Category: Books

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What the Hell Just Happened?! Comfort and Wisdom for When Your World Falls Apart

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Announcing the launch of my hardback picture book for adults and all ages due out on 21st August  2018, What the Hell Just Happened?!: Comfort and Wisdom for When Your World Falls Apart.  More so than most of my work, this was written and drawn, straight from my heart and guts!

Consider it a friendly pick-me-up to clear the mind and set you up to make plans for a positive future, like a chat and drink with a good friend.  It’s visual comfort and wisdom for anyone who’s going through a tough time, be it a bad break up, the loss of a job, failing an exam, losing a loved one, not getting a promotion, or any other difficult life challenge.  Also good as a nice day-to-day lift!

Writing and drawing comics and books can be an incredible cathartic experience and this was a perfect example of creating something in order to work through stuff!  As ever though, I’ve aimed to make the book universal for as many people as possible, facing whatever their own troubles and burdens might be.

Drawn in dip pen and ink, it may have been my most enjoyable book to illustrate, and has some of the artwork I’m most proud of.

Edited by James Cherry and brought to you by Jessica Kingsley Publishers who also published my children’s picture book, You Make Your Parents Super Happy!, my all ages comic strip collection, Lucy the Octopus, and through it’s imprint Singing Dragon, my graphic novel, When Are You Going to Get a Proper Job?!

Here’s what Jessica Kingsley Publishers say about What the Hell Just Happened?!…

You feel like you’re…how can I put it…falling?’

This inspirational gift book helps readers overcome troubling times in their lives. Through vivid illustrations and positive affirmations, the book shows how you can face your past and embrace your future. The author provides thoughtful tips to remind you of what you can be at your emotionally strongest and smartest.

Written by successful graphic novelist Richy K. Chandler, this will help you face life head-on and appreciate all that is good in your life. Ideal to gift to anyone going through a rough patch, or for use by therapists and counsellors.

Plus other nice things said about the book by awesome people…

‘This charming little book by Richy K. Chandler works like a lifebuoy. When you feel down, reach out and grab it. As you travel through this colourfully and weirdly caricaturized world, eventually you will find yourself kicking away from the depths of sadness and reaching toward the light above you.’
– Chie Kutsuwada, Manga-creator and illustrator

‘When life throws you a curve ball, grab comics pioneer and illustrator extraordinaire Richy K. Chandler’s What the Hell Just Happened. In this beautifully drawn comic, not only will you be guided through encounters with the dragons of your past and any heavy anchors of regret, but, with the help of a large mallet, you will also be advised how to thrash a few flying meteors of powerlessness. This is a truly ground-breaking self-help comic!’
– Dr Sarah Lightman, Eisner-Award winning author and comics artist, and co-founder of Laydeez do Comics

Preorder the book online or buy it from August 21st 2018:
JKP Books
Waterstones
Amazon

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Lucy the Octopus Hardback Collection

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Okay, so Lucy the Octopus has been a big part of my life for many years now. She popped into my head while doodling around twelve years ago and her personality took shape in a mini-comic Tempo Lush brought out in 2007.

Eventually Lucy became a constant companion as I wrote and drew 212 of her weekly strips starting in 2012 (just noticed the serendipity of that), appearing online and collected in five comic-books over four years. I’ve had an amazing response from readers around the world, relating to Lucy’s struggles and enjoying her story.  I’ve also had the pleasure of talking about Lucy at many events for adults, as well as to thousands of children and teenagers in dozens of schools, libraries and hospitals around the U.K.


So, of course, the idea of a printed collection of the whole Lucy story is something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time. Jessica Kingsley Publishers had published my children’s picture book You Make Your Parents Super Happy! and, through it’s imprint Singing Dragon, also released my graphic novel When Are You Going to Get a Proper Job?!   I was thrilled when they agreed to publish a beautifully produced hardback collection of the strip, complete with new material.

Giving extra value to the collection are special online activity sheets for PSHE and creativity focusing on some of the themes of Lucy’s story: bullying and prejudice, available through a special code found in the book.

Here’s what Jessica Kingsley Publishers say about Lucy the Octopus…

Lucy is an incurably uncool teen, and an octopus. For no reason at all (other than that she isn’t very “girly”), she is very unpopular, and even her parents don’t like her! The only friend who will hang out with her in public is Puffy, her pet puffer fish. But Lucy’s haters don’t know that she is secretly an awesome guitarist, and she has been picked to join everyone’s favourite local band, Lamington Fuzz. While Lucy rocks at doing her own thing, her classmates realise that spending time with the “cool kids” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…

Richy K. Chandler’s latest graphic novel is a celebration of being who you are, and a story about why it pays to be kind. Bubbling with fun and wit, it will buoy up the self-esteem of children aged 9+, and is a delight to read for big kids of any age.

