My "Best" Artt?

 I am infamous for hating all of my own artwork. Ben Dilworth once stated: "You will one day draw the best comic ever. Next day you'll look at it and say it's a pile of s---!"

He wasn't wrong!

Krakos Sands of Terror was once up for a cover of the year award. The reason it was withdrawn was due to the print on demand company I use losing a lot of data and that meant my cover was "not on sale" even though it was. I never worry too much about these things. 

The character in a door way with a giant grasping hand about to grab him was "incredibly atmospheric".  Let's not spoil that by saying it was not meant to be a giant grasping hand!

I think the cover works and draws the eye in and that is what a book cover should do. If I was going to re-introduce William A. Ward's character to a new audience after more than 70 years the cover had to be good. Of course, Ward's Krakis appears on the cover of Comic Bits 2

Come on -the Angel of the Burning Fire deservedsomething nice.

The same applied to anothjer Ward character The Bat (one of many bat characters from the 1920s-1950s). The character originallky appeared as a back up in Black Tower Adventures volume 1 but the story never concluded. I will not give away the story or what The Bat did but after he did it Lee Mondo wrote "What an utter cold b-----!" People who have seen the book, which ended with "in a church tower a Bat lies dying", have said similar  and that the scene had such an effect is pleasing.

One thing about Ward's strips is that he worked in animation sothe strips are full of talking heads, static figures walking but some nice imagination used at points. So Krakos and The Bat had to be far more animated and be true to the original characters but what modern readers expect. As a copy of Krakos's origin was not found until after the Sands of Terror I had to improvise. My biggest surprise was finding that my origin was spot on with Ward's!

The Bat had a whole back story added including ancestral history. His beloved Stahlia was rather like a 1940s horror film set; witchcraft, Vampires, werewolves and even a Frankenstein. A neutral European Duchy that was occupied by Germans in WW2 the Soviets and then the hated Kamorans. The Bat was out to reclaim his country and it got a bit bloody.

Looking back at all of this work and many hundreds of other pages (I think someone estimate about 2000 pages)  I could not decide what I considered to be my best work and that I liked. That is until I had to check something from the last volume of Adventure and The Green Skies.  I have no idea what was going on aty the time but I looked at the art work and thought "That looks okay" and I think it will probably be my best but that is for others to decide.

I am not found of ego and I draw and wqrite what I like because companies are very restrictive and just want the same old stuff (usually movie or some modern comic "classic") for a 'new' book.  

When it comes down to it what I draw and publish -it is not up to me to say what is my best. It's up to readers and that is where it ends.

A few words on the classic reprints

 

Just a quick note about the GA reprints to update anyone interested.

I  am always -always- on the look out for any scans of pre-1952 UK comics.  The point is not to make money with reprints because, if I am being honest, the UK Golden Age books do not sell. 

The late Denis Gifford ran the Association of Comic Enthusiasts (ACE) and I am quite sure that a few have survived like me! I also ran Yahoo and other groups dealing with Platinum, Golden and Silver agesof UK comics -there is still a Face Book group loaded with many images. Nothing.

British Golden Age Comics blog has had 207,845 views but no sales of books from those views.

UK Golden Age Heroes and Comics 87,402 views but no books sold.

The Golden Age books are all as good a quality reprint as you can get and more than one page has taken a day to clean and make readable. This is work that has been going on for decades (that thought terrifies me!) and how much have I spent on all of this to try to preserve lost comics, characters and creators?  I think in a previous post on that subject I mentioned that I got to a  certain figure and then gave up as the total amount terrified me even more than the amount of time I spent on this.

Back in..1995 I put forward the idea of a British Comic Book Archive so that everything could be stored  at a central point and accessed for free. Thios idea came up after I had to help the family of the creator of the newspaper strip, Garth, Steve Dowling, find some samples of his work. Then the family of another long gone artist asked the same thing and it goes on and on.

