rolhirst.co.uk

This weekend it’s Oxford’s Annual Alternative Comic Books Convention - CAPTION, and though I won’t be attending myself (maybe next year), thanks to the kindness of organisers Jay and Selina, PJANG will have a presence.

A number of copies will be on sale to the small press devotees in attendance - and while I’m sure you’ve all got your own copy by now, there’s no reason you shouldn’t help me sell a few more if you’re going to CAPTION yourself. Remember, it’s easy: simply stand next to the stack of PJANGs, point at the comic, and say in your best Comic Book Guy voice, “Best. Small. Press. Title. Ever!”

I mean, it’s not strictly true, but there’s no law against lying, is there? Well, unless you’re in court. And I’m not asking you to perjure yourself… yet.

Many thanks to GOSH! COMICS in London village for offering to stock PJANG! among the many other small press titles they support.

Should you happen to be anywhere near that London, do pop into Gosh! and show them your support - it shouldn’t be that easy to find, it’s not a very big place after all… I think they’re on the High Street, somewhere near the Post Office.*

And while you’re in there, if you fancy picking up a copy of PJANG! and proclaiming “Best. Small. Press. Comic. Ever.” in a voice that can be heard by everyone in the shop… well, you know you’ll be helping out a good cause.

(*Special thanks to Mark and Lard - I still miss you guys.)

The final free PJANG preview page is now online - it’s the opening to ‘Rooms For Writers, with art by Kelvin Green.

Click here to read the preview.

It’s day two of the free PJANG previews, and this time I’m treating you to the first two pages (because it’s a longer strip) from ‘Get Creative’, with artwork by Andrew Cheverton.

Click here to read the preview.

Throughout this week I’ll be posting special online previews of the three stories from PJANG #1.

The first is online now - page one from ‘Grotesque’, with art by Tony McGee.

Click here to see the preview.

Issue #1 of my new small press comic PJANG! is now available to order by clicking on the ‘Buy Now’ link in the sidebar*. You’re welcome to ignore this fact, because, as it says acronymically in the title… ‘People Just Ain’t No Good’. Then again, if they were… I wouldn’t have anything to write stories about.

So then, behind a glorious new full colour cover by the ever-wonderful Nige Lowrey, you’ll find three new short stories, as follows…

‘Grotesque’, illustriously illustrated by the one and only Tony McGee;

‘Get Creative!’, deliciously delineated** by the truly original Andrew Cheverton;

And ‘Rooms For Writers’, perfectly portrayed by the ‘Panther, Pink Panther’ Kelvin Green.

£1.75 is all it costs you (including p&p) - and this is real, US-sized comic format, professionally printed by the folks at Ka-Blam! - none of your folded A4 photocopied malarkey.***

Go on, you know you want to.

*This link takes you to a Paypal page. If you don’t have a Paypal account, you can still use it to send payments - and it doesn’t cost you any more than the £1.75 cover price.

**Ah, Stan Lee. You taught me all I know.

***Not that I have anything against folded A4 photocopy zines, you understand - I made my living through them once upon a time. But as the technology now exists to do the real thing for an affordable price, and as the art in this book deserves the best format possible - why the hell not?

I’ve added a Blog Roll to the site, but it’s not actually a list of blogs. Instead, it’s a list of fellow creative types and their homes on the web. Sometimes that’ll just be a plain old blog, but more often than not it’s a showcase of their work… along the same lines as what I’m trying to achieve here. Give them a click whenever you have the time. (And if I’ve missed you from the list, a gentle reminder will get your name added to the roll.)

My other blogroll - all the actual blog blogs I read on a regular basis - can be found in the sidebar of Sunset Over Slawit.

If you show someone something you’ve written, you give them a sharpened stake, lie down in your coffin and say, ‘When you’re ready.’ - David Mitchell, Black Swan Green

Hello and welcome to my website.

All I’ve ever wanted to do is write. To tell stories. To puzzle out the absurdities of the world through fiction.

How do you tell a writer from a wannabe-writer? Writers write. It doesn’t even matter if nobody’s reading - they have to do it, they don’t have any choice.

And so now I have this website, for my writing. So sharpen up those stakes - and get reading!

That’s enough about me. (Besides, I do more than enough writing about myself over at my blog.) If you like what you read here, more will be added soon. Subscribe to the feed and I’ll post updates when new stories go up. All feedback and comments are gratefully received.

If you build it, they will come…

Rol.