Supanova - What was sold

This is a run down of sales I made during last month's Supanova.

Sureshot presents x 60
My aim was for about that BUT 25 of those were at wholesale prices to retailers or the 'end of con' special i ran. i also gave away about 10. So i only sold about 25 at cover price; still it covered the printing cost for the whole run so I'm pleased.

5031 x 7
Based on a web comic by Owen Heitmann, i only had seven and they were gone pretty much on day one.

How to Save the World: A Beginners Guide x 10
Half of these went to a retailer at the end of the con. This is such a frustrating book to sell; its comic size, great quality production and has a nice price and therefore good value (its 48 pages). PLUS its actually a very good book story and art-wise, but it doesn't sell well. I can only put it down to the cover, even thoigh its eye catching and well designed I don't think the target audience is attracted by it. From now on, i'm pushing the zombie factor.

Crab Allan x 3
I have to beg Weber to let me sell these but they do sell, slowly but at $20 that's t be expected.

Pretty Zombie x 10
That was sold on day one - 4 hours in. Cute Zombies plus obscene sex acts sell.

Angry Comic Shop Guy x 5
After they were the first book to sell out during the con i felt like a reatard that i left 5 copies on my study floor.

The Bear x 10
This is a hard sell, because its a 24 hr comic, rather cheaply put together with a boring cover. But its soooo good. So I would just beckon likley readers and hand it to them with the proviso "Read the first 4 pages if you don't like it walk away no harm done". And it worked 50% of the time which i think is pretty good. When i sold the last of these I did a victory dance.

Tales from under the bed x 8
I found these when i got up there and they sold pretty conistent, i did have to left over but i only found those as i was packing up.

Ozcomics Magazines (various) x 10
I didn't bring any up with me, the ones sold were ones left over from last year.

Batrisha x 4
Pop Culture X 5
The Batrisha's went easy to the kind of people who say "One of everything, thanks". The Pop Cultures took a bit of time but i probably could have sold more if i had'em.

I don't have exact numbers but on Tonia's side of the table; Pirates flew off the shelf, Eat Comics did ok, a hell of a lot of people flicked thru Something Wicked and i think Kitty Boy did ok. Actually I think most of Tonia's stuff was pretty consistent.

Compare this to last years Brisbane con's sales and it was a good improvement (on a per title basis) but mianly not having the disappointment of having to take copius amounts of stock home..

Movies - the listing part 3

Alex and Emma – just rubbish. I’m a fan of rom-com but it helps when the two leads a semblance of chemistry. Just shit.

ElizabethTown – just awesome. Crowe has done a movie about the beauty of failure, set in the heartland of America. The roadtrip at the end seems a bit long and tacked on but still a great film

Serenity – I did a crash course in Firefly/Serenity for Supanova. I can understand why it failed as a series and why Stealth made more at the box office. Its just disjointed and inconsistent. I’ll probably do a longer post about it later.

V for Vendatta – technically and thematically perfect but something was missing. It dawned on me I just didn’t care about Evey or V that much. And has Portman always had that mole on her cheek?

Constant Gardner – its nice when they make actual thrillers, as opposed to the pap that has 1.5 car chases and “a shocking twist!!!”. Its even better when they make films that are relevant. Smart, moving and exceptionally well put together. And I always considered John le Carre to be just another airport bookstore author, but this does make me consider picking up his books.

40 year old virgin – Just cheap and nasty; like a zgrade film for the comedy set. It felt like it was made by a bunch of arts students making shit up as they went along. The basic structure was solid but repeated scenes of people arguing and swearing for no reason was lame; seeing a 60year old Indian say motherfucker would have been funny if I was 9. A lot of set ups no pay offs.

Harold and Kumar go to White Castle – I’m a massive fan of Dude Where’s my Car (its perfectly written, every set up pays off, some jokes 3 or 4 times). It is genius. I had been hanging out for this for awhile (its by the same director) and it too passes mustard (on little square burgers).

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – Yeah Yeah (reminded me off the Big Lebowski in terms of devices and influences)

Just like Heaven – An Emma flick which was very meh.

Small Soldiers – Sunday arvo film watched while I was sick. Like most Joe Dante flicks it can’t decide what it wants to be (comedy? action? kids flick?). It was kind of violent for a Sunday 12pm movie, what with nail firing machine guns and whatnot. There was a lot of ’hey its that guy from that show’ (david cross, phil hartman, that guy from, you know, that show). It also had Kirsten Dunst which is always nice.

Like Mike – Again I watched this as I recuperated from the flu. It had Crispin Glover in and the bigheaded kid from Jerry Macquire. It was ok.

Honey I shrunk the kids – I was hung over and it was raining. I’m pretty sure I saw it as a kid but I don’t think it left an impression on my because I didn’t recognize a single thing.

the ire

Sellers who wait until buyers leave ebay feedback before reciprocating shit me.

OzComic 24 Hour Challenge - 2006

www.ozcomics24.com is open for registerations and general perusal.
So sign up because you know you NEED to.

Melbourne comics Blog

Discovered by accident it seems Mandy Ord and Nicki Greenberg have created a a blog about Melbourne comics.

(can anyone please provide an LJ feed)

free comic day photos

Seeing as Pulp Fiction Comics is about the size of most Service elevators, it gets packed when more than 10 people visit.

I've never sen lyrca flap in the wind before

Robin at Work

Robin at Play

The rock and the cock

Saturday was one of the best days I've had for awhile –

It started with a sleep in and my stating that I was going to do fuck all work around the house. Emma agreed – we’ve been either painting, gardening, installing, renovating, cleaning, fixing, building, or genrally doing shit around the house for close for 3 months and it was getting tiring.

So after crossiants and a relaxed coffee, it was off to the local shops. For the last six months we’ve gotten into a cool shopping rountine; midweek we hit the supermarkets for non-perishables and then off to the local shops for meat/fish/veggies/bread on saturdays. The change came because I’m not keen on the sulfur soaked vacuum sealed meat or 6 month old vegetables you get at the supermarket. Suburban supermarkets on a Wednesday night have a nice calmness about them; apparently empty aisles, bored shelf stockers, lame muzak and garish lighting puts me in a good mood. Also, on saturdays its exciting going into fresh food produce shops and seeing what’s in season, what’s on sale and what looks good; trying to figure out what to make with it all.
“look at those capsicums!”
“Stuffed capsicums!!”
or
“check it tommyruffs for $8 a kilo – we can do prosciutto wrapped tummies, on jasmine rice”
“no tummies with couscous with raw onion”
Ah – we are so easily excited.

After shopping, Emma dropped me off in town where I quickly spotted a rather weedy young man dressed as batman harassing families, telling them about free comic day.

Walking down the narrow stairs to Pulp Fiction Comics, it wasn’t hard to tell how packed it was. PFC Worker Matt exclaimed it had been like that all day. Well, when I say ‘exclaimed’ I mean it was probably the most animated/agitated I’d ever seen Matt, who usually wavers emotionally from nonchalant to slightly bemused. Peter was running the counter that had a line up of at least 10 people. Robin/Robyn was mingling, volunteers Jack and Jesse were directing people and the shelves of free stuff had at least 2 rows of people moshing for position.

I stalked shelves taking advantage of the sale that coincided with the weekend. On Friday it was 15%, Saturday was 20% and Sunday was 25% off the price; this was a progressive sale style which was MY IDEA which I stole from somewhere and told peter whilst he was working at the other comic shop. I grabbed the Rocketo trade, 100 bullets Volumes 8 and 9, Jeffery Brown’s AEIOU and the latest one (I’m guessing it has something to do with relationships), and Mouse Guard 1. Spotting a hole in the freecomic scrum I grabbed the Scott Pilgrim book and the Fantagraphic sampler.

