New comic shop in Adelaide

I only discovered that Tony from Adelaide Comic Centre had sold his shop to some new owners. I have no idea who they are - rumours i've heard

• South Africans
• a couple of Tony's largest customers

not that it matters.

i checked out the new store and its moved from the dingy John Martin Plaza to a perferct nerd storm vertex next to a Trading Card shop, across from a Movie Madness Memorobilia Store and Gamequest store. Of course this adds a bit of competition to the stores book/poster/card/gimmick sales but this sort of grouping of similar stores tends to increase customer window shopping because it becomes destination shopping. (two furniture stores next door to each other in a small town creates more sales if there were just one or if they were in opposite sides of town).

Anyway, the store itself seems a lot bigger and there is a lack of a fine layer of dust that seems required in a comic shop but it is early days yet. What did piss me off is the "bags by front counter" which i ignore because it simply shits me. I went to find a new issue Birds of Prey and a back issue of Starman #2 or the Kyle Baker Shadow. I couldn't even find the "S" section. Why can't the simple use of the alphabet and dividers be employed? Why can't the backissues of a particular title be ordered by issue number? Simple shit like that is so easy but I can understand chatting about which way Superman's spitcurl should loop is important.

The shop had been there for 2 months and shit was still splayed out everywhere. Sigh.

The Australian comics were in one row alng the bottom in the middle of the shop, still the same issues of Easy Cliches (which i should buy sometime) - the newest books waspleton Experiments #5 (it could have been #6 but i was dazzled by too much stuff). I didn't see to much manga but i wasn't looking that hard.

The store is slightly better than when Tony ran it, which is not that hard.

Snova - the ugly

The smackie bitch that fucking wacked me on the back of the head for no reason other than she was a smackie bitch.

Ok here's a rant

I've always been pretty tolerant with Supanova. Expensive tables, no problem I'll share. Guests who are rarely that exciting - i'll just have to work harder. Poor locations - luck of the draw. lack of comic programming - that's cool commercial realities and all. i understand that the con is meant to make a small group of people money, no one wants to lose money. When products were banned from sale, i shrugged my shoulders and thought "oh well, that's reality", when i had to spend ages trying to get any sense out of a volunteer on where my artist alley table was supposed to be i thought "oh well, you pay peanuts", when an organiser chastised a fellow creator for at least 10 minutes because of he needed to point out his intolerance and thereby hampering her making sales I thought "well his opinion is his perogative". When i had to listen to 2 hours of fire sirens because someone other than me fucked up and all i got was a bottle of coke as recompense even though i lost at least a dozen of sales i thought "shit happens". When moderators on the Suapnova forum chastised anonymous posters, i thought "that's ironic".
And I have to say that in the past Supanova has been supportive of the 24 hour challenge where 2 winners have taken up free artist alley tables. And I'm grateful that they chose to be part of it.
But, BUT, friends this last weekend was the last straw. Probably the first time that organisers actions have directly impacted my sales.
Selling Australian comics is hard, at the end of each day my voice is wrecked from talking. unlike most everything else at supanova, people need to be convinced to buy australian comics. especially when there are $30 pieces of plastic shaped like cartoon characters to be had or $600 lightsabers. I have about 4-6 different techniques i use to close sales, i'd like to think i'm a pretty good seller but its all talking.
So when they started fucking having people yell into microphones for minutes at a time, having to listen to endless iterations of "For the glory" and "more than meets the eye" and other slogans they interrupted my sales pitch. They lost me sales. And for what? Ambience? every one fucking winced and stared daggers at their closest loud speaker. Promotion of 300 and Transformers - well i'm glad i downloaded 300 and will do so for Transformers because i;'d rather not have my ticket money go to some moron marketing company who thought having people yell over a loud speaker is promotional. The whole exercise was for nothing, the only thing it achieved was to make it even harder for me to sell the work of really great creators. And there is one thing i hate is people that make my life harder, it royally pisses me off and in response i think they can go suck my fucking shit dry.

Photos of me=ugly

Snova - the bad

The asshole who had to read The Age next to me on the plane.

Getting almost no sleep; i'm an awful sleeper when i've drunk beer, especially outside of my own bed. I think i slept about 12 hours over 3 nights. Means I was not my usual self.

I put on 3kgs while i was away.

I didn't realise that towels weren't supplied by the hostel until 2 in the morning and i was drunk and really yucky.
Having to sleep in that state=bad.

The coffee at Gloria Jeans

Paul Abstruses facial hair configuartion.

Practice Cactuses facial hair configuration.

Sales of Sureshot Presents were pretty meh
SSP1 x 10
SSp2 x 12
SSp3 x 18
SSp4 x 15
Sales have been falling every year and are now pretty much on par with Doujicon. I dunno if its the positioning of the table in Artist Alley, the lack of comic guests, or the product itself. There were probably the most comic shops/back issue sellers at a supanova I've seen for awhile (still can't find Starman #2!) but I'm not sure how they all went. I'd like to hear how other artist alleyers did over the weekend.

Getting too drunk and telling Avi what i think of his work on oztaku in less than flattering terms.

Having to listen to the same speil from the Animavericks for 16 hours which i know off by heart "hey do you like anime? Animavericks is the first offical anime and j-culture magazine is australia. We get all our information from japan. blah blah blah"

The incredibly lackluster announcements spruiking Artist Alley. Instead of something to the point like "Support original ideas and visit artist alley" or "Sick of supporting corporations only interested in exploiting your wallet? Try artist alley" or "be cutting edge, don't be a follower, try something new in artist alley" we had to listen to "Hey, this is an announcement announcing that there are comics and things being sold in artist alley on the edge of the floor, these creators could be the next David Yardin and Stewart Mckenny and Alex Maleev so you might get to buy from the next comic superstar blah blah blah". I am paraphrasing, but the general point was that it was long-winded and pointless - no one listens to those things unless it starts with "Blah Blah is discounting" or "So and So is now speaking..."

Paying $7 for a copy of the Tom B's Dicks series only to discover that its only 17 pages long.

Being solicted by a prostitute, I don't look that much like a loser.

Having Practice Cactus continually refer to me as being gay and then trying to woo me by giving me a copy "Adventures of Leatherboy" as some sort invitation to start a relationship. I hate breaking hearts, but I'm sorry Steve.

Snova - The good

Last weekend was the Brisbane Supanova and i along with EvilDan, Jing, Washii and and the weirdly named Owen Heitmann travelled from Adelaide up to Brisbane. We were joined by Steve Martinez aka Stan Martino aka Practice Cactus aka the creepy guy with the camera.

This is what I enjoyed
Meeting up and relaxing with cool creators, esepcially the Howards, FingerBang Andy and Cool Hand Weber. Plus the very cool Will Kelly and Brett Weekes invigorating the brisbane scene (that's what people told me they were doing), Fitts and Team Azerath. Friday and Sunday were alot of fun, saturday night at RG was okay too.

$9 jugs of beer is always good.

$6.50 steaks that tasted awesome=good. Plus having a chinese duck dish that didn't suck=good. Chairman Mao taste in pork=good.

Watching EvilDan take photos of his genitals with Practice Cactus' misplaced camera=gold.

It's all pretty hazy but if anyone wants to add stories in the comments go for it, or even record a skype call to pulpfactory and we can use it for the next podcast. i have one involving one ex-girlfreinds and aliases.

Good books
Guh: Book 1 and Book 2 - i think this is the standard now for strip collection/art books. The best thing i've read all year.
Wrong - Jing's new book
but i am slightly burnt out on comics at the moment but i will revisit the books i bought later.

"Comics - is English for manga" (though my new phrase is "Comics - like manga but you read it backwards").

In the first annual publisher pinball deathmatch Sureshot Presents beat Phosphorescent Comics 7,800,000 to a combined score (both Ben and Karen's scores) of 2,800,000. you are in my sites Wolfgang! and i'm not forgetting you Cunning!

I'm not sure if its a good thing but at a set of traffic lights i had reason to say "that's the way we roll" (ironically said of course) and a pretty girl turned around and laughed 'with' me, it could have been 'at' me.

Being remembered by Alex Maleev, who i drank with 2 years ago.

Selling out of Matt Huynh's Cab and Daniel Reed's Crumpleton's Experiments.

My talking Napoleon Dynamite and Emma's new hand painted Girlie Pain's coin purse.

4 new sketches in my sketch book

having a whole row to myself on the flight back

having the chance to go back to Brisbane to do talks on Australian comics as part of some writers festival (unlikely tho)

Sureshot Presents Best of OzComics Magazine

Straight off the printer's press and scanned in just fo' yo, fo sho.

