Update 11th May 2007
I'm off travelling at the beginning of next month and the new Dante story 'Thieves World' needs drawn. So I'm having to suspend work on Lilly at this point, where there's a handy chapter break. Be sure to check in here or on ACT-I-VATE on or around the 6th of July for the next part of Lilly and Cosmo's adventures.
In the mean time, anyone who knows anything about what's cool in Greek or Italian comics right now, e-mail me. I'm keen to see some new things.
Si.
Update 12April 2007
Got another of my Press Clippings for you this month.
I did this interview for Vampirella Magazine back while I was drawing Hellhouse. Nobody ever sent me a copy and I forgot all about it.
The lead strip in that issue was written by Brian Wood and drawn by Dean Haspiel, who scanned the requisite page for me. The cover is also by Dean.
Si.
Update 28th March 2007
A bunch of things for you this month.
First up, NEWSARAMA did a piece about my move to WebComics with Lilly.
Then COMICS INTERNATIONAL took that piece and remixed it a bit.
My bit of mischief for this month was to do a parody of my buddy Dean Haspiels webcomic BILLY DOGMA , in collaboration with fellow ACT-I-VATORS Michel Fiffe and Dan Goldman. Then it got picked up by THE BEAT over on the Publishers Weekly site ( get well soon Heidi )
I did an online process piece about my recent Lulu Romanov cover for 2000AD on my LIVEJOURNAL. My LJ is a semi-regular thing, so worth checking there from time to time. Feel free to 'FRIEND' me on Livejournal, or MySpace or Comicspace if you feel the urge.
The latest Dante story arc HELLFIRE has been running in 2000AD for a month or 2 now and I'm now working flat out on THIEVESWORLD. Also Lilly Mack gets up to page 9 this Friday. I seem to be working my ass off.
All the best
Si.
Update 19th january 2007
Another of my VERY sporadic updates. Still I've got some juicy stuff for you this time.
At long last 'Lilly Mackenzie and the Mines of Charybdis' has a publisher....ME.
From mid to late February 2007 I'll be publishing Lilly and Cosmos exploits online at ACT-I-VATE. This means that you will be getting it for FREE...how good a deal is THAT! Obviously I'm looking for a book publisher in the longer term to make a proper book of it, but right now I'm going to invest in this nascent Webcomics phenomenon.
On the Nikolai Dante front, the new story arc 'Hellfire' is coming along nicely. I'm doing a cover of Dantes only surviving sister. Here's a very vague sketch...
Update 23rd October 2006
Update 5th October 2006
Nuff said
Update 29th July 2006
Another one of those stupid online tests:
| You Are 40% Evil |
In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil. |
I got this from Vicious Imagery the Dave Bishop Blog. Apparently he's 80% Evil; something that those who have worked for him have known for many years.
Work is going pretty well I think. My current Editor said it was "Fantastic" which makes me all fell all warm and fuzzy, as you can imagine.
Si
Update 29th June 2006
You see I was serious when I said I'd be trying to keep the updates more frequent.
I'm trying a sort of Blog over on my MySpace page. I'm just going to rabbit on in painfull detail about the minutia of drawing comics on a daily basis. Which is frankly going to bore the bejeezus out of 95% of humanity. If this kind of thing interests you then pop over and make yourself known.
Cheers
Si.
Update 28th June 2006
WTF?!
Your results:"You are Chewbacca
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Sure you're tall and hairy, but you've got heart!  |
(This list displays the top 10 results
out of a possible 21 characters)
Click here to
take the Star Wars Personality Quiz"
Si
Update unday 18th June 2006
Another update, within a wek of the last one...this is getting Blog -like. Maybe I should look into some way of automating this process. Anyone know of any little Blogging type apps I can add to this site to help me update the news section more frequently?
I'm on Myspace now...'cos I see a huge bandwagon and just HAVE to join it. Actually it's Martins idea, he really likes this kind of thing and has a huge online following to make it worthwhile for him. I on the other hand am just hanging about there looking vaguely awkward, do drop by and say hi.