After a chat with various peoples and purchasement of comics I left and headed for JB. I was in a buying mood and grabbed the Speacial edition of (cough mumble) Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the Johnny Cash San Quetin/Folson prison double album and the 3rd season of Northern Exposure. I had intended to get the latest Public Enemy album which I had seen a number of times during the past fortnight, stocked at JB. At least 7 copies in the eye height JB recommends/New release part of the HipHop section. I was slightly apprehensive because the last album sucked and they cancelled their Australian tour but I was also intrigued because it was produced or co-written by Paris. If it’s the same paris I’m thinking of, its pretty cool; I remember in about 1992 getting a tape of a Paris album which was solid, angry and political with juicy fat beats, it was quite good but I think it got swept over by the rising emergence of gangsta rap and the overall commercialization of hiphop (or rap as it was known back then). So it could be cool. But I don’t know because it had moved from the new release section, wasn’t under ‘P’ and no one knew what I was talking about.

Very weird indeed.

Anyway walking down the mall I thought I’s stop back at Pulp Fiction to see if anyone else was moving on to the Grace Emily pub. At this point I discovered my half open fly, so with some interim cover up action I thought I’ll fix that proper when I get to the foyer of pulp, where its private and out of the way. But then I saw Sarah in her Robyn/Robin get up, with Dave and other guy. That’s when I got distracted. We then walked the 1km to the pub, me and sarah upfront and Dave and other guy way behind so they didn’t have to be part of their weird looks and smiles that people give to someone dressed as a superhero.

Though the whole fly thing was resolved when having a beer, Sarah mentioned ‘I don’t want to embarrass you or anything but - your – fly – is – undone’ in that loud whisper you use when you want to keep something lowkey but everyone still can hear.

With my fly up, we all drank. Pizza was delivered and the 30 people who turned up drank and chatted comics and other important stuff. I brought some Sureshots to leave around and explained the concept and talked about Australian comics in general. I also got some interest for a Melbourne roadtrip to the Doujicon small press and comics festival. So that’ll be interesting. Besides it being good, I don’t remember much except for poor Owen Heitmann breaking a frame. But we all then stomped on bubblewrap. At about 9, four us stumbled onto the train and headed home.

Emma had been home, expecting a girlfriend to come over for dinner. She did ring me up at 5 to say that her friend was late and the wine I bought them was really nice and she had already drunk ¾ of the bottle and she was quite drunk and that her friend was late and she really loved me and I had bought nice wine. On hanging up I thought it was going to get messy, this was certified when she called at 8 asking where the Dirty Dancing dvd was.

I got home during the learning to dance montage, and whilst I expected drying toenails, face masks and scattered bottles, it was quite sedate. I excused myself, made myself a panini (that’s fancy Italian for toasted sandwich) fired up the brazier and drank wine outside. I did return for the final dance scene because “nobody puts baby in the corner” is a great movie line and its great fun to watch. Em’s friend left soon after and whilst I cleaned up, Em put on the Superfly soundtrack so we drunkenly danced around to Mr Mayfield because that type of shit is compulsory.

Sunday was fucked and involved only getting 4 hours sleep because I was dehydrated from the alcohol but too stupid to get up and get a drink, I had to drove 150kms to dad’s farm, i lost my petrol cap, I spent 6 hours picking olives which amounted to about 3 buckets which is essentially a waste of time, it rained, it hailed, it was cold, it was windy, I had to shit outside and then when I turned up to the Exeter hotel for the gallery exhibition no one was there.

get free stuff for FREE!!!

Get free comics from Pulp Fiction Comics, this saturday (6 May)!

dibs on the Scott Pilgrim book!

There's a sale with 20% off books (not everything but the majority) and 25% off the price of some books (not everything but the majority) on sunday.

Also see Batdan, Minnie Mouse, boy/girl Robin and other people in costume - then go to the Grace Emily for drinks.

BECAUSE YOU WANT TO

support your local sheriff/gun fighter/comic creator

Vote for Stikman here
Vote for radiotak, jacen, simon sherry here and here and here

asshole?

At saturday's Grates gig (it was good - i couldn't dance satisfactorily on my 'broken' toe though and it was a tad crowded with gawkers but still enjoyable) i had this conversation

Girl 1 - do you know where the ATM is?
Brett - if you go down the stairs and into the courtyard there's a cash machine there
Girl 1 looks quizzical, Girl 2 more so
Mark - Yeah, just down the stairs turn left and follow the building around the corner
Girl 1 - but where is the ATM here?
i look around
Mark - I don't think there is one
Girl 1 - oh
Mark - but don't worry, you're pretty girls you can find boys to buy you drinks
Girl 2 - Will you buy us drinks?
Mark - ....
Mark - um
Mark - no
Brett - That's cold
Mark - if we were single
Girl 1 (mishearing) - how do you know we aren't single?
Mark (pointing at Brett) - no i meant 'we', we're not single
Girl 2 - oh
Girl 1- oh

Girls walk off

Mark - i think i just went asshole
Brett - yes, and you just fagged us



did i?

Supanova , Day +1 (Watch Mark run)

My plan was to walk up early, go into the city, buy something nice for Emma, catch the train to the airport and fly home.

I slept in, I missed the train, I got off at the wrong station, I kept walking in the wrong direction or walking past where I wanted to be, bought the first thing I saw. Somehow I was able to get from Roma st station to Queen’s street mall (the far end) and back to Roma st in 30 minutes.

I barely made it to the airport and because of a backpack accident have a massive bruise on my arm which is ugly as.

And that was that.

highlight - making the flight
lowlight - i mentioned to a woman on the train "you've got some white powder on your shoulder and back". She tried brushing it off and when she was unsucessful with getting it off she gave me the most completely disdainful look i ever recieved. And the bruise.


(photo taken a week after the event)

Supanova Day 2 (or Will sell comics for $2)

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Supanova day 1 (or I’m sorry for cutting your lunch)

It started off slowly; actually there wasn’t much to it. I meet Jules Faber and partner and the Siberian group. I said hello to Ben Hutchings and Avi and nodded manfully at the Cult Fiction guys. I said hello to the very cool Ben and Karen Howard and was surprised to see Paul Abstruse away from the island he bought from the proceeds of herbal ectsacy.

It was a bit nerve racking being in the basement because there was a feeling that it was going to suck.

And it did suck for about 2 hours.

Then it went nuts for 2 hours. A heap got sold; including sellouts on Pretty Zombie and Angry Comic Shop Guy. What seemed to help was that the punters had to pass Artist Alley to Exit, go upstairs, have a smoke, eat. It provided plenty opportunities to yell “buy my comic you fucking nerd”. Weber did make an appearance behind the table but that lasted about 20 minutes when I told him off for chatting up girls at the table and blocking out customers. I saw Jase Harper for 30 seconds and then he disappeared never to be seen again, which is a shame. Andy ‘Fingerbang” Finlayson showed up, along with Daniel Gibbs – I believe they stalked cosplayers for photo opportunities for most of the day. I kept missing Daren White but did chat briefly with Stewart McKenny and Jason Rand. I got hugged by Rissa. It was kind of interesting to see that Geoff Johns and Phil Jimenez had a solid consistent line up all day. I sort of thought that since there is little interest in Australian comics, superhero comics can’t be that much better. Well apparently not.

I wandered on the upper con floor, flicking thru comic long boxes but nothing really interested me or was what I was looking. EXCEPT THOSE ISSUES OF UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDERMAN WHICH I JUST REMEMBERED I SAID I WOULD GO BACK TO – FAARRRRK. The stuff I’m looking for was overpriced (compared to ebay) like sub200 X-mens or just not available like Green Lantern: Mosiac, The Question and Baker’s the Shadow run.

Except for the massive rush in the middle of the day, Artist Alley was pretty quiet.

Organizing the social aspect of the night was a headfuck. Also for some reason people ask me like I know shit about shit; ask me about the movie Magnificent Seven, ask me about South Australian red wine, ask me about my theory concerning the evolution of monkeys but don’t ask me where we are going in a city I spend 3 drunk and dizzy days a year in. It makes us both look stupid. We ended up at the Jubilee. Weber was not pleased – I believed he wanted to go somewhere fancy where the glasses are clean and the dress code is a bit more explicit than the Jubilee’s “Don’t look like a faggot”. But it was fine. It was a lot of fun. I chatted with Daren White and Michael Evans before they scampered off to their loved ones. The rest of us though were fast and furious rascals, rebels who allowed no one to tie them down.

