My old colleague Lew Stringer sent me this link:

IT CAME FROM DARKMOOR...

To the writer - thank you so much. Great blog and kind words. I'm glad you grew to love it. :)

Take care,

Liam.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and the more I ponder it, the less like a good idea it seems. What's that, you ask vaguely with a mildly distracted air and an arched eyebrow in my general direction? Well, since you ask, it's the whole thing about favourites.
As a kid I kind of went with it: What's your favourite colour/car/brand of jeans (or best of all from my son, Lorcan, what's your favourite fly? I mean, WTF?) Who's you're favourite band/footballer/cartoon character? Who's your best friend? What's better: A milkshake or Coke? What would be your best job? You know the score. And so what happens when you start to enter into this kind of thinking? You carve yourself, slowly but inextricably, into an inflexible stone aspect of yourself, destroying many possibilities of what you might be! You start, over time, to define yourself by these favorite things. "I'm an ass man", "I'm a Man United supporter", "I drive a Volvo", "I don't do sci-fi","hey, I don't hug"(believe it or not, that's 100% verbatum!), "I hate pussy pinko liberals","I'm a Marvel guy", "I only read DC", "comics are for geeks", etc.
As I've grown older it's occurred to me that actually I really don't have favourite things. I'd trot stuff out without thinking - "Led Zep are my favourite band" being amongst the most fixed - but it's not really true. Sometimes I'm into Pink Floyd more, or Elvis, or David Bowie, or Jeff Buckley. I don't have a favourite colour, why should I? (Why are you even asking? What matter is it to anybody?) I like lots of music, and I like lots of styles of music. I don't really like jazz much, but I've enjoyed learning about it on documentaries, and I've given it a good stab. I can respect it, and there are exceptions. I don't like hiphop on the whole, but I respect it's origins and pioneers, and the stuff I do like is respectful and heavily informed by it's traditions, while being open to new influences. Why should I put myself out there as just a rock guy, when really that's just one (albeit quite large) aspect of my taste? And yet people do it all the time: "I'm a mod, and I hate fucking rockers!" "I'm a punk, and prog is shite!" "I love hiphop and hate greebo wierdos!"
We have to think about the consequences of this kind of completely ingrained and narrow thinking. There are so many ramifications that when you actually start thinking about it you start to realise that it's going to have a profound effect on all of society, and it goes on ever day under our noses. It was reported to me recently that a couple who had spent time in Africa some 40 years ago had made the statement that "African's don't put the same value on life that we do" - "we" being the West, though it's debatable as to whether they were actually referring about Africans as a race, or whether it was with regard to the sociopolitical situation due to their geographic location, history and demographics. Either way, it's a statement 40 years out of date from people who were there at a time when such comments were commonplace, understanding was slight, and also by people who had not made very much effort to learn about how things had either changed in that time, or why (assuming their original comment was accurate, which is doubtful) it might be the case. As a result it's bad information that they carved in stone years ago and stuck with.
We become how we have defined ourselves, and we become limited - stunted even.
So I'm saying we should stop doing these stupid lists! Stop having favourites, that only serve to create competition, division and to shut down our capacity for learning and growth. How did we get to this? It so prevalent, yet we never see the bigger picture of what that might be engendering within us as a species.
I'm sure I'll write more on this soon as it's potentially a pretty huge subject I think!

Very best, as ever,

Liam.

I LOVE Metallica, but this is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages...

Pure genius. :)

Enjoy!

OK, following my recent comments re. The Golden Compass, I thought I'd actually see what the feeling was more generally from reviewers, and what I've found, I think, is that there's a myth being perpetuated. Take for instance these reviews:

GOLDEN COMPASS REVIEWS

It seems to me that they are overwhelmingly positive!
One of the worst suggested that it would never inspire anybody to read anything. Well, my daughter, 11, never read any of the books. After the film, though, she couldn't get her hands on my copies fast enough - and I've been trying to get her to read them for a couple of years!

Go see it. See what you think. And if you like it, tell people! Let's kill the myth that it's rubbish! :)

Very best,

Liam.

I love the rationalism Sam Harris brings with him. It's not forced or preachy.
I share his frustration at being unable to comprehend blind acceptance of the unprovable, something I qualify by adding that I used to share that blind-spot myself. I believed because I was told, unqualifiedly, that it was true. Truth implies fact. I resent being taught like this, and absolutely believe we should make our own choices based on what we absolutely find to be true in our own experience in the context of our rational understanding of the universe.
Whether or not you share my convictions, this is interesting stuff worth a watch. :)

Very best,

Liam.

