I flicked the 'on' switch over at the shop, and while some parts remain dark, and some with the lights slowly flickering into life, one section is brightly lit and fully functional... prints!

I have two A3 prints for sale to begin with - the cover to volume one (sans lettering and logos) and the Tayaut Soviet poster (which also appears in the back of the book). These are not just churned out on my home printer! These are lovely high-quality giclée prints on 308gsm Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper with ink that will keep its pictorial depth for 70-80 years or more. Each print is hand-signed by me as well. Visit the shop here.

Another quick post, just to point you in the direction of a couple of very nice write-ups on The Rainbow Orchid (only a month until launch date).

On Tuesday, author Jeannette Towey dropped in for a chat about comics and art and writing and things and then went and turned it into a very thoughtful article over at The Phantom Zone.

And I was delighted by this detailed review that was brought to my attention yesterday. Some lovely observations and generous praise in both these pieces - thanks so much (edit: and to Warren Ellis too).

Not much time to blog recently, so I just thought I'd post this rather marvellous panel from DC Thomson's Adventure no.1398 (Nov 1951) which I was looking through earlier today.

It's from Strang in the Underworld (by Dudly Watkins, I believe, more famous for Oor Wullie) and I think it's probably best left without too much explanation.

Here's some more good stuff...

My brother, Murray, has started blogging again - good writing and interesting views and reviews can all be found at the revamped Mewsings. I'd also recommend his excellent Violet Apple website for an example of how good a website about an author (in this case, David Lindsay) can be.

Accent UK are hoping to raise the profile of their new themed anthology, Western, in light of recent benchmark restrictions introduced by their distributor, Diamond. Year after year Dave and Colin have been producing some of the most interesting UK indie comics within these books (and they are books - Western runs to 192 pages) and if you have yet to try one, you really really should. Ask your local comic shop to get some in!

There's a new publisher on the block, though from someone who has been involved in comics for many years, bringing much experience and an enormous comics knowledge to the cause. Steve Holland (of the essential Bear Alley blog) has launched Bear Alley Books. The first two collections will be Cursitor Doom and The Phantom Patrol, available this August, and I can't wait.

Lastly, there's been some internet stuff about British comics artist Ron Smith recently (still alive in his eighties), and it reminded me how much his work meant to me as a child. I was a 2000AD reader on and off in the late seventies, but one of the first stories that really hooked me onto the comic was The Judge Child Quest, and though I was already a head-over-heels devotee of Brian Bolland's exquisite line, it was Ron Smith that really engaged me on this story. I would spend ages studying his pages, bursting as they were with crowds of unique characters. His work was alive, fleshy, and technically brilliant. He's sometimes a little forgotten, hidden amongst the giant shadows of Bolland, McMahon and Ezquerra, but along with Colin Wilson (another favourite thanks to his amazing futuristic vehicles and guns) he deserves his place among the greats.

Ebay is having a little splurge of Rainbow Orchid stuff at the moment. There's a rare chance to get hold of the original black and white version I put out in 2003 - these sold out a few years ago and don't surface very often. And I also see BAM! issues 24 and 25, which included episodes 3 and 4 of volume one of RO - again, not many of these about. I have no connection with either of the sellers, it's just a heads-up (you can see the publishing history here).

Would you like a bed-time story read to you by the author? Viviane Schwarz has filmed herself reading her excellent and highly original There Are Cats In This Book. I guarantee you will watch and enjoy it with a big grin across your face, and then probably watch it again. (And then you could go and buy yourself a copy too).

What else? So much else! Neill Cameron has bravely started Neill's A-Z of Awesomeness, inspired (he generously says) by my own A-Z of Comic Strip Characters. Go and join the Facebook group and join in the fun!

My author friend, Julie Corbin, has launched her website. Go and visit, and if you like what you see, order her book, Tell Me No Secrets - it's a cracking read.

So much more I wanted to waffle on about, but I must rustle up some dinner. So I'll just end off by checking - have you visited the Super Comics Adventure Squad recently? Always some lovely stuff going on there.

The Order of the Exalted Moustache has been awarded to Sean Kleefeld, after Her Majesty (Sarah McIntyre's neighbour) had thoroughly examined all the entries and decided upon whom to bestow this unique honour.

Sarah launched the competition last week and it's been great fun (if slightly bizarre) to see all the great entries. You can see the full hairy display here, here, here and here, and the choosing ceremony here. Thanks Sarah!

At midnight last night, on the dot, I put the names of everyone who entered the 40th June competition into a tin and asked Elyssa to pick one out. So congratulations to Russell Stearman - the signed and sketched cover proof will be on its way to you within the next week or so.

And a huge thanks to everyone who entered - I'm sorry you couldn't all have prizes just for entering! There will definitely be more competitions to come.

There's still time to enter the competition to win a signed and sketched cover proof! The deadline is midnight GMT on 7 June (Sunday night). See the previous post for details.