After I had finished a 15 minute phone call to Emma, I started drinking. I suggested food after eyeing off the various steaks and burgers being carried thru the crowd. The idea of dinner did not impress Andy FingerBang and Dan, since it would divert them from drinking and Weber told of an experience where he had a greasy BLT at a pub once and had sworn off eating at pubs FOREVER MORE.

Honestly I can’t remember much. I talked to people. I hugged a girl in the toilets. I tried to figure out what was a shitter beer xxxx or stella.

I know that at 9 o’clock there was a mass exodus from the Jubilee. As like its seems every year we then had trouble getting into various bars and clubs. Barsoma because of a football top, barwankalot because of sneakers and then the Zoo wanted $10 entry. We ended up at RGs outside in the mall which was cool. It all went well. A group of Hen nighters turned up and I chatted with them for awhile because I was almost comicced out. Weber stated that I was horning in his action. Weber’s action is any female within a 3m radius – I was the worst wingman ever.
“She’s getting married next weekend dude”
“She’s single this weekend”

He soon disappeared after that.

Rissa and Jason Rand turned up. As did the Cult Fiction guys. It was all good. I then noticed I hadn’t seen Weber for about an hour. Oh well, he’s probably chatting up ladies. 30 minutes later – still no Weber. Hmmm. It was now about 1:30 and I was quite tipsy. I was also now one of the last remaining people except for a comatose Daniel Gibbs and a very happy Hayden. I called Weber’s phone and it rang out. That’s a good sign, he’s out and can’t hear his phone. I tried again.
“hey man – where are you? I haven’t seen you for awhile”

“I’m at home”

“....”

I then apologized for waking him up - I was very drunk.

“dude, you can either pick me up or can you SMS your address because I have no idea where you live”
About 20 minutes later he picked me up, I spent the rest of the time doing the whole drunken apology thing. The next morning though it was incredibly funny. Weber blames bad pizza, I suspect he will now swear off eating pizza FOREVER MORE.


Hightlights – the pretty doe eyed girl representing the Red team, catching up with cool people, selling out stuff

Lowlights – wishing I had more of the comics that I sold out of, not going out dancing at Ric’s, kicking the coffee table and breaking a toe.

Supanova day - 1 (or I didn’t shit in my pocket)

I’m not going crazy with the report this year – but I’ll try and break it down with highs and lows and witty and insightful observations.

Friday was a really anxious day. It started with a cabbie that ranted and raved for the 25 minute trip about 3^rd world athletes, streets with inconsistent names, ikea and the weather. I don’t understand how you can rant about the weather – so I was on edge just in case he started to rant against 30 year old comic publishing guys with clean shoes. When a conversation with a stranger starts with “For fuck’s sake, what kind of fucking fuckwit fucking names streets in a fucked up way as this?” I get anxious (I had to clean up the language a bit).

Then there’s the flight, I always consider that a plane is bound to crash and burn sooner or later and I’ll most likely be on it. The Sea-King helicopter crashed because a split pin wasn’t inserted into a bolt – since i heard that I’ve become afraid my bed will spontaneously combust if I don’t use all the washers to build the bedside drawers.

I flew Jetstar which I like because you can pick your seat. I don’t care about aisle and window, I’m more interested in screaming children and hot supermodels; I want to sit away from the former and near the latter. Jetstar’s seating policy helps with this goal.

Tonia, thankfully picked my up. Though I felt guilty as I commanded her around - drive me to the bank, to somewhere for lunch, to the showground.

Also there was a background level of anxiety about the weekend; will my stuff sell, will I get beaten up, will I need emergency dental work.

Anyway after lunch, that I ate nervously whilst Tonia watched (why isn’t she eating - does she know something?), I felt something icky on my hands – I discovered that a chocolate egg I had put in my pocket had melted in the Brisbane heat. So I had to go wash out my pocket.

After that it was off to the showgrounds.

We were one of the first to set up at Artist Alley because most creators wait until 30 minutes after the doors open on Saturday morning to put their shit together. I assume they are still drawing and printing their books. We set up in 30 minutes with table cloth, posters and books. I ran into Tim and Danny, plus Wendy (Stew’s partner) and that’s about it. Except for Michael Li, ultra talented Michael Li of Last Time I Fetch Water fame. He’s very quiet because he lets the drawing talk for him.

In the end I caught up with Cool Hand Weber. The rest of the night involved driving around hunting for an air mattress, I did state I didn’t need one, I had my sleeping bag which would suffice. Weber compromised and bought the cheapest one possible, thankfully he bought a pump too. We had some dinner -a really nice Indian dinner which was almost ruined by some drunk loser complaining about Weber’s shouting and swearing. And the night ended by seeing V for Vendatta which was perfectly made but I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters; Stephen Fry’s character was the only one that had any spark of personality.

And that was it. the night contained no salsa dancing.

Highlights – not dying at the hands of crazed taxi drivers, not crashing in a malfunctioning planes, not being stabbed in a dark cinema and getting a air mattress.

Lowlights – chocolate in the pocket

supanova - last year

Last Year i went mental with the con report.

(not this year)

to the 3 people who care

I'm back safely from Supanova which was fantastic. Thanks to all involved.

Free Azerath subscription

Get Azerath free, delivered to your door.

I'm a big fan of the Phorphorescent CreatorLine, its produced some great work. I'm a big fan of Azerath and thought Eldritch Kid was some of Christian Read's better work. So, support a great publishing idea and a great book.

All you have to do is write a letter.

I don't live in the basement, I just sell comics there

This time next week, in Brisbane the following people will be in Artist Alley

40% less comics
No idea.

Boss Beat
Something related to a film and possibly a old school superhero, its hard to tell.

Brisbane Anime Society
They hold screenings of anime movie twice a month

Cult Fiction Comics Australia
Regulars to Supanova, these guy do comics on cd. Their website seems to be down.

EDGE Comix
I think these guys do Groovy Gravy, an alternative anthology.

Geeen Comix
Ben Hutchings is incredibly funny and he produces incredibly funny comics. You stink and I don't and it doesn't take a hero are my favourites. he has a new book, Pumpkin Brothers which I'm hoping is like some of the early stuff from You stink...

Invisible Spiders
No idea

Jules Faber
This is the blurb from Golgatha, Faber's painted comic.
"Golgotha is a prison, orbiting a dying sun, long abandoned but still home to prisoners who find they cannot die. Now, after long millennia, change is coming."
That sounds interesting doesn't it?

Lisa & Wayne Wilshere-Cumming
I swear, the name Wayne Cumming sounds familiar, but I'm not sure, so in essence - I have no idea.

Moo Tastic
Dunno

Novus Order
See - Moo Tastic

OzTaku
Manga publishers in Australia, they produce 200+ page magazine that feature some great work; Li, Wen and Ian T. They may also be offering 9V and First Time I fetched water - these are GOOD.

Phatsville
These guy do good stuff, the Phatsville anthology, Golden Plops, Fat Ankle, Plump Oyster, all great alternative comics.

Pulp Faction
Maggie McFee has kindly let Tonia Walden and myself use the Pulp Faction banner to sell stuff (because me and Tonia couldn't think of a name). I'll be selling Sureshot Present, Ozcomics Magazine and some Adelaide books. Tonia will be selling Pirates, My Office is Hell, Eat Comics. L. Frank Weber may drop by to scowl at people.

Rowan Cassidy
Beautiful looking stuff, I'm really keen on checking it out. Plus he worked on Hero and House of Flying Daggers and that's kind of cool.

Shifting Time
A webcomic, its space parody, not badly done.

Siberian Productions
Home of Billy: Demon Slayer and Full Moon.

Storm Publishing
These guys have been around for awhile, they fly under my radar but I always get a shock when i look at their catalogue and see they've produced something like 50 comics.

Wellbound Productions
They produced Haven, which has fantastic art, I'm hoping they've produced a second issue.