The book is available to buy now, through the coolest book shops, as well as online at these lovely sites…

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When Are You Going to Get a Proper Job?

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‘”Drawing pictures all day. Nice work if you can get it, eh? I suppose you haven’t had so much time to focus on a proper career…”‘

I am thrilled to announce that my first graphic novel, When Are You Going to Get a Proper Job? – Parenting and the Creative Muse,  will be published by Singing Dragon on November 21st 2017.

Here’s what their site says about the book…

“This witty, insightful graphic novel explores the challenges faced by artists in today’s society, through the life of a comics creator named Tariq. Creative block is the least of Tariq’s worries, as he struggles to be a `good enough’ father while pursuing a career that is underpaid and underappreciated. Swapping notes with other parents in creative professions, and driven by his artistic muse, Tariq maps out a plan for making his art and his other responsibilities work together in harmony – most of the time.”

You can order the book directly from Singing Dragon when it comes out (use the code Y17 for a 10% discount), as well as from Amazon.

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You Make Your Parents SUPER HAPPY!

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‘Hey! I think you should know that there is nothing your parents are more proud of… than YOU!’

I am pleased to announce that my first children’s picture book, You Make Your Parents SUPER HAPPY!  – A book about parents separating,  will be published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers on October 19th 2017.    I’m thrilled that the book will be coming from such a wonderful publishing house as JKP, who have been lovely to work with.

Here’s what their site says about the book…

“This simple graphic story helps children whose parents are separating to feel better. The book says why some parents have to live in different places, reminds the child how special they are to both parents, and reassures them that both parents will keep looking after them, and love them just as before.

Getting to the heart of what children need to hear in what can be a confusing time, the story lets your child know that they are loved and safe, and that this will not change. Ideal for children aged 3-7.”

You can order the book directly from Jessica Kingsley Publishers when it comes out, as well as from Amazon.

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The No Panic Book of Not Panicking

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No Panic (Sutton and Merton) is a group of people who meet every week to provide mutual support for their experiences of anxiety.  Founded by an incredible woman named Jean Bevan, the group has helped people cope and recover since 1997.

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Over the past few months I’ve been proudly working on an extremely worthy project through the fantastic Apples & Snakes Performance Poetry organisation.  Apples & Snakes’ amazing Daniela Paolucci asked if I could design and illustrate a book that No Panic (Sutton and Merton) was developing.  It would feature poetry and prose plus creative writing activities helmed by the uber-talent, author and performer, Sally Pomme Clayton.  Sally Pomme also brought out the writing skills of the group members, and helped develop their abilities to produce some incredible work for the book entitled The No Panic Book of Not Panicking (well-being through creative writing).

Here’s a piece of writing by Robin Bevan in an Online Exclusive page that was developed but not included in the final draft of the book…

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And here are some of my illustrations from the finished collection…

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The project has shown how taking a valuable goal of creating understanding of a serious mental health issue and fusing it with the creativity of writing prose and poetry has a double win.
Firstly the act of creation itself has clearly been a helpful constructive process for all the writers involved who suffer from anxiety.  Secondly the final result has already been appreciated by many readers, breaking down the stigma of mental illness and spreading understanding.

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I felt very proud to play a part in what is a significant piece of work, and through the act of collaboration I am proudly bonded with the writers of the book.

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On Thursday 16 June, the official launch of the book took place at Sutton Central Library.  It was compèred by Sally Pomme, and featured talks and readings by Daniela and many of the contributors to the book, including myself…

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There were even official introductions to the event by the head of the local council, Simon Wales, and the deputy mayor of Sutton Nali Patel (far right below, alongside myself, book contributor Lawrence Ashenden and book editor Sally Pomme Clayton…)

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The book is a fantastic read to learn more about anxiety, or to directly help anyone suffering themselves.  You can pick up a hard copy of the book from any of the Apples & Snakes offices (see branches here and maybe phone to double check first!) or download a PDF version here!

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Evolution of an Anthology Cover: Tempo Lush Tales Cover Process with Darker Chi Lynch

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So designing the cover for an anthology’s a tricky thing.  Do you focus on an image representing one of the stories inside, or make reference to all of them?  What was I going to put on the front of Tempo Lush Tales that would encompass what the book’s about and make people want to pick it up?

After researching other anthologies (both comics and regular ol’ wordy books) I settled on trying to get an overall vibe of the collection across in a single image.  There’s a variety of styles in the book from dark satire to softer sweetness so I hoped to come up with something that would bridge common ground of all the ideas in the book without focusing on any specific story or character.

I wanted something that showed something of this Earth but with a fantastical twist – something like a flying whale!  This was the perfect image but far from original – a quick google of the term brings all sorts up, plus I was already a fan of the whale sequence from Disney’s wonderful Fantasia 2000, so didn’t want to ape that.

