Chuffin’ Billy Book 2 is here

Book 2 of Chuffin’ Billy: T' Yorkshire War Robot , written by Noel Hannan and published by Rawhead Press, is now available - and things are getting strange in the Gas Street Basin canals. Billy stumbles upon something alien, and the South harbours secrets of its own…

I’ve yet to see the official edition myself, as I’ve been working from proof copies. But I can tell you this: it includes 23 pages of my comic strip art, drawn over the past year or so 'The Goliath of Gas Street Basin' and 'The Embuggerance Engine Part 1'. Hopefully, you will have followed my comic creating process here on my blog and know it’s been a labour of love, and I’m proud of how it’s come together.

Also in this issue there is a portfolio section featuring other artists interpretations of the title character by Laurence Alison, Tony Rothwell, Mal Earl, Morgan Gleave, Shep Kirkbride, Markus Pattern, Marina Tsareva and Jaroslaw Ejsymont. Thank you for your service.

A short essay by Noel titled The Future of the Species. Don't worry it all makes sense in context of the overall story arc. And The Siege of Dublin written by Noel and drawn by Gary O'Donnell. This is a story with Bob and Frank in their prime and the true story of how they met Elvis Presley.

Featured is an article about Guardians of Eden, a cyberpunk strip Noel and I created for Fantaco back in the late ’90s. Up to that point we had, had a run of stories published in their various horror anthology comics and Guardians of Eden was originally commissioned as a four-issue series. I completed the artwork for issue three - only for the project to be cancelled without warning, acknowledgement, or compensation. That experience left a lasting mark, and it’s one of the reasons I remain sceptical about the publishing industry to this day. Sadly, I know writers and artists are facing the same treatment 30 years later.

Thanks for reading—and if you pick up a copy, I hope you enjoy the ride.

Book One of Chuffin’ Billy is also available on Amazon. (I’ll be honest: I don’t support Amazon’s business practices. They’re part of a wider problem - dodging their share of responsibility. Economist Richard Murphy explains it better than I ever could; check him out on YouTube. Amazon remains the most accessible route for keeping control of the work and getting it out there. Noel god bless him, handles that side of the project.)