Cartoonist Paul Rainey is the creator of There's No Time Like The Present, Thunder Brother: Soap Division and Book of Lists and is an occasional contributor to Viz. His current big project, Why Don't You Love Me, appears regularly in ACES Weekly. He is the winner of the Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize 2020. His latest comic is Journey Into Indignity. My online shop is www.pbrainey.bigcartel.com.
Wednesday 23 December 2015
Thursday 26 November 2015
Updates
ITEM: I have artwork that appears in the adult colouring book, Colour Me Bad, edited by ILYA and recently published by Little Brown. I appear alongside Robert Wells, Hunt Emerson and many other wicked-cool British cartoonists. If you visit my website often, then you may be familiar with most of my contributions which includes some of my Jog On strips and a re-ordered Charity Should Begin At Home. ILYA has done a really good job on making all of this artwork look good and the reproduction is great.
ITEM: I have drawn a two-paged strip called What Dave Gone Did for the new Dead Singers Society comic compiled by Samuel C. Williams. I know it's out as copies were for sale at the recent Thought Bubble. I'm not sure where you can buy it from but if you see a copy when you're out and about then take a look as I am really pleased with my contribution.
ITEM: I am exhibiting at this weekend's Northampton Comic Mart from midday in The Racehorse Pub in, well, Northampton. I'll be selling copies of my graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present, and copies of my comic Thunder Brother: Soap Division. If you're in the area, please drop by and say hello. If you're not, then why not buy a copy of There's No Time Like The Present as a Christmas gift for someone you love, you feel contempt for but also obliged to during the festive period or just for yourself directly from the publisher, Escape Books.
Thursday 22 October 2015
Orbital
In 2011, I made a personal appearance at Orbital Comics in London as part of their "Two Pauls" evening. The idea for the event was that two creators called Paul at opposing ends of the comics-creating spectrum would talk about their experiences in the field. At one end, there was professional and highly regarded writer Paul Cornell and at the other, there was me. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it was a great success and yet a second "Two Pauls" evening featuring two more Pauls talking about making comics never occurred.
At the top is a drawing I did to promote the event. Considering that I had never seen Paul in the flesh before, I think he was very gracious about my representation of him. Underneath is a quick sketch I drew for Orbital. To my delight, it seemed to be on their shop wall for a long time after.
Wednesday 7 October 2015
There's No Time Like The Present Updates
Item: After skipping a year, Caption, Britain's longest running comic festival, is back this weekend, this time in a brand new location in Coventry. I'm delighted to be able to tell you that after being a semi-regular attendee since it started in the early 90s, I am at last a guest along with other comic creators such as Leah Moore, John Reppion, Hunt Emerson, Al Davison and Paul Duffield. If you're Coventry, near to Coventry or miles away from Coventry, please drop by, especially on Sunday afternoon at 1:15 PM when I will be in conversation with Alex Fitch.
Item: The final apart of my six part interview with Paul Gravett has been posted to the Escape Books Website. You can read it here, if you wish.
Thursday 1 October 2015
Saturday 26 September 2015
Monday 21 September 2015
Thursday 10 September 2015
Winning Minds Secrets From The Language Of Leadership
Above are illustrations I drew for Simon Lancaster's recently published book, Winning Minds Secrets From The Language Of Leadership. Simon is a successful speech writer who has written for many top politicians, including Alan Johnson, and business leaders. Often, Simon appears on Sky and BBC News due to his expertise.
This is the second of Simon's books that I have provided illustrations for. Previously, I worked on his book Speech Writing The Expert Guide. It was a job that took a few weeks to finish and I enjoyed very much. (I'll post those illustrations here sometime in the near future).
For Winning Minds, I had only three days to produce eleven brain diagrams and these eight drawings. It was a daunting task and was hard work (by my standards, anyway) but great fun. For the drawings, I allowed myself just two hours to complete each of them and managed to keep to this limit. Although I think it's clear that some are better than others, I was quite pleased with how they turned out overall and feel that they compare favourably with the drawings I did for Simon before.
