August 2026

Took off to Paris for a well-timed family trip before term starts again.

I’m trying to think of my working seasons as terms, which fits in with the actual terms of my kiddo’s school. Scheduling jobs and projects to fit or straddle the six terms in a calendar year helps me visualise what I can actually get done in the time the Blessed Universe has gifted me.

It also automatically builds in the holidays and down-time necessary to stop Jack From Being a Dull Boy.

Paris is great. I worked on a really interesting project there with comics magician Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Valerio Ferrari – an Italian architect with surely the best name in the business! – some years ago. I loved hanging out in Paris, and sort of regret not pursuing some more freelance work on that side of the Channel.

It surely doesn’t matter that my French sucks?

Fabulous Frank Quitely artwork adorns the new Forbidden Planet store in Glasgow. His Fanglesga Four is just amazing!

One side of my family is Glasgow all the way back to the caves, which is maybe one reason I really love making the trip there. I worked in The Barras market as a teenager selling dodgy videogames, and it was great to see it thriving in the Year of Our Stan 2026.

I once wrote a series for Vertigo, the ‘grown-up’ / goth arm of DC Comics, and set it in Glasgow. I spent almost a full year raiding libraries and galleries all across the city for stories and ideas. I also got to feature my favourite bits and landmarks – I sent artist Meghan Hetrick a million rain-splashed reference photos, and she even made the trip over to see it for herself. (We had a mini signing tour, the pinnacle of which was probably the old Glasgow FP!)

It’s a great city – and as much as I love Edinburgh, if you’re visiting Scotland and you skip Glasgow, you’re missing out on something really, really special.

There’s also TARDISes all over the place. It’s brilliant!

When the early summer Comic Con rush subsides I love to escape for a few days (weeks, if I can get away with it!) to Edinburgh for the Fringe.

Comics are great, but the vagaries of the business can drive you absolutely mad if you’re not careful, and I love being able to spend a bit of time thinking about something as equally creative and financially maddening – the comedy industry!

(I once had a 4-issue miniseries approved by Massive Hollywood IP Holders, only for it to be downgraded to a backup strip. Instead of 48 pages, I had to tell the same, already-approved story… in 8 pages! Luckily it was just before the Fringe, so I turned in the job, travelled north and pretended that comics didn’t exist for a week!)

Every August Edinburgh becomes temporary home to an international band of buskers, comedians, troubadours and bards, attracting millions of people to the city and enraging a million local residents who just want to be able to walk down some streets without being flyered.

This year I saw a ton of absolutely mind-blowingly incredible shows, and even wrote some reviews for new comedy website https://thepunchline.uk