And talking of competitions, Sarah McIntyre decided to celebrate the 40th of June by holding her own competition - you have to draw a suitably extravagant moustache on this terrific portrait she's drawn. See Sarah's blog for details - and again, the deadline is Sunday evening (7 June). What a great idea!

The 40th June turned out to be a very successful day thanks to all the wonderful supporters and friends of The Rainbow Orchid. I don't know how many people sent out emails to tell their friends about the book (enormous thanks if you did), but I can mention some of the blog posts that I was alerted to - please give them all a visit and check out the rest of these wonderful sites...

| Jason Cobley | Sarah McIntyre | Sean Kleefeld | Gosh! Comics | Speech Balloons |
| Toonhound | Forbidden Planet | Paul Harrison-Davies | Neill Cameron | Kelvin Green |
| Linda Wada | Graeme Neil Reid | Richard Bruton | Matthew Badham | Alex Milway | Jenni Scott |
| Rocket Llama HQ | Down the Tubes | James Turner | Jez Higgins | David O'Connell |

I hope I haven't missed anyone out - please let me know if I have and I'll add it on. There were also some lovely comments and messages through Facebook and Twitter.

I must also share this brilliant piece of artwork by Simon Doyle with you. Thank you Simon - that's going straight up into the Readers' Art gallery (where you can also read the hilarious text that accompanies it).

I don't usually make a big fuss about my birthday. It's not through any kind of false modesty, I'm just genuinely not a big birthday person. However, this year I thought I'd mark the event with something more than a nod, as I'm turning forty, a decade that tends to have a certain significance attached to it.

And so I'm going to be very cheeky and ask you, my dear Rainbow Orchid readers, if you'd be so kind as to give me a little present! On my birthday, which is this Thursday, 4th June, I would be most grateful if you would do something to spread the word about The Rainbow Orchid and its approaching publication. If you have a blog, perhaps you could write a line and give a link, or maybe you could post something on a forum, or tweet on Twitter, or even just email a couple of friends who you think might be interested in giving the comic a look. You could point them to the online preview, or maybe the shop. No obligation, just a little awareness raising. It would be enormously kind of you!

In return, I am offering up a little competition to win one of the two cover proofs I received from Egmont a few weeks ago - signed by me and with some original little character drawings down one side. To enter, log in to the members' area (anyone can enter as long as you're a registered reader - it's free to sign up) and click the 'competitions' link, where you will find three simple questions to answer in order to have a chance at owning this unique Rainbow Orchid goody.

In addition to all this, to continue with the Fortieth of June celebrations, a new interview has gone up online, though this one is a little different in that it is my first audio interview (so please be gentle with me, I know I get a bit rambly sometimes!). I talked to researcher and author Linda Wada for her first Table Chat podcast, and the result is a one hour and fifteen minute wander through the creation of The Rainbow Orchid, from Imagination to Print, as Linda has titled it. If you give it a listen, I hope you enjoy it!

Here are a few notes on some comics I've read over the past few weeks...

I'll start with Three Shadows, by ex-Disney animator Cyril Pedrosa, which I first heard about from Sarah McIntyre's blog a few months ago. It's published by First Second, and as with all of their titles comes in a package of very pleasing dimensions. I love the organic rough-edged pages as well. The art is beautiful, gracefully sketched and flowing with movement on every page - masterful. The story bubbles with fascinating characters, but I did feel it was written purely with the goal of bringing a tear to my eye upon its conclusion (which it did, well, a lump to my throat anyway), thus there's a rather honeyed melancholy throughout which I found a little suffocating. It's good though, and I can see myself keeping it around for another read.

From NBM comes Miss Don't Touch Me (originally La Vierge du Bordel and Du Sang sur les Mains) by Hubert (story and colour) and Kerascoët (drawing). I totally loved this book, from its 1930s Paris setting, to the riveting story and loose yet stylistic draughtsmanship. It's a murder mystery, largely set in a high-class brothel, and featuring a very engaging main character (Blanche). While the story is top-notch, the cartooning adds so much to the whole package, it's just delightful. Very European and very good. (And I discovered the blog of Kerascoët right here - lovely).

One of my favourite political cartoonists is 'Derf' (John Backderf), whose The City I have been following online for a good few years now. I've also been a fan of his longer works - My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, and now, a much longer work, Punk Rock and Trailer Parks. This story follows the remarkable central character, a charismatic trailer-park nerd named Otto, a.k.a 'The Baron', amidst the backdrop of the economically arid city of Akron which became a focal point for the new wave punk scene that hit America at the end of the 70s and into the early 80s. The story features several real bands and artists that did indeed play at 'The Bank' (eg. The Ramones, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, The Plasmatics), the music venue where much of the story takes place. If nothing else, I was introduced to the simply wonderful Klaus Nomi (an album of his coming my way soon). The only (very minor) downside is a few of the earlier pages print extremely close to the edge of the page - on one it actually sliced off a few letters of balloon text - but all in all it's a really satisfying read that had me chuckling out loud in several places.