Wow - have I really not posted anything here since August? Yup - it seems so! Oh, well ... here's a snippet just to keep you all updated on where we are!

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Chapters 9 and 10 of my graphic novel Shades are the latest to become available to read online at the Broken Voice Comics website. The new chapters are the first to be illustrated by the new art team of E.C. Nickel and Muamal Khairi.

Remember I mentioned the 2008 Drunk Duck Awards recently? Well, the five finalists in each category have just been announced and Shades has made it into the final round in six categories! Thanks to everyone who nominated us!

The six relevant categories are:

Just in case there's anyone reading who doesn't know, Drunk Duck is a webcomic hosting site and, towards the end of last year, we began serialising Shades there, as well as at our own BVC website.

Well, those nice people at DD have decided to give out lovely awards again this year, so - if you've been enjoying Shades at either site, please do support us by giving us your nomination!

I'm sure you've heard of Ain't it Cool News, right? The Harry Knowles website that gives brutally honest reviews of the latest movies and has a knack for unearthing the most closely guarded studio secrets? Of course you have. Well, unless you visit the AiCN website regularly, what you may not have realised is that they also review other things, like DVDs and comics. And more recently, it seems, even webcomics. Webcomics like ... Shades!

I try not to voice my personal opinions too loudly on the net, particularly on issues in respect of which too many other people's views are so firmly entrenched that a rational exchange of ideas just isn't possible. Religion is a big one. Feminism is another. And now the General Synod of the Church of England has voted to press ahead with plans for the ordination of women bishops, hitting both nails squarely on the head with - to extend the metaphor - a single hammer.

So - to break my customary silence on such matters: Yay, them!

Shades - it's the end!
Well, to be more accurate, it's the half-way point. Today we reach a huge milestone in Shades - the last page of what will eventually be Volume 1 of a print version!

We've seen a lot of creepy things in E.C. Nickel's and Alexandre Lobao's SciFi comic Thy Will Be Done but none, perhaps, quite so creepy as the mysterious "Doctor".

Can you remember when we first met the Shaman in Shades? One of the first things we learned was that he'd been in the spirit world for a very long time and was, therefore, far too weak to try another visit. So, what did he do?

Regular visitors to the BVC website will know that, for the past several weeks, we've been guilty of a little self indulgence.

The last time we looked in on The Spires we saw a bunch of politicians bickering. Will we find anything more interesting to look in on, this time?