Who is ‘Fenton Hud – Member of F.A.C.T.’?

on January 15, 2022 at 2:24 pm

Fenton Hud came about from both the previous few years of new where terms like ‘Alternative facts’ were used and also a discussion I had with my better half where I revealed that moon rays were a thing… (and hey they do, at least in the comic now!). I realised then that my stupidity/madness could be utilised in creating a new comic (hey, write about what you know!) so I thought this would be an awesome side project for me!

I had no intention in stopping Lloyd and the Bear (my then main book) so I figured what I’d do is work on this during my lunchbreak while on the day job. It would be simple! There would be little in the way of planning, I would sketch and ink each panel on an individual sheet of paper and then scan it, then add it – like a patchwork quilt – to a digital page. Yup, no issues there other than the fact that Covid and lockdown came along and I was working from home! That being said, I found that instead of working on the comic in my lunchbreak I would jump between this and LatB in my spare time and unexpectedly this gave me a chance to refresh my ideas and energies on the book I wasn’t working on at that time!

All good! And also (and sorry for finding a silver lining to Covid and lockdown) but with the streets empty around London at the time it gave me a chance to take a load of photos that I could use as background scenery in the panels of the comic! So yeah, it’s creation came about at a strange time and even though at time of typing this I’m already working on issue #2 I still find it hard to describe what the books about!

So what’s it about? Erm… Well, it’s about Fenton Hud who is out in the world cataloguing facts and saving us all from falsehoods! He’s accompanied by his sister, Tabitha, and his best friend, Cuddles who help him along the way and offer him support!

Each issue is broken in to small scenes that are connected by adverts I’ve made up. The adverts relate to something that just happened in the previous scene and are there to save me from worrying about writing full issues! I do a scene, insert an ‘advert’, and then have the next scene take place elsewhere with no need to explain how the characters got there. It’s also been a great way to provide any exposition that I need to throw out without slowing the story down. So yeah, it’s an odd concept (has it been done before? I don’t…. think so? I mean, since I started on this Wandavision came about but I’d argue their use of adverts was different. Yeah?)

Anyways, my intention of writing as I draw has stuck and that – along with the adverts – means I plan in the moment and don’t think ahead which I oddly enjoy as it really adds to the absurdity of the book!

My plan is for this book to only be a four issue series and I’ll be releasing it as individual comics rather than a collection like Lloyd and the Bear. There was going to be a Kickstarter project for it (and that might yet happen) but at the moment I have no plans. Hey, that’s very much the vibe of the book and all so why not?

All I know is that it’s been a great help to me with getting through these last couple of years and I’m so happy for that!

And hey, if you want to check out some pages why not click on the Fenton Hud button under previews?

More soon! Bear hugs!

Who are ‘Lloyd and the Bear’?

on January 15, 2022 at 7:58 am

So the initial plan was to release a Lloyd and the Bear book every 3 months but that’s fell apart somewhere by issue #6 and I found I’d rather take my time and bring out (hopefully?) a quality book than speed through it and come out with something I wasn’t proud of.

And hey, if you’ve been a long time follower of our old site lloydandthebear.com you’d know that with the first 5 books I’d redrawn them some three times!

But hey, I’m rambling and not evening answering the title of this post! Just who are Lloyd and the Bear?!?

These guys came about when, after trying a series of failed attempts at doing sci-fi/superhero series, I realised I wanted to do something different and as they say you should write about what you know! Still being the proud owner of a teddy bear that I’ve had since I was a kid I figured why not do a story about a kid and his teddy bear (who, unlike my bear – at least as far as I know – is an alien)

And it went from there! I’ll be honest, at first it was supposed to be a bit more of a bitter, sarcastic take on the sci-fi medium but my personal life changed (yeah, I met someone and got all happy and that, whatevs…) and with it so did the idea for the story and it became an all ages fun book!

Sure, I still try and get a few digs in here and there but I really wanted something that was accessible to as many people as possible. I have a nephew who when I started working on this was around the 6 year old mark and I found it really hard to find him books to read that didn’t talk down or were patronising so wanted to create something to fix that (Oh, he’s now 18 years old so y’know, again, I’ve been doing this book for AGES!)

So yeah, I had an idea, I did the planning and built an environment and history for the characters, worked out the first four issues and from there everything kind of fell in place! A number plot points that needed to be hit were put in place along with where the story would end. Initially I had it planned to be some 60 issues long but with hold ups and all I’ve realised I’m going to have to cut back a bit and maybe aim more for the 32 issue mark (ooh, knowing how issue #16 finishes and meaning it would be the halfway point that works out well! Let’s say 32 issues, ‘kay?)

Wait, still rambling! Sorry! So Lloyd and the Bear tells the tale of a boy and his teddy bear alien best friend as they battle Bear’s enemies the Shoal along with other bad ‘uns that get in their way (but also making friends too, so that’s cool!)

Even with a plan in place I really never thought I’d be still working on these guys but I love them so much and hopefully you are too if you’re visiting this site having read one of the books! Hey, if you’ve just stumbled on to this page why not click on our preview links to find out more about Lloyd and the Bear’s adventures!

Bear hugs!

PS. The nephew I mentioned? Didn’t take to the book as it was in in black and white which he regarded as old… Ouch.

Welcome to Bearrito Publishing!

Featured Post
on January 14, 2022 at 5:43 pm

Hi there! Welcome to the home of Lloyd and the Bear, Fenton Hud – Member of F.A.C.T, and other odd happenings that come in to my mind!

I’m not great at posting but it’s my intention (and hope) to keep you up to date with my work on all these comics along with any other projects I’ve got going on!

And hey, if you find I’m not posting enough let me know! (I could do with a good nudge every now and again!)

Scroll down to check out my different posts or click on the blog buttons if you’re after a particular topic!

If you’d like to check out some of my work click on Lloyd and the Bear and Fenton Hud then click on the previews section! And if you’re liking what you see then please follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Bear hugs!