here's another

yes, uncle ken in beatiful sepiatone. dont ask me why the second panel is orangey. please feel free to rate and download these things (they're free).

I'm on your mobiles

not my mobile, because mine's shit, but this seems like a good idea so i'm trying it. i think i'll colour in a few old strips and put them on there too. theres also a $10,000 prize for the best new one (incentive).

Post 100, 1 year on.

Yes as previously mentioned, i've racked up 100 posts in exactly 1 year, for what it's worth. As its my birthday, why dont you send me some cash, and i'll send you one or all of my comics. If there is anyone reading this who doesnt own the entire portfolio of Banal Pig Comics, here's a reminder of what's on offer:

Banal Pig 1; Feeder and Wife, Hairy Feller, Retard Dad, Incompetent Shark, Womany Man, and Banal Pig and Friends in "Gutter Stupidity" £4 inc p&p

Banal Pig 2: More Feeder and Wife, Incompetent Shark, plus the introduction of Jolly Bear, Lickle Bastard and Ugly Mind Reader, and Fez Man in "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" £4 inc p&p

Jolly Bear and Fun Coconut Summer Special: JB goes about his business in the slums of Hackney, and we meet his flatmate, Fun Coconut who is obsessed with the film Basic Instinct SOLD OUT

Banal Pig 3; More adventures from the BP Gang as the trilogy comes full circle and the prophecy is realised. With the introduction of Irate Robot, and "The Ballad of Homeless Goose" £4 inc p&p

The Banal Pig Portrait Anthology: featuring portraiture-themed work from the finest UK small pressers: hilarious, but really makes you think. £4 inc p&p

Ethel Sparrowhawk: The story of a seemingly unlucky girl who will try anything to improve her luck, a collaboration with Jemima Von Schindelberg. £4 inc p&p

Also, the excellent work by the man who puts the "ig" in Banal Pig Comics, Gareth Van Brookes.

Again, thanks to everyone whose supported me over this annus mediocris.

Nice One Laters

Yours Truly

Stevo xxx

Jolly Bear drawing

watercoloury drawing as trial for jbfcss2.

Frustrations etc

This is what usually happens when i have a bit of time at work- i dont feel like going back, and start thinking about doing something else. Unfortunately, there's not a lot out there for me at the moment.
I'm frustrated because i feel i have got a lot to give in terms of creativity and intelligence, qualities that i have never used in any full time employment, and i dont really know where to start. i'm very envious of people that enjoy their jobs, especially if they get paid well for doing it, and i cant tick either of those boxes.
i know i should be more pro-active but doing what? realistically, i'm not going to get paid well for doing comics for years if ever, but i could have a go at illustration. i'm a creative problem solver, yeah! and i can spell correctly and construct sentences. i can also play a number of musical instruments to a basic-intermediate standard.
on the downside, i dont really have an entrepreneurial spirit and dont particularly like pushing myself forward.

any careers advice would be duly appreciated, cv available on request.

Post 97- Chatterings

Yes friends it's very nearly the anniversary of this blog, and its also nearly the 100th post. so what have we learned? that i write down things that i am planning to do and then a bit later i either do them or dont bother. sometimes i cause controversy and sometimes i make up puns, and reprint stories that i have written.

by the way, when i lived in london and only used to work 4 days a week (those were the days lol! ha ha!) i started to write some novels. the first one was about a mysterious event which wiped out all but about 100 people, basically your last man on earth fantasy, but with the idea that the few remaining survivors were all bastards, like being on big brother or something. i got to about chapter three and got cold feet. the second one i though had a bit more potential. i stole the premise from an obnoxious african woman who gareth went to a creative writing course with, and the name of her novel was "fourteen intelligent men build a castle". i dont know what her story was actually about or anything and dont care, but mine was an (attempted) victorian h.g wells pastiche about this group of gents who are brought together to a remote scottish isle/loch/ whatever to build a castle for a mysterious genius recluse (you know the type), and certain members of the party start dying, you know, mysterious. anyway, maybe i'm writing this so i dont forget it forever, but if there's anyone who'd like to read either of these books, send me a cheque for £15,000 and i'll send you the manuscript, and we'll split the profits 50:50.

anyway, i was also thinking about making longer comics, and i really want to step it up a notch with banal pig 4. my current vision (sounds a bit pretentious doesnt it?) involves 2 levels of comics- i.e. a main strip and a sub-strip running alongside/under/against it, and i want to continue to develop the banal pig "universe" (againy this sounds a bit poncy, but it is fairly common comic speak i think) and feature more of the peripheral characters and make the general look a bit more dense, or at least vary the layouts a bit more. this means that it wont be ready for birmingham, but i'll have JBFCSS2 and maybe another minicomic, and i've got my fingers in a few other pies.

there's exciting things going on over at Man Man's house too. Gareth's decided that he's gonna take on a few more challenging projects, including a development of the bastard teachers thing from the portrait anthology, and an adaption of his own short story about a young boy who decides to make himself some sex dolls, with varying successes.

there's also a reasonable (unsolicited) review in the new Comics International no 202, of Man Man 1 & 2, which says it's funny and good value for money, and then gives it a lukewarm 6 out of 10.

anyway, i'm off on me holidays now, laters!

First Look! Jolly Bear and Fun Coconut Summer Special 2!!!!!

Yes, hot off the presses, or at least hot of a pen via my hand or something is a little sneaky peek from JBFCSS2. This is part one, where Fun Coconut gets obsessed by the film showgirls, and i'm hoping part two will be a bit different visually, but i'm working on it at the moment so i'll let you know when i know.

Appalling Nonsense!

Hello, Pig Lovers!

Gareth "Man Man"Brookes, raconteur, character actor, alcoholic and vice president of Banal Pig Comics has thrust himself into the 21st century by finally making himself a website, Appalling Nonsense. Have a look, why not?

warmest regards

stevo

Another Sketch

Yes due to overwhelming poplier demand, here's another sketch. Jolly Bear and Fun Coconut Summer Special 2 was started in earnest today, and its good i think, featuring a very ambitious and gruesome poem by gareth. i won £54 on a scratch card on friday, which was nice, but 50-odd quid is not quite as exciting as a grown-up, as it was when i was 16 or something. i bought some pork pies and my grocery shopping for the week, and kept £20.

More Sketchbook pages

i dont know if anyone cares (tell me if you want to see more) but here's a couple more pages from my sketchbook, featuring the roster of unsuccessful characters, as previously mentioned: truculent strawberry, strong baby, gay banana, boy with see through head, ignorant horse, doctor octopus, battle of britain kitten (which i will make a strip out of) dead scrote, hungry dog, sexy ghost, cute dog sadness, and draclier.
also uncle ken with a shopping trolley and some other rubbish.

good luck everybody, "c" you next time