Editorial

January 2022

So after eight years and four months we arrive at issue 100. Much to my surprise and something I'm very impressed with. So where does this series go from here? I'm sixty-one, so creating a further one hundred issues would take me to almost seventy years of age.

And as much as I enjoy working on this comic I feel that another hundred issues is probably not on the cards. There are other things I want to do and creating a monthly comic eats most of the available spare time I have. So I think finishing this series around issue 150, or thereabouts is a fair target to aim at. This will allow me to tie up some loose ends of which there are quite a few. Although I can't guarantee every sub-plot will be resolved.

As of January 2015 Green Lion Comics has a brand new logo (above left), designed by inc-dot, York. The new logo will provide a more 'professional' look to the comic.

This page has been re-organised. The stories and index to the Guard series have been archived with each story now having its own page and accessible via the buttons below.

For those you like to have posters of your favourite characters, I've created several Guard posters. Please feel free to print out a copy and place them somewhere prominent!

Please also click on the character cards below, for information about who's who in the series. There are now seven sets of cards in the collection. The image on the far right below is for the back of the cards. This has been provided for those of you thinking of printing out your own Guard cards.

Character Biography Cards.

Biography cards 1

Biography cards 2

Biography cards 3

Biography cards 4

Biography cards 5

Biography cards 6

Biography cards 7

Biography cards 8

Biography cards 9

Biography cards 10

Biography cards 11

back of card

Behind the Scenes at Green Lion Comics

For those of you who are interested in my working method, I have added three pages below which explain how the Guard character and his world came to life and how the stories are created. Additional pages maybe added at the editor's whim. Possibly an alternative title might be - 'How Not to Go About Creating a Comic Strip.'

Note - other Behind The Scenes pages will from issue 30 onwards be posted on the relevant story page. Thank you.

Page one

Page two

Page three

behindscenesvol3

The following information can be found below -

• a) background information about this series.

• b) the Guard stories. Note - these have now been archived and are accessible via the buttons below.

• c) Index of characters, places and stories for this series. (Note - this information is now located on its own page accessible via the button below.
  This is a running index of people and places and is for those readers who are new to the strip and want to find out more about the Guard and his world.

For previous Guard stories - please click on the relevant page below. This will take you to that particular story and notes.

Note - Access to the Guard Index is now via the first button below.

The Guard Index to the series.

1) Snookered.

2) The Guard is Dead, Long Live the Guard.

3) Jack and Jill.

4) The Kill.

5) McGill.

6) Prison Blues.

7) Click, Whirrrll.

A Study in 8) Concentration.

9) This is Yorkton.

10) First Meeting.

11) The Tarmac Merchants.

12) A Brief History of the City and Country Railway.

13) The Master Thief.

14) Winter Fair.

15) Moonshot.

16) Hold My Hat!

17) The Claw part one

18) The Claw part two

19) Mary's Story.

20) The Lone Stranger.

21) Race For Life.

22) A Game of Patience

23) The Coffin Ship, part one.

24) The Patrol

25) A Guard Comics History.

26) The Coffin Ship, Part Three.

27) Twas the Night Before Christmas.

28) A Short History of Yorkton Docks.

29) Ferriby's Big Night Out.

30) Single to Hangman's Noose.

31) A Mini Adventure.

32) Spinning Wheels.

33) Arctic Station Napier.

34) Running Commentary.

35) The Return of The Grey Shadow part one.

36) The Return of The Grey Shadow part two.

37) Chinese Whispers.

38) Remember, Remember...

39) Christmas Panto

40) Past, Present & Future.

41) A Week in the Life of Albert Copperwaite, Railway Guard.

42) Tales of a Utility Man Operative - Cairo.

43) It's About Time Part one.

44) It's About Time Part two.

45) En Garde Matey!

46) The English Captain.

47) Seeing the Future.

48) Fall of the Guard part one.

49) Fall of the Guard part two.

50) Fall of the Guard part three.

51) The Quaich.

52) The Tea and Sugar Train.

53) Happy Valley part one.

54) Happy Valley part two.

55) Goonlana.

56) Race Against Time.

57) Cold Decision.

58) Dayshift.

59) Nightshift.

60) Arrival.

61) Missing Link.

62) Bribery.

63) Biography of a Kingpin.

64) Dog Story.

65) A Guard Comics History, part two.

66) Robots.

67) Interlude.

68) Showdown, Part One.

69) Showdown, Part Two.

70) Medical.

71) Twilight.

72) Seabase Alpha part one.

73) Seabase Alpha part two.

74) Treasure.

75) Jamuda.

76) The Mean Streets of Yorkton.

77) A Story Can Be Told One Way...

78) ...Or In a Different Way.

79) Take a Hike.

80) United We Stand.

81) The Yorkton Book of Days.

82) A Mysterious Disappearance.

83) A Mysterious Disappearance part two.

84) A Mysterious Disappearance part three.

85) It's a Dirty Business.

86) The Six Wise Men.

87) Desert Railway, Part One.

88) Desert Railway, part two.

89) Desert Railway, Held Up.

90) Desert Rly Mystery, Tour.

91) Desert Rly One Fine Morning.

92) suddenly At Home.

93) - Battenburg Part One Tesrxaler.

