I know we’ve been asked to blog about something we’ve experienced in order to write about or draw it. But I’m going to be cheeky and write about something I DIDN’T experience, and was hugely aware of not experiencing.

It was Dagenham. 1973.

Remember England in the ’70s? …Well, I don’t. I’m American and I was only born in 1975. But just while I was in the middle of a crazy deadline for a picture book, a bunch of friends from The DFC days (remember that fine comic? I DO!) decided to undertake a huge comics project, involving more than 50 creators. And my task was to draw a day in the life of the book’s main character, with that day set in 1973 Dagenham. I knew I’d be tapping into a lot of nostalgia British people had for that era, and since I couldn’t time travel, and didn’t have a lot of time to research it, I was a bit nervous. But the project was too fabulous to say no. And the proceeds would all be going to support Shelter charity.

So I tapped into my experience from my DFC days, when I was writing Vern and Lettuce. Whenever I got stuck with that comic, I would ‘phone a friend’ on the team for help. And often that friend was Woodrow Phoenix (creator of the DFC’s Donny Digits, Horse of a Different Colour). And as luck would have it, my two editors on the project were none other than two DFC buddies, Woodrow and Rob Davis, who’d come up with the concept while chatting on Twitter. They’d both lived in Britain in the ’70s and are generally good at period detail. Read the rest of this entry »

..You lucky readers.  This year, you’re definitely getting a  treat – from The Etherington Brothers!   Just click on the opening panel below  to see their special, spooky snippet… Happy Halloween!

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My embarrassing moments happen almost every time I do an event where there’s live drawing. Drawing on a big flip chart in front of people is SO different than drawing in the privacy of my own sketchbook or creating illustrations with all my favourite materials in the cosiness of my studio. In events, I’m drawing with fat markers (which usually work) and trying to draw fairly quickly so it stays entertaining and not like watching paint dry. So my flipchart pictures are anything but polished, and still, there’s usually someone who wants to keep the drawing to hang up at their school or library. I’ve had to learn to overcome the urge to say, ‘But wait, I could draw you something so much better!’ and be happy letting them have it. It still makes me blush sometimes, though.

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Last Friday, to celebrate the launch of Neill Cameron’s DFC Library title, Mo-Bot High, Blackwell’s Children’s Dept played host to a GIANT MO-BOT PARTY!

….Needless to say, it was awesome.

Neill had prepared some fantastic mo-bot activity sheets and  a ‘card-bot’ that was collectivly decorated by his fans, friends and family. Bot-tastic! He even led a comic drawing session that involved lots of audience input, with some pretty hilarious results..

The MO-BOT HIGH dedication includes ‘anyone who’s ever daydreamed of having a giant robot to smash up their school.’  Enough said.

1. Buy your copy of MO-BOT HIGH here.

2. Investigate all the extras and juice on the MO-BOT HIGH website here!

3. Check out Neill’s post about the evening(and generally snoop around his blog – it’s always chocker full of sparkling ideas, insights and illustration..) here!!

Tonight, at Blackwell’s in Oxford, David Fickling Books will be celebrating the launch of Kate Brown’s astonishingly beautiful DFC Library book THE SPIDER MOON. (Click here to see a sample!)
Kate is an award-winning artist who previously contributed to THE DFC, and it should be a lively, fun event, full of familiar faces! It is also open to the public, for any locals who may wish to pop in! See here for a review of THE SPIDER MOON by one of the brilliant YA bloggers who visited Random House Children’s Books in Ealing recently. More news – and pics – from the launch shortly!