Jessica Fletcher Week 2010: Day Four

Bonjour! It's Thursday - which means we're onto Day Four of Jessica Fletcher Week! And it's December as well! How did this happen? Considering all this time has gone, I figured that it's only fair to give Jessica a birthday. I hope the cake was tasty... although, in my mind, Jessica Fletcher is far too sensible for cake eating. She would prefer a low GI diet or something.

But you don't care about what *I* think Jessica Fletcher would eat - sit back and prepare to be amazed by the next lot of submissions!

First up - it's Kayla Hillier, Queen of the Dancefloor at this year's Thought Bubble. Drawn during the Manchester Comix Collective's drawfest, Kayla has gone for a Sherlock Holmes-inspired Jessica - making excellent use of the infamous magnifying glass and crime-fighting coat. I especially like Jessica's chin in this drawing - it's spot on. And there's even a hint of her spooky neck just peeking through! Don't look at Jessica's neck too hard or you'll be enslaved! Or something. Either way, a brilliant Jessica! Thank you Kayla! The Tim Horton's doughnuts are on me!

If you're worried about too much neck then don't worry - this Jessica by Alex is safe! By putting Jessica in a high-necked blouse, we should be fine. Thank you Alex - I totally owe you one. Alex came to visit at Thought Bubble. Due to a misunderstanding, I thought he was part-man, part-horse...although he assures me that this is not true. I wish I could say that this was the first time I've made such a mistake...*sigh* Anyways! You know who doesn't make mistakes? Jessica Effing Fletcher. If she says that chocolate, friends and the theatre are the important things in life then you should listen!

Next up - we've got a Jessica Fletcher-themed strip - thanks to Savage! I was excited to have two submissions using similar quotes - I've put them together so they can be BFFs. Not only is this a fun strip - but it involves two other daytime detectives - Dr. Mark Sloan and Columbo. I LOVE Diagnosis: Murder but...I'm not a fan of Columbo - so I'm glad he got lasered in the face (but only in the context of this strip - I wouldn't want him to be actually lasered). And if you think about it, it makes sense that Jessica keeps her typewriter in her head. I mean, she always seems to have it but you never see her carry it with her... Hmmm....

I've been saving this brilliant Jessica for Thursday! Why? Because it's by the lovely Joe List who is well-known for his work on The Annotated Weekender - which comes out every Thursday. Which is Today! See what I did there? Joe has drawn a murder-obsessed Jessica at her typewriter. Look at her go! In my head (uh oh) she reminds me a bit of Marrina from Marvel Comics - but I think that might just be the colour-scheme. Although, they both fought crime in their own ways... maybe they're sisters or something? Regardless, this is ace and Joe is my hero!

LOOK OUT JESSICA! Jose has drawn a sinister Sherlock Holmes behind you and it looks like he means business! And not the sexy kind! If only you weren't so obsessed with that typewriter, maybe you'd be able to save yourself... Oh, who am I kidding? There's no way that Sherlock Holmes could take Jessica in a fight. Jessica is just playing dumb so the police can jump out and she can solve the whole case. Good work Jessica! Speaking of good work, this was drawn by Jose - another one of Juan's talented pals. Where does he find them all? Oh! I asked Juan for some exciting facts about Jose and here they are: Jose is a proper writer and loves old English ladies. I'm surprised that Jose isn't a proper drawer - but maybe he will see how ace his Jessica is and replace writing with drawing? Who knows?

We had a poem yesterday, so now it's time for a haiku! This thought-provoking masterpiece was sent in by Tom. Tom and I go way back and he bakes nice cakes. Although he hasn't made one in a while... what's up with that, Tom? Personally, I don't think Jessica has a great perm - she just has naturally sassy hair. Some people are born with great typing skills. Some have naturally sassy hair. Others look great with a magnifying glass. Jessica is just lucky enough to be blessed with all three skills. Just like Tom is blessed with cake-baking skills...which he should put to good use before I cry! Only kidding - thanks Tom!

