iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

en route to zinezilla at the trinity in bristol! where i am tabling! lots of great zines/comics/animation to be had

a little green paper mache creature pokes his head out of a tote bag leaning against a train window.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

i'm completely normal (rough sketch > test panel)

a very rough sketch of a dog girl with her head on her hands, saying 'i am completely normal'

an inked and coloured drawing of a dog girl with her head on her hands, saying 'i am completely normal'

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

some test panels for a current something 👀 working on a few comic projects that heavily feature non-comics mediums (like this one, which has a lot of camcorder film)

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

finally cobbling together the very first draft of my biggest comic project so far... i've spotted a million things to edit already, but i'm feeling way better than i normally do at this stage 😯

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

at the moment i'm hunkering down on some projects that won't see the light of day for a while in the meantime, here are some fairs i'll be over the rest of the year!

A 2026 event schedule. I'll be at:
ARC London, 11th July 2026, at the Broken Frontier Table.
INQ! London, 26th September
Zinezilla, Bristol, 12th September
Thought Bubble, Harrogate, 14-15 November

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

MOTHER has been nominated for 3(!!) categories in the Broken Frontier Awards 2025 🤯 If you'd like to read my ~award nomimated~ comic you can grab it digitally and physically here! ko-fi.com/abscomics/shop

a picture of my comic 'MOTHER' on top of a scattered pile of other copies.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

this is everyone - mostly in order!!

a notes app list of comic artists as follows:
ed stockham
martin chick aged 11
ky lawrence
neomintsart
mini kus!
hannah k chapman
coleen anderhub
imogen mangle
ver
jenny mure
c.a strike
karenza sparks
b mure
r.e burke
colleen anderhub
philippa rice
james taylor
jay arthur simpson
li blakely
eloise march
leo fox
pigeon
manon
lily vie
owen d pomery
linea sterte
cat gordon
the half-digested boy/sigar magazine

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

i've really loved seeing people's thought bubble hauls so here's mine!! this will keep me busy for a while i'll name creators below in case you see something you like!👇

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

had an incredible time at @thoughtbubbleuk.bsky.social this weekend!! naturally i forgot to take many photos, but it was great to catch up with pals and meet some internet comic people irl!! equally exhausted and inspired. i can't wait to make more comics!

thought bubble name badges for me and my partner

a photo of us at our thought bubble table on day 1!!

a close up of a little round, green paper mache creature on the top of my stall

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

i forgot to post here all weekend but i'm at thought bubble! you still have 2hrs to swing by comixology hall c4b!!

0.5 shot of my table at thought bubble from above, at a jaunty angle and showing a paper mache version of my character mucor (a green germ)

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

and a limited number of fish guys!

resin fish figurines sat amongst their packaging, small cardboard boxes. there is a blue background that looks like cartoon water. each fish is a different colour: blue, green, red, yellow, golden orange, and pale green.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

i'm at @thoughtbubbleuk.bsky.social this weekend! comixology hall c4b i'll have the print debut of MOTHER, a second brand new mini-comic (a queer adaptation of keats' la belle dame sans merci), my avery hill books, old classics, plus all my usual printed tat

a scanned image of my phone with the Thought Bubble comixology hall map. text reads Comixology Hall C4B

A scanned image of my comic La Belle Dame Sans Merci

A scanned image of a range of stickers against a black background

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

a small but mighty shortbox haul this year

a screenshot of the comics i got from the shortbox online comic fair. dance it off by lin visel, dead horses by freya jn, desert orphan by asimina hollingworth, let's fail art school together by zoe gray, and sharpie's mission of rage and justice by BENNIZONE

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

last hour and a half of mcm! (table m16)

a paper mache fish with a stamp rally card leaning against it at mcm comic con london.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

i'm at MCM this weekend!! table m-16!! right in the middle of it all 🙌

my comic MOTHER inside of a greasy pizza box, surrounded by slices of leftover pizza.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

clocking out of the fish factory for the last time this year 🫡 i painted 60 of these little guys painted for MCM/TBubs over the last month or so... excited to see them go to their new homes... my sons...

six little hand-painted resin fish dudes sitting on top of their packaging, small cardboard boxes with a gatcha-styled label. each fish is a different colour (red, pale blue, green, yellow, golden orange, and pale green) with dotted patterns and contrasting fins.

they are on a messy painting desk.