The new issue feature interviews and features about the history of Australian Comics and self-publishing.


The new 'kung fu' cover. NEW! And Limited!

Plus Mandy just had another 200 copies of Ordinary Eyeball printed (the first print run of 300 barely lasted 9 months).

Good times!

Brisbane - Emergency

Peter one of the people from team Radelaide has pulled out at the last minute, if anyone wants to go to Supanova THIS weekend, let me know.

Or if you want accomadation (bunking with us at Bunk) or a spot with me on Artist Alley

Australian Comics Podcast Online

The Australian Comics Podcast Online is up, with my dolcet tones, Maggie's twang and Komala bluetooth chirp. We mainly talk Supanova and the scene in general.

Its good (and 22mb) and if you want to ask a question or need relationship advice, drop Maggie an email and we'll address it on the show.

Artist Alley - Brisbane Supanova 2007

Run down on who's there

David Russell's Enchanters - storyboarder/illustrator has released a book. Looks nice.

Shiny Verse - at first i thought this was some sort of Firefly fan club, its actually a webcomic, that doesn't look to0 bad.

Guh! Comics - Jase Harper is a great cartoonist and hopefully his Guh! book will have his autobiographical funny stuff, and even if it doesn't it will still be good.

Oztaku - do yourself a favour and get Michael Li's "9V" and "Last time I fetched water", beautiful beautiful stuff.

Snowbunny Luv - she might be selling a book or art

Brisbane Anime Society - i'm guessing its the Anime Society of Brisbane

Local Act Comics - get Ma B, get Vigil. just get there and get!

Novus Ordo - Star Wars costumers

Sureshot Presents - that ME, I'll have the first four issues of SureShot Presents, including the new "Best of OzComics Magazine" PLUS Daniel Reeds Crumpleton's Experiments AND MATT HUYNH'S CAB. I would buy it all, but that's just me.

Team Radelaide/Fistfull of Comics - my comrades from Adelaide - Sarah Milne, Dan McGuiness and Owen Heitman, with special appearance by Erin McGregor. Its all good stuff. But if i had to choose I'd get Basic Wage Kids 1-3, Pretty Zombies 1 and 2, The Angry Comic Shop Guy 1-4 (you can even have them signed by Peter, the star of Angry Comic Shop Guy), 5031 1-4, Fistfull of Comics 1-6 and How to Save the World.

Animavericks - Monash Anime Society who have their own magazine, it seems.

Edge Comixs - According to this, Edge Comix are the people behind old-skool alt-comix Groovy Gravy and The Protectorate.

Cult Fiction Comics Australia - Comics on CD-Roms, plus some print based stuff.

Shifting Time - A web comic, which is kind of funny in a funny space comedy kind of way

Dan Green - a voice actor from an anime cartoon

Blue Scar Productions - I have no idea

David Yardin - Artist working with Marvel on various x-men, storm and black panther books.

Stewart McKenny - Another really great artist, who's worked with Phosphorescent Comics, Dark Horse and Marvel.

Golgotha Graphics - Jules Faber, pick up "What happens when I die" and hopefully his recently completed Golgatha #2. OR I CAN BE COMPLETELY WRONG ANDTHIS COULD BE MATT G's "SURFING THE DEADLINE" which is also good.

501st Legion - grown men and women who dress up like fictional fascists from a movie that came out about the same time as Bad News Bears and Bugsy Malone. I'll be dressed like a Walter Matthau's character from Bad News Bears.

Cassi Walker and Friends- no idea who Cassi is but she won't be lonely, she'll have her friends

Trick Monkey and Aure Demon - Komala says they are good, and since she has better taste than me so, they must be good.

Queensland Star Trekkers Fan Club - oh my god they're only two table spaces away from the 501st Legion, i hope there isn't a rumble. Seriously, then their mum's will have to do all the sewing fixing their little costumes.

Dark Redemption - Fans who serviced someone else's trademark for the, i dunno, the good of humanity. And they are right next to the Star Trek people, blood will be spilt my friends.

Storm Publishing - the people behind the long running Jaegar and Mission.

Siberian Publishing - Every year i recommend the same book and every year i get the title wrong, so in that vein I suggest you get the book with the "killing howling doggies", ask for it by name. Get Billy as well.

Kriss Hades - this MIGHT be the axe man in a death Metal band, if so err WHAT?

Big Time Comics Revue - Will Kelly's comics are usually really good, i like the Rvaen stuff. - I think LF Weber will be sharing a table with Will selling his Crab Allan graphic novel and the new version of Sureshot Presents Crab Allan: Gothic Boogaloo. Big Time is also an anthology with ALL the great brisbane creatots in it.

PHATSVILLE - just buy it all, because its funny

Plump Oyster Comics - if you like bizzare comix, that feel organic and creepy then buy these. Otherwise if you like sweet romantic comics get Mel Stringers stuff in Girlie Pains.

Wink Death - I can only guess (apparently some sort of card game)

ANd OUTSIDE Artist Alley, Phosphorescent Comics, publishers of Azerath and Witch King, which are good comics.

(and if anyone can fill those holes, let me know)

Australian Comics Podcast

Just finished recording the Pulp Faction Australian Comics Podcast, with Maggie, Komala , myself and a very late Troy.

It was fun and hopefully educational.

my eye on the goldchain

I've fractured collarbones and ribs, been knocked out, sprained ankles, impaled my leg on a cementary fence (well it went in about an inch), had my fingers crushed, had about 9 stictches on various cuts on my hands but the very worse injury is getting a tiny nick in your eyeball. The first time this happened to me was in San Francisco about 14 years ago, i hadn't released what had happened and thought i was allegic to the cat i was sharing a floor with - my eye just wept and wept, my nose just ran and ran, just miserable.

On friday i was chopping wood (the last of it - about 1.5 tonnes) when i bent down to get a log a shrub jumped over and poked me in the eye. 3 days, a doctors visit, an eye full of orange dye, 12 drops of antibiotics, 10 hours of sleep (over 2 nights) i can finally keep it open and function.

wear safety glasses people

Good Friday for Launches

For people in Sydney
Matt "Stikman" Huynh is launching his opus dedicated to his home town Cabramatta.

Cab: Collaborative Auto-Biography
5th April (6.30pm – 8.30pm)

blank_space
374 Crown St
Surry Hills 2010

Matt's work is gorgeous and sophisticated and a pleasure to behold.

More details on CAB and Matt

Enjoy the Wine

For those in Melbourne

Conceived on a Train: A book of cartoons, Illustrations and graphic stories done in Melbourne
is launching on

April 5th, 6pm

at
Trades Hall Bar
Carlton

it features Mandy Ord (Dirty Little Creep, Sensitive Creatures, Sureshot Presents Ordinary Eyebal) and Anthony Woodward (7 Page Digest). It will be hosted by Shaun Micallef (who is quite funny).

more details

For those in Adelaide
Panels and Gutters is taking place at the
Grace Emily
Waymouth St
Adelaide

On saturday the 6th from about 2 onwards, this monthly get together of comic artists and fan is sponsored by Pulp Fiction Comics. (i most likely won't be there the first time i've missed it in years).

For those in Brisbane
Please prepare the Fortitude Valley for me and my compatriots' pleasure for the weekend of April 13-16. We will be there for Supanova but more importantly carousing.

For those in Perth and Hobart
Go rent a dvd there's rarely anything good on the telly.

TV Comedy

Been watching two shows beamed into my computer by random.

Sarah Silverman Program - I think Silverman first got into my consciousness when i spotted her in Something About Mary - she was sexy. She seemed to be on the periphery, but I understand why, her show is probably the most cleverest sitcom for awhile. Great storylines, interesting gags but the problem is that its not funny. "Jesus is magic" barely made me smirk and 6 episodes of her show made me laugh twice; one joke involving Black God and the other about OCD and anal sex.

The White Rapper Show - is hilarious. Hosted by MC Serch who used to be in 3rd Base a group i really liked back in the day. Now he looks like he's a Courier Van driver, overweight with the wackest goatee ever. Prince Paul also makes many an appearence looking very bored - what happened to the most innovative producer in hip hop? Sigh. But its funny, making fun of all the cliches intentionally or not. None of the MC are that great, and the guy who wins the prize doesn't deserve it but they were never going to go anywhere anyway. Hollaback, aight!

Australian Comics - Reference site

An interesting resource about comics published in the mid 80s to mid 90s, with some commentary about print runs and success (or failures).


http://home.vicnet.net.au/~megazeen/content.html

Instantaneous - Art Exhibition

Pulp Fiction Comics in Adelaide is curating an Art Exhibition to be held at the Grace Emily Hotel.
(Originally it was going to be called "Panel Pops" but that got vetoed by naysayers. NAYSAYERS!)