Artists and writers whether the old Boys Papers (and my research proved the 'fact' that these NEVER contained comic strips because they were seen as "low art" to be wrong) , Penny Dreadfuls or comics were were always paid as little as a publisher could getr away with and some struggled to bring entertainment to  youngsters and oldsters alike. They at least deserve to be remembered and I was quite happy to find out that Louis Diamond, comics publisher and writer/artist is a relation (and, yes, he got "screwed over"by Amalgamated Press rathere like I was by its successor Fleetway years later).

Based on the percentage I get from a book sale (after printer and print on demand company) I would need to sell around 100 copies of one reprint book to get the money back I paid for one of the original albums/annuals or comics.

It is definitely a passion than for profit work!

Sadly, I chose a time when the internaet has created a new generation of illiteracy where no one wants to actual;ly read a printed book...but if it's free online well -grab it!

Discoveriung lost characters is fun and I get a kick out of it every time and from now the rediscovered items will appear only in Comic Bits -far easier than working on full lenth reprint books.

Text features, artists and writers bios -if they can be found- all blended together like a good coffee (I need a cup of coffee!) and filling 80 pages each issue. I'm so excited I may buy copies myself😂

ÁSDÍS - Electrified

 

New Constellations - I'm Waiting Now (Official Music Video)

 

Tales of the Thinker -The First Modern Age Strip

  Mad Mike and Ben Dilworth's 1988 strip

Madame Foretell: Debunked

 

Madame Foretell: Suggestions and Ventriloquism

 

RIP Rodolphe Jacquette 18th May, 1948 - 23rd September 2026

 Very sad.  Cinebook just announced this:

"It is with great sadness that we must report the passing last week of writer Rodolphe, known to our readers as the co-author of series "Trent", "Kenya", "Namibia", "Amazonia", "Scotland", and "Black Mary".

"Literature teacher, novelist, bookshop owner, journalist, scriptwriter … Rodolphe Jacquette was a great number of things in his life; he worked for such magazines as "Pilote" and "Métal Hurlant", and alongside some of the greatest names of Bandes Dessinées: Greg, Leo, FLorence Magnin, Annie Goetzinger, André Juillard, Serge Le Tendre … He leaves a legacy of over 200 comic albums written alone or with partners, but also of discovering and helping countless young authors and artists. He was one of those names you saw everywhere, and his absence will be painfully felt by all. "

Tempus fugit

Druid -Master of the Stones

Probably the last "project peek" looks at one of the strips leading up to The Green Skies -this from one of the 7 unpublished Black Tower Super Heroes issues currently gathering internet dust.

All characters and story (c)2026 Terry Hooper-Scharf and BTC&Bs

.

Cinebook Ltd: Newsletter 225- September 2026

 To display this email in a browser, please click here

Dear Reader, Two tales for you this month, both of the age-old struggle between order on one side, and rebellion on the other. And yet, two very different stories indeed! We start with the third and final volume of Orbital spin-off Outlaws, as Kristina’s choice to live her life outside the rules of the Galactic Confederation comes home to roost. With the police on one side of her, old enemies on the other, and unrest among her own people, all that’s left is for the tragedy to conclude and make her the Kristina we meet later in Orbital … Then, we head back to 19th century France for the second half of The Bank’s second generation. The family sundered by a brother and sister’s rivalry and hatred in the first two volumes have begun mending some fences, but it’s a long process, and History may not give them much time, as it barrels towards the tragic events of the Paris Commune and the restoration in blood of law and order. July with Cinebook – a revolution in entertainment! Mathieu Lauffray and Xavier Dorison's breathtaking pirate series Long John Silver is back in print, all four volumes available again. Stunning art, high adventure, and characters who will stay with you long after you finish the story – this is one series you don’t want to miss! Outlaws 3 Sylvain Runberg & Eric Chabbert Seeds Kristina, Zachary, and Olmay have managed to set up an interstellar luxury vehicle trafficking ring and now lead a proper criminal gang, the Trident. The young Earthling’s future is far from secure, though. Her men hate her because of her origins, Olmay is turning increasingly tyrannical and bloodthirsty, and external threats abound … Read more The Bank 4 Pierre Boisserie, Philippe Guillaume & Malo Kerfriden The Commune’s Treasure 1861. The colossal profits generated by Haussmann’s great work have made both branches of the Saint-Hubert family extremely rich. Despite the sometimes bloody, sometimes tragic secrets that poison this generation, a certain rapprochement seems to be in the works – motivated, of course, by money r … Read more Back in print by popular demand! Perfect opportunity to complete your collection – and if you've never tried the series, now's the time! Long John Silver 1 Lady Vivian Hastings Long John Silver 2 Neptune Long John Silver 3 The Emerald Maze Long John Silver 4 Guiana-Capac Outlaws 3 Seeds The Bank 4 The Commune’s Treasure