94) - Battenburg Part Two Skating on Thin Ice.

95) - Battenburg Once a Upon a Time.

96) - Arctic Station Napier Year in Review.

97) - Arctic Station One Damn Thing After Another.

98) - If You Want to Get Ahead, Get a Hat.

99) - Mayday, Mayday

100) - Takedown - part one.

101) Takedown - part two.

102) Takedown - part three.

103) He Had His Say.

104) Spring, Part One.

105) - Spring, Part Two

106) The Red Ghost Chase.

107) Summer.

108) Flying Squad, issue 27.

109) Autumn.

110) The Loch Ness Monster.

111) Tom Bellhorn and The Thing.

112) Winter

113) Chameleon.

114) Brimstones.

115) Castle Folly.

116) Castle Folly - pt.2.

117) Castle Folly - pt3.

118) Autumn Fox.

119) A Sting in The Tale.

120) Surprise!

121) Napier Pier.

122) The Light- house Keeper.

123) Coca Cola.

124) Cairo Station.

125) Yorkton Bound

126) Duel

Collected Guard story volumes.

(Note - In addition to the stories, each volume also contains story background notes, relevant brief character biography cards, behind the scenes information and an updated Guard index (volumes 1 to 5 only). Several volumes also have a comics related article.

Volume One - Black Swans collects adventures 1 - 12.

Volume Two - Red For Danger, Green For Action - collects adventures 13 - 22.

Volume Three - Dangerous Journeys collects adventures 23 - 32.

Volume Four - Touch And Go collects adventures 33 - 41.

Volume Five - The Guard at Bay collects adventures 42 - 50.

Volume Six Desinations Unknown collects adventures 51 - 60.

Volume Seven Ninjago City West Central 1953 collects adventures 61 - 70.

Volume Eight One The Run, Under Water & On Land collects adventures 71 - 80.

Background information for this series.

Note - the notes below are very much a work in progress.

The stories above has nothing to do with any D.C. Thomson story, (obviously)! This is my own poor attempt at trying to write and 'draw' a short comic strip. I've always wanted to do something like this, but whilst I am happy to do write story scripts (poorly no doubt), the drawing side was always a problem. I can't draw to save my life! And I don't know any artists, who I could collaborate with.

(I also apologise for inflicting these comic strips and views on an unsuspecting world. But on the other hand, there's not much point in producing something like this, if you don't show it off!)

After a long think about it (a couple of years or so), I finally hit upon using Lego Minifigs as my characters in the story. They are ideal for my strip. There are tens and tens of figures to choose from, from many different types of jobs. There are also different heads, hair-pieces, hats and other accessories available, thus allowing you to make your own figures. So thank you Lego. And also thank you to those who have produced clipart and to Serif Drawplus X6 software.

My guides will be books published by Will Eisner, (pronounced 'Isner') Scott McCloud and work I see by writers and artists in various comics in my collection. All will be acknowledged. (I apologise in advance to both authors and hope they will forgive the almighty train crash of stories below). Why these two authors? If you want to do something well, you need to learn from the best.

And one of the best (if not the best in this comic art form) is Will Eisner. Eisner (who died in 2005), published three strips for a sixteen page newspaper insert comic called The Spirit, which was synicated in sunday newspapers in the United States in the 1940's. (The two other main strips, they changed over the years, were Lady Luck and Mr. Mystic. These were written and drawn by other artists). In the weekly, seven page Spirit strip, Eisner explored how to tell a story experimenting in content and form. If you are a comics fan and you haven't read any of his strips, then you should. (Even if your not a comic fan, you should). The Spirit comic insert had no cover, but it did have a Spirit splashpage. These pages served to attract the reader to the strips. And these Eisner splash pages are worth the admission fee on their own.

Below are a couple of examples of Eisner Spirit splash pages. Eye-catching I think you'll agree.

Above - two examples of Eisner's Spirit splash pages.

Those who know Eisner's Spirit work, may recognise in the strips below his influence in my work. (I should point out that I won't be able to match Eisner artwise, as I'm no artist. But I might achieve something storytelling wise). Although if I come within 1% of anything Eisner has done, I'll be well chuffed! Although, using Lego minifigs and clip art will restrict what I can do and achieve.

McCloud is another great teacher of the comic art form and has published various books on the subject as well as his own comics.

Why stories about the railway? Mainly, because I have an interest in this subject through working in the industry and research. I thought, it would be best to write about something I know about. The series will be mainly railway themed and set in the 1950's. I chose the 1950's as I wanted to avoid modern technology and I like that particular decade. I also want to do humorous, serious and dark stories. Although I'm finding that humour is working its way into many of my strips for some reason. So this is also something new I have discovered.

And before anyone asks, (not that they are likely too), "where do my ideas come from?" My reply is the same place as where everyones elses' ideas come from. Human beings have a powerful mind that is constantly working on ideas consciously or unconsciously. Have a problem at home or at work? Something that could be done better? Don't fret, your mind will churn it over and come up with a solution. And more often or not the answer is a simple solution. In my case it may involve the marrying of two ideas together to produce one fused idea. And remember the good thing about writing / drawing a comic is that the impossible is possible.

text © Adrian Banfield, 2023; artwork © D.C. Thomson Co. Ltd.