News

The first of the restorations from the archive are now uploaded - navigate to the 'Comics' tab and within that page is the 'Archive Comics' portfolio; the Astrologers story The Recorder is there, split across two portfolios.

I'm restoring/ making legible many of the pages of The Astrologers comics I produced as a hobby between 1988 and 1999; the menu will now have a tab for just 'Comics', and the archive will be a sub-group of this page. A taste of what is to come - covers from the past:

Text Story #14 is published!
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Forthcoming uploads
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Whoops - a whole year since I posted a new article. Work going on behind the scenes on restoring "Earthfall" from the late 1990s - hand-written text removal, art tidying, croping, and re-drawing in some cases - needs to be re-scripted next to suit how the 'Tales' have evolved since. 22 pages of that to come - only debate is whether to keep it monochrome, put some tones in or go the whole hog and colour it... may to be that quick to publish if that is the case.
There is, as there always is, a Christmas Tale of the 44th Century to come - it is written and the illustrations were finished yesterday and inserted into the text. A final proof read is required and it should be posted later today.
A second tale, also set around the festive period is partly drafted - if time allows over my Christmas break it will be finished and used next year (by when I will have worked out what illustrations I want).

2019's Angela Landau Adventure is revised and reposted as 'Trojan' and can be found as Text Story #12 on the test stories page: http://www.tot44c.com/text-stories

Ah, Christmas - it retains its ability to move suddenly from the far distance to being right upon you before you realise. So, there is a text story ready to be posted - final Christmas Eve read-through first. It's a re-write and expansion of Angela Landau's tinselly adventure from 2019, as I felt it had more mileage in it. I also had new illustrations planned but got stuck on the second as time did its thing, so it will appear with the originals... for now.

Sorry, nothing posted for a long while. Have been doing much writing, and just lifted my head and realised another year is draining away. I have started a project to scan and improve my archive of pre-TOT44C website comics and reproduce them here. A little sample from November 1998 - an 'Astrologers' comic story, but with some familiar faces from the ESPF showing up to investigate an explosion on a space station...
Now I have to find out a way to both re-letter and re-script this...

Text Story #11 - VOID: O Tannenbaum is published:

"Are you bored?" Austin asked, brightly, as he strode into Couper Hall's library and found Angela ensconced in one of the battered leather armchairs beside the large, stone fireplace.
"Of course I'm not bored, why would I be bored, I have loads to occupy me..." Angela answered, pointedly. "I also was not born yesterday," she added, in emphasis.
Austin placed the bulging file on the side table, regardless. Angela had been, genuinely, engrossed in a book she'd taken from the shelves at random and so merely made one, derisory glance at the file before returning to her book.
"Kirkebo's cat used to look like that when we tried it with new food," Austin observed. Sunlight was streaming in through the tall windows, being lent a sharp brightness by the snow lying on the ground outside and Austin was a picture of winter cheer. His cheeks had a glow as if he'd been for a brisk walk around the estate before starting work for the day. Angela thought, after a moment, that this was probably exactly how his day had started. She had merely trudged up the drive from her temporary home in the middle lodge and made for somewhere she might find peace from some of the grating jollity that had begun that week. The run down to the Year-End Festival had begun.
"C'mon, read it. Chance to be Interplanetary Woman of Mystery and Adventure again - you hijacked my daughter into that with you last year. Early present: you get to do this on the clock - with VOID blessing!"
Angela bookmarked her page with the exaggerated care that Austin had once demonstrated as being required with the library's contents and picked up the file.
"Is there a quick summary?" she asked.
"Umbriel has vanished," Austin beamed.
Angela looked levelly at him: "The moon of Uranus, Umbriel?" she asked.
"That one. Read. I'll get some tea organised. Dhaljit Patel is on her way down to talk to you," Austin pointed at the file.

Read the story here: https://images.on-this.website/userfiles/25736/otannenbaumillustrated.pdf or navigate to the 'Text Stories' page under the main menu.

Way back in the first issue of Farborn, an unknown giant tapped on the window of the ESPF hopper and alerted them to the incoming attack by Father Abraxis's forces. Who was he? Amidst the excitement of the subsequent battles and the arrest of Moonrise One's Administrator Richards, Reid hasn't forgotten the incident.

In this epilogue, we begin to get some answers and the hint that there is more going on on the Moon than the current Human colonists realise...

Select the "Tales of the 44th Century Comics" tab and ESPF Issue # 9 to find out more

http://www.tot44c.com/espf-issue-9

Still alive, not very productive though. The promised Christmas story is actually complete, along with illustrations - but will wait until December this year.

Epilogue for Farborn nearly complete...

News item and images
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Finally, the last issue of Farborn is up to view!http://www.tot44c.com/espf-issue-8

Nearly coloured up on the final five pages of Farborn, but I distracted myself with a bit of fan art - Death's Head, in all stages, can be found in the 'things to come' section of the Tales of the 44th Century Comic tab, for those who remember Marvel UK's favourite bounty hunter....


A link, here: http://www.tot44c.com/works-in-progress

Navigate to the text story tab for a new Christmas tale, starring the red-haired Martian, Angela Landau in an entirely random, chronologically misplaced and slightly tinsel trimmed adventure...
Direct link here: https://images.on-this.website/userfiles/25736/voidchristmasstory20182019.pdf

At long last, issue 7... the five concluding pages of 'Farborn' - issue 8 will follow soon. You can navigate to issue 7 through the Tales of the 44th Century Comics tab or by following this link: http://www.tot44c.com/espf-issue-7

A pathetic attempt at self-justification for leaving a story dangling...
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Note on attendance at Apollo 11 talks in Langholm.
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Six new pages of story are published today - part 3 of "Farborn"!

The final pages of the story are in production and should appear in early 2019.

I have actually pencilled and inked all the way to the end of 'Fairborn', a few samples in the 'Works In Progress' portfolio. Just the colouring & lettering to get around too, when time allows... who'd be a company director??