Some (not very good) photos from the exhibition. Larger versions at Flickr (just click on the images to go there.)
I will not be attending Caption this year. I'm gutted, I thought I'd actually make it down there this year. It seems a huge shame that I can't get there, especially when they're using my artwork on the adverts.
I will, however, be diving with sharks the weekend after that. Yay!
I did this for an anthology, but they don't want to use it now so I thought I'd just post it up here instead.
Saw this on Flickr, looks like they've used my drawing for the Caption flyers. Sweet!
Hey all!
What's with Manga? I'm running some comic projects at the moment and many kids want to do Manga, without reading it or being in to comics. Is it television? Is it advertising? When I look back, the comics I liked best as a kid were tie-ins to cartoons (a lot of the Marvel UK stuff) and none of my friends were in to comics. I guess it's a bit similar for children these days, but Manga is such a trend you can be interested in it without ever reading any.
So from comics based on cartoons to cartoons based on comics...(aah..another lovely, seamless link) I'd like to recommend Tekkonkinkreet and New Frontier. Neither are half as good as the comics, but both are great in their own way. Tekkonkinkreet takes the essence and feel of Matsumoto's work and creates a new and stunning take on the book. It's really beautiful and every bit as unique as the book. New Frontier is a good effort, but the animation doesn't do justice to Cooke's original artwork. But I'm a harsh critic, I love Cooke's work way too much. It's a good cartoon and it has some lovely touches.
And, speaking yet again of critics, I thought I'd mention Contraband, a book I reviewed recently for Comics International magazine. I enjoyed the book (although there were a lot of typos, hopefully this is just a kink that'll be worked out in a new edition), but I found the dialogue a bit clunky. However, it seemed deliberately written in this way and the rest of the book seemed very carefully planned so there was clearly a reason for it. I assumed it was part of the social commentary of the book and asked the writer about it. He said (not in these exact words) that it was based on research he had done in to mobile social networking channels and it reflected the way people use these to put their opinions across (just like I am doing now, in a long rambling monologue.)
Unfortunately, not all reviewers will pick up on this and will just take the dialogue at face value. Reviewers like this.
Has he ever got anything good to say? Does he even like comics? Anyway, don't let that put you off the book . And I really liked Phil Elliotts artwork.
Part two of my Free Web Comic 'Job Search' over at Indie Review.
Issue 205 of Comics International magazine is now available to buy. I'd like to thank Steve Hooker for making it the best issue so far, as he gave my book 'Some forgotten part' an awesome review. It's actually the best review I've ever had. Go and read it!
In March two of my webcomics will be launched on different sites. It's just how the timing has worked out, I didn't plan it that way.
Ryans Bad Day
This is a short three-parter which I did for Apocalypse Comics - a new online retailer who are very supportive of the small press, go check them out!
Job Search
This is a new strip for Indie Review. It may run for some time as I have a ton of scripts for it.
The Beagle Awards are coming. Spread the word.
Detail from my latest comic strip. I'm a bit behind on my comics, it's hard to find the time or the motivation right now. I am quite pleased with this strip, it's a two pager for a charity comic.
I did a strip for the Flood charity comic too, but I'm not sure what's happened to that. I'll post up a detail from it at some point as I was quite pleased with how that turned out too.
This is some weird toy from a vending machine. I didn't make it, even though it looks suspiciously like one of my creations. You can get one of these amazing toys for only 20 pence. It is part of a balloon filled with sand, note the realisitic hair (made from wool) and the striking features of the printed face. Definitely a bargain.
Al Davison is working on a new graphic novel which looks awesome, check it out on his blog:
http://astralgypsy.blogspot.com/2008/02/alisas-tale.html
and
http://astralgypsy.blogspot.com/2008/02/alisas-tale_15.html
Nice use of colours and different media.
He's currently looking for a publisher.
Just working on some new webcomics at the moment. Painting up a new Monstrum strip that will go up on www.comicspace.com and then I'm doing one for a new comic retail site. I did a series of web strips for Indie review but they haven't put them up yet, I think they're making a new section or something.
It's taken me a while to get back on my feet after Christmas, I came down with some horrible virus and it really took it out of me. Although I did get to spend all day on the sofa watching DVDs, which was nice.
Incase you missed it, this comment was recently added to a previous post. Interesting stuff but, sadly, I can't even afford the admin fee at the moment:
2008 open opportunities for artists at the
Riverside Gallery, Richmond
Liveline: Comics Open (1 March - 13 April 2008)
Through its annual open exhibition opportunities, Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham helps artists both locally and nationally to showcase their work in group exhibitions. In 2006-7, over 500 individual artists (excluding those participating in Arthouse) exhibited work in a range of open exhibitions across three galleries - Orleans and Stables Galleries, Twickenham and the Riverside Gallery in Richmond. Since 2005, there have been 4 exhibitions dedicated to or incorporating comic art. Deadline end of January 2008.
