Happy Halloween 2016.

Happy Halloween to all. Hope you’re all having a good one.

I have to say mine has been a very mix one this year, full of ups and downs. Kind of great and terrible, both at the same time. On the negative side, there’s the usual pitfalls of real life that have overshadowed my Halloween a little bit this year. Plus the fact that one of my all time favourite and most influential artist pass away recently. And then to top it all, just as Halloween started to heat up, so did I, as I’ve managed to come down with something nasty this week, and am currently in recovery mode, and therefore had to miss out on some of my Halloween plans recently, which I was very much looking forward to. It’s very hard to justify being around friends, when there’s a good chance you could infect them and ruin their Halloween, too.

However on the plus side, after a summer of watching very little horror and feeling a bit burnt out on the genre, I am happy to say I’ve seen a few horror movies these pass couple of weeks that started to get me back into the mood (Highlights include: Wrong Turn 6, Excision and Eyes Without A Face.)  Also, while real life might had been a bit of a blow out this year, things on the art side of life have been a lot better of late. Firstly, I have a secret project I’m working on with another artist that seems to slowly be coming together better lately. Something that hasn’t been announce yet, but we’re hoping to get out in 2017. And speaking of collaborations, I’ve also been lucky enough to work with two awesome models, and produce two new pin-ups this Halloween season. Firstly, there was the return of Mercedes The Muse, as she again found her late night skinny-dipping adventure rudely interrupted by the fiendish Uncle Gnaw (AKA: The Skinny-Dipper Ripper.) And now I can happily announce I’ve also been lucky enough recently to work with model Boo Peril on a new piece of artwork, which I’m posting today as my Halloween offering for this year. Witness the moment after late night car problems on a remote road, that Boo suddenly realizes on her walk back into town, that she is not alone that cold, dark night in this new image. A massive thank you to both Mercedes and Boo for taking time out of their busy, busy schedules to work on these pin-ups and help make them happen. And hope people enjoy them. For more details on this new pin-up, including a small story I’ve written to go along with it, head over to my deviantart page.

And if that wasn’t enough of a Halloween trick or treat… head over to Babayka-Lives this Halloween, where there is an extra gruesome instalment waiting for you, just in time for everybody’s favourite morbid holiday.

Skinny-Dipper Ripper Coloured.

Again, for those that like their inbred, hillbilly cannibals in colour, here’s The Skinny-Dipper Ripper cover coloured. The prequel to previous pin-up ‘Catch Of The Day’.

This image is really meant to be a mash-up of 50’s horror comic covers and 80’s slasher movies. A video nasty done EC style. As Mercedes The Muse and her late night hook-up soon regret deciding to do some midnight skinny-dipping, when local urban legend and mad man ‘Uncle Gnaw’ decides to crash the party.

I think this is honestly the longest I’ve ever spent colouring up a pin-up. I really wanted the cover to look worn, and a little bit grimy and tatty. Like a comic that could have been around since the 50’s, and has only recently been rediscovered. This is a theme and style I’d love to return to again.

Hope everyone enjoyed the return of Babayka Land on Babayka-Lives this weekend just gone.

Strange World.

Is it weird that the nicest thing said to me all day was from junk mail from sex drug peddlers?

P.S. I’ve censored the sender, so as not to make this blog post into a giant ad for them. Even if I do kind of like seeing my name with a giant tick next to it.

The Wait Is Nearly Over.

Just a quick reminder that yes, Babayka-Lives does indeed return from its summer break this weekend. If you’re in full Halloween mode, and have been missing your weekly updates of Babayka Land recently, then I’m happy to say the wait is nearly over.

Watch  Newton, Elizabeth and Oleg run for their lives this Saturday, as the wolf-pack closes in.

The Skinny-Dipper Ripper Cover.

I’m happy to say my Deviantart page finally hit 20,000-views, and so as promised, here’s a new pin-up to celebrate.

Enjoy...

One-eyed, pot-belled, inbred cannibal Uncle Gnaw stalks the lakeside late at night, just waiting for anyone foolish enough to take a late night, moonlit dip, who he can turn into his next meal. For these hideous crimes, the locals have named this urban legend… The Skinny-Dipper Ripper.

