This blog began in 1997 as a single news page called Nucelus. In 2005, during a long wait to move into a new house, I decided to learn some php and MySQL and write my own blogging system, which became inkyBlog and which now powers this, my own Webbledegook blog.
Thank you to my brother, Murray Ewing, for help with some of the more challenging aspects!
On Saturday I went down to Lewes to give my adventure comics workshop at Bags of Books, an outstanding children's bookshop in a town that boasts a number of fine little bookshops. I think there were about 25 children and the imagination was in full flow as we created fabulous heroes, dastardly villains, and the shortest little epic adventure strips you'll ever see. A special thank you to Anna and Vikki for hosting me. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Lewes, do go and give their wonderful shop a visit.
On Monday I was invited by Forest Row Primary School to give four comic workshop sessions to four classes, all in one morning - it was hectic but great fun. This time we added a dash of the Olympics to the proceedings as I set the story of the Olympic flame being stolen. As for by whom, and who would save the day, that was up to the children to decide, and I must have seen over 200 unique, bizarre, and amazing Olympic heroes and villains that morning! Another sincere thanks for having me, this time to Denise for setting up the event, and to Siobhan and her colleagues for looking after me so well.
This Saturday I will be at The Bookshop in East Grinstead, available to sign copies of The Rainbow Orchid, and I'll also have some original art pages to show. I'll be at the shop from 11 until 1, and if you tune into 107 Meridian FM from 10am you should also find me on Krys O'Brien's morning show just beforehand. I look forward to chatting to anyone and everyone who comes about comics - making them and reading them!
One more event, for now, the following weekend, on Sunday July 1st, I'll be at Waterstone's in Deansgate, Manchester, from 1-3pm. There will be games, competitions and activities! More details here.
If you've seen the current issue of TBK Magazine (Summer 2012) you'll see a lovely mention of The Rainbow Orchid, and also a page I wrote and designed that gets you going on your own comic strip, complete with some handy hints on how to write a gripping adventure story.
And speaking of nice mentions - here's a lovely review of The Rainbow Orchid volume 3 by Rol Hirst on his blog - thank you, Rol!
Which reminds me ... I have, at last, updated the online shop to include volume 3, either as part of the complete set, or as a signed and sketched-in edition on its own. From interest and enquiries so far I am expecting a bit of a glut of orders to begin with (I've had four in the half hour since I updated the page), so please bear with me if they take just a little longer to get out in the post than usual - thank you.
Finally, don't forget that this week sees part three of The Bald Boy and the Dervish, the penultimate chapter in Ben Haggarty's Silk Roads story, illustrated by me and appearing in The Phoenix. Here's a little sneaky-peek ...
