Designing The Clock Final Cover

    I had Ben Dilworth's superb comic work and unfortunately, thanks to the process used by my printer, the cover that was sent could not be used. I was left with the option of not publishing, just adding the occasional strip to an existing anthology (The Clock did appear on the front cover of the final issue (vol. 2 no. 10) of Adventure which featured a Dilworth illo colourised by my brother, Mike.

(c)2025 BTCF

I hate doing covers! But I suck it up and get to work. Apparently, I am told, the various book covers stand out and are "unique" in not just having fight scenes on them.  So I tried one idea. Threw it out. Brilliant idea next and....threw it out. Another idea seemed to be perfect. Can you guess what happened? Yup, threw it out!

There I sat looking at a rough outline sketch (by "outline" I actually mean pencilled outline) and I thought keeping that clean white background would be nice. At that point my black and white artist brain kicked in and I left The Clock as a silhouette against a white background..with some bullet holes (we all knew it was heading that way).

(c)2025 BTCG

Completed I went away and made some coffee (NOT instant. NEVER instant!!!) came back to the image and threw it to one side. It wouldn't work. I tried another design. Nope. How about that silhouette in a darkened alleyway with trash cans over turned and bullets whizzing (giggle)  by.

No.

I looked at that illo and again and said something rude and it became the final cover!  

Still don't think it did justice to the interior art but if you have a book you need a cover -right?

all art (c)2025 Ben R. Dilworth (except the cover I did!)

Tick-Tock It's The Clock!

 

Ben R. Dilworth

32pp

A4

black and white

£7.22

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/tick-tock-its-the-clock/paperback/product-ejqjwv.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Feature Comics #21, 1936. the Clock, eventually revealed to be society man and former district attorney Brian O'Brien, wore a three-piece suit, a fedora, and a black full-face mask. The first masked hero of comics dealt with crime using guile and gun and usually left a calling card that bore an image of a clock and the words "The Clock Has Struck." Ben Dilworth steps in to fill in the gaps and what MADE the Clock -plus a revelation: What happened to O'Brien's look-alike and crime busting companion Pug? Prepare for violence, harsh language and to ask the question:can there ever really be justice from the barrel of a gun?

Honestly, it is all very easy and simple

 I really should not have to write this again but... 

Books ordered from the online store are printed and use the mail system in the region they were ordered in.

You order in France books are printed and posted in France.

You order in the USA then books are printed and posted in the USA.

You order in Australia the books are printed and posted there.

There is no international shipping costs or import tax.

That is why I use an online store -you can see the cost of books in your own currency whether Francs, Yen, Dollars or Euro. No hidden costs.

Major Victory

 

A4

44pp

Black and white

£6.48

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/major-victory-no-1/paperback/product-krqv5v.html?q=&page=1&pageSize=4

 He is Britain's latest super hero...or is he?

What part do the gods have to play in the life of Woking's hero?

Why the symbolic "V" and Welsh dragon motif?

Who IS Major Victory and why is the President of the United States visiting Woking and WHO is plotting his assassination?

Is it safe to live in Woking?

Easy solution: buy the book and find out! Big Bad Ben Dilworth is back (admittedly he was only captured by tiny super heroes and whisked away to a mysterious tower in his head but....he's cheap!)

Comic Bits 3 -A Treasure Trove of Lost, Found and Forgotten!

 

A4

Colour/BW

80pp

£10.00 UK

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/comic-bits-no-3-2026/paperback/product-q6wqden.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Comic Bits is the only journal dealing with the Platinum, Golden, Dark and Silver Ages of British comics and the creators involved.

This edition looks at the number of British "Bat men" -characters lost to time. The Bat by William McCail stars in his only ever appearance

We take a look at Tom Browne and Oliver Veal recognised as creators of what became the "British style" for over 100 years.

Prolific creator Terry Bave and his wife Sheila give us a glimpse of working in Silver age weekly comics.

Then there three rarities: the first is the origin of T.N.T. Tom a true star of Swan comics. Secondly we have the other star of Swan in Dene Vernon -Ghost Investigator. His very first pouting from 1940.

Third...well, a massive shock was the discovery of a super heroine not mentioned in any sources and this one off appearance drawn by E. H. Banger (we look at his career in this issue as well) -after 60 years Wanda the Wonder Girl is revealed!

Comic strips from some of the greats of British comics add extra zing to this issue.

Why miss out!

Black Tower Super Heroes: Werewolves

  

86pp

A4

Black and white

£10.00 UK 

https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper/black-tower-super-heroes-werewolves/paperback/product-84wwge7.html?page=1&pageSize=4

The Prof, investigator of the paranormal, encounters two werewolves in Castle Park...and Devilina who has a "sort of" message for him. Kotar, Sabuta, Lady Silana, Tarot and others deal with new werewolf activity and Dr Lycaon is granted access to the labs at the HQ of the explorer/adventurer group The Questors. Lycaon believes he is close to a serum that will cure the curse of lycanthropy but someone or something is trying to stop him. Meanwhile in space Freelancer delivers justice to the Central Galactic Council after its betrayal (see The Green Skies) and on Earth the equally treacherous Council of Light meets its fate. Will Lycaon succeed with his cure or does the increased werewolf activity even in the halls of one of the UKs most secret buildings indicate that the cure is too late?

I Am NOT Just Able To Walk Into any Comics Company and get work

  

 People have said that bot realising they are talking absolute rubbish. Yes, I have beenwriting everything from comics, technical and general intertest articles since the 1970s. I have been involved in editorial work, publishing comics and magazines as well as books since the 1980s. I heavily promoted MU Press, Blue Comet Press and other companies in the 1980s-1990s and before they became "cool" for a short period I promoted and pushed Archie Comics before they decided to just stop for no reason. 

I did scripts for Marvel UK, Fleetway and others over the years and I get more ideas for comic strips and series in my head daily.

However, none of that means that I can just "walk into" comic work with a company because experience is not valued as much as ticking the right trendy boxes.

It is that simple.  I was asked the other day whether I had ever submitted project ideas to Archie since I have never made a secret of the fact that I am a big fan of the companies action characters?  Yes, I have. Last time was December 2025 and as usual not even the "professional courtesy" of a response.

I hate the shatter illusions but that is just how it goes these days. There are things I regret  such as backing and supporting and heavily pushing companies who tell you how grateful they are that you are supporting them but then, when it all pays off, it's a case of "Terry who?"  I've even had artists who I helped get into the industry do similar and even claim they've never met me when there are interviews I carried out with them in print.

Comics have always been a back-stabbing industry as Louise H. Diamond and others have found out over the decades. A contact with Fantagraphic Books in the U.S. showed that even written contracts are worth nothing if a publisher wants to screw you over with illegal sales of rights to foreign publishers against the contract. Money is the only interest people have so I learnt early on.

New ideas are NOT valuable while rechurning the same stories and events over and over again are. How many "Crises", how many "Secret Wars" how many "This worked and sold in the 1979s/1980s" and the saps will still buy it can companies churn out -they are doing it again now. 

I have to put all the ideas have into Black Tower comics because, putting aside bigger companies, I have tried smaller Independent companies/publishers. No deal.

So please get the idea out of your head, if you ever think it, that I can make a living through other companies as a writer, etc. I cannot.