Of Heros, Illustrators and Sundry Other Doings

Firstly, I must apologize for the overlong absence of a new posting on this dear old blog of mine. But work, work, work - much of which, in a somewhat ironic fashion, emanates from this blog. Insofar as my blogging activities have led me (at the behest of the Svengali - like Geoff West and his assemblage of Elven executives - aka the good people at the Book Palace) to commit my enthusiasms to the printed page.




This is a very circuitous way of saying that the blog has been in a state of inactivity, whilst yours truly races to meet publishing deadlines for illustrators issue 3 and Heros the Spartan. The former is now print ready and with the aid of my talented team, including my associate editor Bryn Havord, who has brought a lifetime's experience of working as an award winning Fleet Street art director and designer to the mix. Before Bryn acquiesced to come on board, I was only hazily aware of the devices and disciplines essential to ensure that readers absorb information in as pleasurable a manner as possible. I thought "widders and orphans" populated the streets of Dickensian London and Midge's dicks were impossible to detect without the aid of an electron microscope - not to mention the dynamics of the running turn - essential to maintaining readership momentum and not just something for the cinder track. Bryn has not only put me straight on these essentials but as art director and associate editor of Woman's Mirror in the 1960s he was also a prime mover and shaker when it came to commissioning many of the artists who were creating a real revival of illustration in the pages of UK and US magazines. Not only does he know a lot of these artists but he is a truly engaging writer, which was one of the things that really hooked me when I discovered some of his postings on Leif Peng's fabulous blog; Today's Inspiration.

Meanwhile as Steve Holland has already flagged up on the Book Palace Blog, issue 2 of illustrators is now out and is regarded by everyone that has got back to us, as even stronger than issue 1, not that we are in any way ashamed of issue 1, as in all these exercises, we are on a steep learning curve and there is always room for improvement, particularly in the early stages of a project such as this.

Heros, I am pleased to say, is now very close to completion, we are just finalizing some of the additional images to be included in the leather edition (second of the two cover images) and adding a few captions to the introductory section of the book - all other work is now complete - phew!!!

Lastly, but by no means leastly, Book Place Books are taking a stand at the Science Museum hosted Works on Paper Art Show, which is running from this Wednesday 31st January from 2.00 pm - 9.00 pm and then from Thursday 11.00 am - 9.00 pm and then Friday 11.00 am - 8.00 pm, Saturday 11.00 am - 6.00 pm and finally Sunday 11.00 am - 6.00 pm. Tickets for two can be obtained free by visiting the Book Palace Website. This show is a real delight and is an essential visit for all collectors and enthusiasts of illustration and artwork for books, comic strips, newspaper strips and all aspects of illustration in it's widest sense.