In 2008, we have further opportunities for you to submit artwork for the second of our comic open exhibitions. We are seeking original artwork (digitally created work is accepted) and printed comics by up-and-coming and established artists who are self-published or work for small-scale or independent publishers.
· Artists can submit up to 5 original works (and 5 comics) either via A4 sized photographic prints, colour printouts or high-resolution jpegs submitted on CD. Original artwork is not accepted. Comics can be submitted.
· Please clearly label each submission with: artist’s name, title of work, publication, date, media, approximate size and price before commission if the work is for sale (the gallery will add on an additional 40% commission to the artist’s price).
· In addition, please enclose contact details, an artists statement and if possible a CV.
· There is a £10.00 administration charge (which also contributes towards exhibition costs); £7.50 concessions (please include proof). Please make cheques payable to ‘L.B.R.U.T’. Your submission will not be accepted without payment.
· If you would like images or comics returned, please enclose a stamped self-addressed envelope.
Successful artists will be contacted by email or in writing approximately two weeks after the deadline.
Any queries, please email Mark De Novellis at m.denovellis@richmond.gov.uk
Orleans House Gallery, Riverside, Twickenham, TW1 3DJ
020 8831 6000; galleryinfo@richmond.gov.uk; www.richmond.gov.uk/exhibitions
I don't know why, but I love looking at different designs for diving suits. Here's ten of the best:
http://www.oobject.com/diving-helmets/carmagnolle-diving-suit/667/
The Carmagnolle is my favourite:
It may make an appearance in a future Monstrum strip. I'm just finishing up a Monstrum strip that will be free to read online. That's right, free!
If you're interested in diving stuff too, there's a great book I read a few years ago by Trevor Norton called 'Stars beneath the sea', about the pioneers of diving. They're all crazy. Very entertaining.
More about Tag Team over at Tizer Soze. If you're a contributor, go check it out because the one line summaries of each story are very good.
Myfanwy Tristram is collecting together all the entries of the recent Observer graphic story competition. This is a great idea, when I got the paper to see who had won I was surprised that I hadn't heard of any of the entrants (where were all the stars of the small press?) and I really wanted to see the other work that hadn't made it to the final selection. I'm glad to see some familiar names up on the site and I'm also enjoying the debates that have been springing up. There are also so many other names that I hadn't come across before in my geeky exploits, granted I have missed a lot of conventions and I don't review as much as I used to, so it makes me think: Are there more people making comics in the UK than there are people reading them? It could happen.
Tag Team is now available to buy.
Stories by Dave West, Nigel Auchterlounie, Andrew Richmond, Michael O'Keefe, Colin Mathieson, Tony Hitchman and Ian Mayor and artwork by me. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
Original pages can be bought at bargain prices over at my main website: www.lomoore.com
More updates to my site: Illustration and Painting pages have been merged, new buy art page added, and some other little changes here and there. Check it out.
Hurrah! More kind words about my book 'Some Forgotten Part', this time over at : http://tizersoze.wordpress.com/. Tizer Soze is a pretty genius title.
It's a blog with lots of webcomics and musings and other such interesting stuff which you should go check out. And the author has also contributed to the upcoming 'Tag Team' comic. Oh, the world of comics is so incestuous!
While I'm at it, here's some more blogs from 'Tag team' contributors:
Preview of my strip'The creator' over at Accent UK. It's for their 2008 Accent UK anthology, 'Robots', and it was written by Tony Hitchman.
New comic 'Tag Team' is pretty much ready to go to print, woo hoo! I'm also finishing off some comic strips for the web.
But it's not all hard work, I have managed to squeeze in numerous cups of tea, some light television viewing and I picked up my Phase 2 grading in the IKAEF (International Kali Arnis Eskrima Federation) system. I've also been sorting out the new Team Phoenix website, myspace and other general designy stuff. (I also designed the new uniforms and the door sign and welcome packs and stuff)
If you're wondering what to buy me for Christmas......
Swatch have brought out Corto Maltese watches - and they're awesome.
Check out their site for little animations and strips based on Hugo Pratts work.
http://www.swatch.com/cortomaltese/langues.html
(Being the geek that I am, I actually found out about these through the new issue of National Geographic, which arrived on my doorstep this morning.)
Oh, and while we're on the subject of the most amazing comic artists ever....there was a great show about Moebius last night on one of the BBC channels. Lovely candid interviews and very inspiring words from the man himself. Hopefully it'll be repeated soon.
Check out this ambitious new site: indie review
The idea is that it's a wealth of information for small press people as well as being an accessible resource for people who are just starting out. It's what we hoped to do with the old TGT site, but we failed! The internet has changed quite a bit in seven years, so hopefully these guys will find it a bit easier. They've certainly made a great start, there's already a lot of stuff on there. I did a webcomic for them ages ago, while they were still putting the site together, so I don't know if they're planning to have a webcomic section or a gallery or something along those lines in the future. They've also got some reviews of my book, Some Forgotten Part (please buy it here). Thanks to Garen and Dave! Hoorah, my first reviews!
