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 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!

Star Wars - The Kyber Conflict

 

Last year I did a little thought experiment, imagining how I would pitch a brand new Star Wars film as a fresh start to the series. New characters, a new conflict and completely unconnected to plot-lines of the past.

Today, I bring you the logical conclusion of that thought experiment, a full spec script for a totally brand new Star Wars story. With artwork by the wonderful Barry McGowan.

With the discovery of valuable Kyber crystals, the small system of Windar becomes a battleground of great significance. While the New Republic sends the wise Jedi Karis to negotiate with the Aristocracy, the Incom corporation recruits the ambitious noble Lucian to betray his brother Louis and size control of operations. Now Louis must learn the ways of The Force with Shani of the striking Mineworkers Union, and overcome their differences to decide the fate of the planet.

Read the whole thing here.

Jack's February Update

Thought it would be a good time to check in with you all in regards to what's going on right now and what's on it's way.

- In case you missed it, The Whitehaven Siege is now available in a digital edition. I'm still looking for hard copy retailers to expand the issue's reach itself, but if you're further afield, consider checking it out here. 
- Likewise, my Warhammer 40'000 story, The Trials of Sister Roslyn, has now concluded. You can read the whole thing in it's entirety now, so if you want to take a look, you can start here.
- I'll be attending Carlisle Megacon on the 21st March, where as per usual I'll be selling copies of my books, prints and comics, and giving away free print versions of For The Max. Hope to see you there.
- Starting Monday 2nd March, I'll be a returning guest for the Bat Minute Podcast. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you folks think.

And that's about all for now. Recurring updates will be slower on the ground going forward. I'm still looking for a publisher to pick up Memoirs of the Fated, and I have a few ideas of what I want to start working on from here. One small project may be a Doctor Who Zine, which you can see test art for below. So watch this space if something like that might interest you.

In the meantime, you can keep up to date on my ramblings by following my Twitter, Tumblr or Deviantart.

Thanks for reading!

The Whitehaven Siege Digital Edition is Now Available

Good morning folks. Just a quick update here to say that my comic book, The Whitehaven Siege or The Many Tales of John Paul Jones' Attack On Whitehaven Harbor is now available digitally on Gumroad.


So for those of you out there unable to grab a physical edition (which with it's current limited release, this is most of you.) you can hop on over to Gumroad and for the low low price of £2 you get the full 23 page comic in it's purest black and white.


We'll see if other digital editions follow in the future, but for now, find it here:


https://gumroad.com/eljackinton

Jack's December Update

Lots of things to get through this month so I'll be as snappy as possible.

- My interview with The Whitehaven Guide appears in this month's December/January issue. It was a fun little thing to do and I hope it brings The Whitehaven Siege to the attention of a wider audience.

- Speaking of The Whitehaven Siege, my comic about John Paul Jones' attack on Whitehaven Harbor. More retail avenues are opening up (you can currently find a couple of copies as far as Dead Head Comics in Edinburgh) so I'll soon be looking into getting a second print run sorted. If you have trouble getting a copy over the Christmas period worry not, there should be fresh batches in early January

- On top of that, I've been toying with the idea of getting a digital version available to buy online for those who are further afield. I'd be interested to hear what folks think of that and if it's worth doing.

And it's not just The Whitehaven Siege that there's news on:

- I'll be attending the York Unlimited Winter Convention at York Race Course on Sunday 9th February, and Carlisle Megacon at Richard Rose Central Academy on Saturday 21st March. As ever I'll be selling copies of The Whitehaven Siege, Foul Cheeses and Space Diseases, Tales of the Modern Realms a selection of prints and what copies of Memoirs of the Fated I still have left. Plus I hope to have some new comic projects to show while I'm there.

- One of these comic projects is a short comic called FOR THE MAX, and I hope to have it done and online before Christmas, but It might drop mid January. Either way I plan on getting some printed editions to hand out free at conventions to give people an idea of the kind of comics I do.

- Memoirs of the Fated is still without a publisher, as I've been busy focusing on other projects. Still, I hope as time frees up in the new year I'll have some luck getting the series a new home.

- My Warhammer 40'000 fanfic, The Trials of Sister Roslyn is still sticking to it's update schedule, and people appear to like it, which is good. As per usual you can catch a new chapter every Sunday, and keep an eye out for the Emperor's Day special on Sunday 22nd December.

That's about all I have to say for now. I have so many other projects that I'm working on that I'd love to talk about but it's too soon to say how many will see fruition. For now let me just say you can find more of my artwork on my Deviantart or Art Tumblr, or if it's just ramblings you're after you can follow me on my general Tumblr or over on Twitter.