It has been drawn to my attention that some people on the 2000AD forum have commented that they thought episode 2 of my current Dredd looked rushed. Which it was. I was moving country from Kenya to the USA and working on the move while looking after a 2 year old. It's a miracle that it got done at all. The next 2 episodes are better.
Si.
Update 12th June 2006 ( an hour later )
For the record, work currently in print ( or soon to be ):-
Judge Dredd: Brothers of the Blood
Nikolai Dante: The Romanov Dynasty
Nikolai Dante: The Courtship of Jena Makarov v. 2
If I don't tell you this stuff ...who else will?
Si.
Update 12th June 2006
Eeech almost a year since my last confession...oh well. You missed very little.
The good news is that I am now finished with Axelle, but not in the good sense of that word. As of a week or so ago I have stopped working on the project and apologised to all concerned. I have been working on this for a year and produced exactly nothing that I am happy with. For this debacle the fault lies clearly with me, so I have removed myself from the equation and hope that Eric and Hervé can move on with a different artist and achieve the success they deserve. I want to draw a line under this unhappy spectacle now, so nobody ask me about it ok?
Readers of 2000AD will have seen the first part of JUMPED which is a 4 part Judge Dredd story I very recently drew on a very short deadline and while moving continent. It's written by John Smith, who I've not worked with before, and I am pleased with how it is turning out. I will be doing more work for 2000AD in the months to come, watch this space.
As alluded to above , I have recently left Nairobi and moved with my family to Brooklyn New York. This has been a big shift for all concerned, physically, psychologically, culturally etc, but as far as I am concerned it's all good and I am looking forward to a period of serious productivity after a year of virtually none. Wish me luck.
Best
Si.
Update 30-08-05
Yea, this has been a long gap between updates, even by my usual lackadaisical standard.
I'm now working away on Axelle, it's going....slowly. As I'm starting again from scratch I've decided to put up all the old development artwork. This stuff is now very out of date and the new versions are a good deal better. Axelle is turning into the most considered and labour-intensive piece of work I've ever done. I'm hoping that this will show in the final artwork.
Part of the reason for the slow rate of update is that I've been waiting for Telkom Kenya to get their act together and give me ADSL access here at home. Just for the record Telkom Kenya is my new benchmark for lazy, incompentent and corrupt companies...these guys really set the standard impossibly high! A truly great counter argument to proponents of state intervention in the telecommunications industry.
Anyway, enough grumbling. The good news is that there will be a collected edition of my 'Family' work for The Judge Dredd Megazine. I've done a new cover for it and I'm chuffed with how it looks generally. Then there will be a collected edition of 'Hellhouse' coming out this October I believe from IDW publishing. There are still 2 books of 'The Adentures of Nikolai Dante' in the shops, both with new covers from my good self and 'Shimura' has also been collected together by Rebellion. Which gives you a big chunk of Frank Quitely artwork on top of the 'Dragonfire' story that I drew. I seem to have a large amount of work in print right now, it's a good feeling.
I have a Wikipedia entry.....Yayyy!
Cheers
Si
Update 05-03-05
Martyn Bennett died at the end of January this year after a long fight with cancer. I can't say we were close friends, but we went to school together and saw each other on and off over the years. I can say that he was probably the finest musician I have ever met and his music has been one of the very few really strong ties I have left with Scotland. He will be missed.
Simon.
Update 04-03-05
The Hellhouse #3 cover has been changed
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I'm on the home stretch with this now. It should all be wrapped up in early April. Then I'll be starting work on 'Axelle' for Editions Bamboo in France. I'll be rethinking the style and the character drawings I've done so far. So I'll be sticking the older stuff up here very soon and then the new versions when I can.
Cheers.
Si.
Update 22-02-05
Lots of covers for you this month. Actually they have been amassing and I keep forgetting to stick them up here.
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Hellhouse covers 2,3 & 4. Check out IDW for availability. I'm just starting work on #4 right now.
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The covers for 'The Great Game' & 'The Courtship of Jena Makarov' respectively. Those observant ones among you might note that the 'Courtship' cover has a lot of elements swiped from the initial splashpage. Some bits have been snipped from the original and a lot of it has been redrawn. If you want to accuse me of taking shortcuts then fine, but this ended up being the most complicated cover I've ever undertaken, with something like 20 Layers in Photoshop at it's worst point! When they say that computers are timesaving devices I just laught insanely at them! Next time I'll do it the easy way and just draw the sucker freehand from scratch.
