Okay, so maybe things have fallen by the wayside on the blogging front. Just maybe…

I could spend a great deal of time recapping all the events and excuses that led to Winter 2012 being something of a fallow season on the productivity front – but I won’t. Instead let’s just sum it up as the following:

Kickstarter, Thought Bubble, book launch, aikido grading, illness, extended sick leave, Xmas holidays, brief recovery, relapse, super relapse, casualty, CT scan, MRI scan, panic, relax, small sick leave, gradual recovery, swifter recovery, Kickstarter rewards (production and delivery), full recovery, house hunt, house move, London Super Comic Con… and stop.

Long story short: I’m recovered. I’m back on my feet. I’m gradually regaining my joie de vivre. Somewhere along the line something just… went wrong in my head. And while it was a little scary for a time, in hindsight it can probably be chalked up to nothing more than exhaustion. And while my writing may have suffered over this period, things are now progressing nicely (more on that later!)

So, drawing a line neatly under that debacle, let’s move forward into 2013… starting with an important announcement!

Last year I had the honour of exhibiting at the first ever Melksham Comic Con, a small indie affair in the heart of Wiltshire that managed to punch far above its weight in terms of sheer entertainment. Under the leadership of Hayley Spencer, visionary CEO of Melksham’s own Komix superstore, the Melksham Con is looking to return in 2013, bigger, brighter and with an even more dazzling array of guests and exhibitors. But to make this much-anticipated sequel a reality, Hayley, Melksham and the entire team of volunteer Brians (long story) need YOUR help.

Melksham Comic Con 2013 has turned to Kickstarter to make their dream a reality. To check out the full story and hear firsthand the words of those wonderful people behind the scenes, why not watch out the official Kickstarter video here.

We had an amazing time at Melksham in 2012 and I can’t wait to return this year. There’s a great list of guests lined up – including, among others, Kieron Gillen, Paul Duffield, Mike Collins, Simon Spurrier and Rob Williams – not to mentions the usual suspects such as myself, Nich Angell, Disconnected Press and other charming exhibitors.

Melksham Con isn’t a charity, but it is Not-For-Profit, and in order to deliver a great show it needs all the support we can give. As one of the most enjoyable cons of the year, and perhaps a model for future shows, Melksham is definitely a worthy cause. Only 7 days remain to raise the £3500 needed, but with 83% of this amount already pledged, the end is very nearly in sight. Any help you might be able to give would mean the world.

And also, remember this?

Yeah baby, THE HEAVENLY CHORD Part 1, the world-shattering crossover between Afterlife Inc. and 7STRING will be debuting at Melksham 2013! How’s that for incentive? Seriously, without Melksham, what else are we going to do with this?

Phew! So anyway, as a brief summary of recent excitement, two weekends ago we were at the London Super Comic Con, our first show of 2013, easing back into the Afterlife Inc. roadshow. Having debuted Dying To Tell there one year ago, it felt great to return – just that little older and wiser – and with two new books to present: Near Life and… dun dun dunnn… The Six!

It’s been building for a long time but finally Afterlife Inc. has a companion on the site. An entirely new story. An entirely new world. Chapter 1 of The Six can be read for free here. Alternatively you can download a free PDF of the book here. We’ve also had our first review thanks to the fine folks at Pages & Panels, a cracking new comics review site that deserves your attention. I hope you enjoy.

Aside from the joyous release of new books, LSCC was of course a marvellous opportunity to catch up with friends both new and old. We were particularly lucky in the con-neighbour department: Jack “Wacky Prankster” Tempest on the left, Lewis Terry and Kayleigh Powis on the right. Lewis is responsible for a gloriously disturbing and enthralling book called Royal. Well worth checking out. He also produced this rather snazzy picture of Nuriel. And that’s… that’s just fine.

We were also lucky enough to hook up with Neil and his daughter Bethan. As one of our highest Kickstarter backers, Neil has been immensely supportive of Afterlife Inc. It was nice to finally have the opportunity to chat and thank him in person.

So, I guess that’s my blog itch scratched. Now that my brain appears to be firing again on something approaching a normal level, I look forward to keeping this updated more often. And with Lifeblood storming along, I’ll be sure to post plenty of updates and samples like the ones below. Ooh, teasers!

Cheers for the time, gang. It’s good to be back.

Jon

P.S. what does everyone think of the site update?

Hey folks, Happy New Year to one and all.

As the dust settles on 2012, we must all come to terms with the seemingly inevitable conclusion that 2013 is here to stay. This means it’s time to ease ourselves gently out of our elasticated Christmas pants and face the blossoming pile of work that signals a new year. For Afterlife Inc., this means diving straight into production of LIFEBLOOD, not to mention preparing a great many rewards for all our generous Kickstarter backers.

Firstly, however, I need to make a small announcement. As some of you may have noticed me mentioning on Twitter and Facebook etc, I’ve not been very well of late. For the past month or so, I’ve been struggling with dizziness, later progressing into bouts of disorientation and head pain. This was initially diagnosed as labyrinthitis, an inner ear issue. Following a “bad turn” on Saturday, however, I’m heading into hospital tomorrow for a couple of scans. I’m sure it’s nothing major, but with my eyes and head affected so, I’ve been finding it hard to spend much time at the computer, which has obviously limited the amount of work I’ve been able to do.

