To Avoid Disappointment.

One thing I think we can all agree on in these difficult and dark times… is that nothing says Christmas more, than a delightful tale of a small group of male, British bachelors, stranded in a remote Russian hotel, slowly being picked off one-by-one in ever more gruesome fashion by an ungodly and ancient monster, and his beautiful but deadly, young female cohorts.

And from your Mother, to your Lover, to your evil, deformed Twin Brother who you keep chained in the basement and feed stray dogs and rain water to at night… no doubt everyone would love to get their hands (or deformed paws in your twin brother’s case) on a signed and doodle in copy of the graphic-novel, Brides Of Babayka. The first book in the Babayka series. With ten pages of extras, including two exclusive pin-ups only to be found in the graphic-novel, and of course an individual sketch and signature in every copy, it makes the perfect gruesome gift this Xmas for all horror fans. For those that like something a little dark and scary with their mince pies.

I only ask that anyone who is considering taking advantages of this new deal and ordering a copy for themselves, or a friend, or loved one this Xmas, to avoid disappointment, please order early. If you wanna 100% safely make sure your copy turns up by Xmas next month, order now to make sure you don’t miss out. And that goes double (if not triple) for anyone ordering outside of the UK.

Personalised and signed copies of Brides Of Babayka with an individual sketch can be bought this Xmas from HERE.

If you have any questions or need to double-check anything before ordering, you can Email me HERE.

Anyone planning on ordering a copy, but always leaves their Xmas shopping to the last minute has been warned. I’m currently still battling a nasty winter virus I picked up recently, and so have the energy level and speed of an old man right now. So as an early Christmas present you could give yourself this year, order early, and avoid tear soaked turkey and falling out with your mutant, basement twin this Xmas.

No… but seriously… order today (or very, very soon) if it is important to you your copy turns up in time for Christmas.

Tapped Out.

Readers following Babayka Land on Tapastic will be pleased to hear I’ve finally got around to uploading part 4 today. It’s the scene of Oleg telling the tale by campfire, of how Babayka turned the Russian village of Krayvengrad into a ghost town. It’s pure lore, for those that like spooky back-story.

I have to say, I have a sneaky feeling Tapastic has fallen out of favour with a lot of webcomic readers recently. I’ve notice my own readership has dropped over on their site, and comics I follow have either stopped, or hardly ever get updated these days. Feels like in 2016, a lot of people have jump off the Tapastic boat, as it were. I get the feeling most of my own Tapastic Babayka-Lives hardcore readership just go straight to the main site these days, and only a few stragglers remain. I’ll see how things pan out going into 2017, but if you do read my webcomic over on Tapastic and would be heartbroken if I stopped posting on there, let me know via Email, and I’ll no doubt keep it going.

Speaking of the main site, tune in this weekend to see if Newton, Elizabeth, Oleg and their new armed friends can survive, as the wolf-pack closes in on them. Can they think of something quick and drastic to save themselves, or is this misadventure over before it began? Find out their fate this Saturday.

Also, just a reminder. After nearly seven years on Deviantart, I’ve finally got around to sorting my gallery into folders recently. So when you next hit up my gallery section on there, you’ll find all my Babayka-Lives artwork now in its own handy folder.

The Ripper Returns.

Here’s something I don’t think I’ve ever posted before. I’m pretty sure I didn’t post this when I did it a while ago, because I didn’t wanna leak the title “The Skinny-Dipper Ripper” online before I had finished my cover with the same name.

I rarely get a chance to do any playing around on computer with artwork, because of lack of time, but here’s something I did briefly get to do. It’s what I think Catch Of The Day would look like if it was a Video Nasty VHS cover from the 80’s. I have to say, even though it’s pretty rough, and just me playing around, I kind of like it. I got to flex my graphic-design muscle doing this cover. I’d like to try and do something else in this style, maybe, down the line.

Here’s a fun game. Can anyone guess the font I stole to use on this mock poster? Big horror nerd points to those that can.

He's Behind You.

Just to round off this Halloween week, here’s the black and white version of He’s Behind You from the start of the week. The latest pin-up in my Monster and Models series.

I don’t think in the whole 9 year history of this blog, I’ve ever posted a colour version of something first, and then the black and white version later. So this is a first for me. I also wrote a little story to set up this image which I only posted on Deviantart, but will correct that now and post here, too.

He’s Behind You:

After her car dies on her on a lonely road one dark night, beautiful Boo is force to make a long and lonely walk back into town. Cold and frustrated, she looks bizarrely out of place, as she takes a detour through the woods in her favourite little black dress and high heels. Thankfully, she knew the area well, as she had often played there as a kid, and therefore even in the dark, knew the route she must take to get back to civilisation. As she folded her arms and kept walking, she remembered as a kid, the other children would often tell spooky tales about these woods. About the tall and hideous thing that stalked the woodlands at night. The monster that would sneak up behind its victims, and in a flash, put its gruesome hand through their chest, and steal their still beating heart. And how the last thing they’d see, was this hellish thing standing over them gobbling up that stolen heart. Boo shivered as she remembered this story she hadn’t thought about for years. A cold chill ran down back… and then another… and then a another… as Boo slowly realizes these cold chills were wet and actually strangely warm, and without knowing it, suddenly her heart was now beating a million miles per hour, as she turned to see what was breathing down her neck.

Once again, a massive thank you to Boo Peril for posing for this pin-up. She makes an amazing Scream Queen, and you can find more of her work on her Devaintart page.

All In One Place.

Even though I’ve been on Deviantart for nearly seven years, I’ve only just today got around to grouping all my Babayka-Lives artwork into one folder. But I glad I did, as you can know easily find it all in one place. From early Brides Of Babayka pages from back in 2010, to up-to-date Babayka Land stuff. Pin-ups, unlettered sequential and more. All now in their own convenient folder. Enjoy.

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.