abide with me

today is candlemas, the time of year when a church might perform a little ritual of blessing over the candles that it will use in the upcoming twelve months.

maybe in literally-darker times, it's a day that carried a little more significance.

still in the world of church stuff, it's also a day when the presentation of the infant christ in the temple is remembered and celebrated. that's when simeon and the prophetess anna recognised him as the future messiah - you may know simeon's song better as the 'nunc dimitis'...


a while back, leeds church institute asked me to think about creating something narrative for candlemas - something that riffed on the themes of that biblical story, but which also explored life as it's lived in the city here today; and which also examined ideas around rememberance and remembering...


'abide with me' is the result of that commission - three connected comics which tell the story of an adult son visiting his parents, but from different perspectives.

someone asked me if it's a sequel to 'how to disappear completely' and i guess that it isn't, not really. it's much wordier, for staters, and there's more of a defined storyline in it [at least, i think that there is]
but it does occupy the same world as that earlier comic, and, as with HTCD, i've tried to layer in a lot of ideas and connections and references. so i'm hoping that it'll reward repeated readings and that folk will find their own meanings and interpretations within it.

you can buy a set of the three comics here for the bargain earlybird price of just a fiver [plus p&p] 
and they'll soon be available at the ever-wonderful ok comics too...