It occurs to me that writing and creating a story, or any kind of art, is a bit like making a bubble, except that you end up on the inside, and everyone else is on the outside. From the inside, you think it looks good, you know how it's made, it all seems solid enough - but you can't get a proper view of the whole thing. Only the reader can do that. As a creator, you can never really tell if what you've made is any good or not - you can only guess.

I wanted to give a quick mention to P. J. Holden's latest comic, Previously. It is crammed full of strips written by others but all drawn by PJ himself in his stylish and lively line. I received a fantastic original sketch too - a long favourite, Nemesis the Warlock (see below). Learn more about it here, it comes highly recommended.

The other picture is of the extremely limited edition Rainbow Orchid Custard Creams. This was to pay off a bet I made with Dave West and Colin Mathieson (Accent UK) at last year's Caption. To learn more, go to the Accent UK site and follow the links for events - 2006 - BICS.

I should also mention that the Rainbow Orchid forum is back up and running if you have anything to say, questions, or... you know, forumy stuff.

Had a great day at Caption on Saturday. After a friendly greeting from Jenni and Selina, I saw David O'Connell and made my way over to say hello. I didn't catch up with enough people (as ever), but was happy to see so many familiar faces.

As well as the three above, these included Neill Cameron, Dave West, Colin Mathieson, Sean Azzopardi, Shane Chebsey, Andy Luke... and more! It was a great day to chat about comics with the like-minded.

Below are a couple of drawings from a proposed comic I did, but I don't think it's going to see the light of day for a very long time... other things to work on now.

Since my little announcement about the limited edition Rainbow Orchid book I have received a (very pleasant) flood of emails asking about it, so I thought I'd post a basic FAQ that I think covers everything. Oh - and I will be at Caption in Oxford this Saturday (11 August).

Is it available yet? Is it sold out?
No - it has not yet been published. I think it will be available sometime in October 2007. First chance to buy a copy will go to those signed up to the newsletter as a registered reader.

What are the contents?
It is part one only (that's episodes 1-5, or strips 1-133), in full colour, with a short introduction at the beginning, and a few bits of extra artwork at the end.

How much will it cost?
I am thinking around £25 (tbc). Yes, it is quite high - but the main reason I am producing the book is as a fundraiser, so purchasing it is supporting the continued development of the comic. The price also reflects the fact that this is a one-off limited edition, and each copy will be signed, numbered, and include an original sketch/line drawing by me.

Why only 50 copies?
I want to keep this as a special edition, and limiting the run to 50 copies preserves its rarity, therefore making it... special!

Will the other two parts be published in the same manner?
I'm not sure - there may be a part two, but part three will depend on any publishing contracts that (I hope) will happen. At the moment, this is just a one-off.

Oh, and if you're on Facebook, there is now a Rainbow Orchid group which you're very welcome to join.

Many apologies for the lack of action around here. I have been busy, just not on Orchid. And it may be a little while before I am able to get back to it. The good news on the comic is that I have a delivery date for the end of 2008, and that means after Christmas it is heads down and lots happening.

At that point, Orchid will become a priority, and 'proper paying work' secondary (though I'll still be doing it, of course). I am going to be poor, but Orchid will get done!

Also good news is the first sighting of the special limited edition hardback of part one. I am printing only fifty copies of this, and 10 are spoken for. It is a fund-raising book, so the price will be a little higher, but each copy will be hand-numbered, signed, and with an original ink drawing inside.

I've not had a great financial year (hence the fundraising book). I did have a wonderful comic strip job lined up, so turned down a couple of longer-term jobs, expecting to start the comic at a moment's notice. Sadly, it didn't work out... I'm not exactly sure why. But there's new stuff for me in the pipeline, so we'll see what happens over the next few months.

In the meantime, here are some photos of the test book - it's going to be a couple of months before I can announce the finished item available to readers. Looks good, eh?

Episode 5 is now fully in colour. For those of you who are aware of the old currency - that's all of 'book one'. I have six-and-a-half more pages (26 strips) to do for the whole of the story so far to be in colour.

I have also been making important steps forward with the script in the past week. Thanks for sticking with me!

I know there hasn't been an update on the strip for a while, but I am colouring and writing. More to come...

A few bits of some of the work done in the last couple of weeks...

Linda Wada has sent a wonderful piece of artwork that shows all the characters from Rainbow Orchid. There's a smaller version below, but go to the readers art section to see a bigger version.

In other news, I find myself quoted in an article about the Tintin/Bill Leak cartoons from The Australian - see the very last paragraph. To see where it's quoted from, see the full article here - I'm not quite so hard on Moulinsart really when you read the whole thing.