In praise of the Fudenosuke Brush Pen

The first week of 2018 has seen a small revolution in my comic strip artwork since I've discovered a new drawing tool - the Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen. I bought it between Christmas and New Year at the stationers on Park Street, having failed to find what I was looking for at a shop in Cardiff.

It turned out to be so good that, as I was halfway through my first page using it, I immediately ordered two more, not knowing how long they'd last. Have a look at the photo above. Can you see how, in the first instance, I had a little difficulty knowing what to reorder? That's right, everything is in Japanese.

Added to which, it's only having uploaded the picture above that I realise I've actually ordered the wrong pens. I've just been using the Soft pen and have ordered two Hard pens. When they arrive I'll see whether they're any use. (The difference between soft and hard, as far as the exterior of the pen is concerned, seems to be a slight difference in the pastel shade of two of the 4 boxes on the side. Boy, they certainly want to shift units in English speaking countries, don't they?)


Here's what the end result comes out like...

You might not be able to see a difference between this and my recent stuff, but it's giving me a much finer line than my ink and brush work has been achieving of late. And by god it's faster. So much faster that I've completed my latest job, Book Of Ruth, at the rate of nearly 5 pages a day, with much more detail than previous jobs. And I've so got up to speed that, this afternoon, I just wrote, pencilled, inked and coloured a three panel patch for Book Of Esther (which I originally delivered nearly a year ago, and which has yet to see print). Here, this now goes on page one...

It'll mean nothing to you, but it greatly improves the start of the story. I hope you're all going to see this Women Of The Bible graphic novel (featuring Esther, Ruth, Rahab and Jael) before too long. It's the best work I've written and drawn in years, and I'm inordinately proud of it.

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. View the promo video here.