Santa Zombie

Dead by Dawn ZX Spectrum Game Walkthrough

Due to popular demand, a walkthrough of the Spectrum game I made. It's in two parts, but the second bit should start playing directly after the first.

 

I'll probably upload another version of this with a "programmer's commentary" at a later date, but this should do you for now.

Day of The Dead (By Dawn) : Amstrad CPC version of Dead By Dawn now available

There's now a new preliminary Amstrad CPC conversion, (though it looks pretty finished to me), of Dead by Dawn available, the game I originally made for the ZX Spectrum. You can read more about it and download the Spectrum original by clicking here.

The Amstrad version was converted by Miguel Sky and you can get it by clicking HERE, and then clicking on the download link, (the part that says "Dead by Dawn.zip").

You'll obviously need an Amstrad emulator to play it, but one of those shouldn't be too hard to find.

Here are a few screenshots...

For more games created using 3D Construction Kit, check out this site.

Back From The Depths Presents : Hallowscream! Hallowe'en Special 2014

It has risen again! The sixth annual Hallowscream! Hallowe'en Special is here! Available to download as a totally free pdf file, this sensational sixth issue features 68 pages of uncanny terror to send a shiver down your spine! Werewolves, ghosts, vampires, sheep and strange electrical devices are all to be found within!

Here Are The Download Links :

Lo-res Version (file size = 28.2mb) :       MEDIAFIRE     DROPBOX

Hi-res Version (file size = 91.6mb) :       MEDIAFIRE     DROPBOX

You can also read the issue online at :      ISSUU

Full contents of horrors dwelling beyond that retro cover by Malcolm Kirk are as follows...

Page 3 : Wolf To Man  Script & Art by Graham Stoddart 
Page 7 : Guess The Reaper's Face  by various / Monsters by Jason D. Brawn   
Page 8 : Hair Scare II : Split End!  Story & Art by Gordon Innes
Page 15 : I Was A 20-Something Toasterhead Script by Drew Edwards, Art by Maciej Palka, Letters by CS3
Page 21 : It's A Dirty Job Story by Chris Redfern, Art by Paul McCallan 
Page 23 : Bestiary of Beasties : The Ghost Bustard by Malcolm Kirk
Page 24 : Terrorvision Guide by Malcolm Kirk
Page 25 : The Caretaker Script by Chris Sides, Art by Freja
Steele, Letters by  Chris Travelle
Page 31 : Death's House Story by Derek Hamill, Art by Alex Mines
Page 32 : Mirror Mirror Story by Tim West, Art by Carol Kewley
Page 34 : Frederick Story & Art by Glynis Devine
Page 36 : Fancy Script by Stu Perrins, Art by Brian Burkek
Page 37 : Hair Scare III : The Last Strand Story & Art by Gordon Innes
Page 42 : Scream! and Scream! Again! Article by "Marx"
Page 45 : A Christmas Feast Story by Russell Hillman, Art by Patrick Halpin 
Page 54 : ZX Spectre Story & Art by Gordon Innes
Page 59 : Swamp Witch by Ric Chamberlin
Page 60 : Terror of The Sheep : The Secret Origin of Doctor Lupus Story & Art by Malcolm Kirk
Page 63 : Zombie Siege by Edgar-Max
Page 64 : Postcards From Halloween by Ben Peter Johnson
Page 67 : Hierophantom's Poeticorner : Citadel by Paul Bradford, Art by Eric Hurley
...and...
Page 68 : Back Cover Skull by Malcolm Kirk

Previous issues of Hallowscream are available to download from
backfromthedepths.co.uk/hallowscream or you can buy real-life monochrome paperback versions from Lulu.com. HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!

Some TRUE FACTS relating to the Scottish referendum

I've collated the following information to help fellow Scottishlanders decide how best to vote tomorrow...

I hope that's of some help to you. Me, I know how I'll be voting...

You know it makes sense.

DON'T PANIC!

This is what the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum Voting Guide looks like...

This is how my brain sees it...

I therefore propose that should Scotland obtain independence, this should be our new national anthem...

 

So long, and thanks for all the fish suppers.

Temple APA Issue Sixteen

Sun, sea and saucers...

Temple APA Issue Sixteen is now available to download as a totally free pdf file, containing contributions from the likes of Dave Hailwood, Simon Mackie, Tony Suleri, Paul Eldridge, Malcolm Kirk and Ben Peter Johnson, (who also provides the cover).

You can download from Dropbox, MediaFire or view online at Issuu.
PDF file size is 19.69 MB.

The Temple APA is a showcase for amateur and professional creators who are active in the UK comics scene. If you'd like to contribute or just want more information, check out the Temple blog or like us on Facebook...

Temple APA blog
Temple APA Facebook page

When Eric eats a banana...

I'm pretty certain I read the Nutty comic from the very first issue, (circa 1980 - I'd be five),  and it was the first comic I got on a regular basis. Every Sunday, the 'paper man' came round delivering periodicals and selling confectionery out of his car. My brother's comic of choice was Buster, which, on balance, was probably the better publication but my choice, the Nutty, had something Buster did not...

