Cover reveal! Matt Millz by Harry Hill

Here's a look at the cover for comedian Harry Hill's new book Matt Millz which I recently finished illustrating.
I had great fun illustrating this hilarious story of Matt Millz' attempts to become the youngest stand up comedian in the world & will reveal more when it's published (promise!)

It's published on19th October by Faber & Faber & you can pre-order from here

Escape From Planet Bogey published today!

Get your tissues at the ready because today sees the publication of Escape from Planet Bogey the third of the Pet Defenders series by the hilarious Gareth P Jones & illustrated by me. 

There's six books in total so this is the half way point of the series. 

The Pet Defenders Code: 1. The safety of Planet Earth depends on you. 

2. Humans MUST NOT know the truth. 

GOOD LUCK - you'll need it... Animals are disappearing from Nothington-on-Sea and the Pet Defenders suspect alien activity.

Secret agents Biskit and Mitzy find themselves caught up in the Planet Bogey Games.

Biskit suspects the contest might hold the key to finding his missing partner, Champ.

Can our heroes win the game? And what's more, can they get back home after?

You can order online it from here or even better get down to your local bookshop & get a copy from there!

As you can imagine I got through a fair amount of tissues during this extremely snotty job!

Beards From Outer Space - published today!

It's BEARDAGEDDON! Beards From Outer Space the second in the Pet Defenders series by Gareth P Jones & illustrated by me is out today May 4th published by Little Tiger Press!

'The Secret Life of Pets meets The X Files - Pet Defenders are secret agents with a difference.

The humans of Nothington-on-Sea have no idea their sleepy seaside town is a hot spot for space invasions, and it's up to secret agents Biskit and Mitzy to keep it that way.

So when an army of alien beards arrive, the Pet Defenders need to act fact...If the Beard King gets his way, soon every living chin will be under his control'

For the making of this book I undertook some dangerous excursions into 'peak beard territory' by sitting in various fancy coffee shops in the badlands of Shoreditch & Dalston et al to risk life & limb by sketching various beards in their natural habitats to bring you the hirsute illustrative glory of this book. I hope you appreciate the kind of risks an illustrator like me selflessly exposes myself to on a regular basis to bring you these artworks!

 

Superdad's Day Off

 Superdad's Day Off by Phil Earle with illustrations by me is out now published by Barrington Stoke.

"Stanley is a normal little boy, whose dad just happens to be the greatest superhero on the planet. Six days a week, Dad saves the world from disasters, aliens, and bad guys. Friday is his day off and he always spends it with Stan. But one Friday, Dad and Stan meet a series of people desperately in need of Dad’s help! Soon Stan finds himself saving a lion stuck up a tree, rescuing a monster truck from a ditch and taking on shark-infested floodwaters. That’s right: Stan is a chip off the old (superhero) block!"

Was an absolute blast to illustrate & I'm pleased with how well it's come out, here's a few bits & pieces from the book.

It's Beardageddon!

As it's #NationalPetDay I thought I'd share a preview of the second Pet Defenders book Beards from Outer Space by Gareth P Jones & illustrated by me 

'There's a new mayor of Nothington-on-Sea and the bearded, sunglass-wearing politician has attracted a whole load of fans.

Soon everyone in the town is sporting a beard - even the women!

But these are not just any beards - the Beard King is in town and he's planning to conquer the world.'

It's out on Star Wars day (May the fourth be with you! Ouch!)

(Here is a picture of me with a rather feeble excuse for a beard but I rock the sunglasses ok!)

Superdad's Day Off (sneak preview)

Shhhhh! Here's a sneak preview of Superdad's Day Off by the very funny Phil Earle with lots of nice colour pictures by me. It's published by Barrington Stoke on the 15th April & you can pre-order it here.
I'll write & post more once it's published. I've got previous form with superheroes so was BIG fun to illustrate!

Pet Defenders published TODAY!

Pet Defenders - Attack of the Alien Dung written by the very funny Gareth P Jones with illustrations by me is published today (9th February) by Stripes. It's the first in a brand new series in which an unlikely pairing of pets Mitzy & Biskit protect Earth from an assortment of invading aliens. 

'The planet is under attack and it’s up to Pet Defenders, Mitzy the cat and Biskit the dog, to save the world but first they are going to have to stop fighting like cat and dog long enough to do it! Secret agent Biskit is really not happy that his new partner Mitzy is a cat – everyone knows that the two don’t mix. But saving the Earth must come first when the planet is being invaded.' 


In the words of the author "It's basically Men in Black meets Dogs & Cats meets Dempsey & Makepeace with a giant space beetle made out of cowpats." which was obviously music to my ears when it came to illustrating it, giving me the chance to draw lots animals & aliens which are some of my favourite things (& drawing poo is ALWAYS fun, right kids?)

