Mercer Gallery Exhibition Features Nessie!

Vision & Labour: Making Comics, The Art Of Avery Hill Publishing is an exhibition at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate which is going to be running between 18th October and 26th April. (Neatly over the weekend of Thought Bubble.) To quote from the press release:

“Harrogate’s Mercer Art Gallery has teamed up with indie publisher Avery Hill Publishing to create an exhibition showcasing some of today’s most exciting comics creators. Opening in October in time for this year’s Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival, the exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into the work of leading comic artists, and an important snapshot of the UK comics landscape over the past decade.

On display in the exhibition will be original artwork by sixteen diverse artists, shown alongside the finished books. The exhibition will offer insights into the creative process of making comics, and the different working practices of each artist, ranging from meticulous ink drawings to spectacular digitally created imagery, including video footage of the creators at work. There will also be photo opportunities with life size recreations of some of the book covers, and an interactive game designed by artist and designer George Wylesol. The various design elements pulling it all together are by comics artist Kristyna Baczynski who has created infographics, including a description of the various stages of journey from the original idea of the creator to the finished physical book.

The audience will come away with an appreciation of the talent and vision of the creators and a new understanding of the labour involved in creating the art and making the finished book.”

And included in the exhibition will be a display case featuring the process of Rachael Smith and I making Who Killed Nessie?!

I’m really looking forward to it, and I very much want a copy of Kristyna Baczynski’s poster below.

Gnomes of Lychford is Out Next Month, but The Lychford Collection now Isn’t!

On 9th September, Tor.com Publishing is releasing the sixth book in my Lychford series of rural fantasy novellas, Gnomes of Lychford. It’s a re-editing of the serial I ran on this newsletter, and I’ve taken the opportunity to sort out a couple of little plot problems. I think it’s my best Lychford book, and, weirdly, it’s a great jumping-on point, because everything about the series is explained at the start. You can read all about it here.

And you can now pre-order!

“An unlikely group of supernatural creatures terrorizes the sleepy village of Lychford. Okay, they’re gnomes. That’s not a spoiler: you worked it out it from the title. When an ancient prophecy clashes with an unfortunate modern design aesthetic, the people of Lychford must band together to put out fires (both literal and metaphorical) to save their town before the king of the Gnomes (King Greg, and it’s dangerous to laugh at a gnome) calls in the terms of an old promise. Trouble is: no one knows what the promise is, nor how to fulfil it. It’s going to be a long night.”

And also up for pre-order, but now coming out instead on 14th October is The Lychford Collection, which contains my first three Lychford novellas. (Cover design for both by FORT.)

My Commando Comic is Out Now! (And you can order by post.)

My issue of Commando (#5881), ‘The Longest War’, with artist Steve Yeowell, is now in lots of UK newsagents and supermarkets.

Or you can already buy the digital edition direct from Magzter here!

Or you can order by post here at Mags Direct! (Only 7 copies left!)

And I’ll have copies to sell at Thought Bubble!

John Freeman has a review of the issue here at Down the Tubes.

The Man in Black is Out Next Month!

Liz Myles and I have a commentary track on one of the forthcoming Hammer 4k box sets: The Man in Black, which will be released on Monday, 8th September. It was a great pleasure to be asked to do our Hammer House of Podcast thing for what we found to be a great movie. We had lots to talk about. You can see all the details and pre-order the set direct from Hammer here.

Who Killed Nessie? is Out Next Month!

On 18th September, Avery Hill will be releasing a bookstore edition of Who Killed Nessie?, the graphic novel by myself and the great Rachael Smith.

You can read all about it, and see lots of sample pages, here.

And you can pre-order it here.

You can also pre-order it from Amazon UK and Amazon US. And from all good bookstores and comic shops.

The reviews are already coming in, including this lovely one from Monkeys Fighting Robots.

And on Saturday, 20th September, from 1pm-2pm, Rachael and I will be signing the book (copies of which will be on sale) at Waterstones London-Piccadilly!

Those of you who backed the graphic novel on Zoop, don’t worry, you’ll be getting a unique edition with a different cover. (And you’ll be getting it first.)

“A cosy comedy murder mystery… with a monstrous twist! Lyndsay Grockle has just started her new job at an isolated hotel. She’s trying to get over heartbreak. She’s amazed to be left in sole charge just before a big convention. When the terrifying guests start to arrive, she realises why: this is a gathering of the fantastic beasts of myth and legend! The attendees ask her to stay in her room and let them be. But when the Loch Ness Monster is found dead, there’s nobody else they trust to solve the murder. She may not entirely believe in them… but they believe in her! Lyndsay is going to have to dig deep into her own fears and vulnerabilities to discover… WHO KILLED NESSIE?”

The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s

I’ve got a book coming out from Bloomsbury that’s part of a new range of popular studies of Marvel Comics! The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s is fully illustrated with panels from the comics, and is my journey through how Marvel’s main super team navigated that difficult decade. This is very much a labour of love for me, a book I’ve wanted to find a way to write for the longest time.

And now there’s a release date and a pre-order link!

You can get the book directly from the publishers (and from all good booksellers) on 13th November.

Thought Bubble

Lizbeth Myles and I will once more be tabling at the wonderful Thought Bubble comic convention in Harrogate on November 15th and 16th. (You can find the full list of exhibitors here.)

Of Intrigue and Espionage

I have a story in this just-announced forthcoming volume from Stars and Sabers publishing, which is due out in October 2026. I’m in good company, as you can see from the full announcement here.

Cosmic Lighthouse and Salvation’s Child

Cosmic Lighthouse is the brainchild of myself and Lee Harris, with Anthony Cronin helping out with the day to day business. I’m the Editor-in-Chief. Our mission is to publish original graphic novels by bestselling SFF authors. Our first title is Salvation’s Child, the digital graphic novel Prologue to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s best-selling SFF novel series The Final Architecture. It’s by Adrian himself, artist Mike Collins, colour artist Pippa Bowland and letterer Simon Bowland. We’re publishing it together with our partners ComiXology.

Preview pages here.

Pre-order links at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

You can read more about the company and the project, with biogs, blurbs and histories, in our press release here.

And you can find Cosmic Lighthouse at these links on BlueSky and Instagram.

Salvation’s Child will be released by ComiXology Originals in 2026!

Telefantasy Time Jump

The new podcast from me and Lizbeth Myles covers the history of SFF on TV, from 1953 onward, with our regular episodes (on the 14th of every month) covering a show released that year in the UK, and the Patron Bonus episodes (on the 28th) covering a show from the rest of the world. The shows for August (covering 1960) are Pathfinders in Space/Pathfinders to Mars and Thriller. The main episode is available free wherever you get your podcasts. To get the bonus episode, you need to follow us on Patreon at £3/$3 or above. (And you get access to seven years of Hammer House of Podcast bonus episodes!) You can find all the info here.

My Ko-fi and eBay Stores

I’ve re-stocked my Ko-fi store, where you can buy my books and comics, signed and personalised, for shipping worldwide.

Similarly, I’ve now re-stocked my ebay store, full of Bronze Age Marvel comics at bargain prices.

My Linktree

You can now find all my social media links, my website/blog and links to where you can buy my books, in one place here, thanks to Linktree!

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