left, which is my writing and drawing hand. I've been tentatively getting back into writing and drawing but I'm trying to be careful and not set anything off again, so it's slow going.

- I'm still waiting for the NHS referral for a physiotherapist to come through. In the meantime, I've been trying to secure an appointment at a private clinic, with no such luck as yet.

- While my hands have been getting better, I've since come down with a string of back pains that, while manageable, make it difficult to just lean back and get into the flow of things. I reckon this is due to the back going bust in my old office chair that I use in my day job.

- I'm waiting for a works assessment referral to be done to establish if the problem is indeed the chair, and if so sorting out a recommended replacement. Nobody has got back to me on this as yet, so if there isn't more news when I return to work in Jan then I'm going to ring the doctors and see what they say.

- All in all, I'm not doing too great, but I'm trying to be productive.

As for my projects:

- For those who didn't see, Obscure Comic of the Month is back. This was a series of columns I used to write, taking a look at lesser known comics. I figured this would a nice simple project to get back on my feet, and plan on keeping it going as long as I can.

- The Illustrated Guide to Drinking Beer, is, as mentioned previously, ready to go to print, but with the time I've had while my wrists recovered I've made plans to add a few more pages, so when I'm feeling better I want to put more work into it.

- I had the next instalment of Sea of Spheres partly done when the tendonitis first hit. I want to get back to it as soon as I can, so if things improve as they are, I hope It'll be done soon.

- I decided to turn the Star Wars pitch I wrote earlier this year into a full fledged screenplay. It's about three quarters done, and I want to commission an artist to do a mock poster for it. More news when it's nearly done.

- I've commissioned an artist to work on a short Warhammer 40k comic. I don't want to give too many details away yet to give the artist all the time they need.

All in all, 2021 was a high contender for worst year of my life. Here's hoping 2022 can salvage something.

Stay Safe.

What's going on with Jack's hands?

 

Hello all. If you follow me regularly on social media you've probably been wondering why I haven't posted any art or any updates on my writing in a while. So I'm giving a full update here to let you know exactly what's going on.

Early in August a pain started at the bottom of my wrist. After about a week this had developed into a much more severe pain in both wrists. I went to the doctors and it was diagnosed as tendonitis. I was told to wear wrist splints, take ibuprofen, eliminate as much keyboard work as possible and anything else strenuous on the wrists, this included drawing. I was told recovery could take two weeks.

After two weeks, however, there was no improvement, and so, as instructed, I've been referred on to a physiotherapist. However the NHS's current work load means that it's anyone's guess how soon I'll get to see anybody about this. I've been waiting for a reply since September 6th.

As you can expect, this has been disastrous for my mental health. Not being able to work on either writing or art professionally, or even just for fun, has taken its toll on my momentum. I've been trying to use my computer's speech-to-text system in order to try and get some writing done, but I've had technical problems with it, such as the dictation system bugging out after about 15 minutes. On top of that, I also feel that speaking the words out loud dose not bring across the same authorial voice that typing does, and the work suffers.

It's unclear exactly where things will go from here. I imagine I'll know more when I speak to a physiotherapist but, as mentioned earlier, it's unclear how soon that will be. I'm off on holiday for 3 1/2 weeks next Wednesday. Hopefully some time off will give my wrists the opportunity they need to recover and I'll be back in business as soon as I return, but I'm not an optimist, and fear this could be something that may run on into next year or even longer.

All I can really do is do the best I can. I'll push forward with the dictation to see if I can turn that into something I can use on a more long term basis. I've decided to commission some artists to work on scripts that I'd written previously, so hopefully you'll still be seeing some of my storytelling coming out in the near future.

Thanks for reading, and if anybody out there has been through similar problems, any advice and support you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Jack's July Update

Updates are few and far between this year, for obvious reasons, but that doesn't mean I've got nothing to talk about. Work continues on multiple projects and I'm eager to get back to the convention circuit. However, even with the vaccine roll-out continuing (I've had my first) signs of a third wave suggest we might be under for even longer. Still, here's a rundown of what's been going on.

- My second short story in the Sea of Spheres series, A Question of Conscience, has been fully released and you can read it in full on AO3 now. Not only that, but it's also been updated by some fantastic new artwork courtesy of Windlass. Take a look at that below.

- I'm currently working on a brand new Warhammer 40'000 story, or, to be more specific, a Necromunda short story. It follows the Water Guild and their dealings with House Escher as an unknown threat manifests in the waterways of Hive Primus. No idea yet when it'll drop, but work is ongoing.

- I'll be attending the Harrogate Thought Bubble Convention in November. I won't be exhibiting or anything like that, but I will be there to mix and mingle with folks in the comic industry, and I believe some of my twitter mutuals will be there, so it'll be good to meet up, if things stay on the course that they are.

- Things remain unchanged regarding the release of The Illustrated Guide to Drinking Beer. While pubs and bars are opening up, it's still unclear if this road the UK is on is going to stay smooth, so for now, I'm holding it back until things are clearer and going to the pub becomes a more casual experience.

And that's about it for now. There's a bunch of other stuff I'm working on that's still in it's early stages, but the first you'll hear about it is here. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter, Tumblr or Deviantart.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's May Update

 

May has come round again, and with still no clear sign of when conventions and events can really start again, I've just been continuing to work on my projects and get out what I can. Here's a few details.

