The deck before

The second to last deck blog post, i swear. (though the next one will be in a couple of months when nits all done.

I found some before pics


Notice the shade cloth protecting the cellar door from the summer heat.


There was enough room for a bbq and then sort of lean and have drinks.


Slowly dismantling with the intent to reuse the timber for another project.

Where you been fatlip?

I've been pretty quiet here and in the whole comic scene (i barely participate in the life scene) why?

Because i've been building a deck.

Our house is on a slope (it drops about thirty metres from our front to back) so very little of it was really usable so the plan was always to build a large deck out the back for entertaining and living and such.

It started in August 2007 when we got a draftman mate to make my sketches into reality. The idea was the draftsman would draw it up, we'd pass it one to an engineer and then get the council to approve it.


Anyway a year later it was approved.

(I had about 200 photos that i lost when my phone shit itself so i've just some that Em took)

So we demolished the old one and started digging holes.

But the first hole i did dig hit a water pipe so we got a professional to do it. (We only hired one trademan for the whole job to do the holes he did 9 holes in the time it took me to do 1 - yay for mates)

We filled the holes with 6 cubic meters of concrete (that enough to fill an average toilet floor to ceiling)

I believe the concrete guy hated me because he'd keep filling my wheelbarrow more and more until i spilled a load and then decided that was my limit (and would add some more just in case)

Then the steel was delivered.

All 4 tonnes - that had to be carried down the drive to the back of the house (essentially down 3 flights of stairs).

So with the help with some mates from my construction/demolition/trades' assistant days we put the main beams in.

Barry asking me "Does this look straight?" whilst i used to reply 'Why do i give a fuck?" I cared now.


It took 4 guys to carry those beams and i think we all were shortened by 3 inches due to the weight.

Then the bearers went in.

Father in Law Dave was a big hand.


And the rafters.

All this underside structure required about 200 nuts and bolts, with all the holes needing to be drilled twice (pilot hole and then main hole). It was at this point where Wally (Nick) came and redid all my shitty welds so Em could sleep at night.


And then a relax (i spent a day making the black brackets as well).

And down went the timber


The size of the deck is about 75-80 square metres (bigger than my first unit) and required about 400-500 lengths of wood and 4500 screws (again the screws had to be predrilled to prevent splitting.)

You can see the hole in my tshirt that i created whilst grinding some steel - i only noticed it when i smelt the jumper i was wearing on fire)

saturday="chesty" bonds"
sunday="Sunburnt"

Adelaide comiker/art curator/metal band singer/man about town Benzin helped at this stage was awesome. I wish everyone worked for comics.

and the almost finished product




Still to do

• Put the roof on
• Build two sets of stairs
• Complete the trim

So that's why i've been so silent the last 6 months.

Cheap Artist Alley Spots for Melbourne Supanova

If you are looking for a couple of cheap seats for the upcoming Melbourne Supanova, contact Ive

You get

• a weekend pass
• space on a table in Artist alley
• either one or two chairs

for cheap.

For $65 (a spot)

Contact Ive or me

2008 a Retrospective

Stolen from Holgate and Diggsville



1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Smoked a cigar. Had a sibling.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I don’t really make new years resolutions, I have a rough list I want to do but no real time frame to do them.

3. Did anyone you know give birth?
Yes. Everyone appeared to give birth to something.

4. Did anyone you know die?
Yeah.

5. What countries did you visit?
Closet I got to travelling was Mt Gambier and the Iron Triangle.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A holiday

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I barely remember last week, let alone a complete day. Em’s Bday of October 15th was quite nice though.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finishing the steel framework of the deck.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I don’t believe in failure, only in learning opportunities. The closest failures would be my lack of attention on Sureshot and not getting more issues out.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I was out of action for 3 weeks when I scratched my eye and it got infected twice.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A Datsun Tran sketch, some Joe Kubert Sgt Rock trades

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My dad, for the birth of his new son and my half bro, Samo.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Appalled is a bit harsh, but I was severely disappointed.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Most goes to the bank to keep the roof on but I spent a ridiculous amount of money on wine.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
As people who know me will attest, I don’t really get excited. I mildly anticipated going out sailing at the beginning of this year. The lead up to going to see Doctor Zhivago on the big screen was kind of exciting.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
That Dance to Joy Division song by the Wombats. And that song by the Ting Tings, “That’s not my name”. I’m bad with songs. There was another song which always caused me to robot dance and say ‘I am robot-dance-a-tron I have came from the year 2000 to rock your world’ I think that’s a Kanye West song that sounds like a Daft Punk song.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder, thinner or fatter, richer or poorer?
Happier, Thinner, Poorer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Reading and blogging. I have a stack of books that need to be read – back to question 2 I did thinka new years resolution of not buying any new books in 2009 until I read the ones I’ve already got.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Freaking out/Panic attacks

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Past tense, at my mum’s place with the inlaws

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Constantly (with the missus)

23. How many one-night stands?
None.

24. What was your favourite TV program?
Flight of the Conchords is as funny as anything I’ve ever seen. And I got nerdy and started to enjoy Battlestar Galactica. And even though the plot for Prison Break is batshit stoopid, the actual writing and pacing within the episodes is awesome.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, still hate the same people but only if I let myself.

26. What was the best book you read?
Eddie Campbell’s Bacchus Volume 3, Kubert’s Enemy Ace, The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
French yeye

28. What did you want and get?
Speed Racer Boxset, springs to mind. I don’t really want much.

29. What did you want and not get?
Bookshelf

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Red Belt was one of the few new movies that rocked my world. Otherwise i think i'm the only person who liked Speed Racer and Australia.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
33, went to work, then went for a steak dinner.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Finishing the deck, instead of now struggling in 30+ degree heat fighting with warped boards.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Emo Dad at the Hamptons

34. What kept you sane?
Guitar Hero, drinking with friends

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
One of the wives in The Unit and the redhead from the Good Guys ads.

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Water Conservation/ Financial crisis.

37. Who did you miss?
Everyone I should have made the effort to say “Hey, I’m here lets catch up”

38. Who was the best new person you met?
I didn’t really met any new people this year, I hung out with Ive at Arma; and he was very cool. Got to know Loren and Benzine better and they are heaps cool.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
Just let it go; its all just stuff let it go. Anger does nothing to the other person, so let it go.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Who gives a fuck about an oxford comma?

Australian Comics Stagnating - Pulp Faction Thread

A rather interesting thread on the State of Local comics at Pulp Faction;

• featuring a discussion on the importance of Print Quality
• subjective vs objective cristicism of art (is it possible)
• do you have to provide constructive criticism

Armageddon: Melbourne Nov 1 and 2

Team Radelaide and Fistfull of Comics are venturing from Adelaide to Melbourne in a couple weeks for Armageddon you can join us for we have a spare

• bed in a St Kilda Hostel
• Weekend pass
• half a table if you have some books to peddle

so send me an email if you are interested

Graphic Novels are about.....

Relating back to my posts about what I think a Graphic Novel is(Graphic Novels are comics with levels, they say something more than the plot); Comics Reporter gathers abunch of people to talk about what Watchmen is about. It provides viewpoints about Watchmen which concentrate too much on the metatextual but that's ok. Mainly it shows that wisdom of the crowd which should be evident when defining a graphic novel.