John Allison

Solver returns at the end of January (delayed by jury duty as discussed) in a new form, SOLVER CASE FILES. Here's the cover of the first Case Files issue, Round & Round & Round part 1. Whatever you think this story is going to be about, I promise to confound you at least once and possibly twice. Oth

Work is underway on the next Solver story, Round & Round & Round, which is long-billed but had been on and off the schedule, until I finally managed to work it out. I'm writing the first part at the moment but sketches are starting to accrue and I thought you might enjoy a couple of fun ones. This s

Here's part 2 of BLIGHT. Will Esther and Peter discover the sources of the bovine sickness? Will farmers set the smallholding alight? And are pitchforks as popular as they ever were, or have they been superseded by newer, more elegant rabble-rousing implements? (If you missed the PDF version of part

I did a lot of preparatory work for Blight. My enforced break through June and July was tedious but necessary, and restored my enthusiasm for the process. A lot of sketching in front of the TV. A lot of failed covers too, that was the hardest part of my brain to get to switch back on. A big part of

ITEM! I will be at SCARF at Trafalgar Warehouse in Sheffield this Saturday (October 19th). Free event, details here. I'm not planning on booking in any events where I sit behind a table with my wares for 2027 or beyond, so if you're local, we're getting into "last chance to see" territory. It's a gr

I'm currently on a writer's retreat in the wilds of Shropshire. You'll only get to see what I'm working on if I finish it. I can confidently say that it's some of my best ever writing, and in a completely different format to what I normally do, but if I'm not done by bedtime on Sunday, the window of

I was back at life drawing yesterday, after several months off. This spring, I had found that I hit a wall with it - going most weeks got exhausting, especially after long days drawing and my difficulties with that earlier in the year. But having got on top of some of the issues I was having with re

I have been summoned for jury duty. I've moved it to the start of the new year, but while I deliberate in seclusion with my fellow judicial citizens, regular comic publication will be suspended on the site, otherwise at some point two months later I'll have to cut a story in two. Best just to synchr

Yesterday was apparently "Batman Day", which I am certain is a Hallmark holiday, but I was in for the evening so I drew a quick picture of some of your comic friends and posted on the socials: "just remember that a new Batman crossover can happen at ANY TIME". In reality, it can't, because I'm not s

My current story, Blight, started in my sketchbook during my sabbatical. Here are the very first drawings: The question with Destroy History stories now is whether it's a Shelley story or an Esther story. Both have different approaches, different assistants, and unique personal styles which open up

I'm working on a second (and final - in this iteration) Solver collection this week. Having laid the book out, today I was working on the cover. The idea was to blow out the cover details of the first volume to reflect the themes of the second. Volume 1 is below so you can compare and see what I did

The sketch file from early in the year is pretty slim, I was ready to recharge. But some fun little drawings still happened, and here are a few of them. I say a few, there are more than fifty compiled for your Sunday amusement. An embarrassment of riches! I know I'm embarrassed. The suitcase sequenc

On Monday I posted the following grisly document to Bad Machinery dot com: While on the one hand this is a page of absolutely tremendous jokes and fun, it is also a page containing a significant number of stories that I recently swept into the bin. And a few that the passing of time make less and le

Thank you for your patience, Early Readers (and up). A new comic is in the world. It's the return of Esther de Groot, and all the information you need is in the pages of this comic. In fact, it may have more information than you need, as there are a couple of back-up features (PUNCH THE CLOCK and th

In 2005 I decided to design a set of Scary Go Round playing cards. I never printed them - the numbers didn't work, I'd never have sold enough of them to break even. But I mocked them all up for my blog, though I never assigned the suits and values, I suspect because I'd burned through enough of my t

Special message for Early Reader patrons only I accidentally set the new story "Struck Off" to be open to all tiers EXCEPT Early Reader. Here it is again. Your next PDF comic will be here in two weeks - Destroy History: BLIGHT #1.