But in any case, INSTANTANEOUS will be a collection of single comic panels made by local artists. The show will open 1st of May and run for the month.

if you an artist and are interested go to the INSTANTANEOUS page.

I'll be attempting a piece, so yours won't be the worst.

Really bad at Wii jokes

Wandering into Borders looking for the newest issue of GQ, i spied Nintendo Gamer and having a quick flick through I noticed a Patrick Alexander (Raymondo) opinion piece and a Christian Read doing a first person commentary/preview of Fantastic Four 2 game. Looking at the Masthead info I saw Sally Woellner's name (one of those artists who i wish did more manga) as Art Director.

so there you go

Fools on me

Which will be online first Ozcomics.com or the 2006 Ledger awards?

SureShot Presents Best of Ozcomics

I'm preparing the next issue of Sureshot Presents, a look back at some of the articles that appeared In OzComics magazine (2003-2005) to be ready for sale at the next Supanova Con in Brisbane (April 13-15).

Featured articles include interviews with established creators, restrospectives and directions on self-publishing. A more comprehensive rundown of content closer to the date of publication.

Seriously, its a joke

Look, I understand that their heart is in the right place but it pains me, PAINS ME, when i see stuff like this i shed a metaphoric tear. Oztaku has some great artists working for it but when stuff like the covers, posters, and essentially all their other merchandise just looks so cringingly awful. All the time and money poured (the figures i've heard is scary) into the effort of creating the magazine just gets wasted because of amateur-hour/nerd hawhaw sheningans like this.

I'm not saying don't have fun, but shit, don't expect to be taken seriously if you spend more time trying to sell a g-string than putting together a poster competition.

Don't make me choose

My spies point out the top of the Armaggedon Pulp Expo website - note the Sydney dates and location, October the same weekend as Supanova

this will be fun to watch - and competition does make us stronger.

As someone with goods to sell in Artist Alley, i'll be heading to where ever has the best deal for AA tables and best comic guests.

Jim Lee Down Under - Make it Happen

Jim Lee wants to come to Australia

Make it happen! Seriously!

Lessons learnt, arse burnt

If you spend the weekend on a Houseboat and have a choice between drinking water labelled "Raw Water" or water labelled "Filtered Water", choose the filtered option.

daddy needs new shoes

If you are the owner of a Hu-Hu that allows the penetration of boy's Pee-Pee you may consider using a root-ring, especially if you are south of Adelaide.

Turn my head phones up!

To try and get past the general shittiness of the past couple of weeks ( i wish i could rant about work but THEY read this - and no, YOU'RE cool - its the OTHERs that shit me), I've been delving in to the Chappelle Show - here are my 3 favourites that make me lose my shit everytime.

Turn my head phones up

Shirts vs Blouses

Black Howard Dean

Queenie of the Australian

Care of comics commentator Cefn Ridout, Queenie Chan gets a nice write up in the Australia

not whining but wining

Because my work has been excruciably and soul shrivelling awful after finally realising that yes, i work for incapable and incompentent, complete and utter failures of management I've been trying to enjoy the finer and smaller things in life. Like wine. I've comtemplated starting a wine blog, mainly for my own use so i can keep track of what i've tasted and liked.

Lately i've been interested in small wineries who make small batches of wine, family run affairs that either are following a tradition or having a sea change. Something romantic about it, one of the last bastions of family legacy, skills handed down through generations.

There's something very similar to making wine and making comics. Wine starts organic, like the seeds of a story. it grows and its impacted by the soil, the weather and the hands of the farmer, just like a story is bound by the experiences, learnings and personality of its creators. The flavour of the grape is a rarely consistent and you never know how its going to end up. There's an artistic aspect, using creativity and technical knowledge to get the best out of the grape, to either wrangle it to taste like a preconcieved notion, or better yet, to highlight a vintages particular strengths.

A good wine can be enjoyed whilst being drunk alone but tasting in a group is great -so you can deconstruct it, compare it and savour it with others and more importantly get drunk with friends. Just like i like talking comics even more than i like reading them.

wine and comics both rock

not the biggest, but still a loser

It always freaks me out when i see people i haven't caught up for awhile who exclaim "You're looking good, have you lost weight!"

Um, no i've roughly been the same weight for the last 5 years, I'm probably a bit heavier than you last saw me. But thanks.

Just like TV, people's memories of me add about 10 pounds.

Azerath Subscription for free

Earlier this year i sent the Azerath boys a letter for their letter pages and have kindly been offered a couple of subscriptions, I'm taking one so if you want the other send me an email.

You want be disappointed - strong art supported with goodwriting released on a consistent schedule.

Gutters and Panels

The regular, 1st saturday of the month, comic drinks is tommorrow at the Grace Emily. So if you like comics, rock up and drink subsidised beers courtesy of Pulp Fiction Comics.

Shaun Tan wins award

There was a discussion awhile back (i can't remember with who or where) regarding if what Shaun Tan does is comics - to a degree that's not really relevant anymore because he's part of the Character Sketch book coming from Gestalt.

Anyway, he won a silver award in the book category in the Spectrum Awards for his work in The Arrivals.

What's the opposite of continental?

We had a bbq last weekend which went pretty well.

Before i get all neurotic, let me preface

• I'm not a hello kisser/hugger amongst friends, i prefer a cross-gendered handshake.
• Amongst the ethnic family, the kissing hello is fine, even amongst fellows but its always the double cheeked version.

So, at social occassions, many of Em's friends will go the hug hello, which is fine - i'm an amazingly handsome man and they are only human. Of course they want hugs from me, its not them being polite at all. Even though I'm reticent, its hard to divert when open arms are flung your way, so cool I'll lean in and reciprocate.

recently, i've started weirding myself out, i'll automatically throw a kiss on the cheek and then expect to swing heads and put the second kiss on the other cheek - continental style. Only the problem is that, they've broken off the hug and left me hanging with one kiss hanging there.

Should I feel weird? To me a single kiss is affectionate, while continental kissing is more of a pleasantry. i don't want to come across as some sort of creepy husband feeling up his wife's friends (i'm more of an ogler than a fondler). Are they weirded out by the single kiss?

I think i might just try an weasle my way out of the situation and just have a shirt stained with my own vomit or possibly just go topless thereby scarying girls from wanting to hug me in the first place.

Supanova earlybird

If you are planning on getting an artist alley table for this April's Supanova in Brisbane, do it today to take advantage of the earlybird rate of $220 (instead of $330).
www.supanova.com.au for more details

The end is hear - OC finale

I like teen-dramas; Party of 5, Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, Freaks and Geeks, all series which i have really enjoyed. The finale of the Oc played last weekend and having mulled it over, i think it ended perfectly. Its a shame it ended only after 4 seasons but it went out strong.
At its heart it was a tale of redemption for (lack of a better word) badboy Ryan, who through the kindness of others leaves his past and finds a place. I think most people probably enjoyed Seth's character more and were frustrated at his open ended future "Sure he marries Summer but does he become a comic artist? movie critic? real estate developer?"
I don't think it mattered, rich upper-class kid was always going to be comfortable, his arc was to be living happily ever after with Summer.
(It feels kind of silly blogging this but the reasons why i like prime time soap opera and comics are pretty close)
But many series finales have kind of sucked, leaving me frustrated "what happened to so and so!" wondering how did their character arc end. Lindsay Weir (Freaks and Geeks) just jumping into the Kombi van to follow the Grateful Dead, similar to the Roswell kids driving around in their Kombi - being a fan of chcracters and narrative i just want to know what would happen next.
(don't suggest reading fanfic - please)
So i like the whole "so and so went on to do blah, so and so became a blah..." ending Dawson's and OC used (or the burnt earth solution of Forever Knight and Pretender.)

And now i have no teen soap to fill in my tv watching quota.

ozComics Memories

Apparently in 30 something days www.ozcomics.com is coming back. On an unrelated note i was looking for an old ozcomics discussion about manga art and discovered a bunch of old threads, it reminded how funny and smart some of the threads were -

Rant a go go - probably the longest thread on ozcomics, of course it had nothing to do with comics.

Saddam gets captured - this thread had it all, wittiness, fights, me having to lay down the law, smartness and no discussion of australian comics (there's a companion piece as well)

And what everyone liked about 2003 (holgate liked Powderfinger!)

SMASH!