Here's a link to Simon's book.
Friday 28 August 2015
Neon Vs Santa
I drew this for an issue of Martin Eden's Spandex a few years ago. At the top is one of Martin's characters, Neon, and at the bottom is Santa for no reason other than I felt like drawing him. I've always wanted to draw a comic-strip starring a no-nonsense Santa in a manga/Dark Knight Returns style but since then Santa Claus Vs The Nazis and Grant Morrison's upcoming Father Christmas: Year One have happened so, I suppose, that the moment has passed. Merry Christmas.
Thursday 13 August 2015
Saturday 8 August 2015
Monday 3 August 2015
Friday 24 July 2015
Pitknack
Not so long ago, I got to pondering the current popularity of Minecraft with kids and wondering what comparisons there might be with comics during and before my childhood. Was it plausible that, in forty years time, there will a small, scattered but hardcore group of ageing individuals who will continue to play the game and refuse to put it away for adulthood? From this idle thought appeared a germ on idea I called "Pitknack". I originally intended to produce it for the on-line comic, ACES Weekly, for whom I've already had a couple of one-off strips appear. The idea was, basically, to make the story up as I went along, completing each episode one at a time and dealing with each of the plot-traps I had set myself and setting new ones every week until the seven episodes I was allotted were up. After completing four pages, another long, fermenting idea, Why Don't You Love Me?, reached critical mass and the urge to work on that obliterated Pitknack's. It's a shame as I really like what I have done for it so far and, if I didn't have a day job, would love to return and finish it.
Friday 3 July 2015
Friday 26 June 2015
Art Exhibition
The original artwork for the opening pages of my new comic-strip, Why Don't You Love Me, is being exhibited as part of the MK Gallery's MK Calling 2015 exhibition taking place this Summer.
Why Don't You Love Me is my next big project after the recent publication of my graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present, by Escape Books. Each page is designed to work as a stand-alone comic-strip but ultimately will lock together to tell a single, cohesive story.
You are invited to the launch for MK Calling 2015 which is taking place on Thursday July 2nd from 6 PM. It's free to attend but you have to register for tickets at the following web address. It will be great to see you there.
Why Don't You Love Me is my next big project after the recent publication of my graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present, by Escape Books. Each page is designed to work as a stand-alone comic-strip but ultimately will lock together to tell a single, cohesive story.
You are invited to the launch for MK Calling 2015 which is taking place on Thursday July 2nd from 6 PM. It's free to attend but you have to register for tickets at the following web address. It will be great to see you there.
Saturday 6 June 2015
Gary Numan
I drew this for my friends who celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary this week. In case it isn't obvious from the strip, Mick is a big fan of Gary Numan. My only regret is drawing the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car. If you would like me to draw a personalised comic-strip for you then feel free to contact me but please be aware, I will charge you.
Wednesday 27 May 2015
There's No Time Like The Present Updates
Item: I am a guest at this Saturday's Wonderland's Graphic Novel Expo taking place at the University Of Sunderland. I will be signing and sketching in copies of There's No Time Like The Present at the Escape Books table during the day. I will also be a panelist during the Telling Stories (Fiction in Graphic Novels) panel at 1:20 PM with Dylan Horrocks, Woodrow Phoenix, Ian Edington and Tim Pilcher.
Item: If you're unable to attend Wonderland's then perhaps you will catch me at CECAF (Crouch End Cartoon Arts Festival) taking place the following Saturday June 6 at Earl Haig. I will be signing and sketching copies of There's No Time Like The Present and Thunder Brother: Soap Division.
Item: Richard Johnston has written an excellent review of There's No Time Like The Present for Bleedin' Cool website. “It took him seven years to finish, it took me seven hours, but every second was well spent, for both of us.” You can read the whole review here.
