Comic Series

Folklore Thursday: Food

Posted on 28th May 2020 by pj

If you sign up to our patreon you’ll have read this post already, and you’ll be helping us create brand new comics every week.

Originally posted here.

Hey ho! 

Started with a bunch of different kids and ended up being one based on me experiencing all of this, because, you know, I did…

Green Crisps, even to this day I’m still a little wary over green crisps, I’ll eat them, but I’ll be suspicious.

Pips – oh man, one of my best mates in primary school (age about 7?) was a fella called Paul Brolly who would eat an apple whole, core, pips, the bit of twig if it was there. A feat that would leave me wide eyed. It was fairly plausible a tree would grow from your stomach straight up your throat and out your mouth. This seemed entirely consistent with all the facts, and yet, Paul Brolly defied all of them. He was a medical marvel.

Blue Smarties. I was pretty hyper as a kid, so I’m not sure if I ever remember this one, but I’m certainly aware of it now. (Fun fact: red colouring E120 is made from insects, I’m pretty sure that would’ve blown my mind as a kid)

And finally…

I can actually remember where I was the first time I was told swallowing gum would stay in your gut. I was about 6 or so, and my mum told me. And I remember thinking “but I’ve been doing this for ages, is all the bubble gum gonna stay in there??” 

To this day, I’ve no idea what happened to all the bubble gum in my gut.

John Reppion wrote a fun little essay to go with this week’s tweet here.

The Sunday Blog about the Saturday Live Show…

Posted on 24th May 2020 by pj

So, had the second of the Saturday Live Sketch Shows last night, some early teething issues aside it was pretty fun (the video was very stuttery to begin with, eventually dropped the resolution which was pretty high res, to something more manageable but STILL pretty high quality) you can watch the video or just look at the sketches from that page.

And I’ve even secured the iphone camera a little better so that should result in a much better, less drifty video.

I’ve got a stacked dance card for next week, but the following week I’ve nothing booked! And If you’d like me to sketch something for you, you can get in on that! (for details see the faq)

Should note, next week I move the show to 8pm from 9pm, that’s purely because I’ve discovered kids are watching and it suits them (and, tbh, me) a little better to move it up one hour. Plus if it spills over, there’s a little legroom for me.

The following week though the show moves – for that week – to Sunday at 8pm. It’s my son, Thomas’s 12th birthday that Saturday so we’ll be busy.

Just want to say thanks to everyone who watched the show, sticking with the jumpy video at the beginning, I found it hugely fun, and as long as I can continue to get a little bit of paid commissions for the show then I’ll keep on broadcasting. Hopefully getting the technical aspects of it better and better as we go along!

Sunday Night Live Sketch Show #4 7 June 2020

Posted on 24th May 2020 by pj

This weeks show has been moved to Sunday at 8 because Saturday is my youngest Son Thomas’s 12th birthday!

This week’s show has about half the bookings filled, the sketches to be done so far are:

  • Matthew – Death’s Head (inked)
  • Michael – MasterChief (inked)
  • Cathal – Yassa Povey
  • Dave – Kid Knee
  • Eamonn – Judge Dredd
  • Francis – Dredd with Badge (inked)

And here they are, the sketches for this week’s show!

Posted in Uncategorised

Saturday Sketch Show #3 30th May 2020

Posted on 21st May 2020 by pj

This week’s sketch list is now closed!

You can rewatch this week’s show here:

Sketches for this weeks show:

  • Tom – Chimpsky (to be inked)
  • Tom (again) – Judge Fire (to be inked)
  • Eamonn – Chimpsky
  • Chris – Fink Angel or Judge Fear (will decide on the day! excitement!) fully inked!
  • Irene – Dreddpool
  • Irene (again) – Mini Mouse

If you’d like to book a sketch for next week’s show (next week’s show will be on Sunday from 8!) check out the FAQ.

Posted in Uncategorised

Saturday Sketch Show Live #2 23 May 2020

Posted on 21st May 2020 by pj

This weeks sketch list is fully booked! thanks all. Hope you enjoy seeing the sketches take life on the show!

This week’s show suffered a little from some video problems but we eventually ironed them out and it should be great from next week. You can rewatch it here in three parts, the first two the video was practically still images, but the audio is grand. From part three below it’s all good:

Sketch list for this week’s show:

  1. JP – Morbius The Living Vampire
  2. Roger – Pops (from my graphic novel with Garth Ennis, The Stringbags)
  3. Mike – Dredd
  4. Declan -my choice- I DREW BATMAN!
  5. Derek – Domino
  6. Joe – Dredd
  7. Neil – Johnny Alpha
  8. Chris –  Roäc son of Carc from The Hobbit
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PJ’s Live Sketch Show

Posted on 21st May 2020 by pj

So, Sunday night from 8pm I’m gonna be doing a regular Sketch Show (Drawings not Jokes)

(*Yes, the show was previously on a Saturday, I’ve moved it!*)

Where to Watch

You can watch the first few epiosdes on youtube, but to catch me live, you’ll find me at the following:

Now, part of the deal is that I’m drawing commissions, I can do about 7 pencil sketches in the hour long show and week one is full committed.

