I chose to illustrate a scene from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. For those who haven’t read it, it’s a delightful read about World War 2 as seen through the eyes of two Jewish comic artists who create a character called The Escapist. Well worth picking up if you haven’t read it.

The zine will be in black and white but I also worked on a colour version (below). I’m really happy with how it came out and have been thinking about getting some prints made. If you would like one, get in touch by leaving a comment on this blog or email me at tomhumberstone*at*gmail*dot*com. If there’s enough demand I’ll get a limited print-run made…

Now, with the twenty pages complete – I feel comfortable showing a few random panels here. It’s been a really interesting and fun process to colour someone else’s linework. Eddie’s art is a joy to colour and he’s a fantastic collaborator – making sure that we were all on the same page throughout and managing to find satisfying compromises between scientific accuracy, accessible storytelling, and aesthetic consistency. I’ll post more when the comic is finished. Eddie has posted a couple of blogs on the subject here and here.

Here’s a short preview of the piece:

Anne and I also contributed a short piece for the previous Paper Science issue on the theme of Jobs. It was called In The Running and I put a small photo preview on this blog when it came out but it occurs to me that I never uploaded much else. Here is a slightly more readable preview:

The issue is still available from the We Are Words + Pictures website.

“Tom’s picture is a reinterpretation of the classic image from the National Co-operative Archive. It’s the front cover of the November 1943 issue of Wheatsheaf, Co-operative Wholesale Society’s magazine. Published at a time when co-operation and working together kept Britain alive, it has became classic image of the movement from its C20th heyday. In the present era of financial, social and ecological crisis and conflict, co-operatives are enjoying a renaissance, because they play a key role in building a better world by giving people an equal say and share in the wealth they create.

The new poster is 340mm x 480mm and litho printed on 150gsm Revive 100 Uncoated paper, made by Tullis Russell Papermakers for Robert Horne, with Bio vegetable oil based inks. Production and printing were carried out under Calverts ISO14001 environmental management system.”

Here’s my original illustration, with the final poster design underneath:

The original image and a quick scan of the printed cover:

I think the blackboard was left blank for some text to be added on GritTV’s end.

Anyway. Having not seen it for so long, I found myself liking it more than I did at the time – so thought I’d throw it up here:

It was commissioned as part of the Occupy Sketchbook that Cartoon Movement have been running for a few weeks now and happily coincided with my own plans to go and do some drawing down at St. Pauls. I’m hoping to make my visits there a little more regular and do a bit more of this sort of thing – if I draw anything worth showing, I’ll post it here. In the meantime, check out my Cartoon Movement piece (along with two other European Occupation pieces) here.

Well, seeing as the march of time seems intent on moving at it’s usual unrelenting pace, how about spending your Christmas present money on comics and handmade things?

Should you wish to buy anything of mine from my store (excluding the eBooks) you will receive this exclusive Christmas postcard with a nice quote from Men Of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones on the back:

Yay comics! You can also buy a pack of 10 for £3 should you have a few comic fans as friends.

There are a couple of other things with my work in which you can pick up this Christmas including the extremely well received Nelson which had some lovely press in The Observer and was even recommended by Baroness Mary Warnock in The Guardian. I also have a one pager written by Anne Holiday in the latest Paper Science which can be ordered here.

My own work aside, might I also suggest heading over to Marc Ellerby’s site and picking up the new Chloe Noonan (you could also commission Marc to do a bespoke illustration for a loved one). You should also go buy some amazing Kristyna Baczynski prints/badges/zines/posters/wrapping paper. Or pick up Filmish from the wonderful Edward Ross. Or purchase The Peckham Invalids by Howard Hardiman, Sarah Gordan and Julia Scheele. Or maybe give some of your hard-earned to Katie Green who has some extremely gorgeous hand-made items at her Etsy store.

What I’m saying is, y’know, support the UK comic scene this Christmas. There’s some incredible stuff out there and they would make for some unique and delightful gifts.

Happy Christmas!

Tx