Corrections from Jean-Marc on Hexagon Reviews

 I have to admit that seeing so many books eaach year that get revbiewed or which I just read is likely turning my brain to mush!

While reviewing books I do get flashes of "I've seen this before -no I have not!" .  I once wrote an over long glowing review of a Cinebook title that I had picked up from a new stack and it seemed all too familiar to me.  In fact it was familiar because I had reviewed the book two years earlier and have no idea why it was with the new books!

Unlike most reviewers for the sake of accuracy I always welcome corrections because I am human and make the occasional mistake (delete, re-write and publish on the internet is far more forgiving than an error in print!).

When I got an email from Jean-Marc I read it and thought "No. I didn't review that....oh. There it is on the shelf!"  At  least I occasionally remember to breath!

"Thank you for the latest batch of reviews & your exceedingly kind words. Very much appreciated.

"I thought you might enjoy a couple of footnotes from me:

* in your most recent review of GUARDIAN/JESS PUMA, you favorably comment on the latter, but I feel compelled to mention that you had already read the introduction both her & Roxy in DICK DEMON, which you also reviewed favorably in 2021:

Hexagon Comics -Dick Demon: Vanishing Point

Hexagon Comics -Dick Demon: Vanishing Point Jean-Marc Lofficier, J.M. Arden & Manuel Martin Peniche, cover by Manuel Martin Peniche; colors by Anthony Dugen...

"At the time you wrote: "How will this lead into other Hexagon stories? ... There are some nice character twists here and it's good to see the world Demon will be inhabiting built up and it will be interesting to see how the character evolves. "

"We;ll, you wish has been fulfilled! :-)

* As for the "Mirrorverse" of Paris, it was also introduced and explored in STRANGERS #5: THE KINGDOM OF SHIVAR (in which Dick Demon was a guest-star), reviewed there:

Hexagon Comics: Morgane and Strangers 5: The Kindom of Shivar (Oh, and STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND!)

Hexagon Comics: Morgane and Strangers 5: The Kindom of Shivar (Oh, and S... MORGANE by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Mauro Lirussi; cover by Roberto Castro 7x10 squarebound comic, 48 pages b&w ...

"You're quite right to point out that, like Roy Thomas, my friend, mentor and occasional collaborator, I tend to keep a tight grip on continuity. I tend to provide what I think is the basic information necessary in my intros, but I don't pepper the stories with footnotes "last seen in XXX" so you are perfectly entitled to not recall every bit of nook & cranny continuity. After all, it's been 5 years since these stories appeared. And I don't recall what I had for breakfast yesterday!

Best, as always,

jm"

Well, fantastically written reviews 😉 and I had to look through the books again and, yep, suddenly had everything come back to mind crystal clear.  I should point out that I tend to write and review then push it all to the back of my mind which has to be pretty cluttered by now. In writing a story I had to refer back to a previous book and something my character did. I was somewhat shocked to realise that the new villain I was introducing had appeared in cameo in that book!  Luckily, it fitted in well but, you know, us older guys.

Those Hexagon books are still available by the way so well worth checking out!

Noiw what was it I had to do...?

BREATHE!!!

Hexagon Comics: Guardian of the Republic & Jess Puma & Dark Flyer

 

7x10 squarebound trade paperback, 

48 p.

 b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-472-6. US$10.95 / GBP 9.99

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-guardian-of-the-republic-jess-puma-dark-flyer.html

GUARDIAN OF THE REPUBLIC / JESS PUMA / DARK FLYER by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro, Moacir Muniz; cover by Roberto Castro

Contents:
- Foreword by J.-M. & Randy Lofficier
- THE BLACK MIRROR. Story: Jean-Marc Lofficier; Art: Roberto Castro
- FUTURE IMPERFECT. Story: Jean-Marc Lofficier; Art: Moacir Muniz

Two major sagas of the GUARDIAN OF THE REPUBLIC in this special issue, with a hint of Christmas cheer!

