Publication Day For 'Two Terrible Vikings' - 'Grunt The Beserker'

 "The world’s very worst Vikings are back to dash our hopes and fail our expectations!"

I'm extremely pleased to say that Hack & Wack, the WORST Vikings in the village are back in the second of the Two Terrible Vikings series Grunt The Beserker which is published TODAY - 3rd February by Faber Childrens!

In the new book the twins are forced to attend school & EVEN WORSE a fierce & stinky beserker warrior moves in NEXT DOOR!

How will the twins & their friends outwit Grunt & his vicious dog Muddy Butt?!?!

This is my second collaboration with the brilliantly funny Francesca Simon & was an absolute riot to return to draw the terrible Viking twins Hack & Wack along with their friends Dirty Ulf, Twisty Pants, Elsa Gold-Hair & of course Bitey Bitey their pet baby wolf!
In this new book I also got to draw the terrible (& rather stinky) Grunt The Beserker, his huge vicious dog Muddy Butt, Pecky Pecky the fiercest chicken in the Viking world & a plethora of angry puffins too! 

I frequently found myself laughing out loud when realising Francesca's hilarious text which is always a VERY GOOD THING!

Pop into your nearest independent bookshop & say hello or you can order a copy from here

Gong Hei Fat Choy! Year of the Tiger!

 

Grunt The Beserker - cover reveal!

 Me pulling my BEST beserker face after receiving my copies of the new Two Terrible Vikings book 'Grunt The Beserker' by Francesca Simon & me! There's NOTHING quite as exciting as seeing an ACTUAL PRINTED COPY!

It's a very funny book, Francesca has such a brilliant imagination & turn of phrase  - I found myself laughing out loud at various things I was drawing which is always a good sign (even if my studio mates think I'm going mad occasionally!

All the old gang are back, Hack & Wack the terrible viking twins, their baby wolf Bitey Bitey, Dirty Ulf, Twisty Pants, Elsa Goldhair & some brilliant new characters! I'll reveal more soon, watch this space...

You can preorder a copy here

Grunt the Beserker...sneak preview

 Psst...here's a glimpse of the brilliant bookmarks to go with the publication of the SECOND Two Terrible Vikings books - 'Grunt the Beserker' written by the brilliant Francesca Simon & illustrated by me. 

(If you look closer you can get a sneak peak of the cover of the book which is published on Thursday 3rd February by Faber Childrens)

Out with the old...

 Here's to a better 2022 everyone!

Year of the Tiger!

 

Year of the Tiger (A6 ink & wash on watercolour paper)

Sladevent 2021 - ALL IN ONE PLACE!

 ALL of this year's Sladevent calendar for 2021 in ONE PLACE! Happy New Year!

Murder of Soggy Crows!

 Recent commission based on the view from my kitchen window (pen, ink & wash on 300gsm watercolour paper)

(based on an original digital drawing)

Monster Fun!

AAAAAARRRGGGHHH! Very excited to receive my copy of the Monster Fun Halloween Spooktacular last week. It's the first issue of a brand new British comic for kids of all ages! Great to be included with some stellar comic talent in here - here's the strip I drew, Teddy Scare written by Maura McHugh with lettering by Ferre Schutz. You can order your copy from here

 

The Incurable Oaf™

 My spirit superhero. (Hark! Is that Marvel & DC Comics on the phone I hear?)

MORE made-up comics you say? Go here!

A Murder of Soggy Crows.

 

While I was sitting in my kitchen drinking coffee yesterday I became aware of being watched by a murder of very soggy crows on the wall outside in the rain

Grumpy Mermaid At An Underwater Tea Party

I drew this in response to a prompt by illustrator Becka Moor on Twitter & it just flitted back into my mind seeing as my previous post had a rather maritime air.

NB NEVER feed cupcakes to an octopus, hammerhead sharks like their tea with milk & four (I know!) sugars.

A Postcard from the Great British Summer.