Drink and draw went well on Saturday and hopefully it's just the first of many. There should be some photos and drawings going up on myspace soon. I had a bad drawing day, so decided to concentrate more on the drinking and less on the drawing. Spleenal put us all to shame with wonderful robot drawings and hellboy gags. I did get to take one of his drawings home with me, so I'll post a scan of that up at some point. (And then turn it in to prints and t-shirts and make millions from it. Ha ha. Sucker!)
Thanks to everyone who has replied to my script request, I've gotten some exciting stuff and I'm looking forward to seeing the ones that are on their way.
I had the pleasure of reading a 30 page preview of the new MEG novel (you know, the books about a giant prehistoric shark that causes all kinds of mayhem). I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed. Obviously, I will still buy the book when it comes out because it's about a giant shark and that's good enough for me. For people who've read the other books, it starts off a bit dull. Infact, the start of it seems to be straight out of a text book and other bits are from a Discovery channel documentary (I know because I saw the same one). All the same discriptions are used, like 'nostrils the size of basketballs or grapefruit or whatever ' etc. (BTW, that's not a direct quote) and personally, I don't like the addition of other ancient sea creatures, but they've popped up again and may well play another prominent role. I still recommend reading these books though, they are very entertaining and I hope they make the MEG movie soon because the books read like a summer blockbuster.(although New Line cinema has dropped its contract, but I'm sure someone else will pick it up).
If you're looking for a more factual shark book I can't recommend Devil's Teeth enough. It's really well written and tells you tons of fascinating things. It's from the point of view of a journalist who goes to live with biologists on the Farallon islands, and if you've seen the BBC documentary that inspired the book then you'll know that the sharks there are huge and the place is pretty much uninhabitable. The author has uncovered some really interesting facts about the place too, like there's loads of nuclear waste and a decomposing oil tanker on the sea floor even though its a nature reserve.
Okay, okay, enough shark talk. Here's some comics stuff.
Malcy has rereleased the Banana / skin joke, it's available (with a new cover) from http://www.missingtwin.net, along with his other books: A 52 SECOND SILENCE FOR TOPSY and THE BLACKEST GNOME
Some idiot in Comics International keeps giving him good reviews, so you might want to check them out. They're
odd.
I wasn't expecting such a positive response to my book. Thanks to everyone who has mailed me and everyone who has bought the book! I was actually a bit surprised that it's started selling straight away. Although, no one has actually read it yet and I haven't had any feedback about it yet.....maybe I shouldn't get too excited!
Anyway, thanks for all the support! Years from now when I am sitting in my mansion, waiting for the MTV cribs crew to turn up, wearing a chinchilla fur dress and solid gold shoes, slurping champagne from a ming vase through a diamond encrusted straw, I will look back at this moment and shed a little tear of joy. I like to think that's how Stan Lee lives.
The image above is a painting of an octopus that I did yesterday. You can buy or commission paintings through my site now. (Hey, how else am I going to get on cribs and live the Stan Lee lifestyle I should be accustomed to?)
Some Forgotten Part, my graphic novel (remember that thing I've been working on? Did it during an MA? Built a blog around it? Y'know, that thing?) IS NOW AVAILABLE TO BUY!
http://www.lulu.com/content/696776
The print on demand has worked out well, although it has made it a bit pricey, sorry about that!
It's done! Woo hoo!
(BTW, this was the fish related news you've been waiting for)
That sounds like a good story title. Anyway, I went to every shop in town in search of a yellow cartridge for my printer, but all the shops were out of stock! They had the other colours, but not yellow. In desperation (because I'd left it until the last minute to print something important and had to get ink immediately) I bought one of those really cheap refilled cartridges. It made magenta come out orange. I won't make that mistake again. Why had everwhere run out of that particular cartridge at the same time? It can't be coincidence, I must have a secret nemesis. That's the only logical explanation.
There was a more important thing I had to write about. What was It?.....Oh, yeah, a new comics people meet up thing. I got an email from Gav recently and it got me thinking that since me and Andy stopped running 'Bishi Bashi' (comic events that happened many moons ago) we've lost touch with a lot of people. So I'm sending the word out to any comics people in Newcastle (or the surrounding area), we'll have a little pub meet in early August. Get in touch if you are interested and pass the message on.
I also got a letter today from Puffin books telling me that my style wasn't what they were looking for. They missed the 'e' off my name, so I'm hoping they've sent me the wrong letter, and somebody called Leoni is currently wondering why Puffin books have sent her a contract with an extra 'e'. Or maybe my nemesis had something to do with it. Yeah, sounds like the type of mean thing a nemesis would do.