Will Kelly
It could be this guy, I dunno. I hope it is because it'll be great watching him draw Goku sketches.

Yum Yum Comics
These guys produce a lot of stuff with names like BossaNova Baby, While My Guitarist Gently Makes Out With My Girlfriend! and Creamy Beaver. I'm really keen of buying their stuff because a) i missed out last time and b) i can never go past something called Creamy Beaver.

And Phosphorescent Comics will have a stall above us (which was the reverse to last year). Check out the Witch King graphic Novel for the beautiful production and art. Eldritch Kid and Azerath also deserve a flick thru.

night time in Mark's world

Wednesday night
Across the road from my front door is the train line that freight trains use to get from Adelaide to Melbourne. Luckily we have a dense front garden and small hill to dampen some of the noise but it does get a bit loud from the 15 or so trains that pass every day. Thankfully I've only been woken up by them once.
We knew the trains passed through before we bought the house, we stood outside the house as a particularly loud one passed which rattled doors and windows. But after looking for about 2 years and watching house prices rise out of our reach we threw dice and made an offer. 18 months here we are.
On wednesday night was a town hall meeting concerning the effect the trains are having on the environment. Now I'm not one of those people who moves next to the airport and then complains about the noise; my plan is double glaze the windows and improve the roof insulation and it shouldn't be an issue. But we went anyway.
A number of speakers spoke about the different options (rerouting the train north - through the poor part of town which is a bit unfair - and other technological solutions). It seems like they can't really do anything - and the only thing that will stop the trains is legislation or if they become more expensive to run.
What was fun though was watching 60 year old grey haired activists grill the various politicans and businesspeople on what they are doing about the issue. Starting long-winded stories that never went anywhere, stammering through previously asked questions and generally blathering on. I made Em burst out laughing with the comment "You are the hottest chick here baby" and then a guy sitting/sleeping on a table fell off and tried to make it like he meant to do that.
Though the comment of the night goes to the guy who runs the company that owns the track
"Thanks for the question Frank, before i answer I'd like to congratulate you on the sale of your house. I remember 5 years ago you stood there and exclaimed your property value and plummeted but it seems you made a tidy profit last year".
Even though everyone was essentially against the track owner, this got a good laugh.
Anyway we left early, when Neil from Belair related catching steam engines in his youth.

Thursday night
The new Ikea store opens in Adelaide next thursday, but we got preview tickets for last night (em knows someone in the publicity department), well so did 4,500 other people and the place was packed. As a casual observer, it seems that anything from Ikea with moving parts or multiple 'bits' is essentially shoddily put together cheap looking stuff (couches especially). But then again its cheap so i can see the attraction. The smaller, simpler bits and pieces like bowls, frames, chairs look pretty good. We bought some storage boxes and a new 1.9x1.9 bookshelf for the lounge since the comic, book, dvd, cd collecting thing means i'm running out of room for stuff. We waited about an hour in the line to check out but they were handing out bottles of water and really nice butterscotch chocolates, so we had fun by seeing how many bottles of water and chocolates we could forage for - as you can tell we are easily amused.
Of course i thought it would all easily fit in the excel. And of course I was wrong. I had to pull off the head rest for the passenger seat and Em had to keep her head between her knees because the boxes spanned from the rear to front window.
It'll be interesting what happens with the other furniture places; because its hard to say. Le Cornus, as the cheap furniture store in town will have the competition on a price level but the styles of furniture couldn't be more different, people who like the classic/fuddyduddy style of lecornu will probably stick to them for bigger purchases. Freedom/Casual Living and Ikea share styles but the quality and price point differ significantly so they'll probably take some of the hit but not much. It'll probably the homewares plaes that will suffer the most.
So it'll be interesting, if furniture retail competition can be deemed interesting.

Ozcomic 24hr Challenge Poster Winner

by Caanan Grall

Ozcomic 24hr Challenge Poster Winner

by Caanan Grall

Brisbane artist does Lady Supreme

Thanks to Andy F. for the tip; Brisbane based artist, Wayne Nichols, is working with Rob Liefeld on Lady Supreme.

gara gara gara garçon

Children are of course welcome, ninjas not.

2 deaths, 2 births and 3 other things - 28th August

Births
1917 - Jack Kirby
1969 - Jack Black

Deaths
1987 - John Huston
1990 - Willy Vandersteen (belgian cartoonist and my new alias)

Events
1994 - First Japanese gay pride march.
1963 - During a 200,000-person civil rights rally in at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his famous 'I have a dream' speech.
1898 - Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola".

grates - gravity won't get you high

track 1 - annoying, luckily short
track 2 - my favourite song, nice and early makes me forget track 1
track 3 - bouncy bouncy happy happy
track 4 - slow and sweet
track 5 - rock out with your cock
track 6 - the song from the jeans west ad, a year after their touch/pain ep, i'd hope there would be more original tunes. However, the old songs (feels like half of them) have been rerecorded. Still very cool song.
track 7 - probably will be their next single
track 8 - grrrr patience grrr
track 9 - makes me wanna waltz, i don't know how that makes me feel
track 10 - its about muthafuckers dancing, i was born to dance
track 11 - another rehash from the EP but with added banjos
track 12 - i dunno, really, i dunno
track 13 - a really nicely produced track
track 14 - a dreamy rock song farewells the album, a nice contrast to the otherwise boppy rock.

unsure shot

lessons learned, when doing out the layout make sure half your page count is an even number otherwise when you print it out you have a nice double page spread of emptiness

shy deaf dies

right by the door of pulp fiction comics is the australian comics stand and last week i was intrigued by a polybagged mini comic. I asked to have a look fearing it was a texty ziney thingy. It wasn't, there was some mild female nudity of the full frontal kind, so i duly bought it.

the art is angular and harsh. on the flick thru it seemed to be a typical mini, a couple of stories with some rough sketches in the middle to fill it out. but for $4 it was worth a go.

and i'm glad i did; its about a deaf girl taken to a nightclub on a date and dumped. She passes out and has a sort of re-awakening. fuck, i can't do it justice but lets say i was impressed how it all tied together.

shy deaf dies - lindsey coleman
(the comic is better than the website)

Monsters and pirates and book deals

Slowly, slowly
-another report of an australian comic creator/illustrator signing deals to do graphic novels.

Even though he's Adelaide based i don't think i've come across him, but his portfolio is very good.
And its extraordinary that he's been working on it for 13 years; he started when Batman was having his back broken and Image was being formed. Think about that.

Basic Wage Kids

The giggliest drunk ever, Owen Heitmann starts his new webcomic, Basic Wage Kids, today!

OzComic 24 hour Challenge 2006 - Poster competition

Because I haven't been spruiking the poster competition like i should, i'm extending the deadline until Monday 10th of April.

So get drawing if you want prizes and fame and prizes.

Vibewire eFestival

Anthony W has posted on ComicsLifestyle about an eFestival looking for smart people to talk about comics and stuff.

It looks interesting

Movie imaginings

A comment brought up at work about the perfect casting of jaws, made me think of other great 70s movies with different casts.

Jaws
Starring Al Pacino, James Caan and Marlon Brando
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Midnight Cowboy
Starring Burt Reynolds and Gene Wilder
Directed by Steven Spielberg

Taxi Driver
Starring Gene Hackman and Meg Ryan
Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Dog Day Afternoon
Starring Christopher Walken and Harrison Ford
Directed by Roman Polanski

(for no reason, but i could do it all day)

the Triangle

Nine is pumping a new mini-series for next week, The Triangle, starring everyone's famous red meat dancer Sam Neil.
Based on part one; its weird, the acting is awful, direction is nauseating, special effects are crap but if you make it through part one, there's enough of a hook to interest you in part 2. I'm guessing it'll be equally as rubbish.
So watch something else instead unless you are a glutton

I had toast on sunday

Friday - Went with Brett to see Darren Hanlon at the Jade Monkey. It was a nice humid night so we drank in the beer garden while the support act played. Usually candle record support bands are good but not this time. Adelaide had a good buzz, with the the clipsal race in town, though there were too many bogans with no shoes for my normal tolerance, but its nice when the streets are packed and people are having fun.
Darren did a good show, although it was a bit toned down. Highlight was some 15 year old kid proposing to his girlfriend during the show; what was funny about it was that proposing after a song that has the lyrics "they say we are off to broken hearts" maybe not a good start but once the lass said yes and kissed the fellow a couple of times she just sat straight down and watched the rest of the show like nothing happened. Anyway, good concert and Hanlon's new stuff sounds ok.