In THE BLACK MIRROR, on Christmas Eve, the GUARDIAN is projected into the "mirrorverse" of Paris by JESS PUMA and ROXY, and must join forces with them to stop the monstrous Shress from destroying the French capital...

In IMPERFECT FUTURE, the GUARDIAN and the DARK FLYER are transported to the year 11,230 A.D., where they are forced to battle the sinister Hyperbrain...

The epic saga of the GUARDIAN OF THE REPUBLIC continues with these two two new stories featuring the most popular of all French superheroes fighting 
alongside other characters from the fabulous Hexagon Universe!

When it comes to universe creating Hexagon Comics is doing it well. We have seen the re-introduction of many characters from the past, present and even far future. The scenes of adventures have been space, futuristic or ancient cities and now we have... a mirror universe...called "a Mirrorverse". It takes a while but I do get there in the end.

In many ways, and I mean this with great nostalgia, Hexagon reminds me of the Marvel Comics of the Silver and Copper Ages that I grew up on. A character goes out for a walk and..another appears and then it all kicks off.  That is really what you want as a comic reader and as there is no forgetting that comics should be fun.

Jed Puma is out and Jess Puma is in and I really like the look she has been given and she isn't the only character joining uardian of the Republic in combatting that horrible green thing you can see on the cover. A Christmas adventure worthy of the Silver Age.  Roberto Castro does a lovely job when it comes to the art and from now on I shall always check any Christmas tree baubles!

Muniz's art on Future Imperfect is of a more detailed style and there is some nice use of techniques for effect. Reading the story it does make you wonder whether any super hero can just take a walk or to the chip shop without facing a major threat?  A bit like goping to buy someone chocolates for Christmas and...oh, that was the first story in this book!

It's a good solid fun read with great art and as always I just suggest that you try at least one Hexagon book -there are enough of them and you can find them listed at the online store. 

Hexagon Comics: Strangers #15: Enter: The Freeshooters

 

STRANGERS 15: ENTER: THE FREESHOOTERS by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro, Gabriel Mayorga, José Luis Ruiz; cover by Roberto Castro

7x10 squarebound trade paperback,

94 p. b&w

ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-473-3. US$14.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-strangers-15-enter-the-freeshooters.html

Contents:

- Foreword by J.-M. & Randy Lofficier

- THE COMING OF THE FREESHOOTERS story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro

- THE MARK OF SET story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro

- THE RETURN OF WAKI story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Gabriel Mayorga

- TIGER & THE EYE: TRANSITION story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by  José Luis Ruiz

HOMICRON, a NASA scientist whose body is possessed by a mysterious alien from planet Alpha.

STARLOCK, a servant of the Towers, supremely powerful cosmic entities. 

FUTURA is a mysterious woman from a parallel dimension.

GOLDEN BOY, champion of Urth, “brother” of Futura, empowered by the Great Mind...

ARIANROD, a princess from the ancient Fomore race, who is also the Mistress of the Sword of Fire and Ice...

These characters, all “strangers” to Earth, are brought together by TANKA, a former jungle lord who has been recruited by entities from our planet’s farthest future to be their agent and is now empowered to protect our world from extra-terrestrial menaces.

In this fifteenth volume, the Strangers face the terrifying power of Set!

Introducing a new group of heroes from the four corners of time: The Freeshooters! And guest-starring: Waki! Tiger and The Eye!

Roberto Castro delivers his usual clean line art and Mayorga I have mentioned in previous reviews and is a talent to keep an eye on. Not forgetting Perez and his fine line delineation. All three provide some eye catching work while Lofficier seems to be having a lot of fun presenting the characters and well pace action.