11 of the final batch of fish guys sitting spread out across a messy painting desk, tiny pots strewn all over the place.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

does the full stall setup in my living room give away the fact MCM is only one week away, or is it something else?

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

the big spill (how my brain feels right now) #GoshBFDD

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Something weird is growing... MOTHER will debut in print this autumn convention season 🔬 MCM London 24-26 OCT THOUGHT BUBBLE 15-16 NOV Available online later (while stock lasts)!

a print copy of my comic, MOTHER in the middle of a grotty fridge

a close up shot of a print copy of my comic MOTHER, sitting in a grotty fridge. There is a piece of burger cheese partially covering it, with convention dates for Thought Bubble and MCM London written on it.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

first 10 fish lads painted! only 50 more to go before mid october...

ten small resin fish dudes with chibi bodies and cartoony fish heads scattered on a messy painting desk. they are pale blue with a dark green patch on their head, white stomachs, purple fins, and paler purple spots.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

doing some inking(? pencilling?) for a quick and dirty little mini-comic today

a close up of an in-progress comic page, drawn in black biro and pencil on white printer paper.

a character with a bleeding hole in her chest peers into a river, where a hopeless ghostly face reflects back.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

painting little fish guys today for mcm/tbubs 🐠

a messy desk with 11 small resin fish guys half-painted, all strewn about. they're little dudes with fish heads but chibi human-y bodies, sitting politely.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

yay, i have an online shop again! digital comics physical comics stickers more stuff coming soon!✨ ko-fi.com/abscomics/shop

banner for my shop that says 'shop open!!' in big yellow clay letters, surrounded by some comics covers and stickers.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

i wish i was reading these comics from the @ldcomics.bsky.social online fair instead of being at my stupid job!! you can read these comics (including mine!) instead of being at YOUR stupid job, but only if you buy them today, because it's the last day of the fair!!!!

a laptop screen in an office setting showing comics from the LDC online comics fair

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

my ipad has been getting uncomfortably hot with the weather so i've been doing a LOT of drawing with biro and printer paper, like i used to at uni just dropped some colours behind this sketch to figure out characters for a new(!) comic and just.... WHY did i ever stop doing this?!

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

not to brag but the lineup is incredible 😤

post outlining the exhibitors at the cardiff small press day event, 12-5pm at arthole.

joe latham, r.e. burke, josh hicks, erika price, archie mckenzie, kai dylan, beastly worlds, coleg gwent, ed stockham, thunderchair, abs bailey, pigeon, cat lilith, shri gunasekara, mereida fajardo, piggyhammer, b mure (no longer attending!), and USW illustration.

it also outlines a workshop run by ed stockham between 12:30 and 1:30, called Drawing Dice, a workshop that gets people drawing based on the destiny of a dice roll...

post outlinging the talks at the cardiff small press day event:

12:30 - 1:30: Life altering Indie Comics panel. Hosted by Lydia Turner, featuring joe latham, shri gunasekara, piggyhammer, beastly worlds, and mereida fajardo

13:45 - 14:15: Creating Comics Through Traumatic Experiences. R.E Burke shares her story of embarking onto a graphic novel project documenting her experience of being detained by ICE.

14:30 - 15:15: Journeys Into Publishing Panel. Hosted by Lydia Turner featuring Pigeon, Thunderchair, and Josh Hicks.