Bananaman : Has the strength of twenty big men.

Bananaman was unarguably the best thing within its pages and obviously popular, because the strip soon went from a single colour page on the back cover, to two pages taking up both covers, and eventually, to three pages taking up the front cover and the centre spread. Three page long weekly humour strips were pretty much unheard of back then.

The tone of Steve Bright's scripts combined with the late John Geering's artwork left a pretty hefty impression on me and inevitably bled into my own early attempts to create comics. In fact, Bananaman was probably more of an influence on my drawing style and reading habits than anything else since. If not for Bananaman you might not even be reading this blog right now because I might not have got into all this stuff.

Over time, I began noticing a few subtle, (and not so subtle), alterations being made to the strip. For instance, Bananaman's costume originally looked something more like this...

Bananaman's original, less well known, costume.

That wasn't the only change. He picked up a sidekick in the form of Crow, (obviously a terrible pun on Robin, but he was at least an actual, literal crow), the headdress wearing chief of police was replaced by stereotypical Irishman, Chief O' Reilly, and young Eric, (Bananaman's alter-ego),  got a less severe hairstyle than the skinhead do he'd originally been depicted with.

Then, in 1983, the reason for all the changes became apparent when this showed up...


There was a lot of things to like about the cartoon. That theme tune, the Goodies doing the voices, but it just wasn't anywhere near as good as the original comic strip, not as irreverent. Case in point, you wouldn't get anything quite like this going on in the cartoon...

No, I don't know how they got away with it either.

© DC Thomson & Co.

They also changed Eric's surname from 'Wimp' to 'Twinge'. This was a change too far for me. Thankfully, he remained a Wimp within the pages of the comic.

When the Nutty folded in 1985, Bananaman survived and continued to appear in the Dandy. Of course, the Dandy itself would cease to be in 2012, but shortly before that happened, he also began to appear in the Beano, which is where he remains to this day. It seems you just can't keep a good banana down, (or something).

So, there I was, in March this year, looking around online for stuff to use as reference for those drawings at the top of this blog post, when the news hits...

There's going to be Bananaman The Movie! 

...and today, I'm in the process of putting together said blog entry, when the teaser poster appears...

Poster spotted at Down The Tubes

Gadzooks!  Looks as if I may have to go to the pictures next year. I hope his name's still Wimp.

Anyone fancy a banana?

Hallowscream! Spooktacular Sixth Issue Guidelines

We at Back From The Depths are once again looking for contributors for our freaky free, annual pdf horror comic, HALLOWSCREAM.

Well, Mister Freakyblobthing, it's like this...

Submissions should be horror orientated and must be weird or spooky to make the final cut.

We are mainly looking for completed comic strips between 1-7 pages in length. Anything already completed is far more likely to make it into the comic.

Script submissions should also preferably be around 1-7 pages in length.

Eerie illustrations and artwork along with interesting horror/comic articles, scary short stories, petrifying poems or anything just plain creepy will also be considered.

To get an idea of the sort of stuff we're after, you can download previous issues of Hallowscream here.

If you're looking to illustrate something, get in contact and we'll give you details of available scripts to see if anything suits your fancy.

We'll also consider material previously published elsewhere, as long as the contributors own the copyright.

Completed artwork can be either colour or black and white, and should preferably be A4 (21cm x 29.7cm) 300 dpi jpeg or png.

Submissions can be sent to merjeagles@yahoo.co.uk or ghastlymcnasty@backfromthedepths.co.uk

As this is a non-profit, small press publication, contributors will not be paid but they will retain copyright on any material submitted.

We will accept submissions from the undead, (we're all for equal opportunities here), but if you keep eating people we're afraid we'd rather not associate with you because a) it's not very nice and b) it's probably highly illegal and we don't want any further hassle from the authorities after that unfortunate incident with the werewolf.

Non-arty folk or people who just want to submit a sketch can still contribute doodles by taking part in the "Guess the face of The Reaper" competition. We'll also accept entries to this competition from proper artists what can draw really good and that. Click the image below for details at a larger size.

Simply post a link to your artwork in the comments, (or anywhere else you see the pic), or send your entry to the merjeagles@yahoo.co.uk address.

DEADLINES :

Scripts, articles and text submissions : Sunday 27th July

Artwork : Sunday 5th October

Completed strips : Sunday 19th October.

The finished issue will be available online as a free pdf by October 31st, with a physical copy becoming available via Lulu.com, shortly afterwards. You can also keep up to date with Hallowscream news via the Facebook Page

You're welcome.

Happy Birthday Scream! (Guess The Face of The Reaper!)

It's 30 years since Scream! comic first appeared in the shops, so to celebrate...

Click the image to see it full size. This is, of course, an homage to the Guess Ghastly's Face competition.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Spongebob is actually far holeyer.

What?

Who ya gonna call?

Egon Spengler of Ghostbusters, as portrayed by the late Harold Ramis, drawn for the Weekly Themed Art Blog. 

Winston Zeddemore & Slimer were originally drawn as a submission for, the now defunct, Dangerous Ink Magazine, to accompany an interview with Ernie Hudson. They didn't use the artwork.

A book lack...