I reviewed Classic Freeshooters yesterday and I think the one thing that works here is something I have mentioned before: good continuity and control of the storylines so that things do not become a mess. Lofficier is involved in the planning, plotting and scripting and that is probably why it all works.  We saw how at Marvel Roy Thomas maintained control (he just seemed to write everything but didn't he just tried to keep continuity going) 

The re-introduction of these heroes to modern times can't be faulted and reminds me of some of the great small Indie publishers of the 1980s -like AC Comics before they lost their way into "cheesecake". It is fresh in an age where comics seem to be just grabbing at the latest craze in the belief they will attract more readers. This incarnation we have Lana Lightning but why not? An all male group seems a bit boring and one thing I was told by a few female comic readers was that they like to see a woman in the mix as "then you can be THAT character" A Western gunfighter? Why not -it might inspire the odd cosplayer.

It is a really enjoyable read and the art has no faults. Wondring about that airship on the cover? Buy a copy of the book and find out what it's doing there!

Hmm. I Was Wrong

 I stand corrected on something I wrote yesterday. Not the reviews -all the books from Hexagon Comics and Kult Creations have been great fun. 

Rather the line where I wrote that I found another unlisted anywhere British hero from the British Golden Age. It was pointed out to me by someone who reads Comics Bits magazine that in the last two or more years I have found a couple dozen characters that are forgotten.

The British Golden Age reprint books do not sell -it is really a work of love (and finance draining) and so I decided that what I will do is publish the strips of these characters in Comic Bits although how many issues I publish depends. People who read it tell me they learn something new and love it but, again, sales are very poor which I did not expect since I run blogs and Face Book pages with a lot of members who are Golden Age fans (I am told).

We'll see if I can get an issue out by Christmas so keep checking back!

Hexagon Comics: Jed Puma

 

JED PUMA CLASSIC; cover by Alfredo Macall

7x10 squarebound trade paperback,

104  p.

b&w

ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-478-8. US$14.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-jed-puma-classic.html

 

Contents:

- Foreword by J.-M. & Randy Lofficier

- JED PUMA CLASSIC #1: The Deer Skin; art by Carlo Cedroni

- ROXY CLASSIC #1: The Old Sheriff; art by Mario Cubbino

English adaptation by J.-M. & Randy Lofficier.

Thanks to our “Classics” reprint program, it is now possible to discover the first adventures of Hexagon's “silver age” characters who inspired new versions of these heroes.

This issue features:

* Jed Puma by Italian artist Carlo Cedroni, a western hero created in 1965 who never carried weapons and used only martial arts, a character remarkably ahead of his time.

* Roxy by Italian artist Mario Cubbino, another western hero also created in 1965, the story of a young man seeking revenge on his father's killers.

Fans of Westerns shoul;d love this. If you were or areinto martial arts comics then this one has you covered. There's humour of course and it's nice to see Jed and (can I call him a side-kick or partner?) Tashi acting as equals. There were times I was reminded of TVs Kung Fu series and a Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer movie -which isn't bad!

Nice clean art and the bad guys are bad guys and they get their just desserts in the end.

Roxy can be described as a vengeance Western starrring a boy, his horse and a puma! Jed Puma is well drawn and I liked it but I think Roxy just about has the edge here. Nice slick black and white art and a story that is not as lame as it might sound at first -it was actually far better than I expected but after the first few pages introducing the character it picks up.

Again, unless you have been collecting and reading French comics these characters will mean nothing to you so this is your chance to learn more.  

I have to admit that I had heard of Jed Puma before (over the years I got confused and kept thinking he was called "Joe Puma"!) way back when I was in the old Bristol Book Centre in Gloucester Road, Bristol. You could buy all sorts of pulps and even comics in there -run by an American woman who had been an opera singer-  and I was looking through some Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu books and a French man who was looking for Doc Savage pulps started a conversationwhich led to him seeing I had some Archie Comics and he told me how one of his comic favourites was Jed Puma. How he described it seemed a tad weird but when I found the Cool French Comics web page I got to see what the character looked like.

As I noted in my review of Freeshooters, this type of collection both introduces characters to a new audience while keeping comics history alive.  A book for a good fun read.