Thanks for reading, and here's hoping we've got a good new year to look forward to.

Jack Minute Returns

Life has been completely been putting me through the ringer recently. I totalled my car on the icy roads last week, and as such, had a bunch of stuff to see to before visiting Glasgow, so I didn't have time to get an update ready to say my Batminute Returns Podcasts had aired.

With that in mind then, here it is. Last weeks three episodes, with yours truly as the guest. I think I got a better hang of this podcast thing this time around, and we have a good chat about all sorts of stuff, from Keaton's Bat-Gurn to thoughts on a Catwoman reboot.

As ever, Niall and Jon were paragons of professionalism, and I had a blast returning to the mic.

The links to all three shows are below.

Bat Minute Returns - Minute 58: Murder Most Cowled

Bat Minute Returns - Minute 59: Palaver With The Penguin

Bat Minute Returns - Minute 60: Me-OUCH!

You can also find them on iTunes if that's your jam.

That's all for now Batfans. Once again, stay tuned for more short stories, columns and comics, same Jack Blog, different Jack Post.

A Late Announcement for Memoirs of the Fated

You might recall that I’d mentioned in the last couple of updates that a print edition collecting all of my Ebooks would be on its way shortly.  Well, it actually turns out that the print edition, Memoirs of the Fated, has been available for a while. Because of all the chaos going on in my life since August (Computer problems, losing my job, family issues etc) I’d completely missed the memo from Less Than Three that it was out.

You’re going to have to accept my apologies on that.

So then, let me now take this opportunity to announce that Memoir of the Fated is out and in print. It collects three short stories The Reminiscence of Good King Carnack, The Scars of Jocasta Lacroix and The Reflections of Zantir Xanderfell.

All three stories are predominantly traditional fantasy, albeit from a less heroic perspective with mild sci-fi elements in the background. The series specifically uses the framing device of a character recalling an adventure from their younger days, and often explores how their personal relationships have developed over that time.

The series is still ongoing, with a forth story starring Carnack planned for 2019. However, all stories are completely self-contained, and written in such a way that you can read them in any order.

I’m immensely proud of my work on the series, and hope the print version will help it get to a wider audience.

You can find the links to purchase the book below:

Amazon UK

Amazon

Or just ask for Jack Harvey Memoir of the Fated at your book purchasing place of choice. 

Thanks for reading.

Better Late than Never

Gentlemen, let's broaden our minds!

The day has finally come. (Or days, if you count Monday, Wednesday and Friday) It gives me great pleasure to present to you all my three appearances on the wonderful BatMinute '89 podcast.

For those of you who don't know, the purpose of BatMinute '89 is to take a look at Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, and spend each episode of the podcast talking about a single minute of the film. I had the honour of being invited to talk about minutes 40 to 42 (That's going from Vikki Vale leaving Wayne Manor to the Joker's coup against Grissom's mob, if you're familiar with the film.)

Niall and Jon do a great job on the podcast, and while it took me a bit to get in to the swing of things, I really enjoyed it, and it was good to get the chance to chat a bit about the fundamentals of Batman as a character in podcast 41.

The three shows are linked below, but the whole series is worth a listen. I look forward to the guy's work in the future and should they decide to cover Batman Returns and beyond, I'd jump at the chance to come back on the show.

Minute 40: ​A Bungling Butler and a Laughing Lounge Lizard

Minute 41: Joker's Got Chills, They're Multiplyin' 

Minute 42: Goons... Hired Goons

You can also find them on iTunes if that's your jam.

That's all for now Batfans. Stay tuned for more short stories, columns and comics, same Jack Blog, different Jack Post.

Announcing The Reminiscence of Good King Carnack AKA BUY MY EBOOK

 If you've been paying attention to my stuff over the last year I'll have talked about Less Than Three picking up one of my stories as an Ebook. Finally the day of release has arrived.

Carnack rules a vast kingdom, with millions of people looking to him for leadership and protection.

But he wasn't born royalty, and never had any interest in taking care of anyone but himself. So what changes a cold and ruthless mercenary into a trusted and caring king?

That story begins with a belt buckle, and the unexpectedly complicated adventure required to obtain it...

I had a lot of fun writing the story, so if you like your fantasy hard-ish and your characters unconventional then I recommend checking it out.

The cover is by the fabulous Meg Daunting .

It's my first real published work, so if you're interested, of you know anyone who would be, I'd really appreciate you spreading the word.

