Archives

59 comics.

The Benefits of Rest

by on September 10, 2012 at 6:00 am
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Although I’ve been really busy during the last week, I’ve found that I’m actually getting more rest, ironically because I’m getting LESS sleep during the evenings. The result is that I’m actually tired enough to take a nap on the bus home from work which, thanks to the schools being back and peoples’ schedules reverting to normal, can take up to an hour. So I actually get a good proper chance to catch some sleep which actually makes me feel a lot better later on in the day. And if I get a decent amount of rest, I find that I’m less worried about life in general, I’m not as depressed about love or art or money, and I’m far more productive in the evenings. read more

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Back to DayZ

by on September 7, 2012 at 6:00 am
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Allo all! Despite my incredible busy-ness in the last week or so (which has seen MB!! Magazine lying, unupdated) I have managed to find a little bit of time to get some gaming in with my mates. They’ve finally convinced me to come back to DayZ, after I left it a few months ago due to some complete asshattery on the parts of some other survivors.

I must say, the game is still quite tense, and with the addition of axes as melee weapons, exploring through zombie-infested country is a lot easier. I’ve not yet encountered any other survivors, but every moment is a tense waiting game; You just never know when that bullet is coming for you. Fortunately, I’ve JUST acquired a new long rifle, and we’re now travelling in a pack so I feel a little bit safer in-game, now. read more

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Poirot: What’s not to like?

by on September 3, 2012 at 6:00 am
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I’ve been quite busy recently working up some comics to cover myself while I’m away, so as a result I’ve been up quite late a few nights. I like to have the TV on in the background while I draw, and usually I’m watching Channel Dave (Yes, non-UKians, we have a channel called Dave, and it consists almost entirely of Top Gear and QI) but recently it’s been showing films of which I have little interest, and none of the other channels have had anything worth watching.

Except for ITV 2 (or 3, I forget which). Apparently in the late evening, but prior to midnight, they show a lot of my favouritestest detective show EVER. Agatha Christie’s Poirot, the iconic David Suchet series. If you guys haven’t seen these, I highly recommend them! Now, I love TV Poirot at the best of times: It’s set in the interbellum, it’s properly classy and the art deco aesthetic is phenomenally exciting. But the ITV series of Poirot is just fantastic. The production values are exceptional, and the huge investment poured into the original series has clearly paid off; They have stood the test of time incredibly well, and look just as fresh as if they had been shot today. read more

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Perspective Shift!

by on August 31, 2012 at 6:00 am
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Bonjour, tout le monde!

It’s been a pretty good week for me vis-á-vis creativity; I’ve been struggling with starting my novel yet again, and I’d been losing hope for it. However, I realised that what I was doing was struggling to fit an idea that I’d been working on since I had started uni to my current style and outlook on life. The story was simply about awesome technology in an awesome city which, while appealing, makes for an incredibly dull plot.

So what I did was revamp the characters, give up my sentimental hold on the plot and shook it up a bit without disturbing the overall flow, and approach the planning of the novel from a completely different angle. The important part (interestingly enough related to one of my dayjob tasks involving a bit of data modelling) was to consider not simply the overall flow of the plot, but to consider events, interested parties and people. By using these and branching off interesting, useful properties facts and sub-events from these, I was able to relate them to each other more organically, and even developed brand new items for the plot that now that I’ve realised it, make complete logical sense. Why didn’t I see them before, I ask myself! read more

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RIP Neil Armstrong

by on August 27, 2012 at 6:00 am
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Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon, has died. It’s a sad day for all humankind, and for science, that we should lose such a star of space exploration. But I think that, rather than dwelling on the sombre mood of his passing, we should celebrate the man’s contribution to the sum of human knowledge, and to the spirit of science and engineering.

Few knew much of Armstrong past his involvement in the Apollo missions, a testament to the humbleness with which he carried himself. Following the success of the first moonwalks, Armstrong did not spend time in the spotlight though surely he would have legitimately deserved it; instead, he returned to lecturing on engineering. How wonderful that a man so adventurous, so self-sacrificing, so curious should pass on this spirit to students down the years. read more

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Stuff I like this week

by on August 24, 2012 at 6:00 am
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Morning/afternoon/post-apocalypse, everyone!

Well, after Monday’s little outburst of non-positiveness (for which I apologise), I’d like to share with you some of the things that have cheered me up this week!

1: I got a lovely message from one of my childhood heroes this week, the wonderful Hunt Emerson, with words of praise for Elf Blood. Hunt has, predominantly, a brilliant slight surreal underground comix art style, and he worked on British comic The Beano when I was younger. I highly recommend finding copies and reading Little Plum, or even picking up a copy of the Fortean Times and checking out his Phenomenonmix page at the back! His kindness put a great big smile on my face, and I’ve felt damn good about the comic all week. Thanks again Mr. Emerson, you’re wonderful! read more

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Let the disillusionment grow!

by on August 20, 2012 at 6:00 am
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So I’ve started trying to find a date, again. This time, trying another dating site.

I’ve been told many times that dating is easy: You just need to go out, find somebody and ask them out. This advice, right enough, was given by people several shades more… Well adjusted, normal, than I. I can’t stand trying to find a date. It fills me with such dread and terror that I just drive myself into a state of complete shutdown. I’m not the world’s greatest dater, as  you may well have gleaned: I’ve only had four girlfriends, and two of them were in high school. read more

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And so it begins!

by on August 17, 2012 at 6:00 am
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Welcome to the first page of the Dreamland Arc, one and all! Hope you’re as psyched for this as I am, because I promise you an epic and troubling tale!

You may have to bear with a bit of roughness in the next few weeks, I’m afraid: Something went wrong and my machine BSOD on startup a few times before resolving itself. Unfortunately, something’s a bit hinky with the tablet, so I may need to rebuild the machine to eliminate these annoying glitches. I mean, they don’t appear to be particularly serious, and they’re certainly manageable, but I’d much rather have the device working the way it used to. read more

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It’s launch time!

by on August 13, 2012 at 6:00 am
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Ah, it’s finally here! The official beginning of the Dreamland arc!

Okay, so it’s just a cover, but if you hot-foot it over to the Facebook Page and join up, you’ll get to see some special bonus artwork! I’m really excited about this arc, as it gets right back into the real Elf Blood groove after the relative oddness after our trip to the Fae realm. There’s also a really emotional B-Story attached to this, which I hope you’ll enjoy as well.

In addition to the launch of the new arc, I’d like to invite you guys to check out my new blog, www.mb-magazine.co.uk! It’s a three-times-a-week look at current events, news and culture, including a single-panel comic. Go check it out, it updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and tell your friends too! read more

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