I'll be attending the London Super Comicon on 26th and 27th. I'll bedoing a signing session for the Chili each day on Markosia's table, along with writer Christian Rodriguez. Otherwise, I'll generally be wandering around. Feel free to bother me!

At the end of March, I'll be at the Hi-Ex convention in Inverness, 30th March, 1st April. Don't know what I'll be doing yet, but I hope to do something more interactive - workshops, demos etc. More news when I know. First time in Inverness or at Hi-Ex. Very excited!

Hot and spicy!

The Chili book is finally finished. 88 pages of all ages superhero fun - one you can share with the kids or lovers of spicy food. The book will be on sale at the London Super Comicon in February, but is available for pre-order at a substantial discount from publishers Markosia:
[link]

Enough pre-orders will make sure the book isn't cancelled by Diamond, as has happened to Markosia in the past.

Written by Chris Rodriguez and Chris Campanozzi, with art by Marcelo Salaza, Kal J. Moon and me on colours and letters, everyone involved has worked really hard to make this a great read. More on the book can be seen at:
[link]

Check it out if you're interested.

I'll be there at the London Super Comicon along with writer Chris Rodriguez signing copies of the book.

I've just been told that I've got the graphic novel project with Walker Books that I was after. It's black and white, 140 or so pages. I'll be doing art and letters. It's part of a horror series adapted from a teenage novel and should be quite a challenge.

I'm very excited (and nervous) about this. I haven't tackled anything quite like this before. I'm not sure what I'll be allowed to post, but I'll put stuff up if I can.

I've just turned in my last ever Spiderman and Friends artwork. Between me, Rik Hoskin on scripts and Lee Carey on occasional linework or pencils, we've notched up 66 consecutive issues - 67 actually because one was completed but never printed (it featured a version of the Super Adaptoid, which mimicked the other heroes' powers, but was rejected because Marvel felt that would confuse the readers). That's over six and a half years' work, my longest run on any single 'strip'.

It could be a surreal experience at times. The character designs with their Popeye forearms and massive feet (even the girls), the fact that Christmas could be alluded to but never mentioned by name (not even a Christmas tree could be shown in later issues and the basic concept of Marvel superheroes as (seemingly parentless) kids building sandcastles and playing in a treehouse.

Weird highlights for me include Doctor Octopus' automatic dog washing machine or his bad hair day, dressing Spidey up as Doctor Strange for Halloween and doing a version of Civil War set in a park.

The prints for Summer of Sonic have arrived and are looking good. There'll be 50 available of the collaboration with Tracy Yardley, 20 of the STC online cover. The price will be £6 each or two prints for £10. If any are left over after the day, I'll put up details of how they can be ordered by post.

You may have read that Disney, having taken over Marvel Comics, has decreed that no originated Marvel product can now be created in Britain. I have worked on every issue of Panini's Spiderman and Friends title (for pre-schoolers) for over five years, but after a few more issues, that will all be over.

The thing that really sucks is that this is not a decision based on sales of the comic, which still seem to be healthy. If it was, I would understand completely, but simply seems to be a heavy-handed way on Disney's part to take control of their new 'empire'.

Spiderman and Friends was a great way to draw very young readers into the world of Marvel and comics in general.

It will be a great blow for Panini UK to lose these Marvel contracts. I hope they manage to survive this.

The next issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine - issue 310, on sale 27 April - contains the interview with me.

Not seen it yet - I'll be interested to find out what artwork they use for it.

Because I've recently felt the need to put something out there that is purely mine, I am endeavouring to produce a regular weekly web strip - RejecTeds. I've spent days trying to sort out an RSS feed for the site, without success, so you can subscribe for update alerts via my Wordpress blog at nigeldobbyn.wordpress.com:

[link]

This is a new venture for me and it's early days yet, so please don't be too harsh if you wish to comment!

I've just received the pencils for Tracy Yardley's half of our collaborative print for Summer of Sonic. It rocks! Tracy's done the layout and pencilled his characters. I'll be pencilling mine then inking and colouring the whole thing for a series of prints. I'll also be colouring up my STC online cover and printing some of those up too.

Tracy will be in attendance, as will I and possibly Nigel Kitching too.