Saturday - the mundacity of cleaning gutters and other peices of housework. The gutters were chockers with leaves and crap, and with winter coming it had to be cleaned (otherwise the gutters rust and leak and become even more of hassle, plus there's the whole fire thing) . Though in 33 degree heat and a wobbly ladder, i did about 3/4s and moved onto my other project. Our house is on a slope and under the house there's cavities; my plan is to dig out two of these cavities, knock out the wall in between, resupport the floor and have a cellar. I started it in November but got distracted by shiny objects for about 3 months but its time to get back to it. I've dug out about a trailer load so far and have got about another 2 to go. I'll then be able to move my wine collection from my mum's place before she drinks it all.

Sunday - finished the gutters, did a house clean and watched dvds.

Monday - I was supposed to go see a preview of V for Vendatta but lost the fucking ticket. Dammit.

Art comp deadline closes soon

With 3 days to go

The Conflux Art Show deadline is March 27th

There's a prize pool of $6000; including $1000 for best Australian art and $500 for best comic art

Wisdom of the Big D

Having lunch with my dad today he offered this pearl of wisdom;

"Your last suit doesn't need pockets"

(and yet i had to pay for his food)

My House

I've been meaning to do this for ages and SPreston has spurred me.

so case' di mark

35º 01'13.90"S
138º 35'36.43"E

You can't actually see the house because of the surrounding trees and though it looks like its in the middle of nowhere; its only 20 minutes out of the city center and beach. Due the hilly terrain and adjoining national park its just sparsly developed.

Movies – the listing part 2

Walk the line (drive in) – though I like Cash’s music this movie was dull and predictable. Finely acted but still boring as batshit. It was like a tv movie of the week with better acting and great production design.

Land of the Dead – I’m not usually keen on horror, I don’t like the tense atmosphere and looking like a dick when I get startled. But there’s no tenseness in this flick – so it fails there but as an adventure film its fine, almost smart.

Suddenly 30 – I would have preferred if it had an unhappy ending because it ends way too sugary sweet. Otherwise the Thriller dance scene is comedy gold.

Wedding Crashers – Incredibly funny, the only thing that kind of ruined it was Ferrel’s over-hammed cameo, plus it sagged towards the end. I find it interesting that this film and Old School have similar themes about growing up and made by the same group of guys.

House of Flying Daggers – I don’t mind saying Zhang Ziyi is hot, but I’m disturbed that I think the same about Andy Lau.

Footloose – Awesome! Except for the construction building dance scene (it reminded me of the flute playing scene in Ron Burgundy) and the white jeans.

Ghost World – Whilst I liked it the first time, it really grew on me on the second viewing. Enid character arc makes more sense and is better to watch once you know the end. It’s not quiet a tale of redemption and its not quiet a coming of age; it straddles the two as a story about self-realization. Its in my top 50, maybe.

Bruce Almighty (TV) – at times good but mostly too hammy.

Bottle Rocket – So well constructed and horribly romantic - almost perfect.

Aeon Flux – Free tickets, thank god. This movie left so little impression I don’t think I can recall a single scene. The last ¼ once a plot develops is bearable but weirdness for the sake of it for 90 minutes can be a bit off-putting.

Shiralee (DVD) – one of Emma’s favourites, Bryan Brown and an 8 year walk around for 190 minutes. Its not so much a movie as a mood or an art piece, its engrossing and easy to watch (even enjoyable) but hardly challenging.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse – Milla and Siena. Guns and explosions. I am easily pleased.

Brother: Takeshi Kitano is a yakuza mobster in LA. A lot of people die, violence is inflicted imaginatively, Takeshi twitches and there are obscure but beautiful long-shots. I wish the DVD transfer wasn’t shit (fullscreen – what a waste).

Manga Sales in Australia

According to the Age, manga sales in australia is about $750,000 a year.

Now I'm assuming that would be sales through bookstores that use local distributors; Dymocks, Angus and Roberts, probably Borders and possibly Kinokuniya.

Now North America did $164 million, in relative terms if Australia had the same percentage of manga buyers, the market would be about $10 million. There is room for our market (with all things being equal) to increase 1300% (i think - i suck at maths).

But all things aren't really equal.
One - i think the local sales of manga in Australia is higher than $750,000 stated because i doubt it takes notice of the 30+ comic shops around the country. Some are probably run by grizzled old fanboys that only sell Marvel/DC and sneer at that "big eyed queer stuff", but some are probably doing quiet well selling manga. If only half the local shops (15) are selling 20 books a week at $20 each, that's another $312000 a year.*

*that also raises the point $750,000 means that only 721 books are being sold a week around the country. A top ten book sells about 2-3000 copies a week. So if the upper limits of manga buying occurs it might be possible for a manga book to hit the top ten (with yearly sales of $10 mill, that would be roughly 9000 books sold a week - which is ALL manga books not individual titles)

So manga is probably selling closer to a million a year.

Also, Viz, Dark Horse and, I think, TokyoPop has restricted a number of high selling franchise books from being sold at local comic shops, so Diamond can not distribute books to Australia - which goes against free trade, but anyway. I'm not sure about regular bookstores, I guessing you can but Dragonballz and other titles through them. In any case, these restrictions make it harder to get books into the hands of punters and probably puts a dampener on sales.

strangely it is exciting that we might be 3 years behind because it provides the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of what happened in North America and Europe with Manga and take advantage of it.
-some how-

However the other problem is that - the western companies that reprint manga are running out of 'good' manga to release. Now i dunno if that's the case - but if it is then in 3 years time at the 'peak' of manga interest locally - will people just be served up rubbish which will turn people off? Like when interest peaked for American comics in the early 90s due to Batman movies, death of superman, the speculative market connected with valiant comics and birth of Image - people got pretty rubbish comics. As a result, thousands of comic shops shutdown and publishers went out of business.

oh and Oztaku got a mention

I'm hoping the Astroboy exhibition is in july, because i might goto that.

me on a boat

I went with Emma to a media function, where free booze, finger food, name tags and chitchat collide. I found the representative from channel 10 and quite respectfully, while still sober, i could finally tell him to stop fucking with The Shield.
"stop fucking with the what? The shell?"
"The shield. TV show - you kept moving it around"
"oh, the shield, yeah, i never watched it"
"its good, and bring back Veronica Mars"
"oh god, that won't be back until december"
"damn, well thanks for letting me get that off my chest"
"not a problem, so what do you do?"

and the chitchat continued

The other highlight was being mistaken for the son of a high profile advertising dude, even though i was wearing a nametag and the people i was with saying "he's pulling your leg". So i just had to tell of dad's escapade at the Crazy Horse after the last executive meeting.

and i saw a dolphin

24 Challenge Poster Competition

Regardless of the format of the challenge, it still needs a poster.

So let the Poster competition begin!

What you have to do-
Create an A3 poster

• which includes the date; Queens' Birthday Weekend June 13th
• the logo (http://www.pulpfaction.net/24hr_2005/i/clock.gif)
• A space for the sponsors (roughly a 300 x 150mm area)
• the year- 2006
• It will be colour but it has to print well in Black and White
  
• And the title which at this stage is the OzComic 24 hour Challenge but the OzComic part may be replaced by another name

The winner, as chosen by the 24hour challenge organisers, will win $100 worth of comics and graphic novels from Pulp Fiction Comics.

Deadline is 27th March 2006

SureShot Presents

What is it?
The idea of Sureshot Presents is to produce consistently high quality self contained sequential art by Australian Comic Creators for current and emerging markets, driven by creators but backed by a publisher.