Tag Team is coming along nicely, so far there are stories from Nigel Auchterlounie, Andy Richmond, Dave West, Colin Mathieson and Tony Hitchman. I haven't had much time to work on it, but it should be finished soon. I've made some little fuzzy wrestlers which will be used in a photo shoot for the cover.
I've spent the last few weeks working on SFP (my ill fated graphic novel). Everything that could go wrong has gone very wrong. I've invested so much time trying to get this thing up on lulu.com that to give up now would seem like such a waste. Hopefully it will be available at some point.
Gavin Pollock is working on a graphic novel for children:
If you are interested in publishing it or know of a suitable publisher, please get in touch and I will pass the information on to him.
Still working away on 'Tag Team', my new comic. Been busy with work, an IKAEF (International Kali Arnis Eskrima Federation) grading and I haven't been feeling too well this week, hence the lack of activity on my blog. I will try to be more interesting next week! Oh, and my Uneetee tshirt has been added to their collection (limited edition still), so there's still some time to buy it.
Redeye issue 6 is currently available to buy. If you like comics, small press/ self published/ independent comics, then you need to buy it.
It's £5.50, which sounds like a lot, but it's really big (108 pages) and there's plenty of stuff you'll want to come back to.
This issue includes interviews with Tom Gauld, Lee Kennedy, Steve Yeowell and Alex CF. These interviews are great because the people asking the questions really know comics. They ask the stuff you want to know. David Baillie (being a comic creator himself) quite happily asks Tom Gauld about how he got various jobs and even manages to find out about his earnings, which is all very exciting for other creators reading it.
The features section includes a personal look at V for Vendetta, written by Jay Eales. Rather than a fanboy trip down memory lane (as these type of things usually are), this is full of well researched facts, and is a well constructed article which offers insight in to the book and film in an engaging way.
For me, the highlight of Redeye has to be the reviews section. Firstly, because every review they've ever given my work has been really useful to me. Every comic is given plenty of space to be examined in a constructive way. Secondly, as a potential buyer of these titles, the reviews are quite consistent and genuine. Comics are all judged alongside each other, so you'll find things like Oni press right next to a self published small print run comic.
Thirdly, as a reviewer myself I appreciate how difficult it can be to come up with constructive views, especially for a very short piece of work. But somehow they manage it!
There are some other great things about Redeye too, such as their 'Eyecandy' section which allows you to see samples of forthcoming releases, including work from Scar Comics and Accent UK. They also allow pro's to come in and take over a feature section, writing (or ranting) about anything they want. The news section is HUGE! It's lovely to see how much is happening out there. This issue also has a preview of Aleksander Zografs new work.
So go and buy it!
(Obviously you should go and buy a copy of Comics International too...)
Also check out Malcy Duff's new site (I got the right address this time) : http://www.missingtwin.net/
And check out the how the new Zombie anthology from Accent UK is shaping up. There's a particularly good two pager written by Tony Hitchman and drawn by some hugely talented genius.
Well, I haven't gotten too far with that new issue of Monstrum that I keep promising. I managed some new images of the characters (see above for part of the Ella one in black and white) which will probably get used on the intro page. I've got all the page break downs done, and I've decided to go with the new UK format, I got some very reasonable quotes from smallzone, so once I get my act together I'll give them a go. I joked a while ago that I was working on a novel, just for fun, which would probably be finished first. Well, it's going strong, so it probably will get finished first. I'm feeling a bit out of it all, having missed every convention this year.
I haven't had any freelance work in a while which has made me a bit mopey, and usually that makes me draw even more, but not this time. So I'm trying the age old trick of getting a beautiful new sketch book to fill up, then I'll go in for the second round with Monstrum. I've been pretty busy too....with Jaws unleashed, the best game ever. I don't know why this got such rubbish reviews. It's amazing. You're a huge shark who just wants to cause mayhem. What could be better?
I've just read the new Spirit/Batman comic, it's great. But it's by Darwyn Cooke and Jeph Loeb, (with Dave Stewart on colours) so how could it be anything but great? Darwyn Cooke will also be doing the new Spirit series, so I think it'll be amazing. I've also been reading some great small press stuff, but you'll have to read the review section of Comics International to find out more about that.
Well, I've typed up 39 pages of script for the new issue of monstrum. I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with it!
I've also just finished a new illustration which I have a feeling may get rejected on the grounds of it being a bit odd. I thought I'd try something new, using a digital collage and an inked drawing. I'm not too sure about the results.
I also checked out this blog, after they'd left a message here, and whilst looking through their archives found this entry which really amused me.
In fairness, there was a brief time when I was regularly featured on Bugpowder, but obviously my popularity has waned as I sneezed twice yesterday and there has been no mention of it.
Their comic looks good, but very overlooked, so remember to order a copy next time you get stuff at smallzone.