The Judge Dredd Megazine are currently reprinting my Strontium Dogs strips from a long time ago as two of their bagged 'graphic novel' giveaways (written by Garth Ennis). Return of the Gronk looks better than I expected it to. The storytelling still holds up. Even my wife read it.

As a result, I've been asked to do an interview for a forthcoming Megazine article about me. It's kind of weird thinking back over your career and having to justify the choices you've made along the way - not always good ones!

I had to postpone a talk and tutorials at Teesside Uni this week due to being snowed in, but this should still take place when the weather improves.

Has a nice time at Thought Bubble in Leeds this year, particularly the kids' workshop I did on the Sunday (despite getting back to the multi storey to find my car was locked in - 5pm on a Sunday - £50 to get it out!), but I'm hoping to do something more interactive next year. I've talked to organiser Lisa about it and she seems keen, so fingers crossed.

I've said I'll do a cover for STC online's anniversary issue next year. Any suggestions welcome. The final result will probably be available as a print at next year's Summer of Sonic.

As should a joint effort between myself and Archie Sonic artist Tracy Yardley, which we're discussing at the moment. Watch this space.

On a happier note, I've been awarded a contact to become a mentor on the Digital City Fellowship Scheme at Teesside University over the next year and a half.

Details of what the Fellowship is about can be found here: [link]

Whether or not anyone will request my mentoring, I don't know, but fingers crossed. If you're on the scheme or know someone that is, keep me in mind.

I will not be producing any more Billy the Cat strips for the Beano Annual. The following is the email I have sent to the editor:

"I was very disappointed, on seeing a copy of the 2011 Beano Annual, to find that my artwork for the Billy the Cat strip had been stretched horizontally. This has resulted in considerable distortion of the figures to the extent that I am now embarrassed to be associated with the work.
I do not know whose decision this was, but if it was felt necessary to alter the artwork in this way, I should have been consulted and allowed to alter the artwork sympathetically. I was prepared to tolerate the badly executed relettering of the strip in the 2010 Annual, but this particular decision shows a fundamental lack of respect or understanding for the quality of the work I have produced.
I have loved writing and drawing the Billy the Cat strip and have taken pride in producing work to the best of my ability. Sadly, however, I feel that I can no longer continue to work for a publisher that seems to have little respect either for this character or for the quality of the work it publishes.
My apologies if this puts you in an awkward position. I hope that you can find suitable material to fill the ten pages I was working on for the 2012 Annual.
Yours Sincerely
Nigel Dobbyn"

It's a sad end to my most enjoyable job.

The next issue of the Strontium Dog fanzine Dogbreath will feature the first half of my strip 'Small Universe' featuring the Gronk. I'm assuming this will be out in time for the Birmingham Comics Show, so look for it there.

The second half will appear, along with a full colour cover by me, in the following issue early next year.

According to Lew Stringer's blog, the new Beano Annual is already on sale. It has a 10 page Billy the Cat strip by me in it, as well as stuff by Lew, Jamie Smart etc. It seems to come out earlier every year.

I should be doing a couple of signing sessions for it closer to Christmas, at bookshops in my home town of Guisborough and in nearby Whitby, where this year's strip is (visually) based.

I've just bought myself a table for the Birmingham International Comics Show, 16-17 October, so come and say hello if you're there.

It's all the S's at this years Summer of Sonic Saturday 7th August in Shepherd's Bush - signing, sketching, selling and... surgery!

In addition to the usual malarkey, I'll be doing four half hour 'surgeries' throughout the day, where art problems, queries etc. can be exposed to the light of day and I can hopefully offer some useful advice. Places will be limited (6 per session), but can be booked with me on the day and I'll still be chatting and sketching etc. the rest of the time, so say hello if you're there.

I've just been given the nod to go ahead with a Billy the Cat and Katie strip for the 2012 Beano Annual. It will be ten pages as usual, a modern day tale featuring a villain called 'The Gasman', and will be written and drawn by me, as long as the script gets approved and I can find time to do it!

Spending pretty well all my spare time colouring and lettering a comic strip called The Chili, destined for Markosia, so probably no new posts for awhile. It's about a superhero chili if you can believe it!
More info about the project at:
[link]