Why?
There are very few outlets for creators to publish their work, especially in a format that allows their ideas to grow.
Equally, there are very few outlets for readers to purchase complete and narratively satisfying stories that use an Australian Voice. Sureshot Presents is a means to provide an outlet for readers and creators.

What is the format?
The format to begin with is A5 between 36 and 48 pages. Interior pages will be 90gsm black and white. The cover will 200gsm colour optix stock with single colour printing.

How much?
It will retail for $4. Wholesale for $2.

What will be in it?
Sureshot Presents will contain a self contained story, that will not require any auxiliary purchases to enjoy. The genre and style is completely open. Where stories do not fill the whole 36 or 48 pages, a self contained back up story will be included plus text pieces.

What do creators get?
The creators of a particular issue will get 150 copies of the book. Where there are multiple creators they are able to split the 150 copies as they see fit. Creators are expected to sell and distribute their copies to preordained and negotiated markets. This will net creators $600 at retail prices and $300 at wholesale.

What do you mean preordained?
During the submission process creators and the publishers of Sureshot Presents will negotiate which retail outlets will be available to the publisher and creators to pursue. The Publisher has sole access to Kings Comics (Sydney), Phase Two Comics (Aust) and Pulp Fiction (Adelaide), however all other markets are negotiable. This includes non-comic retailers, conventions and zine-fairs.

What will be the total print run?
300, equally split between the creator and publisher.

Who is eligible?
All Australia residing creators.

What happens when an issue sells out?
That is open to negotiate between the creator and publisher. There are a number of options

• Nothing
• Reprinted by the Publisher with profits shared between the publisher and creator (75/25)
• Reprinted by the Creator with profits shared between creator and publisher (90/10)
• Creator reprints the story in a different format but credits SureShot and the publisher.

In the event where one party sells their allocation of copies, they may purchase copies from the other party for $1 a copy.

Who owns the material?
The creator owns the material 100% and can do with the material as they see fit after the initial print run. However, if the material is reprinted at A5 size, the original printing specifications must be met. If the material is reprinted or presented in any other format, Sureshot and the Publisher must be credited in an obvious manner.

How do I submit?
The format of submission will depend on the history and skill of creator and is decided by the publisher. The first step is to email the publisher (mailto:mark_selan@hotmail.com) with a request to submit a story. The publisher will reply with the format of the submission.
For new creators, they will need to send the Publisher the first 3 pages and the last 3 pages of the comic. A synopsis of the story must be included plus answers to these 3 questions

• What is the story about (not the plot but what are the themes)?
• Who is the audience?
• What markets/retail outlets will the creator be approaching and why?

More established creators can supply a synopsis and some art. They'll need to make reference to the market/retail outlets question.

How are submissions going to be judged?
They will be judged by the Publisher and by two comic creators. They will be assessed on their marketability and the skill level of the creators. The better the planning by the creators and the greater market potential the more likely a submission will be approved.

How often will Sureshot Present be solicited?
The plan is quarterly but will depend on submissions.

Is there anything you are looking for?
Fresh original stories by enthusiastic creators who are not afraid to approach new markets.

Is there anything you are not looking for?
Superheroes and parody comics – they have a chance but they’ll have to be bloody good. In terms of censorship, the inclusion of sex and violence will depend on how it is done within the story.

What happens if my proposal gets accepted?
The creator and publisher will then set up a schedule to determine the delivery date and publication of the book. The publisher will act as an editor on the project, critiquing the creative aspects of the project as they are being worked on. Retail markets and marketing strategies will also be discussed and negotiated.

How will the books be marketed?
Each book will be treated differently, depending on its audience. The format of the marketing and advertising will be the same; appropriate retailers will be approached and online commuities will be targetted. Creators are quite welcome to create posters, flyers and other merchandising material at their own expense. The publisher will most likely have poster printed if the publisher attends a convention or zine fair.

What happens if my proposal gets rejected?
The publisher will provide a full critique of your work, establishing areas of improvement while noting strengths of the provided work. Some creators will be invited to resubmit proposals in the future once they have been reworked.

Can I pull out?
Creators are able to pull out at anytime before the comic goes to print. The publisher intends to have a stockpile of stories before printing the story so this should not affect solicitation schedules. It is asked that the comic not be published for a year after the creator pulls out of the agreement. If the reason for the discontinuation is laziness then the creator must be prepared to be mocked.

How long will I have to wait for my comic to be released?
It will depend, but if a comic is not released after 18 months of completion and delivery then it can be immediately reprinted anywhere at the creator's discretion.

What are the creator’s responsibilities?

• To create a self contained comic no longer than 44 pages.
• To complete and deliver the pages by a date negotiated by the creator and publisher.
• To design the cover and that will include the Sureshot logo.
• To approach markets and deal with them in a professional manner
• The creator will have to provide sales data to the publisher.
• In the case of reprints, send and receive money to and from the publisher depending on which reprint option is undertaken.
  

What’s a professional manner?
Professional manner includes turning up to scheduled meetings on time and delivering goods and invoices within two weeks of receiving orders. It also entails interacting with retailers and consumers in a polite and respectful manner, specifically when representing and publicizing Sureshot Presents work in a public arena. The reason for this is because the idea is to build the market and readership, acting like an ass will only harm other Sureshot Present creators either now or in the future.

What happens if a creator doesn’t act in a professional manner?
If a retailer or member of the community complains about a creator’s behaviour while the creator represents Sureshot Presents, then a period of negotiation will be entered in an attempt to fix and placate the situation to the satisfaction of all parties. If a major complaint is upheld then the creator must forfeit their remaining copies of Sureshot Presents. (A major complaint may include participating in an illegal activity while publicly representing Sureshot Presents).

What are the publisher’s responsibilities?

• To act as an editor on a project.
• To pay for the printing.
• To check that the printing is correct.
• To aid in the formulation of the marketing plan.
• To have the creator’s share of the printed comics shipped to the creator at the publisher’s expense.
• To distribute the comic to the negotiated markets.
• To negotiate with and between parties, if a problem arises.
• To negotiate the issue of reprints, if the need arises.

What about other responsibilities?
All other responsibilities are up for negotiation.

Who is involved so far?
Sureshot Presents will be reprinting the previous web comic Crab Allan: Gothic Boogaloo by L.Frank Weber. Chelsea Fritzlaff is also supposed to be involved as part of her prize for the 2004 OzComic Challenge but she’s lost in the wind – but I’m hoping she’s found because she’s the inspiration for the whole thing. Other creators have been approached and are interested.

OzComic 24 hour Challenge 2006

For those interested; my proposal for this year's challenge.

Panels and Gutters

Yesterday we had the monthly Panels and Gutters Adelaide comic drinks at the Grace Emily sponsored by Pulp Fiction Comics. It was a good turn out, a solid 15 - we've had more but it was quite hot and the fringe is on but it was a good average. We had a bbq in the beer garden but sadly there was no grease fire this time. EVERYONE was asking about 24 hour challenge which is good but jeez put the pressure on - i was hoping to go camping that weekend or go to the McClaren Food and Wine weekend. I think i'm out but they just pull me back in.

I spoke to Peter about the challenge and he's keen so that's good. Otherwise it was a good meet, i'm tempted to contribute to the associated zine after being inspired by the work in Fist full of comics #2 and looking at people's work (Clare and lucas's stuff was really good).
I'm hoping Datsun T. will be doing one of my scripts but he may be just polite. After 3 months i finally sent it to him this morning. He did say he can do 120 panels in a day - which is just ludicrious - unless he means a day on Mars or something.