When my sabbatical ended I had left myself some time to make something short, to get back into the swing of things. There was no necessity to actually run it if it was no good. I improvised out a script for this on the Monday and drew it over the next week or so. In one sense I didn't do quite what

A few drawings for you. I've not been sketching much of late. Or at least, not a lot that wasn't related to the story work I'm doing and therefore locked down until things run, sometimes months from now. Also I caught cartoonist's dropsy for two weeks and moved around the house like an elderly & sta

"SURPRISE" ""DROP""!!!! Here's another digital zine to help bridge the gap to all-new material. WORLD OF MILK contains more than a hundred pages of lightly annotated sketches from 2018 and 2019, with the genesis of many series taking place under hothouse conditions. Plus, a wealth of unrelated and f

Patreon have been very keen for you to start using something called "Quips". I did a few and I think they're stupid. Just a way to ping people's phone notifications, another social network. Unless some great use for them appears, or you really really want them, I will ping you no more. So here's som

Chris Wichtendahl asks: "I recently collected physical copies of Bad Machinery and Steeple (to go with my hardcover Giant Days set) and I wondered if you'd ever put out the whole mad run of Bobbins, Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery, etc into some sort of omnibus format. I know you've mentioned before t

I've returned to work, and after a couple of rusty weeks and a Monday where it took me nine hours and ten - TEN! - failed versions to draw a cover, I have achieved a sort of creative equilibrium. You'd think after nearly 28 years I would have a sense of where I am going. Alas, the not knowing is par

Back in 2005 I was asked by the agency who then sold space on scarygoround.com (imagine such heights, an ad agency!) if I would like to swap a month's run of ads for a page in Los Bros Hernandez' legendary B&W indie comic Love & Rockets. I jumped at the chance. Jaime Hernandez is one of my favourite

I'd be extremely grateful if a few people would review Great British Bump Off: Kill Or Be Quilt on Amazon. No essays are needed, just a couple of sincere lines; three minutes work tops. It's nominated for an Eisner Award in July (in a category with very tough opposition) and this is likely to be the

There's no new PDF issue for a couple of months (though advance readers will get a new 6-page short story here on August 17th). So I offer up a digital zine I've made, an annotated compilation of nearly 70 pages of drawings and notes from my creatively productive Covid years. It's linked under the c

My sabbatical is now over (for me) but alas the hiatus is just beginning (for you), eight weeks of reruns. Here's a (non-rerun) comic showing just how it happened. I think that explains everything. In lieu of a new story, on Monday early reader Patreon subscribers will get a 68-page PDF zine I made

I have done a print for the Kickstarter of Tiffany Babb's COMICS COURIER (next issue - 2026 Summer/Fall). Check the Kickstarter out here. As someone who believes strongly in the importance of critical writing, now more than ever, and with a real dearth of it (currently) in comics, I endorse this pro

While my break is drawing to a close, the hiatus won't hit the website until June 22nd, when an eight-week wave of interminable reruns will hit the shore. But it's the best possible rerun I could do, the Murder She Writes 15th anniversary edition that I had intended to print, with some tiny visual t

Hello, dear friends. I am in week six of my eight-week sabbatical. I spent the first two weeks trying to calm down. Week three and four I filled my time with chores. You wouldn't believe how neatly I repointed the flagstones fore and aft of my home. Week five felt like time to reconnect with drawing

I did the album of the month illustration for the current Mojo magazine (#392 - July 2026). It was very exciting to be asked, as I have been a reader (on and off, but mostly on) for the last 30 years, and a subscriber for the last 10. The drawing was for the album Look For Your Mind by American band

Pete Ashton asks: "In the masterclass video you shared [...} you talked about starting Bad Machinery because you didn't want to keep doing comics about 20-somethings so switched to doing kids. It occurred to me that those kids are 20-somethings. Is this inevitable? I was also thinking about how you

I guested on a podcast called Party Of One back in November, where I had to play a two-player TTRPG with the host, Jeff Stormer. He chose a game about journalism called 'Not A Tabloid'. My episode has now gone up and if you choose to listen, I hope you enjoy it. I did my best! It was a fun game, whi

Here's the concluding part of Solver volume 2. The print version of volume 2 will be out in the autumn. This issue answers a few long-held questions, and asks half a dozen more. It's meant to be a little treat for long-time readers, but whether you feel that way is entirely up to you. I'm writing th