Nigel Auchterlounie has another excellent Bunny girl and pig boy comic out. Unfortunately, it's published by Pirhana press who don't seem to sell to comic stores or anything so I don't know how people can get hold of it. I'll try and find out because it seems such a shame that it's so hard to buy.
Steven (who you may know on this blog as F!NCH) has done some lettering for a new Image comic, here's the info:
24Seven from Image is out now, featuring 35 short stories of robot
life in the big city by a fantastic line-up of talented creators.
Definitely a something-for-everyone book, you can check out the
previews here:
http://www.imagecomics.com/blog/2006/06/24seven-press-roundup-38-preview-pages.html
then either order from your local comics shop using the Diamond code
MAY061717, or at any retail book outlet using the ISBN number
1-58240-636-7
I also forgot to mention ages ago that the new issue of There's no time like the present, by Paul Rainey/, is really really good. Buy it, now!!
And, speaking of inventive time travel stories, there are still some issues of Nigel Auchterlounies 'Gone' available. I don't know why I haven't mentioned that before. Buy them from me (email me for details) or from Shane.
And if you still have some money left, check out Iron West by my hero Doug TenNapel. I think it could've been a bit longer and I found the ending a bit disappointing, but it's still one of the best graphic novels I've read in ages. Well, since his last one.
Godzilla vs a giant trout. Meal times are never boring around here.
Nearly finished the book. Have decided to print the entire thing at home, double sided A4 (it was intended as an A4 book anyway) and then it will be hand bound by genius bookbinder Deirdre, (if you've seen the TGT Bishi book or the Gone exhibition comments book, they were both made by her).
At the moment she is finishing off my mock up copy, then we'll set to work on the finished one and hopefully we will make some little books of my early sketches and paintings. So at least my exhibition will kick ass! I've been asking around to see if any publishers are willing to look at it as a PDF file on disc (Fantagraphics had said they would need to see more of the book and this seems like the easiest way).
Thanks again to everyone who has been visiting this blog, the last few weeks have been very tough and your words of encouragement and advice have been much appreciated.
Below is one of the final paintings I did for the book, and possibly my favourite, it's half of a double page spread.
Nigel Auchterlounie has been working on a new comic, actually six new comics. Each one works on its own, but they all relate to each other as well. His work is always weird and clever like that. We met up at the Cluny pub (or 'my office' as I like to think of it) and had a little look. It looks really good, he's also been doing some newspaper style strips which are very funny. His Pigboy comics have been reprinted by Pirahna press, but I don't know what the availability is like. If you haven't read them before you should try and get hold of them.
Above is a panel in progress, underneath it is a full page image.
I'm still working away hard, between trips to 'my office' of course. I only have a few weeks left now, the pressures really on!
Monkey Loft Comics is presenting an exhibition of original comic artwork by small press superstars Malcy Duff & Neil 'Nulsh' Hood.
Monkey Loft, 10 Preston Court, Prestonpans, EH32 9NP, Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th June between 10 and 5.00 p.m.
Further information about the 3 Harbours Arts Festival and Monkey Loft Comics exhibition at :www.barker-family.info/3H (This address didn't work when I tried it, but it's all I gots)
Everyone's going on about Bristol. Everyone's got new comics out. Well, hope you all have a good time and sell lots of stuff and make new friends. I'm going to have my own convention this weekend, special guest may be a bottle of gin. Stan Lee might pop by, I don't think he's too busy these days.
Then there will be a screening of a low budget documentary about a wookie. No one else is invited. Ha.
I've decided that once I've finished this graphic novel, I'm going to do the greatest issue of Monstrum Horrendum ever! Since it's only issue 3 and the others weren't so great, that should be easily achieved. I'm really itching to do the next issue. I had a story arc ready (I have up to issue 5 planned out), but with such a big gap between issues I couldn't help but come up with some extra stuff. So, hopefully issue 3 will be double the size. And if I can get the cash together, I'll do a decent sized print run.
And my drawing has improved, due to the fact I can now spend time just drawing.
And then there will be issue four....which not only has some great character development but also has a Megalodon. As every good comic should.
Got a comic from this guy to review and I enjoyed it, so if you have around 3.00 dollars to spare (something like that) you might like to give it a go. I've done a proper review of it for C.I. (Just mentioning that incase he reads this and thinks I'm some kind of slacker)
Also, if you want to get your comic reviewed by a Danish fanzine (and, let's face it, it's always cool to get your comics over to other countries) send it to these guys. I don't speak the lingo, so I don't know what they are saying on the site, but there are lots of pictures of comics and their e-mail was very polite.
Graeme from Bookville is putting the word out about a Publishathon in Hull. There was some info about it over at Bugpowder a while ago, but he also got in touch to say they want to encourage new publishers and if there are any artists willing to do talks or workshops please let him know.