This was inspired by an extremely damp June evening spent in Queens Park the other night. Being a Hastings born lad I actually love the seaside in the rain so this is drawn with great affection. To sharp stones under your feet, vicious seagulls, the acrid smell of vinegar on chips & the steady patter of rain! Rule Britannia!
 

Cats, buses & harmonicas...

You know they talk about herding cats? Imagine driving a bus full of 'em?

(from an original idea from the great Bob Mortimer!)

Some Mythical Beasts Walk Into a Bar...

 ...you supply the punchline

Happy Thor's Day!

 From the REAL Thunder Cat!

Buck 'n' Bronco Hit The Road - Publication day!

 YEEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAA! My latest collaboration with the brilliant Guy Bass Buck 'n' Bronco Hit The Road is published today - April the 1st by the wonderful folk at Barrington Stoke & it's no joke  - this is a fib, it's FULL of jokes (& the odd farting horse too shhh! What a riot this was to draw - 'BRING THE HAPPY!' (™) You can order it here

Buck 'n' Bronco are mascots at the Happy Ranch theme park.

It's their mission to Bring the Happy (TM) to your day!But when Happy Ranch is demolished to make way for a futuristic new park, Buck 'n' Bronco find themselves without a home and without a job.

They head out on the road, determined to prove they've still got what it takes. Can Buck 'n' Bronco Bring the Happy (TM) out in the real world, or are they doomed to be yesterday's mascots?

'This story really is the most tremendous fun. Packed full of laughs and with some wonderful toilet humour, it will be a sure-fire hit with younger readers – and their adults.'  - Jacqui Sydney 

'With heartwarming themes of friendship, mutual support, shared adversity and the importance of being prepared to embrace change, Bass and May’s inspirational and anarchic comedy hits the spot perfectly for readers young… and not-so-young!'  (Pam Norfolk - Lancashire Post)

(I told you there were farting horses!)

Happy St David's Day!

Here's a little Welsh dragon for all you ALL you dragonophiles* as it's Saint David's Day. (no, he didn't fight a dragon, that was George, keep up!)

In my opinion, any country that's an official** unit of scale AND has a dragon on it's flag is pretty cool by me! *Not strictly a word.

**Might be a bit of a fib too.
 

How to draw Bitey Bitey the baby wolf!

Here's a video I did for the Booktrust where you can see how I draw Bitey Bitey the baby wolf who belongs to Hack & Wack the 'Two Terrible Vikings' from the new book by best selling author Francesca Simon & me! Hope you enjoy it & no biting! 

You can order SIGNED copies for the nice people at Daunts here

 

Drawalong-a-Viking!

 If you're feeling particularly Viking-esque here's a video of me drawing Hack & Wack the Viking twins from my new collaboration with author Francesca Simon 'Two Terrible Vikings' which is available now!

You can also get some more draw-along action from the Book Trust where I'm showing you how to draw Bitey Bitey, the twins' pet baby wolf! Click here

You can even get a SIGNED copy from Daunts bookshop here

Two Terrible Vikings - PUBLICATION DAY!

I'm very excited to announce that my first collaboration with the brilliant Francesca Simon (bestselling author of Horrid Henry among many other things!) Two Terrible Vikings is published today 4th February 2021 by Faber.

It follows the exploits of the terrible twins, Hack and Whack, who are PROUD to be the best worst vikings. Along with the wonderfully named Bitey Bitey the baby wolf nothing stops the marauding pair as they steal boats, loot a birthday party, track a troll and sail off to raid Bad Island with their friends Twisty Pants and Dirty Ulf.

Well, almost nothing... 

I've always had a soft spot for all things Viking & a spot of Norse mythology so this felt right up my street (fjord maybe?) you *might* just spot Hugin & Munin, Odin's ravens lurking throughout the book & I found myself looking at Runic script to see how a Viking might have written 'No Spitting' - nothing like doing your research eh?

I found myself regularly laughing out loud as I drew this which is testament to the brilliance of Francesca's prose. The book just romps along & especially as a formerly rather timid kid I immediately wanted to be in Hack & Wack's gang! Particular favourites were Bitey Bitey the twins' pet wolf & their friend Dirty Ulf - I had a ball drawing this book & hope it shows.

