Have you been out today?

I finished a six page story for The DFC's Christmas issue midweek and the wraparound cover for the same issue on Friday. As such I am relatively at leisure until I agree What's Next with my editor, Lovely Ben Sharpe. A joyful feeling of freedom which will quickly convert to edginess about not working if I'm not careful but, at the moment, I am absurdly excited at the prospect of catching up with dull domestic tasks that have been more than usually neglected in the run up to the deadline. Good heavens, there was even hoovering yesterday! Also there's at least one personal project that I need to make a start on right soon and I really just want to play a little - draw to no purpose in sketchbooks and let my mind, hand and pen wander and see what tumbles out. Oh, and buy and then watch a great many film noir DVDs. And work my way down a fairly enormous "Things To Do, Urgent" list. So actually, still quite busy really, just differently so.

In other DFC-related news: for one week only from Nov 26th the then current issue will be available in Tescos as a marketing exercise. Now I wouldn't usually advise anyone to set foot in the place but if you've never seen the DFC and wondered what it's all about then here's a singular chance to pick up a copy without having to subscribe. Sadly I shall be absent from its pages in that particular issue but I'm pretty sure genius Jamie Smart's hilarious strip Fish-head Steve will be occupying a couple of pages and that alone makes it worth your money. Also the already excellent and ever improving Sarah McIntyre's gorgeous Vern and Lettuce will gently kiss your optic nerves and fill you with a happy-making warm fuzziness. So good it's worth going into Tesco to see it. Honest.

Anyway, enough with words, I'll try to be back with pictures soon. In the meantime I'm going to remind myself what The Outside is like (another luxury afforded by being between jobs. "Hullo clouds, hullo sky..."