Katie Huang's new con is now called SMASH which is a cool title but I'm getting a bit confused and whilst its easy to criticise when things are at the early stages, its important to pick these things apart before 'disasters' occur down the line.

I don't get the point of not being an Artist-Centric convention - from what i can tell, SMASH was borne from the costly expense of having an artist alley table at Animania and to a lesser degree the expense of entry. Admirable - and whilst i doubt the organisers of Animania are basking in the warm rays of Thailand out of con season - i do think its close minded and short-term thinking to have Artist Alley subsidise con costs. So moves for cheaper AA tables is awesome.

However, i'm assuming that by not being artistic-centric its going to be a regular con with dealers, screenings and cosplay. Besides cheaper entry cost what is going to seperate this con from the already established and supported (in terms of dealers) Animania?
I was hoping this would be more Comiket than a regular Pop Culture Convention. It seems, at this early point, that SMASH is trying to go in direct competition with an established convention instead of filling in a gap in the market - an endevour fraught with danger, especially when there is no budget.
And on the note that this will be manga/anime con and not Western comic like Supanova seems a bit restrictive. Besides the fact that Supanova is pretty manga heavy - (this might confuse the organisers at times) - but at least half the exhibitors and dealers are manga related - only the majority of guests come from western pop culture, is about market.
With such a cheap entry price it will be all about volume - getting people through the door and sure cheap entry will help but closing off the con to part of the market/audience because of some notion of west/east style and genre "differences" seems to be work against profitability. Plus will someone be inspecting comics for a level of mangasence?
"Eyes are too small - denied!""Not enough panty shots - denied!"" "Too many panels per page - denied!"
To quote a wiseman "manga is japanese for comics"
Also as a pseudo-publisher/australian fanboy - regular anime/manga cons centred around dealers, screenings and to a lesser degree cosplay seem to just enforce the Japan-centric nature of manga. The idea that unless its from Japan - it just doesn't count isn't too helpful for australian creators of manga/comics. Having a heavy emphasis on local work would maybe change this concept for the betterment of everyone.

but its early days

Sinbad the Sailor, not the comedian

Jeffrey Cruz did Muse
Now he's working on Sinbad
here's the hyperlink

My second short film was produced by Red 5 Films

(which was me and 3 other guys - we won awards)

Queensland creator Wayne Nichols, fresh from time working on Lady Supreme , is working with a bunch of guys with Star Wars website backgrounds on a new comic called Afterburn. The company is called Red5Comics.

New artist-centric Sydney Convention

Katie Huang, of the editor/publisher of the exceptiopnally high standard Generations book is planning on starting a new Sydney Con - ComicWorld Sydney - and i think this an awesomely exciting development.
Sydney has a nice large population and some of the best artists in the country so I think this has a great chance of success. Especially if the same level of effort and eye for detail as displayed in Generations carries through.

So if you have the means or opportunity - support it.

We CAN be heroes!

Jason Badower, a comic artist/ninja cyborg who lives in Melbourne is the artist for the latest Heroes Online Comic.

That's very cool.

Ahhh what a relief

Work has been, politely put, really fucked for the last fortnight, but one of the few things that have gotten me through is WarioWare Smooth Moves on the Wii (the other is booze and woman - but never mixed).

Kick push crash

From last years' Supanova in Sydney -

Dan Gibbs drops in



and take 2

Manga in the paper

A decent article at SMH about manga in Australia, two interesting points Madman recognise the demand for OEL manga and the need to frame the article around superheros.

The other adelaide comics blogger maintaining the rage but not Namor Style

Danny Best, who runs Adelaide Comics and books was on A Current Affair last night in a story about corporate bullying of blogs. The story is he wanted to go all schoolies in his hotel room on New Years Eve and was told he couldn't (though he was apparently told he could rock it bigtime schoolies style and invite people in to his hotel room beforehand).

The entire saga is on his blog in between posts about Newton comics.

John Law arrests Gary Chaloner

...for using a splash page.

Gary Chaloner's work on John Law gets highlighted on the new Will Eisner website (which looks like it was designed by Gary - but i'm only guessing).

Young Creator gets grant

Seems like a local comic creator has earned a scholarship to attend Canberra Uni doing illustrations

when Lulu is a booboo, when comic xpress doesn't impress

I'm not a fan of the way Print on Demand comics is done by most local comic creators. This article describes some of my concerns about POD and name drops Dean Rankine.

Old movies i watched on the telly

This last week I've been watching a bunch of older movies, it probably started with Bridge at Remagen a film i had never heard of until i saw it at the video store. I've been playing Call of Duty on the Wii and for some reason going through a WW2 movie hankerin'. Well Bridge at Remagen is a great film, surprisingly quiet negative - filmed when Vietnam was turning bad for the US, allowing many film makers to actually say 'war is bad', instead of the jingoistic rah-rah that the 'win' of WW2 perpetuated. The best thing is Robert Vaughn's portrayal of a proud member of a military family who happens to be fighting for homeland, instead of Nazism. To me Vaughn was always the hammy actor in Magnificent 7, who would reprise the role in anything from Battle beyond the Stars to Kung Fu: The next generation (or whatever it was called). But in B.A.R. he actually acts portraying a range of emotions, with great dignity its a treat to watch. Kind of like Sidney Poitier in Lilies of the Field (why does channel 7 always show great movies on public holidays when i'm always off doing stuff); sure great narrative comes from conflict but sometimes the quieter stories are so much more compelling. Me and Emma have been watching Northern Exposure and after much discussion and pondering we discovered we liked it because there are no villain characters, no great or even petty conflicts - stories unravel or melt as the case may be. But yes, we were 2 hour late for the Australian day BBQ because i wanted to watch Lilies of the Field and it was worth it - stories of redemption and hope always get me.
It was even great watching Shalako, with a Sean Connery fresh off his 3rd Bond movie playing a cowboy. Problem is that i couldn't understand a word anyone said, Bridgette Bardot, the dude that plays the Baron, Connery, all sounded garbled to my dyslexic ears but it was fun to watch all the same. And finaly Marty, a film i'd never seen was such a simple story; old dude (at 34!) meets an ugly girl (well see had 2 pimples on her chin) and they fall for each other but told with such warmth and humanity. Borgnine laments that there are no good movies, i think the problem is there is no more quiet movies.

Another Australian Graphic Novel

After last years release of the Matthew Flinders graphic novel, here's another, this one seems like its original (not reprinted like the Flinders book).

Secret Army - Operation Loki by Sophie Masson and Anthony Davies published by ABC Books.

comic tease

Why is it, when i google Doug Holgate the second search result is "Comic Sex pages" and why does lead to a blank page?

Ebay Aquistitions

I try and buy at least one peice of original art every year and the most recent piece was this

The pencils are by Gene Colan which is a nice bonus but the real draw was its got inks by Klaus Janson, who i have been a big fan of since i saw his pencil work in Gothic (The Legends of the Dark Knight mini, written by Grant Morrison) and later his inks with Romita Jr.
This page comes from Jemm, Son of Saturn which is a series that I've barely heard of, probably one of the 12 part minis that got pumped out by DC in the early 80s. I've been trying to find an affordable by Janson page for a couple of years but because he has worked alot with Romita Jr, Byrne and Lee - it was always quite expensive. There are some earlier pieces available from the mid 70s but I prefer the looser more textured inking style he developed after his work with Miller on Daredevil - which this piece has in spades.

The other buy is more nostalgic - when i was 12 i spent a summer in Slovenia with relatives. An uncle from San Francisco was also visiting and as we drove around in his rental car he'd play all this great blues music which pierced my hip hop ears and blew my mind. He gave me a whole bunch of cassette tapes and i'd pour over them, i never knew who was singing what because everything was unmarked. In 1993 when i was in SF i clumsily tried to hum and sing tracks, trying to get him to recognise what album and artist these tracks were from, particularly what seemed like a live concert. He smiled and told me that it was actually an acquaintance who had died recently, he smirked and wished me luck trying to find a copy. Well, 14 years later I know have SnakeFinger's History of the Blues LP.

This was actually recorded in 1984 by avante garde guitarist Snakefinger (who played with the Residents a lot) in Germany and is kind of rare. But it has great sentimenatal value of a fun summer and an awesome uncle. Of course now i have to buy a record player to listen to it, maybe off ebay.

supanova podcast

Doug Holbeck is an arsehole - I know this because Holgate told me.

Join Doug, Nicole Scott, Stewart McKenny and Jason Rand as they talk Australian Comics in this podcast from last years Supanova. Its 50 minutes long and interesting.

