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4-up #1

2012-01-13T22:27:00.001-05:00

What’s been going on.

it's my 9 /11 tenth anniversary post

2011-09-11T19:20:00.001-04:00

September 10th 2001 I was in our Midtown Manhattan apartment drawing the fourth issue of Vertigo’s Angel & The Ape reboot. I’d been living in the city for almost a year and for most of that time I’d been working on the four-issue series. Writers Howard Chaykin and David Tischman set the story in New York and I was feeling the art was something of a love-letter to my new city, from the tops of the downtown skyscrapers to the steps of the uptown brownstones.

I’d just finished page one and, bearing in mind the top tip of never leaving yourself a blank page for the morning, drawn the first panel of page two, this scene-setting view looking south past the Empire State Building to the Twin Towers. And off to bed.

By mid morning the next day, when I should have been all caffeined-up and back at the drawing table finishing the page, no one was thinking too much about comics. Our little apartment had filled up with evacuees from the nearby DC offices, unable to get trains out of the city to their own homes, quietly watching events unfold on TV.

By the time that issue of Angel & The Ape went to press someone in DC’s production department must have been given the odd little task of removing the towers from the skyline in the panel. Too soon, too soon. Sensitive times and all that. Despite my kicking up a tiny fuss The World Trade Center is missing from the page in the printed book. Shame, I love New York and I loved those towers.

characters I never expected I’d have to draw #87

2010-11-20T22:26:00.001-05:00

I can now cross Howard The Duck off my list.

Another big clearout. Original pages from that old chestnut Kill Your Boyfriend have been making their way over onto eBay. Close to the bottom of their box now so if you ever fancied one now’s the time. Or if ever-regenerating self-aware buffoonery is your bag (and you want to avoid the eBay machine) I’ve just added a whole bunch of Deadpool art to the catalog of available original pages here.

dispatches from the road / rail / capsule #23

2010-05-20T08:07:00.001-04:00

I know it’s late to bring this up but it’s the Bristol Comic Expo here in the UK this weekend. No big fuss, I’ll be in the bar, say hi.

since we last spoke…

2010-02-27T21:14:00.001-05:00

Aw, can it really have been six months? They grow up so fast and before you know it they’re out in the world on their own. Probably shacked up with that mouthy girl from the rough side of town. No, wait – I was talking about Red Herring, the conspiracy caper book by David Tischman and myself, the final issue of which hit the streets just a few weeks back. The man at Wildstorm says there’s a chance we might see the six issues collected in single book one day, but try to grab the originals and you’ll be able to spoil the ending for the latecomers.

Also out now, issue 50 of Brian Wood’s DMZ. I get to contribute a page to this collection of "Notes From The Underground" alongside real proper artists like Fabio Moon, Dave Gibbons, Eduardo Risso, Ryan Kelly and etcetera and etcetera

Up next - Marvel’s Prelude To Deadpool Corps event has an issue for each week of March and I get to draw part 3, Dogpool. Watch as I slowly overcome my dread fear of drawing dogs.

Bonus feature: Douglas Coupland for the wonderful Hey, Oscar Wilde! It’s Clobberin’ Time!

from your san diego correspondent…

2009-07-23T12:29:00.001-04:00

The wheres and the whens of the San Diego con:

Bond, Tischman and Hahn will be signing your bootlegged prerelease copies of Red Herring at the DC / Wildstorm booth at the following times -
Thursday 4:00 – 5:00
Friday 11:00 – 12:00
Saturday 2:00 – 3:00

We’ll also be showing previews and telling the long and convoluted story of how Red Herring came about and where it’s going on the Wildstorm panel at 3:30 on Saturday.

Don’t forget at most other times I’m at table CC-04 in Artists Alley.

Congratulations, Mr. Bond. It’s A Book..

2009-07-16T11:52:00.001-04:00

Ah, the pitter patter of tiny page turns. It’s been a long, long labour but the new series Red Herring will debut August 12th from Wildstorm. An off-beam conspiracy is ripped apart by a convoluted caper over six issues by David Tischman and myself, with the aid of workhorse David Hahn and the lush Guy Major. Tischman deftly dances the line between explaining more and giving away everything in this CBR interview.

Also… California here I come. I’ll be back at the San Diego Comic Con next week manning an Artists Alley table again. If you’re going to be there stop and say hello to table CC-04 where there’ll be a whole bunch of original art for sale as well as some of those posters from last year. I’ll be taking on a very limited number of commissions over the week too so if that’s what you’re after come early and don’t ask me to draw a horse.

More news from the floor soon. As and when, you know how it goes.

also, this...