Sam Harris, Rabbi David Wolpe debate

Good lord, will we ever be free of it?
I know a great many people who hate the run-up to Christmas, or whatever your chosen term for the seasonal winter holiday might be. Some hate the whole damn period. I can see why, with the bloated consumerism, schmaltz, over-eating and drinking, etc. There's nothing new here, it's been complained about and vilified as long as I can recall, but - fuck it - I love it. Always have. It's off the hook time. I can drink, get fatter, lay off the work, watch crappy movies, and generally have some family time. I like the lights, the ambience, the tacky decor. I like the excess. I LOVE the giving of presents - don't really care to much about the receiving as most stuff I ever wanted I actually have, but then I'm pretty easy to please, and I'm not very materialistic.
So what, you may ask, has got my goat this time?
Actually it's the POST Christmas TV advertising.
Long ago I made myself immune to TV ads. They literally wash over me. I look at the pretty pictures, I might even discuss the odd memorable contribution to motion-advertising, but 99% of the time I haven't got a clue what it is they're trying to sell me. I'm immune to most branding, and proud of it. As a result the largely unoriginal and samey Christmas ads have the least impact on my consciousness, and generally just lull me into a semi-catatonic haze (aided by a drop of mead, or port, or sherry, beer, wine, or whatever.) But for some reason my guard was down when the holiday ads, slimming ads, and sales kicked in. And now it's driving me nuts!
I'm reminded of why I consciously set out to ignore ads in the first place - they are ruling our lives! Christmas ads, schmishmas ads! (To use the mildly comedic jewish turn of phrase over which I have absolutely no claim, but which somehow puts it clearest.) The ones we should be worrying about are the ones directly AFTER Christmas. It's such a horrible cycle, and we're all on it. So, all you poor consumers who put on weight over the hols, better join that gym! It's cheep!
And while you're at it, remember those jeans you could fit into a month back? No worries! 3 out of 4 people who only ate our cereals every meal time for a month were clinically proven to have lost weight when they ate it without sugar and with low-fat milk or yogurt! Yum! Also isn't it about time you planned that get-away? Sure it is! And with your special-thin diet in place, you'll be back in your little red bikini in no time!
Men! Want to see your cocks again? No problem! Nothing a little stomach surgery can't fix, or maybe you prefer lypo? Time to spray on that tan and bald-spot coverer and get back into shape for the layyydeees.
And best of all, why not buy that old-school rave album and get ready for summer?
Every year, round and fucking round we go, swept along by the media, the advertisers, the crappy fucking magazines, the whole horrible celeb-fest that is engulfing the world.

Happy New Year!

On a completely different note, I went to see "the Golden Compass" a couple of days ago. I had extremely low expectations, given the drubbing it received by a lot of critics, and the very poor box office. But as a huge fan of the books, and their message, I felt I had to make the effort - solidarity for my brother in thought and fiction really.
Well, I'm glad to say I thought it was fantastic. Beautifully cast, well-acted, and clearly told - no mean feat, given the subject matter! The bears rocked, the FX were mostly great. In my opinion it was easily the equal of the Potter movies in terms of FX and direction, and far better in terms of the performance of the central child protagonist. I was delighted to be surprised by how good it was, and dismayed that so few people agree with me there will most likely not be the sequels it deserves in order to tell the whole epic story - a story which only really gets going in the second volume.
Go and see it!

Take care, and seriously - DO have a fantastic New Year! (Just learn to say "no" to ads!)

All my very best,

Liam.

Well I just broke a personal record before Christmas. With the last issue of Testament conflicting with Lord Havok schedules I had to let a fill-in artist do issue 3 of Lord Havok - which I was really unhappy about, but you know how the market likes its books out on time above everything else! So anyway, we got a great guy for the issue, Mark Robinson, who has a wonderful fluid, animation-type style, and great storytelling, so it'll still look fantastic. Back to me though, and my run-up to Christmas page-drawing record - wait for it - 21 pages in six days!!! And you know what? They're some of my very best. And some are even inked by me too!
I think the truth is you can get really up-tight over-thinking everything, and when it comes down to it, and the choice is taken away, just having faith in your ability and powering through can produce quite startling results! (That said, I'm in no hurry to repeat the exercise! I can't recall the last time I was so beat!) What was interesting was how my storytelling actually improved. More angles, better characterization, less stiff face-on figure-work. My editor thinks it's the best issue yet, which is very cool. It's also less 90's stylistically, which was kind of the idea, to bring me and these characters up to date.
Now I'm on 5, and after that - who knows? Still nothing confirmed on the horizon... But I'm excited to see what the new year throws my way.

As for Testament, here's what I wrote to my DC colleagues:

"Dear all,

Thank you for the adventure that has been Testament. The last week has been such a flurry I've barely had the time to really come to grips with the book ending, but drawing the last page became pretty poignant. I realised I'd come to love these characters, and the notion that they would not be continuing their journey beyond my time with them suddenly filled me with considerable sadness. Of course that was tempered with the knowledge that for all the rough and smooth of the ride, what we created was something very special. Something valid, that actually had things to say about humanity, history, myth and our future.
Doug, thank you for the story. I was along for the ride with the characters - in that I often had no idea what was coming. The Alec arc was a revelation, and even the bad guys had soul. There's not a character in the series you can't empathise with on some level, be it Fallow or Dr. Green.
Dinah remains my favourite though. She's always been a curious mix of small, but tough; young, but wise; innocent, yet sensual; controlling, yet exploited. She's the pulse of the story, or at least the passion.
Of the gods, Astarte had me also as the unearthly counterpart to Dinah. But all of them had their day – the monstrous Atum-Ra, the bestial Moloch, and the force of nature that was Marduk. Wonderful stuff.