Despite this, things have been progressing nicely on the Kickstarter reward front. Thanks to the wonders of democracy, a t-shirt design has been voted for and passed onto the printers. I’ll be stopping by next week to pick them up (although as I’m not allowed to drive at present, I am very reliant on Lucy acting as chauffeur – thank you, dear!)

A very, very crude mock-up of what the t-shirts will look like.

The badges have also been posted and are currently awaiting collection from my local Post Office (again, massive thanks to Lucy for heading over to pick them up as I write this). I’m also very happy to reveal the finalised artwork for our Kickstarter-exclusive print (see below) from Ash and Nadine, who, let’s face it, hold all the trumps in the game of Art.

So yeah, despite some minor health obstacles, progress is being made. We’re still on schedule to deliver the first wave of Kickstarter rewards by the end of January. Thanks for your patience, everyone. I can’t wait to package these up and send them out. They’re looking great.

And, of course, once production finishes on the Kickstarter rewards, we’ll be able to crack on properly with LIFEBLOOD itself! I may not be able to type as much as I’d like, but rest assured the script is coming along nicely – albeit in analogue, thanks to my trusty pencil and notebook.

All the best, gang. Here’s to another outstanding year!

Jon

Laughing at your own jokes is never advisable, and yet I do it anyway (mostly because I can’t stand long, drawn-out silences).

Similarly, reading one of your own scripts and giggling with childlike glee is generally frowned upon by society. But if that script should contain characters not of your making – characters so awesome they make the TRON: Legacy soundtrack look like TRON: Legacy – perhaps it’s allowed.

Yes, 7STRING/Afterlife Inc. ‘The Heavenly Chord’ is a thing. A mighty thing. A crossover of Silver Age proportions between the worlds of (you guessed it) Afterlife Inc. and 7STRING by Nich Angell.

When I first met Nich, I think I cursed him. No wait, that sounds wrong. I cursed him because he deserved it. Yes, that’s better. You see, Nich was explaining to me about the world of 7STRING i.e. ‘Melodia’, where music is magic and four warring tribes (or “clefs”) inch ever closer to global catastrophe. Where warriors battle with guitar swords and electric keytar blades. Where assassins wield razor sharp violin bows and robotic soldiers carry drum cannons. I think he’d just reached the double-page spread describing the seven gods of Melodia, each of whom embodies a different genre of music – from drum-and-bass to opera – when the curse hit. “Oh, damn you,” I might have said. Or something to that effect. “You’ve only gone and done it.” Because it all made so much sense, you see. I was amazed no one had done it before.

Needless to say, I was an instant convert. And once I’d progressed from creepy convention stalker to fellow exhibitor, Nich and I began to toy with crazy ideas for a crossover between our worlds. Actually, it began as a twitter joke. Remember that scene post-credits from Iron Man 2?

You know. That one.

“Wouldn’t it be cool,” I said, watchful of my 140 character limit, “If Afterlife Inc. was to find the eponymous 7STRING (a mysterious sword) embedded in the Empyrean?”

“Why yes,” said Nich. More succinctly. “That would be cool. But ridiculous, surely?”

We laughed. We drank. We made our ancestors proud.

And then we stopped laughing.

You know what?

It would be cool.

And thus, what began as the deranged ramblings of two overgrown manchildren/school science technicians (odd coincidence, that) soon became a deranged project that threatens to impinge upon all our lives. Yes, featuring such notable scenes (SPOILERS!) as App quoting Daft Punk and Ochroid turning to Hair Metal (not true) ‘The Heavenly Chord’ will indeed be a reality soon. The script is written – which, as any writer will tell you, is the easy part. It just needs drawing. The thing is, that in addition to drawing ‘The Heavenly Chord’, 7STRING and ‘Tabby and Trout’ for VS Comics, and working for Titan and all manner of impressive companies, Nich does also have a day job. And sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Nich is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund production of Volume 2 of 7STRING. I know you’ve been hearing a lot about Kickstarter lately – especially from me – but if you’ve got the time I heartily suggest checking it out. It’s one hell of a project and Nich’s one hell of a deserving guy. Only a couple of days remain to help Nich reach his target. Any support you might be able to offer – be it a pledge or spreading the word – would make all the difference. And if we can fund Volume 2 of 7STRING, we’ll be one step closer to getting ‘The Heavenly Chord’ off the ground.

Two books for the price of one. Not bad, eh?

On the Kickstarter front, I have to give another massive thank you to all of you for your help in funding Volume 3 of Afterlife Inc. I still can’t believe we made it. Everyone who pledged will be hearing from me soon to sort out delivery addresses and how you’d like to be credited in the book. Sorry for not getting onto this sooner. The dust hasn’t quite settled yet following the end of our campaign and – right on cue – I’ve managed to contract labyrinthitis. Which is either an under- or overexposure to David Bowie’s trousers. Either way, I’m currently off work with vertigo and a bad case of eating-all-the-biscuits-in-the-house.

On a happier note, however, I leave you with some truly remarkably pieces of Jack Fortune fan-art by the rather talented Neil McClemments. Seriously, how cool are these? Expect a future collaboration with Neil at some point in 2013. Along with, of course, LIFEBLOOD (woo!) and ‘The Heavenly Chord’.

And, if you can, please lend Nich your support on Kickstarter. I loved Volume 1 of 7STRING and can’t wait to finally read Volume 2. Together, we can make it happen.

This is Jon Lock, tuning up, dropping D…

…and getting ready to save the world.

But first, a lie down…