And, finally......If there are any anime fans in Newcastle around mid-May (I'm sorry the info is so vague) there should be a small exhibition including original cells at the Newcastle Arts Centre, Westgate rd. If it goes well, it may lead to a larger exhibition, so go show your support!
I'm off to do some doodles. I mean art.
Wow, two entries in one day.
Just while I remember...
I haven't had any comics through in ages! Are my reviews THAT bad?
I got Malcy's new comic (which kicks ass), but other than that I haven't had anything in months. I've noticed that the small press review section in C.I. isn't there very often and I know that's probably due to a lack of material rather then a lack of space. I suppose most people are gearing up for the Bristol con, but small press comics don't need to be brand new to be reviewed, they just need to still be available.
If you want your comic reviewed for Comics International, then contact me at the old TGT address:
tgtokyoATanimail.net
and I'll tell you where to post it and what details to include.
It occured to me that I haven't bought any comics in ages. Turns out Forbidden Planet had a sale on, so lucky me!
I had to take loads of photos today to put together my work for assessment tomorrow (which I am still compiling, at 10 o'clock at night. Bah!)
Anyway, I took A LOT of other photos too, so tomorrow is going to be blogorama. Get ready!
If you are looking at this pile of comics and wishing you had stuff to read, go check out:
Comix by Nulsh
Or how about some Red meat (Some BBC comedy blatantly ripped off one of his jokes recently. 'This is what we do' indeed)
Also, one of the bestest resources ever, which was a Godsend for referencing my last essay:
The comic book database
If I could manage to just settle down and focus on one project at a time, I could probably do something amazing. But, I've just got this constant restless feeling, no matter how passionate I am about a project, I always need to have other things happening too.
Up until recently I'd been juggling course work and freelance work, which gave me something to complain about so I was happy. Now I am free from the shackles of earning money, I find myself filling up my non-existent free time with other projects.
I am currently working on a book to do with comics, there may be some sample chapters floating about at the Bristol con (don't know if I can go yet). I've mostly been doing primary research for this, interviewing lots of people, and everyone so far has been incredibly helpful. Also, their answers have been really really good. By good, I mean there are some conflicting answers and some unexpected answers, it's all very exciting. So a big thank you to everyone who has helped me out so far.
Another project that has come about involves Hookjaw. That might seem strange, but, think about it. What are two of my favourite things in the whole world? Sharks and comics. And Hookjaw brings them together. So I had a great idea for a new Hookjaw comic and the folks at Egmont are willing to listen. There was a flurry of activity for about a week and now it's all gone dead. I need to write up a business proposal, but I hate writing business plans. They're boring and the flow charts are always a big lie anyway. I mentioned the project to Pat Mills and he made me aware of the royalty situation, i.e. the original creators are often cut out of the equation. It shouldn't be a problem as this is more of a personal project rather than a financial venture on my part, so I'm happy to enforce proper royalty payments. Also, being a creator myself, I'm a huge supporter of creator's rights.
So that's what I'm up too. I'm also customising some playmobil and making finger puppets, but I'll save that story for another time....
The Marines and Parrot megastore, further proof that Newcastle was the inspiration for the Twilight Zone. I took this photo after being to The Okay Cafe across the road, where the food really is okay.
Malcy Duff's new comic will be his 30th comic, woo-hoo! I'm going to try and sneak an article in to Comics International about it.
Lots of new comicy goodness over at Smallzone, Shane is now stocking lots of Top Shelf stuff, so if you haven't already read Creature Tech (and you should've) then go buy it now:
http://www.smallzone.co.uk/
I love Edward Gorey, and I always thought that Tom's work had a Gorey-ness about it, so this strip made perfect sense:
Gorey strip
(I got this link via Bugpowder)
Remember that Garfield thing I blogged about before? (Well, thanks to the power of links you don't have to remember, here it is:Garfield experiment (Actually, Jim Davis has put a stop to this experiment, so the link on the blog entry doesn't work now.)
Anyway, here's an even funnier Garfield experiment. By removing the cats speech bubbles it shows just how pathetic his owner is. It turns Garfield into a dark observational comedy of one mans decent into madness. Neat.
I found it this link via Boing boing, but there are sites for it all over the net. Check them out before Jim Davis sues them.
Andi Watson very kindly agreed to be interviewed by e-mail. This is for my research in to gender issues for an upcoming essay and also for my final dissertation.
You can check out Andi's work on his site (which includes a blog): http://www.andiwatson.biz/
And he also has a Flickr account where you can see his latest work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andiwatson/
If you enjoyed Poop-o-rama, then you'll love this. The Owly one made me giggle.
I got this via the Dan Fish site. Yoink.
This is a panel from a strip I've just sent off to Accent UK for their new anthology. It's about a Thai boxing sloth. If that doesn't make you want to buy it then I don't know what will. I'm not sure when it will be released yet.
