For most of this week I’ve forgone the custard creams in order to get my tax return together. Basically it all starts with a plastic bag full to the brim of all last year’s receipts. Then I have this internal dialogue where I ask myself why I couldn’t have kept my records up to date on a regular basis rather than the current situation rushing about at the last minute like a mad loon. But isn’t it always the way. There’s that lazy fecker in all of us, which of course explains how global warming came about.

Still, it’s a pain doing me tax return, keeping me away from a Johnny Bravo strip and the Western story I’m doing for Moonstone. Not to mention all those disappointed faces when I said I couldn’t go out last Wednesday. Well, mine mostly.

Having said that have you noticed how sexy comics have gotten recently? Not the actual comics themselves, but all things associated with those plucky little pamphlets? I was speaking to a lassie recently enthused by the motion picture ‘A History of Violence’. I piped in that I’d been for a meal with John Wagner, who wrote the graphic novel from Paradox on which the film is based. She reacted by insisting that I must be famous, which would be nice if it was true. But there you go, there’s so much out there informing popular culture originally inspired by the comics medium. I'm sure you can think of plenty more examples. Mind you the following exchange is also pretty typical: “I’m a big fan of Batman. I have all the DVDs.” It makes one wish I had a little ‘comics parcel’ I could hand over as I witter on about Dark Knights, and Killing Jokes, and source material and all that jazz.

Oh, and I did get my tax return finished eventually just in case you’re wondering. Huzzah! Ginger slices all round.