And it'sonly $1.99. You can find all the details for purchasing the Ebook here. 

And while you're there, feel free to take a look at the great work other authors have got going on. You can't go wrong really.

Thanks for reading!

Tales of the Modern Realms FAQ AKA BUY MY BOOK!

Hey people, I now have a book for sale! It's Tales of the Modern Realms, an illustrated anthology of six stories set in a pulp-inspired world of mystery and adventure.

The stories were originally published here on my blog and have since been remastered and expanded. There's also bonus material included on the history and background of the world itself.

If you're curious, want to support my work or just want something a little different to try, you can buy a copy here.

Amazon

Amazon UK

Createspace (Note: I'd prefer it if you ordered from here, but It's entirely up to you what method you choose)

If you want to know more, read the FAQ below.

What's the hook?

The Modern Realms are a fantasy world of dragons, wizards and elves. However, unlike most fantasy stories, it doesn’t take place in a psudo-medieval time period. Instead it takes place in a 40's – 60's inspired cold war landscape, with jet planes, microfilm and silenced pistols.

Here's the blurb:

Once the realms were home to great kings and noble knights, evil wizards and beautiful princesses. But those days are long gone. Lost in a war of bullets and smoke. Now the realms are home to billionaire playboys and femme fatales, cool spies and private eyes.

From the towering forests of Wendiga to the rainy skies of Hightower, from the cold mountains of Romahold to the neon lit streets of Gulf City, deals are made, money changes hands and nobody can be trusted.

This omnibus contains seven illustrated stories of mystery and suspense, as well as a detailed guide to the world of the Modern Realms.

Wait, all of this can be read for free?

Yes and no. All of the short stories were originally published on my blog, and can still be read here (and I encourage you to do so.) However, the versions contained in this book are extended and remastered.

Most of the stories have additional and altered scenes, some of which change the course of events a little. Likewise, I've also remastered and redone some of the artwork. The versions included are what I consider the definitive story.

Also it includes extra content on the background of the Modern Realms setting, details on the history, races and nations that you won't find anywhere else.

Is there an ebook version available?

Coming soon I hope. You'll know as soon as I have a concrete idea on that.

Is this the novel you've spoken about in the past?

No, there's still plenty of work that I've done that I want to publish through traditional means. Also there's a bunch of other Modern Realms stories that I haven't yet published, and would like to do as a collaborative job with other artists.

Is this related to that short story you were talking about getting published?

No, the story from Less Than Three Press is unconnected in both story and setting. That's its own thing.

It's not connected to the upcoming webcomic either.

Where can I buy it?

I already put the links above, but just because you asked, here it is again:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Createspace

And a Lemonade for the Boy

Just a quick update on what's going to be happening over the coming months.

• I'm getting a story published by LessThan Three Press. It's been in the works for a while and I'll be going into more detail soon. It's my first paying gig, so I appreciate all the support from those interested.
• Obscure Comic of the Month is going to be taking a break for December and January to make room for Fallout 4 the coming year's affairs. This blog won't be devoid of content however, as...
• You'll be seeing a new Lisa Cummings shot story. I've been meaning to follow up The Case of the Exploding Meat, and It's been great to work with the character again. Lisa Cummings and the Five Minute Murder should be landing shortly before Christmas.
• I've been thinking about starting a webcomic. It's still in the prototype stages at the moment, but I think a weekly, three panel strip should be an achievable target. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things art wise, and should have some conclusive goals by January.
• It's likely I'll be doing a Stand Up Comedy for charity some time in April. I'll post details closer to the time.
• I'm back on Twitter, I won't be posting there much, but feel like It would be useful to engage with other creatives. Follow if you're interested.

And that's all for now, hopefully all this stuff will pan out and we'll see a productive year ahead. Thanks for bearing with me.

Correction One of...

When you start writing about stuff on a regular basis you're bound to make mistakes, miss important information or just not have access to certain facts. So here is the first of what hopefully won't be too many corrections.

In my piece on Maxwell Strangewell, I noted that I hadn't seen The Fillbach Brothers produce anything since 2009. Well, the Brothers themselves got in touch to let me know that they've actually been working on several books under First Comics (Who coincidently also released Necessary Monsters, a book I'll be taking a look at in a future column.). I also said that Strangewell was a good foundation to build on, so Cadaver Dogs of Winter and Lives look like particular stand outs.

Thanks for that guys, I'll be sure to check those out, and I encourage my readers to do so too.

In other news, that important thing I mentioned won't be much longer I swear.