2008-08-17T15:02:00.001-04:00

While manning the table at the San Diego Con, the fanboys and fangirls over at iFanboy recorded this interview (I'm stuck in there between Eisner-winner Chuck BB and some hack called Grant Morrison) during which I was surprisingly eloquent and at least mildly interesting. What is that accent though? Somewhere between Lancashire, Sussex and New Jersey I guess.

What I Did On My Vacation.

2008-08-04T23:52:00.005-04:00

Blistered feet finally back on solid NJ ground after getting back from the San Diego Convention where the ever-expanding "celebration of popular culture" still indulges an ever-contracting comics contingent. "Artists Alley", as it turns out, was an absolute gas. A steady stream of the nicest folks ever, even a few Deadline readers who must have come on a charabanc day-out from the old-folks home (I jest - reading comics keeps you youthful). And freaks. Zombies, cosplayers, Stormtroopers of all shapes and sizes. Cheers then to all who came by, and to my lovely neighbours Peter Gross and Zander Cannon to my left, Randy & Denise and the "Lady Death" bloke to the right.

All this and the secret meetings with mystery writer, mystery inker and mystery editor for special secret upcoming project. I shall say no more for fear of disappearing into a mystery black limo never to be seen again.

Oh, and I finally figured out what "Being Boiled" is about. Must have been on a slow filter through my brain for the last 27 years.

Prints Charming.

2008-07-16T11:41:00.001-04:00

If you'll be at the San Diego Comic-Con next week do stop by table CC-04 in "Artists Alley" and say hi. And buy one of my exclusive and limited prints. We just got these in - two brand spanking full colour large format prints just begging to be framed and hung.

Or flip over to the bondnet store and order them by mail from there.

Anyhows, this will be the first time I've been able to get out to San Diego since before the sprog was born and the first time I've done the Artists Alley thing at all. In fact any time I've been to the San Diego Con before I'll confess I've never even glanced at the Artists Alley. In short I've no idea what to expect. I shall anticipate sitting there bored out of my tiny mind as kids dressed as World Of Warcraft characters wander by, glance vacantly at my nametag and move along to the next table. At least I'll have a chair so I'll be the one laughing.

If you're one of those kids wandering by I have two requests: don't ask me to draw a picture of Superman; and buy one of my prints, or I'll be walking home.

How We Used To Live.

2008-06-12T15:11:00.002-04:00

It is still 2008, right? Storm blew through on Tuesday evening. Pretty spectacular lightning but to be frank the wind and rain weren't up to much. Still, when the first clap of thunder boomed the power cut out and we were plunged into the Middle Ages. Almost 48 hours later and we still haven't been reconnected. Yesterday morning I sat on the porch and actually spoke to the neighbours, by afternoon I had tossed all the perishables from the fridge and was dancing, fur-clad, around a possum I had snared. OK, I exaggerate, but last night we sat round a couple of candles and told stories (little Spencer's contribution: "Once upon a time Spiderman made a poo").

So anyhoo. I'm hopped up on iced coffee and muffins and free wireless access, sat here in our local Panera sandwich shop opposite two 20 year-olds in suits comparing graphs, and next to a huge business man trying to sell some poor sap a get rich internet scheme. He'll be rich faster than a career in comics but hollow on the inside. Oh so hollow.

Test The Theory

2008-05-12T23:00:00.004-04:00

The theory being if you work more it'll encourage you to work more and following that if I post more on the website it'll encourage me to post more. We'll see how it pans out.

Right now nothing seems to be working. I've rearranged the website, trying to consolidate philipbond.com and philipbond.net but due to my incompetence everything is screwed and ends up as a big "404 not found". Thought I was a big smart-arse but it seems I'm just a big arse. If you can see this at all I congratulate you on your perseverance in trying out random URLs.

At least I posted something. Next time - real news.

"it a picture of daddy"

2008-03-12T17:47:00.003-04:00

It's been an age since the last real update so let's get the main points covered:

1. Reproduction: baby Spencer arrived, three and a half years later he's a little boy already and an avid artist, musician and telly viewer.

2. Displacement: left a cramped Manhattan apartment for the leafy suburbs.

3. Polytheism: Vimanarama, written by Grant Morrison, a tale of love, war and ancient gods. Collected edition out now.

4. Incompetence: The Escapists, written by Brian K. Vaughan and based on Michael Chabon's Kavalier & Clay novel. An ongoing series but due to (I keep telling myself) time spent looking after the aforementioned Spencer it devolved into a debacle of missed deadlines and the excellent Steve Rolston took over after one issue.

On the website front, there's more art in the gallery, original pages in the store, and frisky-fresh new desktops! More reports from the front soon, right now a deadline looms and a diaper stinks.

For history's sake, whatever that's worth, all those hilarious and informative older posts are archived here. Just don't expect the links to work.