Discover Doug being sick of working at a comic shop, Nicole being clapped alot, Jason buying the Gen13 dvd cheap, Stewart rooms full of Star Wars figures. Actually they talk about reasons of the lack of an Australian Comic Industry, how they got into comics and being geeks.

You can skip the first 3.5 minutes of nattering from the presenters.

Sureshot Presents DHAAA @ Kings Comics

Sureshot Presents Doug Holgate's All Adventure Annual featuring TWO stories by one of Australia's leading comic creators is now available at Kings Comics, Sydney.

This issue has sold phenomenally fast - so grab it because I probably won't have any left for any reorders.

Sureshot Presents also available at Phase Two Comics, Impact Comics (ACT), Minotaurs (Melbourne) and Pulp Fiction Comics (Adelaide). Brisbanites, ask for it by name where ever you shop or wait to Supanova.

Making Zines with Anthony Woodward

Anthony Woodward (of 7 Pages fame) has put together a little guide on making zines - its good.

Ledger Awards 2006 - Ledger of Honor

My consideration for nomination for this acclaimation, requires an examination of publications, creations as well as occupations of those who have, you know, done stuff for comics in Australia.

This year is probably a good year to provide some congraulation to Aaron Burgess, for his work with Comics Australia. It was an invulable resource providing hints and tips, news as well as a distribution point to sell comics. If it wasn't for Comics Australia I wouldn't have discovered Anthony Woodward, Mandy Ord, Leigh Rigozzi or a stack of other talented creators. Comics Australia was retired this year and i think it had a great impact on the scene that needs to be acknowledged.

From last year, I'll nominate Tonia Walden again, because she does a bunch of stuff behind the scenes which needs to be validated. What really is cool about Tonia is that even after being around for at least 10 years in the national comic scene she isn't at all cynical, that's amazing - i was cynical after about 6 months of hanging out at Ozcomics. But she mails out mini-comics to people, does a shop for friends who can't make it to supanova and generally is awesome. Her anthologies have given a lot of creators their starts (she even drew up one of my stories) so I think she deserves a nomination.

I think retailers who support local books need to be recognised - George Vlastaras has been supporting books for years, buy purchasing copies, buying ads and doing stuff like instore signings.

Ledger Awards 2006 - Foreign Creator of the Year

I don't follow foreign creators with out much zeal anymore - i used to love Romita Jr's stuff, Peter David's stuff, a lot of mainstream creators - but then they started working on titles that just got ruined by decompressed storytelling and company marketing (crossovers). And on the indie side, where you used to get some sort of regularity, going to trades has meant long delays in releases and with the wait i just forget to pick titles up.

So I'm just going to list names of creators that have been behind comics i've liked - its not well considered or well researched but pretty off the cuff

• Brian K. Vaughn (Ex Machina, Y the Last Man)
• Naoki Urasawa (Monster)
• Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim)
• Grant Morrison (All Star Superman)
• Jeffery Brown (I can be small)

Ledger Awards 2006 - Best Foreign Comic Series or Graphic Novel of the Year

Now, in terms of nominating i was considering detailing those books from international Publishers that featured Australian creators.
Those books would be (in no particular order, well possibly alphabetical)

Amazing Joy Buzzards #5 - Doug Holgate on art (admittedly i haven't read it but the preview looked great and it is Doug)
Birds of Prey #100 and 101 - Nicola Scott on art
Dectective comics #815 and #816 - written by Shane McCarthy
Fate of an Artist - Eddie Campbell on everything
Fell - with Ben Templesmith on art
Storm - David Yardin on art


and if it wasn't ruined by the art White and Campbell on Legends of the Dark Knight #200 would get a nod too. Was there any other books by Aussie creators from the 'big boys'?

but what foreign books did i like, which lacked australian creators?

Monster - tight gripping mystery adventure
Spirit and Batman - Funny and retro with great art
Scott Pilgrim #3 - just awesome
All Star Superman - Makes me actually like Superman
We can be small - funny Jeffery Brown angst and cuteness

Ledger Awards 2006 - Talent Deserving Wider Recognition

Ok, after a couple of days off wandering and wondering what this even means - because its pretty much everyone. Everyone in Australian comics needs more recognition, writers, artists, retailers and the readers all need to be recognised.
i used to just use the 24 hour challenge as a quick guide, who did a comic in thatt - that was really cool but who hadn't had anything printed or didn't have a web comic. but this year it got hard - i wasn't really paying much attention, trawling deviart and LJs, looking for someone out of the regular circle of creators.

So, the only thing i've got is a couple of zines and mini comics that i picked up at supanovi and douijicons, and zine fairs.

Again, I'm being lazy and not putting up links and images, but just so i can milk a bit more from the whole Ledger thing, I'll try and find stuff later on whenever the nomination form actually goes up.

Sean Tay - has done some stuff in Oztaku (the last issue had some great comics in it, i just wish the design of the whole thing didn't look so amatuer). I grabbed his 'New Ragey' book and its quite cool and flash - lots of zipatone which works well in the even lined inking. He has a great sense of storytelling and a very funky sense of panel layout. Very impressive.

Sebastian Grigull - his work has appeared in NeoBragi, but it was his mini Angel Feathers that caught my eye. It has a very eyecatching colour (even though its just b/w) and
very neat story - completely wordless, it still creates an interesting world, that even after 10 pages i want to know more. As an artist he actually quite well, using detail when necessary to enhance storytelling and mood like a good artist should.

I did nominate Mel Stringer's 'girlie pains' for small press but I'm nominating her for 'new talent' as well because she's saying something different, sure its still autobiographical like a lot of aussie stuff but this isn't as depressing or dark; its cute and sweet without being sentimental and saccharine, there's still enough of an edge to make it cool (mainly by way the art which forgoes anatomy and consistency to emphasis character and mood).

Whilst there may be murmurs of parochialism I have to mention some of the Adelaide crew. One of the cool things with catching up for drinks with adelaide creators is seeing sketch books and works in progress. Sarah Milne's Mary comic was around for a couple of years back in 2002 but its progressed since then - she does one panel comics which makes me laugh without resorting to explosions and poo jokes (though there's always room for improvement). She's also a very good writer and underrated artist. Clare Oakes is an awesome artist, with comics full of feelings and emotion that are a joy to read. And lastly Lucas House is a great writer who just fell on the wrongside of the cut to be nominated for Best Writer (though when nominations do come through that may change). He did a miniseries called Anthologyof Alvin which once you got past the art was very good. It started off a bit melodramatic (though i've loved melodrama since Degrassi High) the very exciting thing is the variety of techniques he employs; regular comics, narrated pin ups and he writes smart, makes the reader fill in gaps without expositioning everything, his dialogue is very close to spot on (a bit angsty at times but that's the genre I suppose). Fuck it, - he's made the cut.

but the one person who needs to be recognised wider is this dude

zap! pow! blog!

Taking a break from my ledger nominations (i think i've sed up my quoata for using the words, 'nice', 'good','cool' and 'really') , there's a really cool discussion happening in Kev Patrick's blog related to the comic exhibition I should have said something yesterday).

Some smart people, talking history and motivation. More info at pulp faction, while the actual blog is here.

Ledger Awards 2006 - Artist of the Year

Some really nice art this year, with a lot of people to nominate. Finding art to post is a bugger so if you are interested start googling.

Paul Abstruse work on Witch King was pretty cool, it has a touch of Mcfarlane that tickles my geekbone. Michael Li did a stunning job in his story in Generation 2006, he so effortless creates a mood and environment, its breathtaking. Probably the creator with the most pages to his name is Ryan Wilton this year and its all pretty funky stuff, well paced and expressive (appearing in Azerath). Doug Holgate’s Sureshot Presents All Adventure Annual was some of his best (though that gridiron stuff he posted on his LJ looked awesome) – and yeah I might be biased.
Steve Martinez (Practice Cactus) is an outstanding artist, with a huge natural talent - his Mojo and Fuzz lacks a polish but the anatomy, design and storytelling is phenomenal. I hope he pulls his finger out and does some more sequential work.
I would love to see Canaan Grall do some more comic stuff that breaks out of the comic strip format, his Gypsy and Astronaut stuff was really good.
Probably the new name on the block is David Babore, he did a really cool 24 hour comic in 2005 and has done some really expessive work in Yum Yum comics (probably my favoutrite out of the more cartoony artists mentioned). And lastly Tom Bonin work on Dicks is quite nice to look at, his line isn't as clean as most of the other artists mentioned but that's part of the charm.

Ledger Awards 2006 - Writer of the Year

I haven’t been exactly bowled over this year -nothing really stood out but there was some strong writers that deserve nomination.