The Dante books can be ordered on Amazon, along with many many other fine products.
The Angouleme Festival was great this year, as it always is. My thanks to Cathy and Jeff Lafont for all their patience and assistance after I got my wallet nicked. Thanks also to Csaba, Alex and all the guys at Bamboo. I haven't managed to sign the Axelle contract yet, so I'll hold off on telling you anything about it, but it's all looking very exciting.
Cheers
Si.
Update 10-01-2005
Happy New Year to absolutely everyone!
I've been a bit remiss with the updates recently. I've got excuses, but nobody really wants to hear me whine.
Anyway it's a good month to be shopping for my comics. The new series of the collected adventures of Nikolai Dante is now in the shops! ISBN 1-90426-520-0 for those who wish to order a copy. On top of this "Richard Mathesons Hell House"#1 is also in a retailer near you. I've even seen a review of it. Issue 2 is all done and dusted and should be coming your way in February. It's just busting with horror and female nudity. Drawing comics can be a real chore sometimes....but not in this case.
I'm expecting to see some copies of the 'Shimura' collected edition soon. Also Dante book #2.
On top of this Eric Stoffel and I are now fairly confident that we have a publisher for 'Axelle'. More on that when things get signed.
I'll be at the Festival Du Bande Dessine in Angouleme at the end of this month. I'm not doing anything public, but if you see me around, say hi.
Si.
Update 06-10-2004 ( Edited 10-1-2005)
<snipped stuff about John M Burns, You wanna read it you'll have to try the Google cache.>
Anyway, nuff said.
I'm running a bit late on episode #2 of Hellhouse, so it's going to be a tough 3 weeks. I'll post some here when I can.
Si.
Update 08-09-2004
Finally I can tell you a wee bit about what I've been doing for the last couple of months. Actually I'll just show you :-
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All images are copyright IDW publications 2004
Laydeez & Gentlemen I present HELLHOUSE a 4 issue series 48pp each, adapted from the book of the same name by Richard Matheson. Adapted by Ian Edgington and myself.
From the original book jacket:
"For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. Regarded as the Mount Everest of haunted houses, it is a venerable mansion whos shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of almost unimaginable horror and depravity. Two previous expeditions to investigate its secrets met with disaster, the participants destroyed by murder, suicide or insanity.
Now a new investigation has been mounted, bringing four strangers to the forbidding mansion, determined to probe Belasco House for the ultimate secrets of life and death. Each has his or her own reason for daring the unknown torments and temptations of the mansion, but can any soul survive what lurks within the most haunted house on Earth?"
I've just turned in the first issue which is due in the shops in December. It's going well, I'm working flat out and I'm really enjoying myself.
Si.
Update 21-07-2004
Just to say have fun to all my cronies going to the San Diego Comics Convention this weekend. I'm not bitter that I can't make it....well not much. I'm too busy, too broke and too far away!......<sniff>
All those going should check out the IDW publishing stand, where they are announcing the project that I'm doing, but not talking about...ahemm.
Ah incidentally, my friend Mesiaki has a website about his village. He's off to University this autumn and I'd like to wish him luck.
Si.
Update 08-07-2004
Nothing to do with comics, I just thought that this was amusing.
The idea of selling Gin and 'Whisky' in 5 liter jerrycans is just so practical it would take a genius to think of it! Calling it a 'Family Pack' just goes beyond genius into some scary new realm of inspiration. The best thing about this stuff is the price, about $8 !! Remember kids, 'Do not drive while Drunk!'
The 'project that cannot be named' is going well, I'm now on pages 8,9 & 10 . Working on pages simultaneously is a bad habit I've gotten into, if I get frustrated or bored with something then I can just go and do something else for a bit. Oh and it turns out that I made a mistake , this is apparently a 4 issue series, not a 3 as previously reported. So 2 months more work than I had planned for...oops! The first issue is sceduled for a December release.
Si.
