pbrainey

You Like Good Things, Right? West: Autumn Dusk and The Whale House 2

2013-05-18T06:00:00.000+01:00

You wait ages for a new comic written by Andrew Cheverton and then two come along at once. Sometimes, when I write these You Like Good Things, Right? bits, I wonder if you think that I'm being deliberately obscure by talking about comics you are usually unable to buy from a comics shop but I sincerely believe that self-published comics is where it's at these days. Cheverton is, I think, one of the best comic writers around at the moment and it's probably this ability that attracts such strong artists to work with him. In West: Autumn Dusk it's the always excellent Tim Keable and in The Whale House it's the accomplished Chris Doherty. If you're looking for a hint of how good he can be, then check out the West backup I drew that appeared in issue three of Thunder Brother: Soap Division. Anyway, copies of West: Autumn Dusk and The Whale House 2 can be bought from the Angry Candy website.

You Like Good Things, Right? Space Babe 113 The Knights of Mars 1

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000+01:00

John Maybury's erotic sci-fi comic, Space Babe 113, has always been good looking but this new issue, titled The Knights of Mars Episode One: Tan, looks the best it's ever been. The full-colour reproduction really suits John's deceptively simple art style. The new issue is a really nice product to read, look at, handle and just, you know, hang out with.

Thunder Brother: Soap Division Issue 5 is go, Go GO!

2013-05-13T06:00:00.000+01:00

The fifth issue of Thunder Brother: Soap Division is available to order from my shop now. Just like the previous four issues, copies of which are still available to buy, it features a complete Thunder Brother: Soap Division episode, Mind Your Language, plus rare and previously unseen comics...

Too hot for Shakespeare! XXIII, my comic strip interpretation of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 23.

Each issue of Thunder Brother: Soap Division is 24 pages long, is full colour throughout and costs only £3! (Price includes free P&P to the UK.) Please click the Paypal button below or contact me for alternative methods of payment. International customers, please visit my online shop.

Thunder Brother: Soap Division - Wife Swap 3

2013-05-12T06:00:00.000+01:00

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On Tour; Bristol Comic Expo

2013-05-09T06:00:00.000+01:00

I will be exhibiting at this weekend's Bristol Comics Expo in, well, Bristol. I will be sharing the table space with my good friend Peet Clack and selling copies of my comic Thunder Brother: Soap Division, including the all new issue 5. If you're in the area, please pop by and say hello, but be aware that Peet and I are only exhibiting there on the Saturday.

Thunder Brother: Soap Division - Wife Swap 2

2013-05-05T06:00:00.000+01:00

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You Like Good Stuff, Right? Tozo 5

2013-05-02T06:00:00.000+01:00

David O'Connell's Tozo is undoubtedly intricately drawn. There are pages in it that I could gaze at for hours. I recently picked up issue 5 (earlier cover reproduced below) and used it as an opportunity to re-read the entire series so far. What impressed me about reading this comic series years-in-the-making up to this point is how David has played the long game. As well as being beautiful to look at, it's also a totally satisfying read filled with rewards on several levels.

Coming Soon; New Logo!

2013-04-30T06:00:00.000+01:00

A few people have commented to me that for the print versions of Thunder Brother: Soap Division, my name appears to be absent, or at least hard to find. That it might be to my advantage to make it more clear that this is a comic by me as readers of stuff that I've done before might not recognise it as such. So, for the next issue onwards, and for any reprints, I've tweaked the logo (originally provided by my also uncredited friend, Robert Wells) to include my monica, "P. B. Rainey".

For example, here's the original logo to issue two...

And here's the new version...

STARTS TODAY! Thunder Brother: Soap Division - Wife Swap 1

2013-04-28T06:00:00.000+01:00

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You Like Good Things, Right? Curtis The Terrorist Destination: Space!