Thanks all. I'll miss you – more, I suspect, than I know at this point."

As to you kind folk who read my blog and help make everything that little bit more worth while, have a WONDERFUL New Year. See you there, peace, and all the very best of luck.

Much love,

Liam.

Here's a little Christmas cheese to make you smile. :) And yes, the kids DID get me dressed up as a teddy bear in a kilt prancing round the garden... Will I never live it down?

We produced the song on Logic, and if you listen hard enough we're all on it somewhere...

The animations were done in photoshop, except for the last bit - which was Strata Vision 3d - and the map fly-over - which was done with Bryce.
Big thanks to Joe Barcham for helping me with the video edit - still learning the software!

But biggest thanks to all my lovely kids, Matylda, Lorcan and Super Jeff. I love you guys more than I thought I could love anything.

Avoid if suffering irony/humor by-pass!

Merry Christmas all!

Liam and the Sharps xxx

Whispering Your Name (Merry XMas)



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Download free MP3 here:http://www.amazingtunes.com/users/mamtor/tunes/5895

http://chrisweston.blogspot.com/

Bless you Chris! :)

L.

"Lord Havok" has hit the shops. Feedback from my friends, and pros like Bryan Hitch, Dougie Braithwaite, Simon Bisley, Chris Weston and others has been really fantastic (Chris Weston even phoned up to shout "You're Back!" at me down the phone, bless him.) The handful of loyal fans I'm in regular contact with have also been fantastic.
And yet in reviews across the board I've been called "old fashioned" - one saying my art was like "those terrible artists that copied Rob Liefield in the early 90's". Another labled my artwork "barely competent" - nice after 22 years as a pro!

The advice I've had here is "don't look for reviews, it's not worth it." Well, I'm trying not to - but it's not that easy. For a start as the publisher of Mamtor books I HAVE to look for reviews as the best ones help with promotion. It's become second nature as I continue to try and crack the code of this industry, and make some headway that might offer me and my family more security down the line. For a second, these days we HAVE to sell ourselves if we're going to get any chance at being seen out there. Anything I can do to help the book I will. Not reading reviews is not really being secure of ego, it's being a bit lazy! That said, I've been used to one bad review in every twenty on Testament. I think I've found one good review in twenty of Lord Havok!

Now I know that online anything related to DC's "Countdown" event is getting grief - and it's beyond me why. Sure there are things I don't know or understand about the minutia of DC continuity and characters, but we're not talking Dark Knight here. We're not talking Watchmen! It's a weekly comic - a HUGE undertaking! - not rocket science. It's a comic, it's light entertainment!

So when I saw these reviews before I saw a copy I was gutted. Really really gutted. And confused.

Then I bought it, and you know what? It rocks! Great inks by Rob Hunter, wonderful colours by Dave Baron, and a rollicking story by Frank Tieri. It's not going to change the industry, but it's good solid bad-ass fun!

And what about the "old fashioned" tag?

You know what, that one pisses me off the most. George Perez is a great artist who has maintained his early 80's style throughout. Is he old fashioned? Course not. Alan Davis has continued to refine his style from the same period, where it has been modified and adopted by artists as skilled as Ivan Reis. Old fashioned? And what about Alex Ross, with his 1950's advertising style?

There are people who think Manga is a new and trendy way of drawing. It's been relatively unchanged for half a century!

So my 90's style is old fashioned?

Pfft.

The trouble is - as anybody who practices in the industry, or who has read my blogs knows - it is damn hard growing that thick skin and sufficient ego to say "fuck you, you're wrong." We count on our audience to know what we're doing is worth while. We need to know we're not alone, and that we're achieving some sort of purpose - hell, maybe even getting a bit better!

To finish up; don't let people get away with being unqualifiedly rude and aggressive online. There's no need. And where you can, post something positive! We're listening to you!

And if anybody HAS found a good review, I'd be grateful if you'd point me at it! I want to post it around a few places, see if I can't drum up some more trade! ;)

Very best,

Liam.



Edit: Fantastic review about my art here though!



http://www.brokenfrontier.com/reviews/details.php?id=1599



Excerpt: "But the biggest pull, the reason I picked up this book in the first place, in fact: Liam Sharp. Anyone familiar with his work on Testament, or his stints on such classics as Man-Thing or Death's Head II, will know that any book bearing his stamp is one to ogle at. Havok is more in the style of his Marvel UK days, as the look is pure gritty super-heroics and sci-fi weirdness, but that's hardly a criticism. The pages of Havok are everything its premise calls for; they exude a god-like sense of violence and power and pretension. Bolstered by inker Rob Hunter and color-meister Dave Baron, the artwork is over-the-top dark magisterial eye-candy."