I considered all sorts of flying objects and animals – very hard to find something that hadn’t already been done.  I eventually tried playing with the concept of giant flying pineapples.  See my early messing around with the idea on Photoshop below…

tlt-cover-blog-01Even as a very rough depiction of the idea, it wasn’t quite gelling for me.  I had plenty of other work to be getting on with so I put the cover aside for a few weeks.

As the deadline for the release of the book was closing in, I turned to artist and designer, Darker Chi Lynch, to see if she could do better than my own attempts.

She was smart and tried quickly getting down on paper loads of possible directions the cover could take, based on talking through my concept for the collection with me…
tlt-cover-blog-02We both kind of liked the cubes and the big eye thing.  Darker tried playing with the cubes…tlt-cover-blog-03…but didn’t feel it was quite right for the project.  It was a little mathematical and we needed something more organic. tlt-cover-blog-04The eye definitely seemed the way to go.  We talked about the concept of having the eye in the knots or the rings of a tree trunk…tlt-cover-blog-05Suddenly things were clicking.

When you cut a tree down you can count the rings of the trunk and tell how many years it had lived for.  We liked the idea of the eye being a spirit from within the tree, able to tell not only how old the tree was but many more stories.
It also made sense that cutting the tree down releases those stories, as paper from the tree would is turned into pages delivering stories to a reader.

Darker did a mock-up on Photoshop of a potential cover, which was pretty close to the final result – it just needed polishing.tlt-cover-blog-06It was helpful to see the colours she envisioned at this stage.

A tree happened to have been cut down in front of a neighbour’s drive.  I sent photos to Darker for inspiration.tlt-cover-blog-07She got out her brushes and ink and went to work on the trunk image for the cover as well as the stars hung up with string.tlt-cover-blog-08 She had a few stabs at the title text and the central eye…
tlt-cover-blog-09She did multiple eyes after we discussed using them as part of the interior design of the book too.  We hadn’t decided what would go where yet or which eye would make it on to the cover.tlt-cover-blog-10Darker combined the new art with the colours and textures of her earlier Photoshop rough.  She tweaked the title lettering a little, making it white with a shadow to really make it stand out.tlt-cover-blog-11And there you have it.  Thanks very much to Darker Chi Lynch – hope I can work with her again!

You can get hold of a copy of Tempo Lush Tales here!

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Tempo Lush Launch Night at Gosh: Photos, Videos and Report

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Thanks to everyone who came along to the Tempo Lush launch night at Gosh Comics last Friday.  There was an amazing turnout which made for a fantastic evening (for me anyway)!

GETTING READY FOR THE LAUNCH

So glad I was working with Rich Hardiman of Comic Printing UK who got all four of the new titles ready and delivered in time for the big day… 01Always important to compare a printers proof of your book with your cat…03Other things that needed to be done included practicing the musical section of the party with Bang! Crash! Whizz! artist Sally-Anne Hickman!  Much of this went down in Hyde Park.02THE LAUNCH NIGHT

So arriving at Gosh I knew I was in good hands as Hannah, Andrew and Steve, part of Gosh’s crack team helped get everything just right.  Nice to see the new books laid out on display!
04One thing I’d forgotten to organise was someone to take some nice event photos, so I was delighted and relieved that amazing photographer Mauricio Molizane De Souza was on hand taking some wonderful pics.  Unless otherwise stated, all the photos of the night in this post were skillfully taken  by Mauricio!

The shop soon had a busy and friendly buzz inside…
06 07 08 10I was thrilled that so many contributors to the new comics turned up for the occasion.  For those who couldn’t make it, we displayed their portraits, as drawn wonderfully by Keara Stewart (see below) so Francesca Cassavetti, Tim Hassan, Mike Medaglia and Aaron Murphy were certainly there in spirit!

After some fun mingling, Steve Walsh Of Gosh and South London Hardcore fame got the crowd’s attention…

11CHATTING WITH ALEX FITCH

Alex Fitch made me feel very comfortable chatting through the new releases as we stood on a make shift stage made up of two benches!
Nice to hear the people’s cheers as each artist’s work was displayed on the screen to our right.
Alex is such a skilled interviewer and comics and film journalist he makes it very easy to chat to him even in front of a crowd!12 13Pic below by David O’Connell…14ROSIE AND JACINDA: DEMON CLOUD

Here’s the amazing team behind one of the books launched on the night, the second volume of teenage fairytale Manga, Rosie and Jacinda.

Top row left to right: Jade Sarson (For the Love of God Marie!, Cafe Suada), Francesca Dare (Penny Blackfeather), Chie Kutsuwada (King of a Miniature Garden, Self Made Hero’s As You Like It), Van Nim and me
Far right: Zarina Liew (The Art of Sleep, Le Mime)
Bottom middle: Inko (Ketsueki (Markosia), Rachel Moves To Brighton)
15So proud to have worked with this lot!

