Subscribe to my mailing list for updates on future projects

Tuesday 20 April 2021

Hallowscream 13 - Submissions now open

 


It’s the time of the year when we at Back From The Depths are once again looking for contributors for our freaky free annual pdf horror comic.

 Here are the submission guidelines…

Submissions should be horror orientated and must be weird or spooky to make the final cut.

We are mainly looking for completed comic strips between 1-7 pages in length. Anything already completed is far more likely to make it into the comic.

Script submissions should also preferably be around 1-7 pages in length.

Eerie illustrations and artwork along with interesting horror/comic articles, scary short stories, petrifying poems or anything just plain creepy will also be considered.

To get an idea of the sort of stuff we’re after, you can download previous issues of Hallowscream here.

One additional stipulation, same as last year…

IMPORTANT : No stories about global pandemics, please!  Stories containing the living dead are allowed, but the E.C. comics-style vengeful revenants are preferable to the contagion-spreading George Romero types. The last thing we need right now is a comic full of nothing but tales of how difficult it is to find toilet paper during a zombie apocalypse, (don’t pretend you didn’t think about it). First and foremost we’re producers of escapism (quite icky, gruesome horrible escapism at times, but escapism nonetheless), and we feel it’s a good idea to lay off certain storylines at least until such time as current events have settled down a bit. I’m sure you’ll understand where we’re coming from.

If you’re looking to illustrate something, get in contact and we’ll give you details of available scripts to see if anything suits your fancy.

We’ll also consider material previously published elsewhere, as long as the contributors own the copyright.

Completed artwork can be either colour or black and white, and should preferably be A4 (21cm x 29.7cm) 300 dpi jpeg or png.

Submissions can be sent to merjeagles@yahoo.co.uk or ghastlymcnasty@backfromthedepths.co.uk

As this is a non-profit, small press publication, contributors will not be paid but they will retain copyright on any material submitted.

Sunday 21 March 2021

It's 2021

With the pandemic still lingering like a bad smell in a lift I've been trying to keep my foot in the comics game while dealing with someone turning real-world work up to 11. 

 Writing has taken an immense hit in productivity but I still get involved with comic production via lettering for other comic creators and living vicariously through their success. It's not the same but it's the best I can manage for now. 

 Once such project is Mythica by Actionline Studios. I was contact by Matt Campbell, CEO of Actionline, to pick up the torch of lettering part 7 of his epic tale, currently smashing it on Kickstarter.

It's a pleasure to work for a creator who has their marketing game on fleek. Matt knows how to make the best of Kickstarter and is very proactive it promoting his product. I'm hoping I'll be lettering much more for Actionline in the future.

Sunday 13 December 2020

Another Logo

 Here's a new logo design I've just completed for a comic pitch. I'd initially lettered the pitch sample pages so it's great that the creator came back for logo design too. Here's the logo in situ on the lovely cover...

The flame effect looks mint on the cover but it wouldn't translate well when used as a stand alone logo. So, as standard practice, when designing logos, you should also make sure it can be used in any situation...

Nice.



Saturday 31 October 2020

Hallowscream 12

 


Vampires! Ghosts! Monsters! Pumpkins! Squiggly things! All these and more can be found within the pages of the latest edition of Hallowscream! Back from the depths once more to fiddle with your fear-centres!

Here Are The Download Links (right click and ‘save as’) :

Lo-res (rubbish) Version (file size = 21.6mb) :  MEDIAFIRE   DROPBOX

Hi-res (get this one) Version (file size = 69.3mb) :  MEDIAFIRE   DROPBOX

You can also read the issue online at : ISSUU

These are the full contents behind the ghoulishly gothic cover by Malcolm Kirk…

Page 3 : New Neighbour  Story by Rick Perez, Art by Ken Best, Letters by Tim West
Page 7 : The Pumpkin King  Story by Paul Bradford, Art by Randy Valiente
Page 11 : Cartoons (Beasties/Mad Dog)  by Malcolm Kirk
Page 12 : The Paranormal Misadventures of Mr. Cringemeister : Frank Gets A Head In Life  Story & Art by Rick Perez
Page 17 : The Secret of Susan Rand’s Garden  Story by Rob Stanley,  Art by Gregory Woronchak, Letters by Toben Racicot
Page 21 : Terror of The Sheep 2 : Chapter 5  Story & Art by Malcolm Kirk   
Page 29 : Bestiary of Beasties :  Dishclothman  by Malcolm Kirk
Page 30 : Bloody Hands  Story by Troy Vevasis, Art by Denis Pacher
Page 33 : Terrorvision Guide  by Malcolm Kirk
Page 34 : Ghost Story  Story by Chris Denton, Art by Ken Best
Page 37 : Empathy For The Dreamer  Story by Kyle Lawrence, Art by Armando C. Rillo Sr., Letters by  Ryan Bielak
Page 44 : A Grim Tale : Nothing To Fear  Story by Malcolm Kirk, Art by Carol Kewley
Page 47 : Deadvertisements  by Malcolm Kirk
…and…
Page 48 : Back Cover Skull  by Malcolm Kirk
 
Have a horrendously happy Hallowe’en!

Saturday 10 October 2020

Lettering Job #4

 Another lettering job completed for a successful Kickstarter. I lettered 10 pages for the package which smashed its target reaching over £2,500. The production for the the rest of the comic begins next week.



Lettering Job #3

 So, I'm getting quite a few lettering jobs coming my way, thank in part to the new DangerGeek site which gives a very professional overview of the services I offer and also ComicBookLogo.com and this blog, which do pretty well in search engine results.

Here's a few samples for a recent indie project I've now been commissioned to do the 2nd issue for...




Saturday 25 July 2020

Photoshop Comic Lettering Course

Big news! My new online course, Comic Book Lettering in Photoshop is now live! For only $27 you get lifetime access to over 40 video tutorials totaling over 3 hours of content on the technical and theoretical aspects of lettering comics using Adobe Photoshop.


The course contains heaps of information suitable for both lettering novices and those looking to improve on their lettering skills.

For more details please visit the site

Thursday 25 June 2020

Latest Logos

The centralised and updated website/hero page has been helpful in getting loads of new comic related jobs. It's been a week of logos - 2 for upcoming comics and one for a comic publisher. I'll also be assisting on comic lettering duties for one of them!

The logo jobs are cool as they need doing relatively quickly but signing on as someone's letterer means a long term commitment that might not even start for several months. All good fun though.


Comic Book Logo 1


Comic Book Logo 2






Comic Publisher Logo