Unfortunately, tales of this savage, backwoods monster had not been heard by drifter\pole-dancer Mercedes The Muse, as she and a local trouble maker who she had met while working her shift at a strip club earlier that night, decide to cool off by stripping off, and go for a swim. The wet fun and games don’t last long, though, as from the bushes jumps the evil Uncle Gnaw. Quickly judging Mercedes the tastiest of the two, he hacks her late night hook-up into pieces with his trusty hatchet, before claiming Mercedes as his own, and heading off into the dark woods with his latest catch.

The End?

As many of you know, this new faux horror cover is a follow up (actually, more of a prequel) to a previous pin-up of mine from earlier in the year called: Catch Of The Day. I have to confess, the first real horror genre I got into as a kid were 80’s slasher movies. They felt a little grimy and dangerous, and it was  fun hunting them down on VHS in second hand shops etc. So consider all Skinny-Dipper Ripper art a homage to my misspent youth. Really, looking back, I should have been using those years to chase girls, instead of watching a guy in a Hockey Mask chase girls on grainy videos, lol.

This is my third attempt at doing a 50’s EC style horror cover, and I think by far my best. No current plans for any more Uncle Gnaw right now, but if people would like to see more, let me know.

Again, a massive thanks to fetish model and star of upcoming Grindhouse movie Rose and Viktor: No Mercy, the lovely Mercedes The Muse for returning and posing for this pin-up. You can find more of Mercedes on her Deviantart page.

Also a massive thank you to all of you who regularly visit both this blog and my deviantart page.

Please Tap Generously.

Let me just point out that my deviantart page is now only 51-hits away from its 20,000-views goal. Once my page hits that target, I plan to celebrate by posting the follow up to ‘Catch Of The Day’, again staring the lovely Mercedes The Muse. This special pin-up has just been sitting on my deskstop, waiting to be unleashed on the world for a while now.  

To help make that happen, please follow this link, and show my page some eyeball love.

Worth Repeating.

Even though Babayka-Lives doesn’t get going again until the 22nd, visitors will notice a new update has been posted today. In no way does this post count as an official Babayka-Lives update, so I’m ok with my self-imposed rule that the site can only be updated on a Saturday. I’m just very focus right now on trying to make sure overseas buyers receive their copy by Halloween by ordering early enough, by trying to get the word out sooner. So with that in mind, I thought it might be something worth repeating, by posting up the update here on my blog also.

As mentioned yesterday, for those that may be planning to order a signed copy of Brides Of Babayka for Halloween this year and live aboard, to be sure you do get your copy in time for the big day, it may be wiser to order sooner, rather than later, to avoid disappointment.

Signed Copies Of B.O.B. Now For Sale.

So as we enter the spookiest month of the year, for all you Babayka-Lives readers and horror fans out there, I can now reveal something extra special for those looking to be super thrilled this Halloween.

Just in time for the most morbid day of the year, I’ve finally open my own Babayka-Lives online store. Admittedly there’s only one thing on there so far, but hopefully it’s something readers will be excited about, and want to own.

Yes, starting this very Halloween season, I can now offer signed and personalised copies of my horror graphic-novel Brides Of Babayka. Every book purchase from my new store will be signed by myself (the creator, writer and artist), and made out to you, or whoever you choose if it’s a gift for someone. And if that wasn’t enough to seal the deal, inside every edition, I also do an exclusive Babayka-Lives sketch of any character from the series of your choosing. From Yana to Vera, or even Babayka himself, each copy has its own unique and individual little bit of original art in it to truly make it one of a kind, and for you to own.

This signed edition does ship internationally, as I know even though Babayka-Lives is a UK comic, most of its readers are from elsewhere. Hopefully shipping costs to your part of the world should be covered, but get in contact for a quote if it isn’t. Also, if people have any thoughts on what else they’d like to see sold on my online store in the future, or any questions about this offer in general, please be sure to let me know via email HERE.

At this point I really haven’t decided yet if this will be a limited offer, or something I'll have for sale full time. So if you’ve ever fancied owning a signed edition of Brides Of Babayka, and want something extra spooky to curl up and read this Halloween, don’t delay in ordering. I would also advise ordering sooner rather than later so as to give any and all overseas buyers the best chance of receiving their copy by the 31st.

So you can find details of Babayka-Lives new online store on the webcomic itself HERE.

Or just go straight there to view this offer for yourself HERE.