Friday 22 May 2015
The Pianos
The Pianos is a strip I drew fifteen years ago for a phantom children's comic called Boom. One of the other creators involved in the project was Marc Laming who has since gone on to draw comics for DC Vertigo and Marvel including this week's Planet Hulk. Marc coloured and re-lettered The Pianos making what was a shaky looking strip when it left me appear almost professional.
Wednesday 13 May 2015
There's No Time like The Present Review
Here's a review of There's No Time Like The Present written for the Forbidden Planet website by Richard Bruton "It’s a book first conceived of many years ago, taking Rainey some seven years to complete, and seeing it get a well-deserved, and very lavish hardback collection from Escape Books is a very pleasing thing. Because make no mistake about it, There’s No Time Like The Present (hitherto shortened to TNTLTP) is a story deserving the wider audience this book should rightly give it." Read the full review here.
Sunday 10 May 2015
Thursday 7 May 2015
There's No Time Like The Present Updates
Item: Guy Lawley has written a fantastic review of There's No Time Lime The Present for the Legion Of Andy website. "From his life in the southern English “new town” of Milton Keynes—not always thought of as an inspiring location—and from our early 21st century times, Paul Rainey has crafted a story which spans if not the whole of space, time and human experience, something pretty damn close." Read the full review here.
Item: So far, three parts of my six part interview with Paul Gravett have been posted to my publisher's website. Read How I Got To Now at the Escape Books website.
Item: Along with other accomplished cartoonists, I've contributed to a feature called Why I Love Comics that appeared recently in The Herald Scotland. "Comics are complex thoughts and emotions expressed directly to the heart and the brain and the bloodstream." You can read my contribution and the feature in its entirety here.
Item: Radio Paul FM LIVE! I was a guest on BBC Three Counties Radio talking to Nick Coffer about by graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present, earlier this week. Listen to the interview in it's entirety below.
Many thanks to Peter Stanbury of Escape Books who I nabbed the above images and YouTube clip from.
Wednesday 22 April 2015
There's No Time Like The Present Review
My graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present has been reviewed in The Herald Scotland. "What begins as a very British satire on comics geekery (the great advantage of time travel, it turns out, is you can get future episodes of Doctor Who. Emmerdale too, if you really want), becomes a moving essay on ageing before spinning off again onto another tangent as we encounter a post-death universe.
Rainey's cartooning is the opposite of flashy but its simplicity grounds the story. The result is a quiet, bittersweet pleasure." Read it here.
Thursday 16 April 2015
Tuesday 14 April 2015
London Book Fair
If you're attending the London Book Fair this Wednesday, then please drop by the Why The Graphic Novel? What Comics Can Do That Other Forms Can't panel in the Olympia's National Hall Gallery Club Room at 4 PM. I am one of the panelists along with Karrie
Fransman, Clément Oubrerie and Julie Birmant along with host Paul Gravett. Hope to see you there.
Saturday 11 April 2015
Interviews
Tuesday 7 April 2015
TNTLTP at Waterstones Milton Keynes
If you're in or near to Milton Keynes this Thursday April 9 evening, then you may like to attend a free talk I am giving at Waterstones Bookshop in Midsummer Place, Central Milton Keynes at 6 PM. I'll be talking about some of the comics I've made over the years and how Milton Keynes may or may not have influenced them. I will also be sketching and signing copies of my new graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present. The Facebook event can be found here.
Monday 30 March 2015
There's No Time Like The Present is go Go GO!
This Wednesday, April 1st, is the official release day of my graphic novel, There's No Time Like The Present. You will now be able to buy copies from your local book and comic shops, or at least order it (you ISBN number is 978-0-9570694-1-1).
To help promote it I shall be making several personal appearances over the coming weeks starting this release day at 7 PM with Process 25 at GOSH Comics in Central London. I will be talking to Steve Walsh about my work including the long process involved in making There's No Time Like The Present. Details about Process 25 can be found at this Facebook Event. I look forward to seeing you there.
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