From next week I’ll be taking a two-month sabbatical from work. The long and the short of it is that I’ve completely worn myself out. About a month ago I realised I was going to have to take a serious, actual break. Usually, I get a second wind, a wind which on this occasion was not forthcoming. A f

Here are some recent sketches. I'm not sure they reflect an entirely satisfied mind, but they all made me laugh. First up, Meat Men. These guys will sell you a box of meat in a pub car park, any time. Second, Dilbert. With Scott Adams gone, he doesn't know what he's going to do, but it's going to be

I must have posted this Giant Days x Batman video before but it certainly bears a second airing. Created by reader Miguel Blanco, whose details come up at the end of the video. It's very strange to see my drawings animated like this - I think it's the only time its been done, and it makes me look at

Here are some recent drawings I have done while watching TV. You can tell my energies are currenty low because I've been defaulting to familiar shapes rather than new. Lottie's old coffee boss, a page of practice Shelleys, Lottie and Fizz from her old roastery job, Lottie and "a cousin", LUNX gym (s

I think every artist has a baseline of what "finished" is in their head, and it's different for everyone. What looks effortless or tossed-off is often the result of a lot of prior visual exploration that we, the consumer, never see. You know in your head, when it's done. But throughout a career, tho

The next Solver story will be posted here on April 23rd. As you can see, it's the Christmas special. I will be the first to concede that the timing of it is far from special. Edit: somehow I uploaded a less resplendent earlier draft.

Aaron posted this message in the chat and I thought the questions were all interesting enough that I could break it down and answer like a mini interview. I'm fascinated by the adaptation of Steeple and Solver to Webtoon and Tapas. There is also the long-running syndication of Bad Machinery, and now

Here's the second part of the trio of issues that closes out Solver volume 2, "Hull or High Water". I was dogged by illness and equipment failure while drawing this one but somehow rode it out unscathed and it's probably my favourite Solver chapter so far. The next chapter, "Christmas Special", shou

Today, a selection of recent sketches. I've found myself sketching on paper while I think about upcoming stories. All these drawings relate to various tales currently in protean form. Mildred has a nice return to centre stage this year so I am practicing drawing her to get her right. The only bad th

Three questions on a similar theme: Megan Gearhart enquires: "I'm reading Solver again this time on WebComics, and I've been enjoying it more in the long format simply because it makes me read more attentively and I catch more of the jokes on the first read. Which makes me appreciate how joke dense

Nevin asks: Every now and then, I'll see a commenter suggest you use Kickstarter to fund a new comic. Since you have never done it, I assume that you have reason to believe it won't work for you. Could you explain what you think about Kickstarter? I'm always interested in the business behind art car

Jack Christmas wants to know: "I've noticed that for a fair number of your older comics - particularly Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery - you sometimes revised the art when re-releasing or collecting them. What motivated you to update certain comics after the fact - was it due to how people reacted

Patreon subscriber Alex contacted me to ask if there was a page that listed everything I've published, and where you could get it. FAIR QUESTION! A few readers have done timelines of the series, and I'd had a go myself, but I'm not too into prescriptive approaches to my work. I started reading Marve

In an unusual (for me) and experimental move, I am going to reprint Murder She Writes, my late 2011 comic. My records say that it's my best-selling ever self-published book (it comfortably outsold some of the books that actual publishers put out!) It'll necessarily be a short run, but I've enjoyed p

I try to keep a big lined pad in the kitchen that I use as my workbook, the ones I buy are 200 pages long and I just finished the pad I started in Autumn 2024. So here are a selection of drawings and notes from it that I thought you might enjoy. This book covers Wobbly Head pt 1 right up to the curr

I've just made a collection of my previous Q&A questions so you can find them all in one place. I have had some great questions and I enjoy writing the essays in response. But a new year has rolled around and it's time for a new Q&A. Ask your question in the comments on this post and, if I can; I'll

Keenspot have finally disabled the old Bobbins website (24 years after I left the network - for shame!) but I was able to nip into the old FTP today and grab the whole site. There are some astonishingly ghastly relics of my early 2000s art practice tucked away in there that no one must ever see. But