I think the pace and plot in Azerath kind of slowed down (maybe even slumped a tad), a lot of ‘lets move from this wacky situation to the next’ which can get a bit tiring. But Daniel Lawson’s characters and dialogue are still a lot of fun to read and my complaints are really very minor criticisms. Though I’m not that into cyberstuff Matt Godden's Surfing the Deadline had some really nice moments specifically some of the internal monologue stuff.
In terms of breadth, Graeme Macdonald produced a bunch of differing titles through the new Local Act Comics publishing group. Kids comics, to scifi to crime; each title had its strengths; Millie the Pup was generally fine for a kids comic with a couple of funny moments but generally I’m not the audience and there wasn’t enough sex and/or violence or subversiveness to really enjoy it. The Ma B previews was incredibly clumsy and tedious to read (the same 3 plot points repeated on all 6 or so pages) but it looked pretty. These too comics aside Afterlife was a good read, a very slight read but still good. Vigil was the best of the lot with some strong plotting/story structure and characters, that’s got me wanting more.
Even though I did publish it, I think Doug Holgate’s writing for both his stories in Sureshot Presents All Adventure Annual as being much better than the regular competency most writer/artist creators display; in both stories the ending are a bit naff but not so much to ruin the whole thing. Checkmate Wordsworth was an imaginative and fun rollick.
It would be remiss to not nominate Christian Read for Witch King, it was a solid read – and I actually liked the various beats and plot points until the magic demons popped up to which I just rolled my eyes and remembered there’s a reason I don’t like fantasy. What I did like though was the proactive nature of the main character – not some farmboy you finds a magic wingnut that will defeat the blah blah blah but some rich kid that gets bullied and wants revenge. Now I don’t know how original that is but it doesn’t matter -i liked it.
Lastly, Daniel Reed for Crumpleton Experiments, continuing a longer story line it hits my freaky nerve.

Legder Awards 2006 - Independent Press Title of the Year

In terms of nominating great independent books (those of commercial formatting) its impossible to go past Witch King - Read, Abstruse, Magahelles, Close, Rahner, Kwok have but together a beautiful book. Whilst it is not my type of thing, the art and colour are just amazing.
I'd be a bad publisher if I didn't put Sureshot Presents in the mix, there have been 3 really strong efforts released this year that I'm insanely proud of.
Back to the Phosphorecent Comics, I'm a very big fan of Azerath and think Daniel and Ryan have done great work, whilst this year the stories have been a bit light without much direction (especially after the marketplace issue) I think its a symptom of the 4 issues a year publishing schedule, if this came out monthly/bimonthly then i could handle having such slight issues but with so few issues published a year its slightly frustrating that nothing really happened. The Azerath graphic novel might be worth a nomination as well.
As I said couple days back Generations 2006 was probably the strongest issue yet, part of me wishes that the book had the ferocity of Oztaku's marketing.
I think Phatsville is one of the most exciting anthologies released today. There is never a dud strip that looks like its been cobbled together at the last minute, the art always looks finished and professional - and whilst i may not be a fan of some of the art I can appreciate the edginess and rebillious of it and wished there was more of it in Australian comics.
In terms of anthologies I think NeoBragi should get a look. Boosa Nova Baby is also a strong book.
What happens When I Die by Jules Faber is a wonderful deep book that thankfully isn't soggy with angst and emo posturing. It is extremely well written, using metaphor and a nicely paced structure that is very satisfying. Jules also did a very nice painted book in Golgatha#1.
Welcome to Woodville by Shannon Browning was a fun clever book parodying monster films of the 50s, something quite hard to do in a fresh way.
A couple close calls was Matt Godden's Surfing the Deadline and Local Act Comics' Vigil and Afterlife, these books were written well, but the art held it back (Afterlife was well illustrated except it looked like it was a regular 6 page comic which they made into a 24 page comic by making each panel a splash page which is a bit frustrating)

Ledger Awards - Small Press Title of the Year

Very tough category - my definition of small press is slightly different to the one stated at the Ledger Site; to me Small press is more like a classic zine; lo-fi production, b/w cover, less than 28 pages. It's not designed to be commercial.

Probably my favourite were the Mojo and Fuzz books by Steve Martinez (especially #1). Fun reads with a very good level of craftmanship (they are made up of 24 hour comics so there's that consideration).

Mr Smilie Face by David Thor Gunnarson is really deceptive, at first i thought it would be a one joke story, that meandered until the creator got bored and then disappeared. Whilst it certainly is tongue and cheek its nicely structured and feels like Deathwish staring Pacman but a mean drunk pacman out for revenge.

Pretty Zombie #1 was just fucking hilarious. Sex and Violence and I'm there. One page joke strips that are either incredibly cute (i like cute) or awfully gross. Well done EvilDan and Jing. (Pretty Zombie #2 is not as good , more cute with a longer storyline that wasn't as filled with the HAHA).

Whilst it has a colour cover (and not really lofi/small press) Girlie Pains Comics by Mel Stringer is so sweet and revealing that its a joy to read. Some of the strips don't make much sense but whilst they don't provide a meaningful narrative there is a nice mood which engages and satisfies.

I'm probably biased but the last 2 issues of Fist Full of Comics has been really good (the last one did feature me but it was stil good).

Ledger Awards 2006 - Story or Single Issue of the Year

For this category i only usually nominate stories that have appeared in Anthologies, since Small Press and Independent Press can deal with the whole issue stories.

Even though there was a large number of books released in 2006, there weren't as many anthologies so it was kind of hard finding stories which had a sense of gravity and craftmanship.

This year's Generation book was probably the strongest so far with a (as always) wonderful story by Michael Li. Queenie Chan and Polshua (who's actual name i can't remember) also have really nice peices in that book. (Low Flying Spacecraft, The Two Dollar deal and Angelic Deal, respectively)

I might be biased but Mandy Ord's Comic Teacher and Poor Little Thing in Sureshot Presents Ordinary Eyeball were very good, the latter is a bit lighter but still has a bit of pathos to capture the reader.
Probably a polar opposite to Mandy's work Doug Holgates Checkmate Wordsworth in Sureshot Presents All Adventure Annual was a fun ride while being well told.

Even though Neighbours by Dean Rankine was another retelling of the Good Samaritan story it was still good.

Ledger Awards 2006 - Webcomic or Comic Strip of the Year

Usually i gloss over comic strips because they rarely satisfy my narrative needs but i've discovered a couple that have made me laugh.

Simply put - sex and violence will make me laugh pretty much everytime. In that vein, Angry Comic Shop Guy #1,#2,#3 by EvilDan were a fun read. My alltime favourite is Benson and Hedges by Giles from the Phatsville is just awesome - it appeared in Phatsville #8 and #9 and its own book this year (though a lot were repeats). Also i might be biased but i think my own VS is pretty decent.

Out of Canaan Grall's body of comic strips i liked A Girl Named Bruce the best (because of the sex and violence).

I think Owen Heitmann's Basic Wage Kids is really getting into a good groove (note i wrote 2 strips sometime back), its main advantage is consistency and the longer storylines has allowed Owen to build on jokes and characters. It does lack an edge but i can see that Owen is going for a more general audience.

I usually try and nominate 3-5 but there were so many great strips I'm including Jase Harper's great work on his daily comic (it was dailyish in september/october and had another burst in december). It was tidy simple stuff but it was actual fun, full of personality.

Lastly Sirive's Face stuff is very funny and a daily read for me ("Less rapes more japes").

Ledger Awards 2006 - Production Design of the Year

In terms of design, I wasn't that impressed, looking at the covers of the various books scattered around my office floor nothing is really jumping at me - there are some shockers and some decent looking books but very few 'wow' books.

Probably the standount is Witchking, it has a strong cover, sensible layout and fantastic colouring. As a matter of fact most of the Phosporescent Comics stuff in recent years has looked good (Azaerath #10 had a very simple eyecatching cover). Their new website looks really nice (i always forget websites are included) so I think Karen Howard should get some props.

Matt Huynh's Lost Baggage is very nice in its handmade well-considered look, as does perennial design wiz Tonia Walden's Meus Officium Est Abyssus, but part of me thinks that these hand made books are all well and good but are so limited in distribution because of the cost and time required to make them very few people get to see them. Making things for mass market requires an ability to cut corners but still make things stand out. But having said that, these two creators still have produced lovely books.

I very much liked the way Canaan Grall's books were packages at Supanova, simple personalised brown paper bag, (yes i can be easily impressed with brownpaper) the comics themselves were very nice with colourful covers which gave you a sense of what the comic is about. Similarly The cover to Rocksalt #1 is eyecatching but the book suffers from some glaring admissions like price, date and credits.

