Rob Davis

The Motherless Oven and The Can Opener’s Daughter may have raised more questions than they answered. But The Book of Forks explains everything. Castro Smith finds himself imprisoned within the mysterious Power Station, writing his Book of Forks while navigating baffling daily meetings with Poly, a troubled young woman who may be his teacher, his doctor, his prison guard… or something else entirely. Meanwhile, back home, Vera and Scarper’s search for their missing friend takes them through the chaotic warzone of the Bear Park and into new and terrifying worlds. With The Book of Forks, Rob Davis completes his abstract adventure trilogy by stepping inside Castro’s disintegrating mind, to reveal the truth about the history of the world, the meaning of existence and the purpose of kitchen scales.

In the British Comic Award-winning The Motherless Oven, Scarper Lee asked: “Who the hell is Vera Pike?” In the second part of Rob Davis’ trilogy, we get a chance to find out. This is Vera’s story. Grave Acre is a cruel world of opportunity and control. Vera’s mother is the Weather Clock, the omnipotent and megalomaniacal Prime Minister of Chance. Her father is a can opener. Charting Vera’s unsettling childhood, the book takes us from her home in Parliament to suicide school, and from the Bear Park to the black woods that lie beyond. In the present day, Vera and Castro Smith are determined to see their friend Scarper again – but is he still alive? And if so, can they save him? Can anyone outlive their deathday? Both a sequel and a darkly inventive standalone graphic novel, The Can Opener’s Daughter answers many of the questions posed in The Motherless Oven, while asking plenty more of its own.

PULP: The Art of Rob DavisIn 2005, when Airship 27 Productions was first launched, Rob Davis accepted the position of Art Director and in that time has overseen the look and design of all the Airship 27 Productions novels and anthologies now numbering over a hundred. In his ten years associated with the company, Rob has done hundreds of illustrations featuring both classic and new pulp heroes to include Secret Agent X, Captain Hazzard, the Moon Man, the Black Bat and dozens of others. In his drawings for the Airship 27 Sherlock Holmes anthology series he's acquired a reputation as one of the premier Holmes & Watson artists working today. That was solidified when he won the first ever Pulp Factory Award in 2009 in the Best Interior Illustrations category for his work in "Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vol One." PULP: The Art of Rob Davis is the first published collection of Davis' remarkable work and contains 175 black and white pieces; all of which have appeared in the pages of various Airship 27 Productions books. The book features an Introduction by award-winning British writer I. A. Watson and Airship 27 Productions Editor-in-chief Ron Fortier provides a post-essay to round out the volume.

"The Weather Clock said knife o'clock so I chained Dad up in the shed." In Scarper Lee’s world, parents don’t make children – children make parents. Scarper’s father is his pride and joy, a wind-powered brass construction with a billowing sail. His mother is a Bakelite hairdryer. In this world it rains knives, and household appliances have souls. There are also no birthdays – only deathdays. Scarper knows he has just three weeks to live. As his deathday approaches, Scarper is forced from his routine and strikes out into the unknown - where friendships are tested and authority challenged. Unsettling and fiercely original, The Motherless Oven traces a journey through a bizarre, distorted teenage landscape: a world, after all, not so different from our own.

In this second chapter his daring robberies of the jaded gentry have stirred the ire of the Sheriff of Nothingham and his allies. A devious plot is hatched in the guise of an archery contest to lure the daring Robin Hood within the city limits and there trap him. Once more Ian Watson spins a tale of action and adventure steeped in rich historical lore as he relates perhaps the most reckless of the Robin's famed exploits. Can the King of Sherwood, aided by his loyal and of rogues, claim the prized Golden Arrow or will the walls of Nothingham become his tomb. Robin Hood, Arrow of Justice is another rollicking grand adventure that continues this innovative and wonderful retelling of a truly classic legend loved by millions. This volume once again spotlights a gorgeous painted cover by Pulp Factory Award Winning recipient Mike Manley, with interior illustrations and designs by Art Director Rob Davis. Airship 27 Productions is thrilled to return to Sherwood Forest.

More than 400 years ago, Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) sent his irrepressible optimist of a hero out to tilt at windmills. Today Don Quixote and his philosophical squire, Sancho Panza, remain among the world’s most popular and entertaining figures, as well as being the archetypes for the tall, thin straight man and his short, stocky comic sidekick. Don Quixote is on a search for adventure and chivalrous quests – and he will not be defeated by such foes as logic, propriety, or sanity. In this terrific adaptation of the Cervantes classic, Rob Davis uses innovative paneling and exquisite artwork to bring the Knight-Errant to life. This is sequential storytelling and art at its finest.

Following on from Rob Davis’ successful introductory book, ARIS Design Platform: Getting Started with BPM, Rob now covers in detail some of the more advanced concepts of using ARIS Business Architect. This is a practical ‘how-to’ guide and contains tips, techniques and short cuts gained from practical experience and explains clearly how to use ARIS and why ARIS is a powerful tool for process modeling. Advanced concepts such as the following are presented in this reader-friendly and concise guide: - Matrix editor, - Find and query, - Model generation, - Method filters and method changes, - Templates and fonts, - Reports and semantic checks, - Macros, - Transformations, - Database administration, - User management. This easy-to-follow advanced text is a must have guide and reference for all users who want to increase their ARIS skills, and for those who need to undertake advanced model and database management.

At the end of the 1980s, Professor August-Wilhelm Scheer developed ARIS as a meta-model for organisational modelling and to provide a procedural model for recording, analysis and optimisation of business processes and their implemen- tion in software systems. In 1993, IDS Scheer released ARIS Toolset; the first version of the ARIS modelling software based upon the ARIS methodology. Today, the ARIS Platform is confirmed by the Gartner Group (2001) and Forrester Research (2006) as the worldwide market leader in business process modelling and BPM software. The Platform consists of more than 20 different products covering the whole BPM lifecycle from business process strategy, to process design and through process implementation to process controlling. The ARIS products and the ARIS method are also delivered through strong partn- ships with companies such as SAP or Oracle. This success shows that IDS Scheer is always aligned to the wishes and requirements of our customers and partners.

This practical how to book describes all the key operations of ARIS Toolset - the market leading Business Process Modelling Tool. Using lots of screen shots and plenty of practical examples, Rob Davis shows how ARIS can be used to model your business processes. In addition to describing how to use the tool, Rob Davis discusses how to create standards for using ARIS as well as giving guidance on how to use ARIS for process capture and design. Business Process Modelling with ARIS is a 'must have' for every user of ARIS.

A guide to building component-based systems combining hardware, software and network elements in a predictable, competent way. It explains interfaces, integration, components and architectures, how they relate, and what combinations and approaches will yield the best results for your organization's needs. It offers advice on building systems based on real-world experience and solid network engineering theory, without getting bogged down in technological complexity. In addition to this overview, the book covers how to avoid expensive mistakes when you design, build or implement a networked system in a sea of competing hardware, software and components.