15:30-16:00: Handmade Books. Archie McKenzie dives into their illustration and bookbinding process.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

diwrnod y wasg fach hapus!! we're all set up for cardiff's @smallpressday.bsky.social event tomorrow ✨ swing by art hole for a day of comics fun 👀 talks, panels, a workshop, market!! some of the best comics talent in wales and the south west!! 12-5pm

some creative clutter on a table: some big sheets of paper, pens, small press day posters, and a snippet of a poster advertising comics from exhibitors in the LDC online fair

a shot of some chairs facing a space set up for a talk/panel

the poster for cardiff's small press day event

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

oh... oh dear... he stole their zine pages... #GoshBFDD

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

hello i'm abs and i drew the poster below (colours by the wonderful pigeon)! managed to snag a quick break at the warhammer club to scribble this (😎)... i wonder what they're reading? 👀 #GoshBFDD

a scrappy biro and pencil doodle of a mischievous fairy with butterfly wings reading a zine while hunched on top of a big mushroom.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

ed makes some amazing zines and will be at the cardiff/art hole small press day event!!

poster for cardiff small press day, taking place at arthole, cardiff. linework and design by me, colours by pigeon.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

I haven't showed a ton of pages featuring the mould spores from MOTHER... So here are the first 4 pages of chapter 2!! 🦠 Available digitally in the LDC online fair until July 31!!

Chapter 2, page 1 from MOTHER: A page filled with a colourful mould-like pattern. this is a crowd shot of - millions of spores (too small to be seen with the naked eye). they are talking anongst one another.

"YAY YAY YAY! We love Mother!"
"We love Mother!"
"We love Mother!"
"Um... Why?"
"Because Stachybotrys said so!"
"You know we aren't allowed to ask about that!"
"Okay, okay!"
"We love Mother! YAY YAY YAY!"

Chapter 2, page 2 from MOTHER.

There is a mould pattern behind the panels, taking up the bottom 2/3 of the page, like a hill against a blank sky.

Panel 1 (top, middle): Stachybotrys [a spore with a dark green oval body, and small yellow-green oval head on top) addresses the crowd, raising his arms and looking over them. The crowd are murmuring:
"Oh, here he is!"
"I bet Mother has told him all sorts of tender secrets!"
"I wish we were smart enough to receive her enlightenments".

Crowd: Did Mother have a message for us?

Panel 2: Stachybotrys frowns, sweating nervously.

Crowd: Please tell us, Stachybotrys! Oh, please!

Panel 3: Stachybotrys kneels, clasping his hands in prayer. A thought bubble reads: Please, Mother...

Panel 4: A close up of Stachybotry's face. He exhales with a pained expression, now sweating horrendously.

Panel 5: Having summoned his nerves, the reaches for his sceptre.

Chapter 2, page 3 from MOTHER.

The mould pattern still covers most of the page, apart from a clear segment at the bottom right. The panels are in front of the pattern.

Panel 1: Close up of Stachybotrys' face. He looks nervously to the left, saying: "She... Uh".

Panel 2: He looks to the right: ...

Panel 3: He closes his eyes: "She says..."

Panel 4: Stachybotrys stands with his arms wide open, and eyes wide, as if shouting a major revelation:
Stachybotrys: "In order to take, one must first give! You will inherit a large sum of money!"
Crowd: "Oh, Mother is so wise!" "So wise!" "YAY YAY YAY!" "What's money?"

Panel 5: Zoomed in on a singular spore, nothing else in the background. Udocladium is a burgundy circle with a smaller, olive green circle in the middle. Spore: "What about my question, Stachybotrys? Has she advised me?"

Panel 6: Stachybotrys smugly answers: "Patience, Udocladium! Motherly wisdom takes time... And frankly, your life is a mess."

Panel 6: A quick cut to Stachy's face. He is wide eyed, a little panicked: Look, I've got to go.

Stachybotrys walks away, heading towards the edge of the page through the empty gap in the pattern: "Communicating with Mother takes a lot of meditation. Alone."

Chapter 2, page 4 of Mother.

Panel 1: A zoomed out panel of Stachybotrys walking away from the Mould patch. Sylvie (the person whose body they are on)'s skin is the ground, and her body hairs stand tall like trees.

Panel 2: He has a grumpy expression as he stabs his sceptre into her flesh like you might stand a shovel in sand, and says "Yeesh".