Bookings are OPEN. Simply email me pjholden@gmail.com with the subject line Live Sketch

Previous Episodes

Episode 1 16th May 2020 – Sketches in this episode include: Dredd & Anderson – Dredd (with Badge) – Judge Hershy – Bounty Hunter (from DeadSignal) – Dredd (angry!) – Dredd (heavily shadowed)

Episode 2 23rd May 2020 – Morbius, Pops (from The Stringbags), Dredd, Domino, BATMAN, Dredd, Johnny Alpha, and Roac son of Carc from the Hobbit

Episode 3 30th May 2020 – Chimpsky, Fink Angel (or Judge Fear) inked, Chimpsky(inked), and Judge Fire (inked) – Dreddpool, Mini Mouse.

Episode 4 SUNDAY 7th June 2020 -Death’s Head (inked), MasterChief (inked),Yassa Povey,Kid Knee, Judge Dredd, Dredd with Badge (inked)

Episode 5 – SUNDAY 14th June 2020 – Durham Red, a Triptych featuring: Dan Dare, Dredd, Toby (Halo Jones), Halo Jones – Kano, Dredd, B. Zane (from Numbercruncher), Mean Machine, Trapper Hag (my choice!) and Catwoman – packed double length show!

And that’s it for Season 1 – I will be back in August, I think, and hopefully you can join me then!

FAQ

The FAQ has moved to its own page.


Samples!

Inks

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Folklore Thursday: Fire

Posted on 21st May 2020 by pj

Originally posted at my Patreon.

This is one of those strips you feel smug about how you’ve turned it into to something. John’s tweets can sometimes be so evocative they paint a picture right in my brain and I’ve just got Toppi’s The Enchanted World so the combination provoked a reaction. I’ll not pretend I got any where near Toppi (I am but a bit of smouldering moss to his bright white hot sun) but sometimes it’s about trying something. 

It’s all digital, think this could have benifited from being a traditionally drawn thing. Mark making in digital is so restrictive compared to the same thing in analogue. By which I mean you can get a variety of cool marks from the digital tools but you’re rarely surprised by them. Ink splatter, rough lines, etc. All possible, but all identically repeatable.

Even lifting a stick and dipping it in ink will produce more variety, more surprises, so I am slightly cross with myself for not giving that ago. But who knows, we’ve 10 more strips to do! (TEN??? That’ can’t be right.. but no… looks like that is.. crickey!) so maybe I’ll get to do try this again. 

On the other hand, two very monochrome strips one after the other, time for something radically different (a photostrip?? that would be … weird… doable… but weird…? I dunno, sod it, the idea is in my head now…)

Anyway, hope you like it!

Don’t forget, at the end of all this I’m giving away some art, to the top 5 patron contributors, Patron informs me I can’t RANDOMLY give away sketches to patrons (as it’s considered a raffle), so instead of giving two sketches to random patrons, I’ll give sketches to the TOP *7* patreons (so if you’re on a $1 pledge you could guarantee a sketch by moving to the a $10 pledge fairly easily 🙂

And now a word from our sponsors:

SATURDAY LIVE SKETCH SHOW 9PM ON TWITCH, YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK LIVE AND TWITTER.

I’ve figured out how to multistream and how to get all the comments in one place too, so this Saturday I’ll be sketching. I’ve a full list of commissions to get through, so for one hour, you’ll watch me sketch about 7-8 drawings. Tune in, and if you’d love a sketch for yourself, you can commission for the following weeks show by emailing me pjholden@gmail.com.

Saturday Live Sketch Show

Posted on 19th May 2020 by pj

So, I reckon I can do about 7 sketches in an hour, and this weeks show will feature the following sketches:

  1. JP – Morbius The Living Vampire
  2. Roger – Pops (from my graphic novel with Garth Ennis, The Stringbags)
  3. Mike – Dredd
  4. Declan -my choice-
  5. Derek – Domino
  6. Joe – Dredd
  7. Neil – Johnny Alpha

I could probably sneak one or two more into the show, making it run over the hour, so if you’re interested, you should email me pjholden@gmail.com subject line “Live Sketch”

If you’d rather just pop along and here me ramble while drawing these things, the please do so – this Saturday, 9pm on twitch.tv/pjholden

This week in Comics…

Posted on 18th May 2020 by pj

It’s the last episode of Chimpsky! I hope you won’t be disappointed. Under a great cover by Neil Googe.

And in this week’s Judge Dredd Megazine, under a cover by ME. The final part of Bad Sector by me and Arthur Wyatt.

And soon (I think a couple of days, actually…) if you’ve been starved of my work…