Comic Cuts — 10 July 2026

I'm in that hinterland between working on a book and waiting for the final jigsaw piece to arrive, namely the second proof that tells me everything is OK and I can order a full print-run. The temptation is to do nothing, especially in this heat. We're still getting into the low thirties which is enough to melt your enthusiasm for work. 

As Mel was home on Sunday we actually took the opportunity to cut the large hedge we have, which had grown over half of the public footpath while I dithered about buying a new hedge trimmer — the last one went bang when I plugged it in and tripped out the fuses in the house. I'd managed to cut through the wire a couple of years ago, but had used tape to reconnect the wires and create a sleeve. It worked... but we had it in the utility room which is essentially a hothouse with wide windows and a clear plastic roof. 

It get really hot... hot enough to melt the glue on the tape, which then stopped protecting the wiring and instead allowed them to blow up the motor. 

Fortunately, while I was dithering about spending a bunch of money on a new hedge trimmer, I bumped into our neighbour and managed to borrow theirs. Hence spending Sunday cutting back the hedge. We filled our green waste bin (we have one of the big ones) and four bags, and that was just the front. We still have our side of the hedge and we'll have to take some off the top to make it manageable in the future. But the waste collection is only every fortnight, and the four bags will fill up the bin again, meaning another fortnight's wait until it's emptied and we can attack the hedge again — and that will be another month's worth.

Meanwhile, the rest of the garden is growing wild and there's nothing we can do. It's less hassle to keep the unwanted garden refuse attached to the trees, the weeds rooted in the ground and the grass spread at least semi-neatly across the whole lawn. 

One positive note. We have our usual quota of one cucumber and two tomato plants, and it's looking hopeful that we'll have a reasonable crop after last year's disappointment. (Long-time readers will recall the tomato plants suffered from Blossom End Rot, caused by a lack of calcium. That reminds me... I need to get some tomato feed...

I haven't been entirely lazy. There are more books in the works and I'm cleaning up artwork. But you can see how much enthusiasm I've put in by Monday's tally: started the day with 33 pages to do, finished the day with 31 pages to do. Every time I opened a page, something would happen that dragged me off in another direction.

I'm hopeful that we'll hit the official release date with THE SHRINKER, which I've set as 24 July. Early bird discounts will be offered... more news one I've received the proof.