As always looking forward to the next one.

i just a thought from an old and grumpy man - there is nothing that turns me off on someone who exclaims "I'm so drunk" repeatedly and loudly. Especially at 4 in the afternoon. Its a sure way of being put in my wanker file. i'm just saying is all, I'm not talking about you. Honest.

things not to say

When the average age of your work team is 45 don't describe baby boomers as "has-been hacks", especially when one of them is considering sending you to sydney for a workshop.
When you find that the newest team member is taking a ride on a submarine on the weekend "so...you'll be going down on a submarine"

OzComic 24 hour Challenge 2006

I had always thought I’d only organize 3 challenges and then hope someone else would have a go. After the really good showing in 2005, I considered doing a fourth, especially with the great exposure in the media drummed up by Graeme McDonald (Anomic) but when I sit down and consider what I need to do in 006 – I realize I’ve already got too much on my plate.
Last year’s challenge brought up the issues of censorship, media scrutiny and keeping sponsors happy – all issues I don’t think I can resolve in a manner that’ll keep everyone happy and still move the whole thing forward. Actually, I could probably think of something but honestly I can’t be arsed; organizing the challenge takes a lot of time and some money and both resources are limited this year with a wedding to organize, a cellar to build and publishing plans of my own. I’ve run out of professionals I can bother for stuff and I’m probably not the best person to front up for media gigs because I’m not that smart or interesting a subject to talk about. I’m a planning kind of guy not a coordinator or a communicator.
So, having spoken to Graeme earlier this year and Maggie recently – the options are few.

This coming saturday I'm chatting with Peter, the owner of Pulp Fiction Comics, because he's inetrested in taking over. I've drafted out a plan and made some notes on what he needs to do and what he needs to consider. I'm hoping he'll be able to use some of his connections to get prizes and he's willing to put money and effort into the whole thing so i'm hoping it'll have a good outcome. I'll keep you all informed.

If he backs out, scared by the size of itall, the other option is a cut down version is run; no prizes, no promotion, no polls – just 24 hours of comic creation. Of course people would be free to promote the event on other websites (madman message board, indesign message board, etc), but it wouldn’t be official because there is nothing really that official other than a date, a name and a place.

I’m really disappointed that I’ve had to come to this decision, but it’s a decision I’ve HAD to make. Whilst I’d like to be able to live and breathe Australian comics, I can’t at the moment.

I do hope that there is a 24 hour challenge in Australia this year, in whatever form it takes.

Adelaide Zine Fair

...was saturday. And being my first zine fair, i'm calling it a success.
It was myself, Jing and Owen plus a couple hanger ons.

A couple of things worked against us, I was 20 minutes late but Jing turned up on time but still all the good spots near the front and in the shade were gone. So next time- get there early.

We had a dozen titles to sell from various people.
Jing had - Angry Comic Shop Guy (which she sold using the sales pitch 'i die in that one!', The Bear (her 24hr comic which is quiet cute), Pretty Zombies, Fist full of comics (the results of the monthly panels and gutters comic drinks) and Kipper Comics (another 24 hr comic).
Owen "sold" 5031 #1 and #2 and How to save the World: A beginner's Guide. I say "sold" because he would get flustered at the idea of selling it to anyone and would hide under the table sketching.
Me - I presented and sold

Ozcomics #4 x 2
Ozcomics #5 x 0
Ozcomics #6 x 1
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #0 x 1
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #1 x 1
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #3 x 0
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #6 x 0
First time I fetched water x 5 (sold out)
Meus Officium est Abyssus x 1
9v x 5 (sold out)
Pirates x 6
Martin/Molloy x 2
Martin/Molloy x 1
Martin/Molloy x 2
Once upon a time x 1
Eat Comics x 1
Batrisha x 0
History of Oztaku x 0

A couple of things, the cheaper low-fi comics sold better; Michael Li's flew out early (i think i could have sold double the 5 copies i had, maybe even triple with beautiful art like that)and stuff like Fist full, Pretty Zombies did ok. Where stuff like Dillon's stuff (martin/molloy, early pop cultures) which have colour covers and 'look' like comics didn't get many flick thrus. Though Batrisha and Pop Culture #6 which are not standard formats did get a lot of pick ups but i think the price kept people away. Pirates, being the most expensive book at $6 did well, its got a great hook "its pirat-licious!".
Otherwise, a lot of people asked for 'experimental' stuff, which i didn't really have, all i could do was point out the 24 hour stuff, the fistfull of comics zine and "once upon a time" anthology. It also solidified my theory that anthologies are a hard sell unless there is a cool, easily pitched idea behind it (though i still think anthologies are an integral part of building a market/scene). Finally the solid red cover of Angry Comic shop guy did have a lot of interest and it sold well.

all good info when i start publishing my own stuff.

hamfisted political mutterings

"But the cartoons aren't the problem. They're a symptom of the problem." -douglas holgate

So what is the problem - why can't we get along?

It really rankles, no fuckit, it really insults me when bush, blair, howard - every blue suited red tied politician says its because 'they hate freedom' - they being 'terrorists'. That sounds like so much bullshit. Why would the average joe in the Middle East give a flying fuck about the political process of another country? It may because i'm pretty much apolitical - but i don't really - except in one case, when they are making decisions that impact on my way of life.
That's pretty much the same for everyone - people generally fight back when they or their loved ones get put into a situation where their lives are harmed.
So why are the people of the middle east pissed at us (us being western society)?

Well to me, - there was the crusades, then the monguls had a go, the british thought carving the place up into countries may be a bit of alright and now the americans aggresive expansionist foriegn policy are sticking their fat fingers into the oil rich pie. For a really long time Arabs haven't had a chance to dictate their own terms or lives without interference from outside forces. When they did, they were a really progressive advanced culture. Even with the recent sunni vs shiite conflict, it doesn't seem like its a reflection of Islam because many African countries have the same amount of turmoil and strife. Of course in both cases, it doesn't help that both cultures (yeah its abit simplistic to say african or arab culture but - me making point, you give me slack) are tribalised and can be manipulated to start shit.
So I'm not surprised that the US' support of Israel leads so much trouble. You have a large Superpower supporting a brutal country on land that was essentially stolen from others.
Not only politically but since WW2 the West has been culturally dominant around the world - which like in the case of the Danish cartoons can cause some hostility. I'm not a religious scholar but it seems the the religion of Islam boils down to 2 aspects; modesty and duty. Modesty can be seen in the way Muslim's look after invited guests, the hajib essentially stops vanity and women being viewed as sexual objects and men trimming their beards kind of distracts guys caring about their appearance and allows people to get on with important things. Duty is stuff like praying 5 times and day, fasting during ramadan and travelling to Mecca. Muslims are compelled to do these things and its a Hardcore undertaking.
Western culture is anything but modest nor does it really adhere to much duty. Especially with baby boomers its all about 'me' and leisure and sex and money. I don't have anything against that, but i'm not muslim. Beyonce selling pepsi doesn't offend me, listening to 50 cent asking for a blow job makes me wanna dance, i accept advertsing and i wanna make money. But that's not the aim of everyone and forcing it on other people by playing on people's greed (in the case of middle eastern businesses and media) is going to piss people off. When you offend people you make them angry.

it would be simpler if US business and government stopped trying to expand markets into places who aren't willing or ready to accept the products and inherent values they are trying to sell. And fuck don't get me started about the whole yahoo/google pandering to chinese business/government because that's grossly immoral.

The idea that democracy can be forced on a people is just dumb.

cartoon carnage

I'm a torn little fella; it takes me ages to make decisions and to decide on how i stand on, you know, stuff.

The whole Danish Muhammad cartoon is terribly upsetting. Firstly, I'm rally not one who believes antagonizing people or causing people pain is every really necessary - i don't see the point of upsetting people just for the sake of it. For the most part, anyway, i think people who make decisions on behalf of others should be held up for scrutiny, satire and abuse.
However, politeness and respect for others, in no way can ever take precedence over freedom of speech. That's a given. People should have the right to say whatever they want, as long as they accept the consequences.
I'm not really sure what the point of the original cartoons were and it would probably allow for a better understanding of the rationale if some reasoning was given. But in the end the reaction was a bit disproportionate - but kind of understandable. Fuck with a group long enough and they will fight back.

I hope i win

Discovered in yesterady's Sunday Mail comic pullout, a colouring in picture for horror High drawn by Doug Holgate.