And I'd like to put up my own name for Sureshot Presents, i'm biased but i think that they are smart looking books that are value for money.

Otherwise for non-comic books Gary Lau's Shiranui looked very hot and as a more traditional zine Bad Teeth by Glenn Manders was hell sexy.

Ledger Awards 2006 - Retailer of the Year

I visited a couple more shops this year, and though on a visit or two its hard to appreciate the level of service people with pullboxes, these are some of the shops i've liked.

Pulp Fiction Comics - Adelaide
This is my home store but i only shop there because of the passion and enthusiasm of its owner Peter. The shop is small and looks cluttered and the lack of natural light makes it look dirty, but in terms of service its awesome. Every month the shop sponsors drinks at a local pub where fans and creators chat and drink. The website might look a bit 2000, it has all the information you need. A fine supporter of local comics - he has a designated area near the entrance and cashier. He goes all out for FCBD and actively seeks media attention for his shop (biased alert - the shop sponsored the 24 hour challenge). He is building a relationship with libraries which can only be good for the visibility of comics as a medium.

Impact - Canberra
I've never been to this shop, but Mal is a big supporter of Sureshot Presents and other Australian titles. A sponsor of the 24 Hour challenge, i really like his annual signings as a way of people connecting with local creators - i wish other shops did this.

Otherwise I think, besides the shrinkwrapping, Minotaur is doing a good job. And Kings is always a good clean respectable store.

Ledger Awards 2006 - Achievement of the Year

The output of Australian books was pretty good, i have a stack of about 100 books scattered on my floor all released in the last year. Not that I've been keeping track but that seems really high, so it seems people were head down ass up and drawing comics, instead of doing other stuff.

I scratched my head thinking of nominees.
I don't usually nominate people for the simple act of releasing a book or getting work, that's what is supposed to happen so with a red raw scalp;

Kevin Patrick's Victorian Gallery exhibition on the Histrory and scope of Australian
comics is very good, whilst i haven't seen it, it does have a high profile and seems successful.
Benzin Bullock and Brett Weekes also both held exhibitions in Adelaide and Brisbane which went well.

Avi Bernshaw (Egofreaky)'s Doujicon was fun, not particular successful from my point of view as a seller but still quiet the feat in organisation. I'm looking forward to the next one, where some of the kinks get knocked out.

In terms of being slightly biased, the Ozcomic 24 Hour Challenge was very good in 2006, because of the hard work of Troy Keally, Jacen Carpeter and Maggie McFee (I was also slightly involved- the fuck ups were mine).

and that was the year that was

I've been relaxing and trying to keep away for the internet but i like 'year in review' posts.

Favourites

Moment - the wedding
Trip - Doujicon with Team Radeliade
International Comic - Scott Pilgrim #3
Australian Comic - I'm still going through the piles of stuff i bought through the year for my Ledger review but if i had to pick one, Steve Martinez's Mojo and Fuzz got read multiple times.
TV - 24
Place - Cradle Mountain
Wine variety - Rose (i dunno, i'm getting soft)
Wine - Wirra Wirra Church Block
Album - Album that probably got the most play this year was Ben Kweller's 'On my way', but in terms of new albums Be Your Own Pet's Be Your Own Pet was probably the strongest (Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped was a return to form, same with Prince's 3121) but on a whole nothing really stood out.
Hip Hop Song - Golddigger by Kanye West
Non Hip Hop Song - Elbows by Darren Hanlon
Present - Wii
Movie - The Prestige
Concert - Go Team at BDO
Dish - Em's Spaghetti Marinara
Beer - Mythos
Purchase -8gb MP3 player/Hammer Drill
Book - Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq (though i didn't get to read much)
New Skill - Welding

I worked way too hard and this year I'm pulling back with the home renovation work but that was my year.

Happy new year everyone

Merry Xmas

My favourite xmas carol is "Little Drummer Boy" because it shows us even the little presents are important and it also means i get to sing 'bum' alot.

Merry xmas to everyone, we didn't do cards this year because we've been busy with stuff so 'pa rum bum bum bum, pa rum bum bum bum, pa rum bum bum bum' to everyone out there.

Buy Sureshot Presents this Xmas

You can get purchase Sureshot Presents Doug Holgates' All Adventure Annual at

Minotuars in Melbourne
Impact Comics in Canberra
Pulp Fiction Comics in Adelaide
Phasetwo Comics on the Internet

Make it a merry xmas for you and yours with one easy purchase.

Groan, James Groan - sorry Henry

Actually it wasn't that bad - Casino Royale, that is. Usually i leave the cinema after a Bond film muttering under my breath - pissed off at the shabby plot, poor charaters and tacky one-liners. But funnily enough, when ever a bond movie is on tv i'll switch over and watch, just for the action scenes; whenever the actors start talking i can do something else.

Casino Royale is probably one of the most mature Bond films, harking back to the early days (the first 3 connery films) its less about explosions and more of a mystery. There's actual plot, outside of "Get him bond""lets get out of here""It was YOU all along!". The quipping, roguish cad has been replaced with something more out of the Jason Bourne/Jack Bauer cold intelligent killer, which i like, since that's how i imagine an assassin to be.

The action scenes, the few that there were, were really good, especially that first parkour type chase scene. What did rankle me was the Bond shooting gas cylinders, and air bags and everything else except people. Assassins shoot people, dammit.

Some of the editing was a bit clumsy, both in terms of within in scene edits and story; particularly one jump from Bond sitting down to play poker to him taking off his tie in his room. And the Bond-Vesper love thing towards then end ran too long.

For a Bond film its pretty good; smart and reasonably well written but i don't think i'd watch it often as it doesn't have the explosions and kicking to distract my tiny brain.

..and back

We had a fantastic time in Tasmania, I've got a couple of weeks off now which i need.

Thanks for everyone's emails, messages, comments and smses - it was much appreciated.

The Big Day

41 degrees celsius

Not Cool!

breaking news - kirk never said 'beam me up scotty'

No, not hamfisted over reactions too slightly negative reviews of comic exhibitions!

Melbourne MAY have a supanova in 2008

Shit I came home with

I started with a lot more, I'm trying to figure out what i did with it all.

The gig was good and I chatted with Anthony, Louie (from midstate orange)(while I was urinating and he was waiting to take a bory) and Marty from the Luckies (i was more excited talking to him than strippers). I also now realise there's a banana in that picture - I didn't bring that home.



Dan + texta

Josh discovered this chain by the Grace, which i wore like a belt - i was ready to rumble.

This bike has been outside the railway station for 2 weeks. I didn't have enough money to get all the way home by taxi so... i improvised. This is Josh's xmas present.

Oh and a hangover.

Thanks to all those who came and enjoyed the night with me - you're all awesome.

(Does anyone remember me yelling 'anus cherries'?)

like a stag but goofier

Footscray Library gets graphic and novel

WEST Footscray Library has opened its Graphic novel section with 550 books. That's pretty massive, hugely massive even. i'd be interested what the Australian Graphic novels included are (if its compilations of Snake I'll be pretty unimpressed) and what the manga/superhero/alternative split is.

Looking forward to the first "there's sex in them books!' cry from a stupid parent.

Aussie Columnist

Jason Berek-Lewis is an Australian writer working on a bunch of projects for Dabel Studios (who now have some sort of contract with Marvel). He also has a column at Broken Frontier.

Kwok Rocks Witchblade

Issue 102 of Top Cow's Witchblade features the glorious colours of Annette Kwok, best known for working on part of Witch King and the covers of the last Watch series as well as being Jason Badower's go-to colourist.

Congrats Annette

Adelaide for cosacks; part one

I have family from Slovenia visiting and spent the weekend showing them around, which involved alot of broken Slovenian, driving, eating and drinking.

Friday was a simple roast at my mums - highlight was introducing them to Coopers Pale Ale, which was given the tick.
Saturday we spent by the ocean, in the pub and walking in around with a spot of shopping. European beaches for the most part are very rocky, so sandy beaches are quite the treat. What shocked them most is the dryness of the flora. Slovenia is the third most forest covered country in Europe, their green is deep and rich. Our green, barely is, its more of a brown, our native trees are more khaki camoflaged than evergreen.
Saturday night i cooked a feast for 12; oysters kilpatrick, sweet chilli prawn skewers, satay chicken strips, kangaroo with a berry sauce served with basil/garlic mushrooms, bqq capsicum and zucchini. A fancy multicuisined bbq, which i thought would blow their minds.

