Reverie

I am having a ball writing and drawing Nuke Noodle in The Dandy. A lot has been written on various blogs about supporting this comic, which is having a desperate time in terms of sales. How is that a nation with such a rich cartoon heritage as Britain, can't properly support the only comic out there which has genuinely interesting kids strips? When I was young I was very spoiled: Whizzer and Chips, Buster, Whoopie and Wow!, Oink! (I became a cartoonist because of this comic and have a complete collection in my Mum's cupboard which annoys her intensely), The Beano, The Dandy, Nutty, Hoot!, The Beezer. I could go on..Topper, Shiver and Shake. Ok, I'll stop now. Well, the point is-what the hell happened? It's a criminal shame that kids these days with an artistic bent can't pick up decent comics cheaply like I did.

Reverie is setting in...I started a comic at school with my friends Daniel Cole and Andrew Nowell called Meep! (Dan's idea-never happy with the name). It was a brilliant thing to have done and I am proud of the effort we put in. We photocopied it and handed it out to our friends. Then big school came along and comics were no longer a thing to do-nerdy. Dan and Andy no longer drew them, but I did. I have no idea why I had such a passion compared to my peers, but here I am, 24 or so years later doing it for real.

Here's an uncoloured panel from a Nuke I am currently drawing. He meets Houdini, although this panel is a bit of a red herring.

Please buy The Dandy! It's only £1.50 and it's well worth it. For Nuke, for the brilliant strips by Jamie Smart and Wilbur Dawbarn, Andy Fanton and all the others. It's like watching an old episode of Thundercats. You wonder why you ever stopped.