- As you can see by the artwork from the ever great Windlass, my second Sea of Spheres story, A Question of Conscience, is on it's way. The text just needs one more read through and it should be good to go. Expect it this month.

- Like I mentioned previously, my comic book beer guide is ready to go, I'm just holding it back for a more opportune time, but with the pubs beginning to re-open that time could be soon, but as ever, it's uncertain, so we'll have to wait and see.

- Last November I decided I would spend the month doing quick, black and white artwork of characters from small independent comics. I've decided to revisit that idea this may, so all month I'll be putting up illustrations that celebrate smaller and lesser known comics. You can follow along in this twitter thread here.

- The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven is going to be re-opening this month with a brand new exhibit on John Paul Jones, which is a fine opportunity for me to plug my John Paul Jones comic, The Whitehaven Siege, which you'll be able to buy print copies of there if you decide to visit.

Other than that I'm cracking on with several other projects that I'll reveal in due time, and as every doing my best to try and become a published writer. To keep up with what I'm putting out, be sure to follow me on Deviantart, Tumblr or Twitter.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's January Update

As the world being in isolation continues, finding things to to update you on remains increasingly difficult. As with last year I have no plans for convention appearances or attending events and can't really make any until it becomes more clear when things will go back to normal.

With that in mind, here's what I'm working on for 2020.

- The Illustrated Guide to Drinking beer is now complete and ready to go to print and digital. However, given the current circumstances with pubs being shut and folks stuck at home, it hardly seems to be the appropriate time to release a comic about exploring the world of ales. With this in mind, I'm going to be holding off on the release until the pandemic has all but concluded and people can feel confident visiting pubs again. That way I won't have a problem getting copies on shop shelves, and readers will be able to make the most of the information within.

- I'm planning on doing more Sea of Spheres stories, hopefully with some more fantastic artwork I can commission to accompany them. With everything happening at the moment there are no set timescales, and will appear when they are essentially done. I have about four, maybe five more stories to tell, but who knows if they'll all appear this year or maybe over several.

- I've been working my arse off writing a novel and really pushing myself to make it the best that it can be, in the hopes that this one can finally catch a literary agents eye. This is probably the main reason why I'll probably be quiet for a while, as I'm working overtime, and making the most of everything I've learned as a writer over the years, to try and make this a success. Wish me luck.

With that in mind that's all I have to keep you updated at the moment, as ever you can find more casual updates at my Twitter, Tumblr, and artwork over on Deviantart.

Thanks for reading.

Jack's November Update

 

Well, 2020 sure turns out to have been a bust. Now is usually the time of year I start looking in to convention bookings for the following year, but with another full national lockdown on the horizon, it's becoming increasingly unclear when the convention circuit will start back up again. In the meantime, there's nothing more for me to do beyond cracking on with my writing and artwork, and hope some folks out there continue to enjoy what I do.

- I'm continuing to work on the Comic Guide to Beer, but as the pandemic continues, there's clearly no rush on getting a physical edition to print right now. As ever, it'll be ready when it's ready, but other projects will likely get priority in the mean time.

- No Route To Guide You, my Sea of Sphere's short story with illustrations by Windlass, should be up soon, hopefully by the end of the month. If it's well received, I'll almost certainly look into doing more short stories within the Sea of Spheres setting.

- I'm still on the look out for a publisher to pick up Memoirs of the Fated, and I'm doing my best to keep an eye out for small publishers that might be open to picking the series up again.

- I'm going to spend November doing some artwork of characters from Small Press and Independent comic books. You'll be able to find them when I post them on my Twitter, Tumblr or Deviantart.

And that's all for now. In the meantime, keep yourselves safe, and hopefully better days lie ahead.

Jack's August Update

 

 

Wow, is it August already. It only feels like yesterday I had only posted the last update. Rest assured that I'm still working on multiple projects that I'm hoping to elaborate on soon, but I mostly wanted to post an update today to show off the recent commission work from Windlass.

You may remember me talking about working on Sea of Spheres as a webcomic a few years ago, and that I'd put it on the backburner. Well I still plan on dipping back into that world as you can see. I'm planning on following these with a short story that will elaborate on the setting and characters.

Some other stuff to keep you updated:

- Obviously no more conventions this year, what with the pandemic and all. Here's hoping some degree of normalcy will have returned next year, and I can get out there to get out my stuff once again.

- Work continues on my Comic Guide To Drinking beer. As with all my projects it's got a 'when it's done' deadline, but I'm hoping for something before the end of the year. Given the situation, It's likely a digital version on gumroad will be the first release.

- I'm still looking for another publisher to pick up Memoirs of the Fated and get it back into publication. If anyone can suggest a good home, a pointer would be greatly appreciated.

- I've got a few ideas for some more Warhammer 40'000 fanfics, but their just germs of ideas for now, but you may see more fanfic stuff from me sooner rather than later.

And that's all for now. In the meantime you can support financially by checking out Tales of the Modern Realms, Foul Cheeses and Space Diseases and The Whitehaven Siege. 

You can follow me on twitter, tumblr or deviantart.

Thanks for now, and you all stay safe.