 
The majority of the book was drawn on my kitchen table during the first lockdown in Spring 2020 which was mainly a horrible, difficult time for me but I felt like I could live vicariously through the twins' joyous anarchic spirit which was a wonderful tonic.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed drawing it.

Anyway don't take MY word for it, here's a couple of nice reviews

“As joyously anarchic as Horrid Henry himself, these two little boy and girl Vikings will have your children laughing out loud.”

- CRESSIDA COWELL

“Viking twins Hack and Whack make me thank Thor and Odin and the whole Norse pantheon that I don't have to play with them in real life! A treat for kids who wonder what could happen if they broke every possible rule, but so ridiculous that they'll forget to try because they're laughing too hard. Steve May's illustrations burst with wild energy; I genuinely guffawed at his drawing of a pin-the-tail-on-the-ogre game. A wonderfully absurd, anarchic romp.”

- SARAH MCINTYRE

 

Trump issuing pardons on Zoom this morning...

Listening to Radio 4 this morning hearing about Trump's last day in office I sketched this on my kitchen table this morning & figured I'd colour it in. I like a bit of colouring in! Here's before & after for your edification...

 

Puddles...

 Wisdom from Anorak Cat!

BUCK ‘N’ BRONCO Hit the Road!

Howdy pardners! You have to be FOOLS* to miss out on BUCK ‘N’ BRONCO Hit the Road!** my latest collaboration with the brilliant Guy Bass which is out on 1st APRIL published by Barrington Stoke!

*see what I did there?

** might contain horse farts.

'When the Happy Ranch theme park closes down to make way for a futuristic new adventure land, park mascots Buck and Bronco are out of a job and out of a home.

While Buck thinks its time for them to spread their wings and take the show on the road, Bronco wants nothing more than for their life to be exactly as it was ...

Can the pair discover new meaning beyond the park and recapture the fame they once had? Or are they destined to be yesterday's mascots?'

Albert Johnson & the Buns of Steel - PUBLICATION DAY!

My THIRD collaboration with the brilliant Phil Earle Albert Johnson & The Buns Of Steel is published today by the lovely folk at Barrington Stoke. It's got giant robots, PLENTY of baked goods & jam grenades in it!

What an absolute riot this was to illustrate, Phil's writing is always very inspiring & I had a lot of fun drawing this I hope people will have a lot of fun reading it.

(I also love the fact that the title came from Phil's son who challenged him to get a book called 'Buns of Steel' published - and he DID!)

"This sparkling new story – brimming with Earle’s signature wicked wit and May’s anarchic illustrations – delivers slapstick giggles and guffaws on every page. Don’t miss the bun fun! 

(Pam Norfolk - Lancashire Post)

Albert Johnson’s dad is a Master Baker, so Albert will become one too, right? Wrong!

Albert’s not interested in baking. He likes football. Cricket. Tennis. Or any other sport you could name. But Albert’s dad still needs help in the family bakery, so he builds a machine like no other: the Doughmaster 5000. It seems to have solved all their problems, until one night, Dad’s miracle solution turns into a rampaging disaster. It’s up to Albert to fix the mess – but will his sporting skills save him now?

You can see our previous 2 collaborations Superdad's Day Off & Unlucky Eleven here!

Two Terrible Vikings by Francesca Simon - first peak at the cover!

Here's a peak at the final cover for Two Terrible Vikings written by the brilliant best selling author Francesca Simon & illustrated by me. I'm extremely excited about this series, this book was great fun to illustrate & I fell in love with a lot of the brilliant characters. If I catch myself laughing out loud when I'm working it's ALWAYS a good sign & Francesca's text is so funny & warm (despite all the snow inside) I think readers will really fall in love with Hack & Wack & their friends!

Two Terrible Vikings is published by Faber & you can pre-order it here

You can see the earlier cover here

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 25)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 24)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 23)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 22)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 21)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 20)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 19)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 18)

 

2020 (SL)AD(E)VENT Calendar! (day 17)