Panel 3: He sits, leaning against a hair-tree, and exhales sadly.

Panel 4: He closes his eyes and speaks, measuredly: "There are thousands of us in the colony"

Panel 5: He looks around: "Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor... All of the other ones."

Panel 6: "Before I was here, they were aimless. Dare I say, a little stupid." He looks directly at the reader now, realising what he has said. "Not me, though!"

Panel 7: Smugly: "I'm older, wiser. I was actually the first to grow on Mother's ceiling."

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

MOTHER is now available via the @ldcomics.bsky.social fair!! www.ldcomicsfair.com/product/moth... here are some ~vibey descriptors~ to help you figure out if it's your bag

the cover of MOTHER is in the centre of a plain, lemon yellow background. The cover shows Sylvie lying on her back, looking into the camera. The shape of her hair is an intricate mould-like pattern. the title, in wobbly, aqua blue text, reads MOTHER.

around the cover are notes on the overall vibes of the comic.
- toxic femme protagonist
- absurdist slice of life fiction
- trippy body horror
-explores power, responsibility, and sacrifice
- psychedelic mould cult
- blends the grotesque and mundane

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

under a week until MOTHER releases for the @ldcomics.bsky.social online fair!! when mould begins to grow on sylvie's body, she decides to raise it like a child. meanwhile, the mould spores start a cult, break into a jealous feud, and, sylvie spirals from motherhood into something else entirely...

a promotional image for my comic 'MOTHER'

a colourful mould pattern spreads from the top left of the page, against a yellow background.

a nude anthropomorphic figure sits on her knees at the bottom right in a pose that is reminiscent of praying, and looks towards the pattern. she has long blue hair, and pale creamy coloured skin (like vanilla ice cream) with bright red blush on her extremities. her skin is covered in sickly, pale green mould patches, like a mouldy slice of bread.

a random page from the comic. an angel and devil on sylvie's shoulders are convincing her to be cruel to the spores.

another random comic page. a small green alien-like creature (a mould spore) is wearing an eyepatch and cape, and is talking about how he survived an attempt on his life because he was rescued by two others sentenced to the same fate.

sylvie's character submerged in a full spread of colourful mould pattern. she is afraid and asking the spored why they are doing this to her.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

i've always wanted to make character profiles for something, so made them for my new comic, MOTHER (launching in july for the @ldcomics.bsky.social online fair)!! i really like how the background came out! they're loosely inspired by some vintage fashion magazine covers from the 60's.

A bust portrait of a vaguely anthropomorphic but mostly humanoid character. She has cream-coloured skin with bright red blush, long, dark blue hair, bright blue eyes, and is wearing a plum coloured t-shirt. There is a mould pattern behind her against a yellow background.

Blue text at the top of the image reads 'Sylvie', with the following description: Selfish, pathetic, and longing to be worshipped, Sylvie becomes Mother to the mould spores. Ca she resist the power that comes with her new posititon?

A small creature with a round, dark green body. There is a pale green, oval face on his stomach, with round pink glasses and a yellow-green moustache. He has a head, which is a small oval on top of his body, which has a second face on it (his real one). This face shows an expression like he's been caught off guard. He has small arms and legs, and his holding a staff in one hand. The staff is a stick with an mould-spore like orb on top, in pale pink and light green.

There is a mould pattern behind him on a yellow background. Blue text reads 'Stachybotrys', with the following description: Neurotic, controlling, and desperate to be coddled; He is the self-proclaimed leader of the Mould colony and blindly in love with Sylvie.

a cute, pale yellow-green creature called 'mucor'. he has a large, oval head on top of a much smaller, circular body. he has four legs that are pink, and teardrop-shaped. he has an antenna on his head that has a large pink orb on it, and cheerful, snot-green eyes. his cute, puppy-like mouth is smiling and he holds one leg up to his face, like a hand.

he is against a yellow background with an abstract, mould-like pattern on it. blue text at the top of the screen reads 'nucor', with the following description: Headstrong, dramatic, and oh so very cute, Mucor is one of many in the mould colony, and Sylvie's favourite child.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

My monthly blog post for April is up! Check it out for: ✨ Character profiles for my upcoming comic, MOTHER ✏️ Sketchbook Spreads 🗓️ April's Daily Drawings 💭 A new journal comic 📚 What I've read/watched/enjoyed this month 🐟 Looking back on an old comic, SWIM www.abscomics.com/post/april-r...