I've just finished up on some new illustrations for a publisher in London, so I haven't got much happening in terms of freelance work right now.
At the moment I'm doing some research for a book to do with comics and I would really like to get in touch with Pete Pavement (who used to run Slab-O-Concrete). If anyone knows how to contact him, please can you ask him to get in touch with me, I really need to speak with him!
In October, 2005 I interviewed Bryan Talbot. It was important research for my dissertation, but also for my practical work as Bryan is best known for his graphic novels. Here is an edited version of the interview. If you have anything to ask or add to this, please leave a comment or contact me.
Sorry it's taken me so long to transcribe this! If you want to find out more about Bryan's work or see what he's up to then check out his website: http://www.bryan-talbot.com/
Course work:
I've used the colour tests I conducted last week to inform my new paintings. I've started using a process of layering washes of colour to make the images more integrated. Above is the start of a painting next to it is a pile of colour swatches I made.
The grouper is holding some kind of summit, the other fish seem very interested, but the dolphins weren't invited. Some people (i.e. Andrew Smith) think I have toy fish on my desk just to play with them, but they don't understand the intricate politics that go on...
Freelance work:
I am working on two projects at the moment, both of which I thought would be finished by Christmas, but both are still on the go and I'm looking forward to moving on. I'm also applying for a job at Newcastle Uni. I don't have exactly the right qualifications, but I have experience so they said they'll consider me. There is also some crazy mayhem surrounding a tv show pitch I helped work on, which is causing some stress!
General comics stuff:
James Harvey (some of you may remember him from 'Super cookie mix') has a new website, check it out:
http://www.maudevintage.com/jamesharvey/index.html
Also, 2000AD are looking for new artists and writers to contribute to their magazine, and it's currently dividing the small press community. On one hand, people are saying the offer should be rejected by everyone because there is no money being offered and 2000AD are just looking for free stuff to fill their pages. On the other hand, people are saying it's too good an opportunity to miss out on.
Both are valid points, and it seems to be artists who are used to getting paid for work who taking the first view and small pressers who are used to paying to produce work who are taking the second view.
This is a common situation for freelance illustrators. In illustration there isn't really a set fee and it's very difficult for established artist to maintain rates when new artists (particularly students) are willing to do the job for little or no money. It seems to be a very similar situation with this 2000AD thing. Boycotting it won't work, there will always be someone willing to contribute to it.
Oh, and I've just found this great link on Drawn!, Kazu Kibuishi shows us how he makes his comic 'copper'. It's very interesting. He holds his pencil really weird.
A bunch of links today:
Malcy told me that the much loved cameo cinema in Edinburgh is in danger of closure. Check out:www.savethecameo.co.uk.
John (of What What) has told me about fun and interesting projects at:
http://www.startastory.com/.
If you picked up the January issue of Comics International and came to this blog looking for the Expo review Loriann mentioned it's here:
Saturday and
Sunday
Photos are here: Flickr set.
The 12 hr comic 'Sunday' mentioned in the announcement section is documented here: Sunday comic.
Garfield strips follow a pretty simple formula, and I've always wondered if the punchlines were interchangeable. Now there is a site that brings up random panels, so you can find out for yourself:
http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/natetrue/gar.html
Dave West has a new site devoted to robots. He is building up a great collection of robot art (and a drawing by me), with everything from Cybermen to the Terminator. Artists featured include David Hitchcock, Garen Ewing and Roger Langridge. And me. http://www.robots-assemble.com/
And now Virgin are making comics too.Arune Singh article
I've finally put up some photos from the Brighton comic Expo. Enjoy!
Ken Knudtsen ('My monkey's name is jennifer' pictured above) will be doing an 8 pg Wolverine story for Marvel. Woo hoo! That's going to look strange.
Photos should be up soon, once they've been developed.
Sunday highlights: Sea Life Aquarium, Paul Gravett talk, sleep.
Read on for a full review.
As my practical project for this year is a graphic novel, my research is also to do with this. An early problem I ran in to was describing what the term graphic novel actually means. Sure, you can refer to Will Eisner or look up Eddie Campbells manifesto, but to the average person on the street this isn't going to clarify things.
Anyway, I was really intrigued by Paul Raineys current work, 'There's no time like the present', which he describes as a graphic novel but it is released and formatted like a comic. So I've interviewed him about it. Read on to find out more, and leave a comment if there are any other questions you'd like me to ask him.
One of my favouritist comic creators,
Scott Morse has just launched his own publishing imprint. Although, the work is being distributed by AdHouse books, which aren't the easiest to get hold of ( as I found out when I tried to get hold of South Paw by Scott Morse, see image above. Thanks to Bucky at Travelling man for tracking it down. Of course, you can get it on Amazon now.)