Update 24-06-2004
I've now been working on the literary adaption for a week. Starting with a full colour cover, which I am quite pleased with. I'm now working on page 4 of the interior art. I'll post some bits and pieces here along with small trifling details like the title and the publisher in a month or so, when I get the go ahead. I'm kind of reviving an old style for this, lots of quick pen-lines like I used to do on 'Shimura' among other things. So it's not going to look like 'Family' after all. I'm quite pleased with it so far, it feels like a very comfortable way of working after all this very polished colour work I've been turning out of late. I'm 100% more confident about this project than I was a week ago. There's always a certain amount of anxiety when starting something new.
Si.
Update 10-06-2004
All back from my week-or-so away, which included a few days at the Bristol Comics Festival. A great time was had by all and I met up with a bunch of good friends, some people I know less well and I now have some faces to go with e-mail addresses. I spent a surprising amount of time discussing actual work, which is always good. I seem to have work lined up for the next 12 months now, which I'm pretty happy about. I'll have to be a bit vague until contracts are signed, but I'll soon be starting a 144 page literary adaption written by Ian Edgington for a US publisher which I'll name later on. This will be drawn in glorious black and white, so I should get a chance to work on the style which I started on 'The Family' but never quite got comfortable with.
The other project will be in full colour, will be written by Robbie Morrison and will feature a fair bit of swordplay. It would be presumptive to say more than that as it's not even plotted yet, far less commissioned.
Anyway, I've just moved house so I have to put my studio back into order.
Si.
Update 23-05-2004
This will probably be my last update before heading on up to the Bristol Comics Festival, which takes place this coming weekend. 8 hours in a plane with a 5 month old baby...woopee.
More good news coming from Rebel HQ , this December sees the collected 'Shimura'. Set in Japan of the far future , or 'Hondo City', contemporary with Judge Dredd, 'Shimura' is a Judge caught between his own old-world Samurai values and the corruption he sees in the society around him and even in the Judiciary itself. Created by Robbie Morrison and Frank Quitely ( of X-men fame ), Shimura also features the artwork of Colin McNeil ( America ), Rob McCallum ( storyboard artist on 'Bulletproof Monk' among other things ) and me. Shimura is the archetypical tortured Ronin, so the story is wall-to-wall grim, katana swinging action. It was our work on 'Shimura' that led directly to Robbie and I creating Nikolai Dante, so it's a must buy for all Dante fans...and everyone else too.
Si.
Update 20-05-2004
Ladies and gentlemen, my 5 month old daughter Gabrielle. Doing what comes naturally.
Si.
Update 15-05-2004
If you are following the comics news you may have already seen this. Rebellion, publishers of 2000AD and owners of the copyright to the Adventures of Nikolai Dante, have teamed up with DC comics, publishers of Superman & Batman among others, to jointly publish a series of books featuring the collected adventures of some of 2000ADs most successful characters. The first Nikolai Dante book is scheduled for a November 2004 release and will have something like 200 pages. This is 4 times the size of the originally proposed series of Dante books so to print all the Dante work that currently exists will take just in excess of 4 volumes. Not only that but this will be a complete collection, encompassing stories that were drawn by different artists but left out of the original Hamlyn edition. So stories like 'The Gulag Apocalyptic' where Dante gets the Huntsman rifle will be included. Also included will be some previously unseen Dante development drawings and various other bits and bobs that you have probably never seen before.
I don't need to say that this is very good news, the boys at Rebellion deserve some congrats for pulling this off. It's been a long time coming, but it's being done right and the US edition is a nice plus. Hopefully a French edition will now be more likely.
Si.
Update 15-05-2004
Those of you who have been here before might be a bit disorientated, the Dante site is still there, just click on the link above. There are unlikely to be any more updates to the that site, at least for the forseeable future. No big deal as I think I've managed to update it about once a year so far anyway. Any Dante news will be posted here along with my other news.
I'm reclaiming my URL for my own nefarious purposes, so what you will see on this site will be all related to me, my work and whatever I think is interesting. That will amount to my online portfolio, the 'Work' link above, and various projects I am involved with or am trying to get off the ground.
I hope that you can find something of interest here.
Si.
Update 14-05-2004
New site goes live...in a bete test sort of way.
