So, a few weeks ago I mailed a six-page script over to Alan Grant in Scotland, he’s starting up a new comic called Wasted.

Alan has always been one of my favourite writers, particularly his work at 2000AD and on Batman. One of my favourite issues of his long stint on Batman was Detective Comics #583 which was co-written with John Wagner and illustrated by Norm Breyfogle. This issue not only included the first appearance of The Ventriloquist and Scarface but also had a brilliant cover by Mike Mignola.

Anyway, back to my script, Alan wrote back with a very encouraging letter pointing out a few problems and asking me to cut it down to four pages and try him again.

So, I did, and then he emailed me and said “Congratulations, this should look good in Wasted!” and I emailed him back saying “That’s great. You just made my day! Thank you very much,” and then I decided to celebrate but it was midweek and all my friends had work the next day and so I just got really drunk by myself.

I was in the local recycling centre yesterday and liberated this from the free book shelves. What kind of person would throw this away?

The dust jacket is a little tattered but apart from that it’s clean and brand new looking.

I could understand people throwing out really, really crappy books - and yet the shelves remain unburdened by the works of Dan Brown and Cecilia Ahern. Puzzling.

You really should buy issue three of Murky Depths.

You’d be doing yourself a big favour. It’s spilling over with great fiction and some damnably fine looking comics, plus it’s got my short-story: Shit New World in it (had I mentioned that).

So go, consume conspicuously, as is your wont.

Look, really, go and buy it. We’ll all be living in cardboard boxes when the recession comes so you might as well have something that not only contains great stories and art-work but can also be used as a perfectly serviceable blanket.