For Your Taste Buds Accordingly

Just before you think my artistic talents have managed to improve by about 5000% I'd like to mention that the above image was done by the appropriately named Epictones (AKA Eric Toner), who graciously created this rendition of Lisa Cummings from my recent short story submission.

You can find more of his art here, and here. Pay him a visit. The full image can be found here. Thanks again fella.

Lisa Cummings is a rather entusiatic Private Eye, in a world where nobody really knows what they do anymore. She cracks jokes about video games, animes and gets wicked drunk after a case.

A full, remastered version of the short story will be coming next month, and I'm dusting off a full length novel this will hopefully go somewhere someday.

Beyond all that, take this as an early seasons greetings, and as always, thanks for reading.

What's Happening

I've been a little quiet on my blog front as late but that's because I've just recently got back from a trip to the US. I've also been gearing up to a few things in the near future. Here's a run down.

• New York Comic Con. Of course, I couldn't resist, most of my time has been dedicated to getting my Doctor Strange costume together. Hope to have a great time as usual, but nerves eh?
• Worlds Biggest Liar 2014. I lost my title last year, so nows the time to retake it. The event seems to get bigger and bigger every year, so I don't know if everyone I know who wants to come will be able to fit in the venue this time.
• The Arrest Us comp over at LitReactor hasen't called the winners yet. Feedback for my story was mixed, but valuble. I'm currently writing a full legnth Lisa Cummings novel, so hopefully things will move in the right direction.
• I may be back on air soon at Hospital Radio Haven if we manage to get the recording suite working. Makeing the time to broadcast has been my biggest obstacle, so being able to put shows together on a Sunday, say, and broadcast at a later date may get me back on again.
• I'm planning on putting my existing Modern Realms stories together as a sort of prototype for a self publishing project. Currently working on it as and when I have the time though, but may put more thought into it once NYCC is through.
• More illustrated short stories to come!

Other than that you can find me on Tumlbr or Deviantart for my rants (former) and occasional doodles (latter).

Thanks for reading.

Tales of the Modern Realms Anthology

Thought I'd finally bring all the stories together under one post, with a new omnibus style cover to wrap it all around. I'm still working on the possibility of self publishing, so this may serve as a bit of a prototype if you will.

The completed stories are, as follows:

Double Tap - A PercyEvangelyne Story: Spies, assassins, magic and betrayal.

A Stone's Throw Away - A Grantia Story: Ancient ruins, femme fatals, demons and sapphic romance.

Death and Politics - A Leo Wounded Bear Story: Bodyguards, spirits, billionaires and assassins.

Fragrant Afterburn - An Emilia Krekanyo Story: Perfume, poachers, poverty and dragons.

Hope Never Sleeps - A Quentin Wilde Story: Jazz music, magic, private eyes and blackmail.

I hope to explore more of the Modern Realms world soon, with updates including a map and more detailed information on the nations and factions that inhabit it.

As ever, any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

...

Just a quick bit of news before we start this next part. My internet hardware is switching over tomorrow and I'm a little skeptical that it'll all run smoothly, so I just thought I'd update you on a few things in case it doesn't.

I'll be participating in the WorldsBiggest Liar 2013 at The Bridge Inn to defend my title on the 21^st November. Tickets are sold out but if you're going to be in attendance I'll see you there. Good luck to all others fellow liars, I hope you're bringing your A-game this year because I know I am.

I'll also be in attendance for LeedsThought Bubble on the 23^rd – 24^th. It's my first year going there so I'm not sure what to expect. Either way hope to have a grand old time there anyway and hope to meet some cool and interesting people.

I'm still trying to get my first book published, sending off another bunch of submissions this weekend. I've also finished the first draft of my second novel, so we'll see if that goes anywhere also.

All other updates will be going through my deviantart, or one of my three tumblr pages (last one is NSFW, don't click on it Mum).

That is all, regular writings may continue.

So the worlds going to end this year I hear...

And now that I have your attention, just thought I'd mention I'm back doing art trades again. Sparodically. I'll update with stuff done so far in about a week or so. Given that I'm sort of doing this now, It looks like I'll be shelving the Jenny Nowhere comic for a bit.

What else? Oh yeah, friend of mine has a blog now. Jaffa's Geek Corner is run by the guy who played Damon/Nero and ran the first and fourth of our Dnd campaigns. Despite the fact that I've been at this blog lark for a lot longer than him, he seems to be much better at it than I am. If we find the time, It's possible we may be working on a webcomic together.

Book is still in the process of being written. Mass Effect 3 comes out next month. More soon.