Snippet of a blog post showing a sketchbook spread. There are black and grey drawings of some fairy characters alongside text from 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' by John Keats. The fairy character looks unhinged but beautiful, and the knight character is a sad trans boy. There is also a doodle of a unicorn head at the top of the page.

Snippet of a blog post showing an open sketchbook. The pages have small, 1.5 by 1.5 inch drawings lined up, 8 to a page. They are dated in order starting on 1st April.

Snippet of a blog post showing an open spread from my comic, SWIM. The pages show a full page of a purple fish girl in a stripy victorian swimsuit struggling to swim in blue water, and panels of her looking at others doing it well. She is looking at them and trying to copy them.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Describe the plot of your #comic with one panel

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

my march blog post went up yesterday - check it out! as a monthly post it's absolutely full of stuff... www.abscomics.com/post/march-r...

Screenshot of a blog post. The visible text reads:
Mine is the comic I teased in last month's round-up post, titled MOTHER.
"Sylvie is a loser, and a lonely one at that. When a patch of mould begins to grow on her body, she decides to raise it as her own child. Meanwhile, the mould spores start a cult, and when a jealous feud between self-proclaimed leader Stachybotrys and genuine chosen one, Mucor, breaks out, Sylvie spirals from motherhood into something else entirely.."
Here's the cover; I'll share more as we get closer to July!

The top of a comic cover peeks out of the bottom of the screenshot, showing part of a femme body lying on their back against a red background, looking directly at the viewer with piercing blue eyes.

Screenshot of a blog post. The paragraph above is mostly cut off. The visible text on the page says: Sketchbook is a blank traveller's notebook insert from JBLeather on Etsy, tools used: Pilot ball 0.7, Noor-I-Kor Graphite stick, Tombow HB Pencil, Spectrum Broad felt tips.
Daily Drawings
Here are my daily 2x2-inch drawings for March! Had a bit of a wobble motivation-wise at the end of the month, but I suppose this is why it's an endurance challenge! It's nice to remember that when I'm struggling for inspiration I can always draw Pokemon.

The top of an image showing some small 2x2 inch drawings glued into a sketchbook peeks out of the bottom of the screenshot.

Screenshot from a blog post; The text reads Current Projects:
It's doesn't make for the most interesting blog post, but, much of my time has been spent working on MOTHER. I'm almost done with the inking and have coloured a few of my favourtie pages as a treat when my brain has wanted to switch off. Here's what that pencils > inks› colour process lOOks like:

3 Images are underneath showing each stage of the comic page process; One with pencils, one with inks, and one with colour.

Screenshot of a blog post. Cut off images are at the top (the bottom of some character sketches are visible) and the bottom (where the top of a sketchbook spread can be seen). The visible text reads Sketchbook
Here's an achievement: I finished a sketchbook for the first time EVER this month. I'm not too far into the next one yet (comics are taking up all of my time!) but here are my favourite spreads so far.
Graphite stick
0191900880
M.

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

woof, i need a nap. progress!

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

PCZF day two! having fun chatting about comics 💭💭

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

at plymouth comic and zine fair today! ocean studios 11-5, today and tomorrow! the lineup is amazing this year, come and see!!

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

working on my comic 'mother' for @ldcomics.bsky.social comic fair / the part i'm working on right now is a real treat, here's some inking

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Abs Bailey @abscomics.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

weirdly late achievement as i've been drawing near daily for like, 23 years, but i finished a sketchbook for the first time EVER yesterday! i never got on with keeping one when i was younger but something's clearly clicked this time