The trouble with Harry

Cheney says that shooting his friend was the worst day of his life, well i wish he considered the feelings of those 19 year old kids having to shoot at people and get shot at half way around the world. I'd bet watching their friends and comrades die around them isn't that great either.

room for rant?

i used to be so rantful but now i've got nothing - sometimes i feel incensed about people with their feet on train seats but i just sit somewhere else.

sigh

Wonder Women of comics

Canberra Comic store of awesomeness, Impact Comics, is hosting "Aussie Comic Creators - Wonder Women” on Saturday March 11th. Featuring Queenie Chan (The Dreaming), Trudy Cooper (Platinum Grit), Nicola Scott (Star Wars and The Watch) and Liz Argall (Dreams of Tomorrow), this signing celebrates International Women’s day but more importantly hot aussie talent.

More details

On a self serving related note; OzComics Magazine #4 dealt with female creators in Australia, so check it out.

On a related note Queenie Chan JJJ radio interview.

but to one in particular

Yea...
To all the Brooklyn girls
To all the French girls
To all the Oriental girls
Chinese...
Japanese...
To all the Swiss girls
To the Italian women
To the upper east side Mombiles
To all the Jamaican girls
And to the top-less dancers
Australian...
And Brazilian
To the southern belles
To the Porte Rican girls
To the stewaresses flying around the world.

To all the girls - Beastie Boys

besides shake your rump though, the most romantic beastie boy song

Ride On The Bus Into The City Everyday
I Sit On My Seat And I Dream Myself Away
I Dream I'm On An Island With That Foxy Lady Too
But When I Awaken I Must Be Mistaken I'm On Third Avenue
Won't You Take Me Away And Take Away Me

Mark on the Bus - Beastie Boys

The Eddie Campbell interview from the Comics Journal.

I like the idea that Graphic Novels should be novel, as in innovative, and not just any comic with a spine. The notion that even though the format and majority of the creative techniques are shared between graphic novels and comics – they are separate ‘beings’ or ‘entities’ doesn’t really translate when you try and compare it with other mediums.
The idea of high art/low art only exists in a few mediums and its really hard for a dunce like myself to tell the difference between them. There are movies and cinema but besides the opinion “Cinema is everything I think is good, movies are for the rest of you” is there anything that really separates them? Is it a matter of quality, structure, themes?
In TV it seems even more complicated, the basic format and structure stays the same; the only difference between good tv and bad tv is superficially a matter of opinion and advertising, and analytically a matter of budget and production. In books there’s fiction and there’s Literature or books you can buy at the airport and books you can’t.
I’m not that smart when it comes to art, how to define it, compare and value it – I have no appreciation of its history because I’ve been too busy watching Jackie Chan films and reading comics. Because of my lack of smarts I need guidelines to define what’s high art, what’s low art and what differentiates Graphic Novels from Comics, and if it’s a matter of other people telling me “this is a graphic novel because we say so, pip pip” then I don’t find that very satisfying at all.

Though, even though I agree that Graphic Novels should be celebrated for their originality what happens when the innovative becomes the norm? Pekar, Spiegleman and Campbell can be celebrated for their introducing their autobiographical works in a spandex world but with Blankets, Perpolis, Epileptic and Pyongyang on the market does American Splendor lose its graphic noveliness? Dark Knight Returns introduced the world to Grim and Gritty but since Hal Jordan went nuts is Miller’s book just a comic with a spine?

Another point raised in the interview, has made me rethink my position regards the position of graphic novels/comics in bookstores. I always thought that Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan should be shelved in between Warden and Warland, not in the comic ghetto found between Science Fiction and Calendars. But then I wouldn’t expect Hansen’s version of LA Confidential on DVD next to Ellroy’s book, or ‘Pieces of You’ next to “A Night without Armor”, The Proposition with the Nick Cave cds. Two different mediums. Sure graphic novels and books share a distribution model, size, materials, etc, but they are two different vehicles of telling stories as different as radio play and theatre. Makes obvious sense. As an attempt to be taken seriously as a medium there’s a sense that comics are waving their arms in the crowd shouting “we’re just like you!! Please love us!!” instead of extolling what comics can do that’s different from anything else.

Lastly its nice to read a comic related interview that has a nice flow of conversation and covers a number of points – I may make more of an effort to pick up TCJ in the future.

my shitty comics (part iii)

2005
Brown and Sticky

Last year's effort only had a few stories, 4 to be exact, probably the most memorable feedback was from a mate who rang me up
"I read your comic"
"Yeah?"
"That was all one big injoke wasn't it?"
"Yeah"
"...."
"...."
"um, it was still good"

Doug Holgate Super Assman features comic creator Doug Holgate's rise to fame and subsequent fall. Also features people who are like Christian Read, Tim McEwen, Jen and myself. It all centres around the movie Ghost Rider being filmed outside Doug's Apartment and Doug's bum, which is a welcome relief from always being about Doug's beard.

As always, the musical interlude, this time another Lucksmith's song, Baker's Wife. Each panel represents one line of lyric.

Kipper Comics is me essentially parodying Asutralian Comics, it was late at night and i got a bit harsh. Kipper was last year's special word that had to be inserted into each 24 hour comic. Thanks to Emma for taking the photos. And i may do some more Kipper Comics later this year because it was kind of fun. (Parodied comics include Knee Pockets, Tales from under the bed, The Watch Cassis Belli, Knight-edge, the work of Matt Huynh, Batrisha and a whole bunch of others).

It all ends with my favourite strip, which i call 'please love me colin wilson', Colin being a Melbourne based comic creator who worked on Judge Dredd, replaced Moebius on the Young Blueberry graphic novels in Europe and has done some work for Wildstorm in the US. He's also noted for breaking his back motorbiking and creating Captain Sunshine.

ranking the dreaming

Queenie Chan's The Dreaming gets listed as the 25th most popular OEL for 2005, which is noteworthy since it was released in December but without numbers I've got no way of knowing what it all relatively means.

Shipping thursday

Legends of the Dark Knight #200
Written by Eddie Campbell and Daren White
Art by Bart Sears

I thought Order of the Beasts was quite good but overlooked in general so it should be written ok, though i'm not so sure about Sear's art these days.



so look it up

Supanova Comic Guests

Discovered at the supanova forums

Geoff Johns
Phil Jimenez
Gary Chaloner
Stewart McKenny

I don't think I've ever read anything by Johns, but i don't mind Jimenez's work. Meeting Gary will be nice and catching up with Stewart is alwys fun.

Fringe Zine Fair

On the 25th of February, as part of the world renowned Fringe Festival, there will be a Zine Fair held just off the busy Rundle Street. Jing and myself will be running a table for the day and I’m offering to sell people’s stuff. So if you are not an Adelaidian and want me to sell your zine/work please contact me (mark_selan@hotmail.com) and we’ll sort something out. Since the table is free I’m not looking in making a commission and I can direct deposoit anything I make in to your account. I’m not looking for many copies, 5-10 should be plenty. What I don’t sell I’ll be happy to take with me to Melbourne’s Dodgy-con and Brisbane’s Supanova.

time's short so act fast

yesterday and today

My yesterday
and today is Panels and Gutters, the Adelaide comic drinks at the Grace Emily sponsored by Pulp Fiction Comics

all kinds of funny

An OzGN?

The Mostly True Story of Matthew and Trim
Could this be a first; an OGN created in Australia by local talent for a local mainstream publisher? or would that be Brickdog?

This is classed as a graphic novel but not sure since I can't find any previews of pages;

shipping this week

Tomorrow sees Detective Comics 816 released, its part two of a story written by Australian Shane McCarthy; it also features art Cliff Chiang.
Otherwise, Witch King; An autobiography of a Darklord released by Phosphorescent Comics. Featuring Christian Read!! Paul Abstruse!! PJ Magahlaes!! Darren Close!! Annette Kwok!!
Considering that children conceived when this book was, um, conceived started school this week, I suspect that the inking of the sequel (Witch King: How to hypnotise chooks) will be done by Cyrus Naylor.
Also Eddie Campbell released a hardcover, A Disease of Language, compiling Snakes and ladders, Birth Caul and the Alan Moore interview last week.