2013-04-25T06:00:00.000+01:00

Curtis The Terrorist Destination: Space is a silent comic, which means that there are no words, only pictures. Written and drawn (comics are written, you know, even the silent ones) by Oliver Lambden. In the story, Curtis flies off into space on a rescue mission in a brilliantly animated adventure. Just when the story looks to be charming it turns to the grotesque which I found both enjoyable and troubling. Destination Space is both a great comic told by an accomplished cartoonist and a desirable object.

You Like Good Things, Right? Necessary Monsters: Murderbox 1 & 2

2013-04-24T06:00:00.000+01:00

Murderbox is the sequel to Necessary Monsters, a six-part small-press series I really enjoyed, recently collected into a graphic novel by First Comics. Sean Azzopardi (artist) and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey (writer) are initially, like the first story, serialising this as small press comics, my format of choice. Agents Of The Chain are a collection of spooky individuals with unnerving skills and personalities who are tasked with protecting the world from individuals even more unnerving and spooky than themselves. I really like Necessary Monsters; it reminds me of Vertigo comics from the early days of that imprint such as Doom Patrol and Shade The Changing Man, but in a contemporary world.

You Like Good Things, Right? VerityFair 5

2013-04-23T06:00:00.000+01:00

VerityFair, a jobbing actor whose career highlight so far is an appearance in The Identity Parade on Never mind The Buzzcocks, I mean, Pop Goes The World, wakes up after a lost weekend determined to sort her tax problems out despite a missing shoe. I picked up the fifth issue of Terry Wiley's beautiful, exuberant and character-driven comic over the weekend at Comiket (incorrect cover reproduced below). It's great.

You Like Good Things, Right? Don't Be Fooled By The Rocks

2013-04-22T06:00:00.000+01:00

Don't Be Fooled By The Rocks by Douglas Noble is one of the most audacious comics I've encountered for a long time; drawings of rocks accompanied by their lyrical-sounding names. Such is my knowledge of these things that I'm not entirely sure if they are real rocks with their real names or real rocks with fake names or fake rocks with fake names. Regardless, Don't Be Fooled By The Rocks is really good fun.

On Tour; Comica Comiket

2013-04-17T10:29:00.000+01:00

This Saturday, I will be exhibiting at the Comica Comiket show at the Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London. I will be sharing my table space with Robert Wells and selling copies of Thunder Brother: Soap Division, Book of Lists and whatever copies I have left of There's No Time Like The Present. Entrance to the public is free so, if you are in the area, you should pop buy and see the best comic books being made at the moment by a wide variety of top British creators.

You Like Good Things, Right? California 4

2013-04-05T13:46:00.000+01:00

As you should know by now, I'm a big fan of Robert Jackson's comics. His current project, California, finished this week with the publication of issue four. The series has, on the whole, been atmospheric and spooky and, even, surreal (see the end of last issue and the start of this). This issue is the seat-of-your-pants finale which still manages to find the space to be deeply troubling. I recommend this series.

On Tour; Kosmopolis

2013-03-14T10:49:00.003Z

As incredible as it may seem, I am one of the guests at this years Kosmopolis International Literary Festival taking place in Barcelona between March 14th and 16th. Other attendees from the world of graphic literature are The Guardian's Karrie Fransman, Cages artist and Mirrormask director Dave Mckean and "the man at the crossroads" Paul Gravett. I will be hosting a workshop at midday on Saturday which I call "How I learned to DIY". If you're in the area, please drop by. Don't let the fact that the programme mistakenly describes me as "young" put you off.

You Like Good Things, Right? California 3

2013-03-07T10:17:00.000Z

I must confess to being a bit envious of Rob Jackson as a creator. Apart from being more prolific than me, he also seems to be able to turn his hand to any genre. A couple of months ago he delighted me with the The Storytellers, his family memoir, and now he's working on California, a horror story. Part three, which has just come out, features Rob's accomplished and naturalistic storytelling, and includes a surprisingly unnerving surreal sequence.