Speaking of people I know (see what I did there?) - this next Jessica was given to me by Ben! Ben and I work together and he's ace. Except I shouldn't write any more than that since he might read it and that would be weird. Instead, let us talk about the tone and composition of his captivating submission. Ben made excellent use of highlighters, which my scanner can't replicate. And the copper colour is sparkly gel pen! Whilst the above image looks less bright than the original, you can see how Ben has used precision lines to make a bold statement about the state of society today. Or something? Personally, Jessica Fletcher is not bloated. She goes jogging in the title sequence!!! Regardless, thanks for being ace Ben!

Speaking of precision lines - check this Jessica out! It was sent in by the bearded wonder known as Matteo! I met Matteo at a We Are Words + Pictures event where I made him draw a pigeon. I've bumped into Matteo since then and he's lovely - not to mention talented - and bearded. I'm really looking forward to Matteo making a proper comic. It will be ace - especially if it features a certain pigeon... Thanks Matteo!

If you're thinking "that body looks familiar," then don't be alarmed! You are looking at the super special submission by Mister Mike Dolphino himself! Mike is a dreamy dolphin that was discovered by Philippa Rice." What a beauty! Thanks babe x x x!

Look at those big, beautiful eyes! Couldn't you just lose yourself in them? I bet you could! Don't worry about it, you're only human. This alluring Jessica was sent in by Brad - who was kind enough to LOL at my comics at Thought Bubble. What a nice thing to do. He's made the excellent choice of turning Jessica's infamous eyes into the focal point of his submission. Maybe you should stop looking at them so much though? It's starting to creep everyone else out...

You know what? I do not understand why people don't like Murder, She Wrote. It's a great television show! In an hour, you get Jessica Fletcher, solving murders and a brilliant theme tune! If you're really lucky then you get guest stars or Jessica's cousin, Emma. There are laughs! Twists! You'll learn stuff! What more could you ask for? Well, it looks like Joel wants much more. Huh. He must have watched a bad episode. Hey Joel! Watch the one where Cousin Emma sings the Spoon song! Or the one where Jessica gets locked in a lady prison! Come on! Give it a go! I'll buy you cake if you do! I'll buy you cake anyway for sending in such a well-drawn Jessica...

Did someone say Murder?! Did someone say Cake?! Did someone say MURDER CAKE?! Yes they did! And that someone is a sassy little Jessica Fletcher as drawn by my BFF Justin from Left-Handed Toons. Well, I say BFF - this happened because I yelled it across Twitter at him. But that still counts, right? I hope so. Anyways, Justin has done a brilliant Jessica. I really like her serious face in the final panel. What a woman. Swoon! And how ace does that Murder Cake look? Excellent work Justin! BFF!

Our penultimate Jessica Fletcher submission today really puts the ultimate (and the pen) into penultimate. It's brilliant! It was made by the terrifyingly talented Jonathan - who I had the good fortune of meeting at Thought Bubble. I think we're forming a band together (I'm on keyboards). Jonathan, like many others, is clearly in love with Jessica and her typing-charms. And with eyes/hair/a typewriter like that, who can blame him? Thank you very much for sending this in Jonathan. I'll do the Thank You dance when I see you next. Which I hope is soon.

Our final Jessica Fletcher for today is by the super ace David! David was at Thought Bubble and at MCM Expo and he's always mega nice to me. And he wore a suit for Thought Bubble! I have no idea why he isn't making comics (maybe he is and I just don't know about it) but this Jessica Fletcher is brilliant. It's creepy and spooky and I might have nightmares about it... but only because it's SO good. Thanks David! You are getting such a high five when I see you next...

And that's it for Day Four of Jessica Fletcher Week 2010... The submissions have been amazing once again. A huge thank you to everyone who has sent stuff in. You've all done a great job. The only bad news is that tomorrow is the last day of Jessica Fletcher Week 2010. Will you be OK? Should I worry about you?