You can buy it here or if you're lucky enough to have a good local book shop go & say hello to them & buy one there. There's also a theme tune performed by the great Mr Jones which you can listen to here!

Pet Defenders - Attack of the Alien Dung!

I just received my copy of the first in the series of the Pet Defenders books - 'Attack of the Alien Dung' written by the very funny Gareth P Jones & published by Stripes. It's out on the 9th February so will share more info & pictures then. It's been a lot of fun to illustrate & I've just finished working on book 2 so plenty more to come, I also get a PROPER credit which is very welcome! 

Aidan Abet - Teacher's Pet

The very funny 'Aidan Abet Teacher's Pet' by award winning author Guy Bass & illustrated by me is published today by Barrington Stoke.

I enjoyed working on this immensely & always great to get to grips with a really nasty villain, the sinister Miss Vowel (& I always love a bear in glasses!)

You can get your grubby mitts on it here or even better, get off the interweb & go to your local independent bookshop & buy it there (that's ALWAYS more fun!)

'Aidan Abet loves to help the teacher. It makes him popular with the teachers but very unpopular with everyone else. But when substitute Miss Vowel strides into school with a rather unusual mini-zoo, Aidan has a choice to make – he can listen to the animals, or he can become the Ultimate Teacher’s Pet.'

Johnny Danger - Spyborg

I recently completed the cover for the 3rd Johnny Danger book 'Spy Borg' written by Peter Millett published by Penguin Books. (Any excuse to draw big robots is a 'very good thing' in my book!)
It's available for pre-order in Australia here 

One that got away...

Rejected cover for a recent project (boo!) Some things are never meant to happen, often one party has a very specific idea of what they want but can't always articulate it which makes an illustrator's job harder. Equally, sometimes it's the wrong illustrator for the job which I think was the case for this one. Pity, I LOVE a dinosaur!

Diary of Dennis The Menace - The Great Escape published TODAY!

It's publication day for the 6th Diary of Dennis the Menace book - The Great Escape written by Steven Butler with illustrations by me.

In this story, Dennis the Menace - Prankmaster General and feared enemy of softies everywhere - has been sent to Posh Street, an elite boarding school run by the terrifying Mrs Snoot. Help! Dennis is surrounded by bookish boffins, can't hang out with the Bash Street Kids and is nearly starving as the school dining room only serves super-healthy food. What he needs is a plan. With a little help from his menacing buddies on the outside, some fart pellets and Gran on a Charley Davison bike, it's time for Dennis to make his great escape . . .

Very sadly I recently found out that this is going to be the last Dennis the Menace book I'll be drawing. It's been a huge amount of fun & I've absolutely loved the chance to be able to reinterpret a childhood hero of mine in the books. I've also thoroughly enjoyed working with the lovely Steven Butler (any author who can make me laugh out loud with the manuscript is ALWAYS a good sign!) & lots of thanks to all the people at Puffin & The Beano.

Felix Frost - Time Detective - Ghost Plane - published today!

Ghost Plane, the second in the series of Eleanor Hawken's Felix Frost books I've illustrated is published today (14th January)

While illustrating the interiors & cover I got to become familiar with the details of several WW II planes (in particular the Mustang P51 he says knowledgeably!), some '40s hairstyles & managed a few pictures of Winston Churchill in the meantime.
(Because of another job I actually ended up drawing likenesses of Winston Churchill & MC Hammer on the same day! Not many illustrators can claim that but that's a story for another day...)

It's published by Quercus books & you can buy it online but I'd urge you to seek out your nearest independent book shop & give them the trade if you can - you never know what else you'll find or what people you might meet!*

(*ok, Winston Churchill's out, but there's an outside chance of MC Hammer...)

'As every respectable scientist knows, messing with the space-time continuum is more trouble than it's worth.

That's why Felix Frost, secret child genius, has locked up his time machine for good. Yes, sir.

But, when your best friend is an adventure-loving bossy pants and you've got a history project to do. Well, that changes things.

When Missy and Felix visit Bill Hudson, Missy's great grandfather, to ask him about his years as a pilot in WW2, he tells them the story of the ghost plane: a fighter jet that went out on a routine mission, and when it came back, its pilot had vanished.

Join Felix, Missy and Einstein as they dust off the time machine to travel back to England, 1943. Can they solve the mystery of the ghost plane without getting caught out as time travellers? Or worse, spies!'

Happy (belated) New Year

First post of 2016! Here's my newly arrived copy of Felix Frost - Time Detective - Ghost Plane, written by Eleanor Hawken & illustrated by me. I'll post some more when it's published on January 14th. It's published by Quercus books