Thunder Brother: Soap Division 4 - Roll Out

2013-03-05T09:40:00.003Z

The roll out of the latest issue of Thunder Brother: Soap Division to comic shops across the UK continues. Currently you can buy copies of issue four from -

GOSH in Central London

Orbital in Central London

Selected Forbidden Planet International stores

OK Comics in Leeds

Chaos City Comics in St Albans

and Niche Comics in Huntingdon

If you live close to or plan to visit any of these shops in the near future then please buy your copy from one of them? If you are unable to get to any of them, then you can always buy a copy directly from me via my online shop.

You Like Good Things, Right? Windowpane

2013-03-01T11:12:00.002Z

I picked up a copy of Windowpane by Joe Kessler from the GOSH table at last weekend's London Super Comic Con because I liked the look of it. It seems to me that the artist is using comics to articulate dreams he has had, although I could be completely wrong. Regardless, the narrative and the artwork are very effective at conjuring up the feelings that I have had whilst dreaming, anyway.

You Like Good Things, Right? Square Eye Stories 25

2013-02-28T10:05:00.003Z

One thing I have been pondering recently is that there is likely to come a point when somebody will refuse to buy a copy of Thunder Brother: Soap Division because it's on issue thirteen, say, and they won't want to start reading it with anything other than number one. I really hope that Jim McGee, Arthur and David Goodman don't experience this mindset with Square Eye Stories 25. It really is a beautifully drawn and fun comic. Checkout their website for lots of sample comics if you don't believe me.

About Thunder Brother: Soap Division

2013-02-26T11:46:00.004Z

Just as you've always suspected, all of your favourite soap operas are real. Soap Division are the organisation in charge of secretly recording the lives of your favourite characters for your viewing pleasure. With the assistance of his young apprentice, Sally, Thunder Brother is responsible for ensuring these soap worlds are free from unofficial influence from the real world.

A new page from Thunder Brother: Soap Division is posted to this website every Sunday morning. I started doing this in September 2011 with the opening story, The Apprentice. In July 2012, I began to publish physical editions of Thunder Brother: Soap Division. Each issue features a complete story as well as previously unseen backup strips also by me. Each issue is 28 pages long, is full colour throughout, costs only £3 and can be ordered from my on-line shop.

The Apprentice is still available for you to read here for free. You can also read what has been posted of the current story so far by selecting here. When the page loads, remember to read from the bottom upwards. Please note that the current story is only available to read on-line for free during its period of serialisation so remember to visit my website every Sunday morning for the latest instalment. You can catch up with the previous stories by reading the comics, all issues of which are still available to buy from my on-line shop.

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You Like Good Things, Right? Modern Wolfman 1

2013-02-26T09:54:00.001Z

I picked up a copy of Modern Wolfman by Alan Boon over the weekend at London Super Con and really enjoyed it. It's about a wolfman, who's not very wolfie, who shares a house with a wizard, who's not very wizardie. The jokes are very funny and the timings really good. If you go to the website, you will see that Alan posts a new strip there three times a week, so you have no excuse not to check it out.

You Like Good Things, Right? Department Of The Peculiar 2

2013-02-25T08:48:00.001Z

Here's some Thunder Brother fan art drawn by Robert Wells over the weekend at London Super Con.

I picked up a copy of Rob's new comic Department of the Peculiar which he did with writer Rol Hirst. He was describing it as being about "miserable superheroes" but it doesn't really come close to summing up just how strong the basic conceit is.

In The Press!

2013-02-24T21:30:00.001Z

My copy of the Thursday Milton Keynes Citizen never arrives until Sunday which is why I've just seen this.

On Tour; London Super Con

2013-02-21T10:26:00.001Z

If you're attending this weekend's London Super Con, please look for me in Artist Alley where I will be exhibiting. I will be premièring the latest issue of Thunder Brother: Soap Division and signing copies of all four issues so far along with other comics by me including Book of Lists. Pop by and say hello.