Had an interim review of my work today which, I think, went very well. My work has advanced and changed quite a bit since the start of the course, the story is coming on well and I'm finding an interesting way of working. My work's getting even looser (which is the opposite of what I expected) I'm just as excited, if not more excited, about the project than when I started.
The interview with Bryan Talbot was also really useful as it helped back up some my reasoning (i.e. conclusions I had come to are also conclusions he's come to, but of course he's been able to put it into practice and made some very successful work, which is very inspiring.)
Comics International will be bringing out a special edition for the Brighton comic expo (being held mid november). They've asked reviewers to contribute a longer than usual review of their favourite comic of the year. I've cheated a bit, in that I've chosen something that is a graphic novel and it isn't small press (which is the section I normally review.) But to be honest, my favourite thing this year has been Earthboy Jacobus by Doug TenNappel. Close runners up would be Superf*ckers by James Kochalka and (if you consider that the collected edition was released this year) New frontiers by Darwyn Cooke. There are probably some other amazing comics that have come out this year, but I won't remember about them until after the things gone to print. And then people start e-mailing me to ask why I didn't choose their comic....
Speaking of e-mails, anyone wondering what's been reviewed, in C.I.'s Oct issue, I have reviewed Paper Tiger comix issue 2 and There's no time like the present by Paul Rainey.
There should be an interview here with Paul soon,hopefully.
I've often wondered why comic shops have never managed to grasp basic sales tactics. Why are they completely different to any other retail outlet? We're blessed in Newcastle with some very friendly comic shops, but most places aren't so lucky. Personally, I believe this to be one of the greatest problems for comics as a medium as it breeds that exclusively geeky image that makes comics really unappealing to new readers, especially girls.
There is a good article about this over at comicbook resources at the moment. If you've often thought about this, or you are a comic book retailer wondering how to make more money check it out:
comicbook resources article
I've often wondered why comic shops have never managed to grasp basic sales tactics. Why are they completely different to any other retail outlet? We're blessed in Newcastle with some very friendly comic shops, but most places aren't so lucky. Personally, I believe this to be one of the greatest problems for comics as a medium as it breeds that exclusively geeky image that makes comics really unappealing to new readers, especially girls.
There is a good article about this over at comicbook resources at the moment. If you've often thought about this, or you are a comic book retailer wondering how to make more money check it out:
comicbook resources article
There is a really interesting review of the new book 'Pictures and words:New comic art and narrative illustration' by Roanne Bell and Mark Sinclair over on Pete's site. The cover is by Tom Gauld and looks a lot like a flyer he designed for There Goes Tokyo...(the printing/publishing company me and Andy started up) a few years ago.
The review is interesting to me because Pete covers some interesting points about comics and art, which used to be a real issue for me during my BA. I'm going to have to read this book myself at some point, seeing as it relates to my subject field, I'm hoping to enjoy it even just for the pictures, but it might throw up some new ideas and avenues too. I had seen a review of it elsewhere and thought that it mightn't be worth my money, but now I think I'll give it a go. And as Pete mentioned, it has a kick-ass cover.
There have been a lot of accounts on the web about the disaster in New Orleans and horrible though they may be, they are fascinating to read. One that was mentioned on Boing Boing was written by Leo McGovern, who runs a zine. As a comic fan he has documented (almost accidently) the destruction of his collection. The only comic he rescued was a copy of transmetropolitan. Already, other comics fans have offered their condolences and even offered to donate comics to rebuild his collection. Geeky as it is, comics fans have formed such a lovely online community.
Read his storyhere.
I can't make it to the graphic novel discussion at the ICA in October (as reported on Jintys site), but apparently it will all be recorded for the ICA archives. I'm hoping I can get hold of this somehow. I won't be allowed post it on my site though. Paul says he will be doing a graphic novel talk at the convention in Brighton this November. I really need to get along to this, but again, funds are low in the O'Moore bank account!
Got the prints from Lee, they are looking great! Now we have prints for the art fayre from artists: Al Davison, Jeremy Dennis, Andy Richmond, Richard Starzecki, Terry Wiley and me. Also sorted out the comic printing, although it's a lot more than we were hoping to pay. But at least we'll have something to show at the fayre!
The last few weeks have been very hectic for me, and I have missed my deadline for Comics International reviews. So, apologies to everyone who sent me their work, I know how frustrating it is waiting for a review, I am very sorry and I will send reviews off for the next issue.
I got some wonderful comics through from Malcy Duff this week, and I am looking forward to reading them. Self publishing can free the creator from a lot of commercial constraints, and Malcy is one of the few artists currently testing this. His narratives are unique and his presentation of work is getting more and more bizarre. His new one has comics within comics (actually physically stuck into panels). It's really amazing work, I will try to interview him for my research as I will have to start thinking about the format of my own work soon.
I'm off to do some research in the form of reading and drawing, then I'm off to bash things with sticks.