Inkos’ cover looked amazing projected as a backdrop to the party!16Inko (left) and Chie travelled up from Brighton for the evening, with Inko cosplaying as one of the Rosie and Jacinda characters, Aaron!
That’s the first time anyone’s cosplayed as a character I’d co-created.  So cool!17Award winning creator, Jade made it to the event all the way from Milton Keynes.
28Here’s Francesca chilling with our good friend and Limehouse Comics associate Chantel Beaven.18Was touched that Francesca had painted me a lovely pic of the Pumfles (introduced in the new comic), to mark the event.  So cute!19BANG! CRASH! WHIZZ!

Also launched was my first creator-owned kids comic, Bang! Crash! Whizz! as drawn by the amazing Sally-Anne Hickman.
20Sally-Anne and me had great fun performing a musical version of the story, to a visual display of the illustrations.  Engineered with great skill by Richard Carter.21 22 23 24 Photo above by David O’Connell.

So nice that crowd seemed to enjoy it, no guitar strings broke, we remembered most of the words and we didn’t fall off the benches!   26TEMPO LUSH TALES

The biggest book launched on the night was Tempo Lush Tales, an anthology of stuff I’d written with no less than thirteen artists handling drawing duties!

Here’s good bud and artist Paul Shinn…27 The talented Matt Boyer…29Portrait artist  Keara Stewart… 30The cheery smile of Steve Walsh, writer of many fine things including the Tempo Lush Tales foreword…31 Martin Eden chatting with comic creator Tammy Taylor and fellow Tempo Lush Tales artist Karen Rubins… 32Keara and her fella checking out the anthology…33Matt and Paul soaking in the launch party vibe.
There’s comic maker Anna Dowsland on the left!34Signing a copy of the book…35For the second musical performance of the night Sally-Anne and I were joined by musician and Tempo Lush Tales artist Steve Horry.  We only had two run-throughs (in the Gosh offices!) with Steve who had learned the song on the day, but being the smooth professional he is, he sounded fantastic.
Pic below by Inko.37

We performed the song Save Night-Time for my Dreams which Mike Medaglia had visually interpreted for the collection. You can see one of Mike’s pictures in Keara Stewart’s photo below.38What an honour to have all these talented artists work with me!
Top row left to right: Chie Kutsuwada, Karen Rubins, Paul Shinn, Matt Boyer, Steve Horry, Martin Eden and Steve Walsh
Bottom row left to right: Inko, Van Nim, me and Keara Stewart39Keara was kind enough to give all the contributors framed original drawings of the portraits she’d done.
My one is now hanging in my studio…
40LUCY THE OCTOPUS: ANY LESS THE FREAK

Fun to see my artwork from the third volume of Lucy the Octopus projected in Gosh...42So the line up of creators working on the final comic released on the night is… just me!41 Excellent then that someone else had been up to something Lucy related.
Why it’s cake maker and blogger, Jess Cave!
43Jess made a big and delicious batch of Lucy the Octopus cakes!
Dr Pepper flavour no less!44 45Photo above by Paul Shinn.
The cakes made for a perfect combination with comics and music – my kind of night!
46SO THERE YOU GO!

Thanks to all the amazing people who were involved with the comics and the party!

Back row left to right: Karen Rubins, Paul Shinn, Matt Boyer, Martin Eden
Next row left to right: Zarina Liew, Chie Kutsuwada, Sally-Anne Hickman, Francesca Dare, Jess Cave, Steve Walsh
Next row left to right: Jade Sarson, Inko, Van Nim, Keara Stewart
Me in the centre
Richard Carter at the bottom
47You can buy any of the four comics plus other Tempo Lush stuff here!
Bang-Crash-Whizz-CoverCover-for-PromoR&J2-cover-for-promoLucy3Cover8updateI’ll leave you with one final Lucy cake that made it home.48Peace!

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Bang! Crash! Whizz! Sally-Anne Hickman and me make some noisy fun!

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Very excited to reveal the cover of next month’s collaboration with the wonderful Sally-Anne Hickman!

It’s an picture book / comic aimed at a pre-school crowd with exceptional taste!

As well as Bang!, Crash! and Whizz! readers can expect to find some Ding!, Pluck! and even Sput! 

We’ve been fine-tuning the story for a while so will be very excited to be able to hold it at last!Bang-Crash-Whizz-Cover
The official launch for Bang! Crash! Whizz! is in London on Friday October 3rd, as the comic goes on sale for the first time along with three other new Tempo Lush Publications, Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud, Tempo Lush Tales and Lucy the Octopus: Any Less the Freak.
Join many of the creators involved, ready to sign copies of comics and be friendly and charming at the wonderful Gosh Comics (1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR) October 3rd 2014, 7pm-9pm!
See the Facebook Event Page here!

For those of you who want to find out more about Sally-Anne, check out this comic about her here!