It did freak them out - they were not at all used to sweet meat, which kind of makes sense, they come from a balkan/slavic tradition where meat is not really that bountiful or cheap. So they tend to either store their meats (in the form of salamis) or try and give cheap meat flavour by adding spices (ie salt). The kangaroo was served rare, something a)you are supposed to do because it becomes too tough to eat b) are able to do because we have clean meat. Having cooked for some of my parents' friends i've noticed that they have to eat wellcooked meat, otheriwse they think its too dangerous. Its a cultural throwback to when things were tougher.
So there were leftovers, which usually would freak me out but i can dig it, i should have done some tamer.

Sunday - we went up to the Hills, to Handorf, usually noted for its old architecture (some buildings are 150 years old) well that's not so amazing when their holiday house was built in 1827. But it was an excuse to find a country pub and feed them steak. But before lunch the men bought kangaroo leather akurbra style hats which they decided they would wear for rest of the day. It was a good ice breaker with various people "They're tourist and they've bought hats".
The steaks were a hit, used to smaller portions (i think 200g) giving them 500gram tbones lit up faces and filled out bellies. I stupidly stuck to my pub burger fest (where i try burgers from every pub i go to) and had a shit burger but even a good burger would have failed against the steak.
then we went wine tasting.

Mark's Moose Party

Mark's satorial tips

I've been wearing my new suit and i feel so swanky and awesome.
Why?
because i like wearing suits, i look the best (ie least goofy) decked out in jacket and pants.
Some general tips

• Don't buy off the rack. Suits off the rack are only designed for male models, you most likely are not a male model. Buy from a place that alters the suits (or makes them from scratch), they'll alter the suit to make you look good, no matter if you have monkeys arms, or a belly, ot fat neck (ie me, all of the above). Spend a couple of hundred dollars on making it fit so it doesn;t look like you are wearing a sack.
• Get two pairs of pants. Pants wear out much faster than suitcoats, so you extend the life of the suit with extra pants.
• You have to have a navy blue suit. You can rock the navy blue anytime, from weddings, to interviews to funerals. Buying a black suit will not make you a reservior dog, it will make you look like you work as a waiter or at woolies. If you only buy one suit make it dark navy blue, made out of wool because you can't go wrong.
• Don't worry about fashion. Get classic stylish suits, a good tailor will know how long the sleeves are supposed to be, how wide the shoulders, etc. Sure jackets are cut shorter now, but in 3 years time you'll look dated.
• Get 3 button suits before you branch out into 2 button suits. 1,4 and 5 button suits look boy-band ridiculous. And doesn't matter how many buttons you have, never button the bottom one, its like wearing a hat in a restuarant.
• Don't use the jacket side pockets. Ther are usually sown shut, keep them that way, it keeps better shape.
• Dryclean only once a year. Drycleaning more makes the material look shiny and decreases the life of the suit. Just let the thing hang and air, maybe get it steamed and pressed.
• biggest tip, get to know your suit guy. he won't love you the first or second time, but after awhile he'll warm up and see you as an investement. my guy is awesome, he's turkish but spent a number of years in london. For the wedding he's doing half a dozen suits for less than half price because according to him 1) He'll earn the money back from me in the future 2) he likes it when young guys buy and wear his suits because its good publicity. I don't have to chose anymore, he makes all the decisions and he's always right. "When i find a double-breatsed suit with a good cut, that's your next suit".
  

the livingz hellz

1) Emma is in Sydney learning about the new contraceptive. Its a nunga band females shove up the clackerz and it sitz there for 3 months killingz the spermz.
2) I have Fergie's Fergalicious running in my mind constantly
3)I keep wanting to start conversations with "Konichiwa bitches"

Australian WebComics online

Tonia W. has done a fantastic job of making my life easier compiling a website full of Australian Webcomics . Now i don't have to trawl various sites remembering urls and whatnot.

Well done

I wish U2 played Camp Xray (LFW you can read this but don't ask for an autograph)

Last thursday U2 played Adelaide. 60,000 people went, 6% of the population. The paper still has articles about where they stayed, what they did and its getting quite embarrassing. More so by the fact that a manager whose last album purchase was probably Van Morrisons Astral Weeks or possible Carol Kings Tapestry was very excited to get tickets.
At roughly $120 a ticket, that was a gross of $7.2 million dollars. That should keep the Edge in beanie caps for awhile.
I was watching Darren Hanlon play at the Jade Monkey, after a mad dash when i realised at 11pm he was playing that night (and i had already bought tickets). There was probably 80 people there; with a grosse of about $1600. He did get a medely of U2 songs in the refrain of (Not enough songs about) Squash (i think that was the song).

So the overexposure of dad-rock is a bit boring but whats really crazy is when Bono gets a meeting with Peter Costello to talk about rubber wristbands and tinted glasses or whatever at the drop of a hat (a cowboy hat given to him by his stylist) but Terry Hicks (a tax paying citizen) had to wait 3 years to meet Phillip Ruddock.

God, Elton John is coming next year, the pain!

Candle records

It was sad to see that Candle Records is closing down. Home of the Lucksmiths and Darren Hanlon, as well as Rob Clarkson (and Simpletons, etc), I’ve gotten noting but joy from this indy record label. I never missed a concert, an album or dvd. I admired the way Chris Crouch built the label, how the professionalism was coupled by a sense of whimsy (and even love of what he was doing). I spoke to him a couple of times at gigs and by email, there was a realism that I understood (usually displayed as exhaustion after a show or when I talked about how Adelaide got bypassed a couple of times) but he still seemed to enjoy what he was doing. It was kind of inspirational, especially when I started thinking about Sureshot.

So they are having a sale; I’ll probably be replenishing the cds lent and lost but would like to hightlight

Hello Stranger – Darren Hanlon. Songs that are extremely hummable but with some sweet (as in nice not as in ‘sweet mate!’) lyrics.

Shirts and Skins – Rob Clarkson. I great double cd with some fun songs tinged with the melodrama of growing up and relationships and other melodramatic songs tinged with a sense of fun.

Private transport - The Guild League. A love note to travel, I'll call this up while I’m on the train and going to work doesn’t seem so bad.

Where were we - Lucksmiths. I’d recommend all their albums but if I had to pick one, this would be it.

Loyalty Songs – Anthony Aitkinson. Anthony is probably the most mature (or maybe better put the least quirky) singer/songwriter in the Candle Records stable. His latest album is a treat.

The only time i haven't been completely satisfied with a Candle record was probably Mid-State Orange, its an ok album but you need to play it at the right time, I still haven't figured out what time that is. Otherwise the Richard Easton stuff was not really to my taste.

Good to know

Scanning through press releases at the various comic news sites, this caught my eye

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2006/11/15/diamond-annoucnes-new-kids-group/

“ For markets Down Under, DBD has chosen to work with Dennis Jones Associates. With offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Dennis Jones Associates has been selling DBD’s titles to bookstores, libraries and mass merchants across Australia and New Zealand including Dymocks, A&R and Borders.“

Diamond Book Distributors will start a Kids Books group, that will distribute Kids titles to various bookstores. Usually these sort of deals don’t affect Australia except in this case they’ve made a deal with Dean Jones Associates, a Melbourne-based Book Distributor.

So if you have a graphic novel that you want distributed, then I’d send it their way, especially in a years time when they’ve done all the hard work of setting up distro channels and managed all the initial marketing.

So long

Its hard when you stop blogging for awhile to then try and start again. Nothing seems to be important enough. Writing daily makes me feel like I've got some rope to play with; a bit of room to move when i get inane. But if i start of rather pointless (like this) i can only go upwards.

take that blogosphere!

Sureshot in shops

Sureshot Presents Doug Holgate's Tales of Wonder (got to think of a better title) is now available in Adelaide's Pulp Fiction Comics (King William st, 3 doors down from BeeHive Corner).

Also restocked with Sureshot Presents Gothic Boogaloo and Ordinary Eyeball.

Tonia Walden also has a bunch of copies which she is dsitributing up Brisbane way. Minotaurs should have some next week or so, with Kings and Phase Two to follow.

If you want your shop to carry Sureshot let me know and I'll bother them.

Supanova - Part 3

VS written on the fly for people (that I can remember)
Jesus vs Satan
Doug vs Mark
Werewolves vs Vampires
Gary Lau vs Pants (for David Tang - draw your own conclusions)
Strawberry vs Milk (for Gary Lau - draw your own conclusions)
Muslim vs Christians
UPDATE - Corey Haim vs Corey Feldman

(if you got one can you scan it in and send it to me)

Number of clothing articles ruined or lost
2 (one pair of jeans ripped in drunken bicyling)(one jumper lost)

Number of times Mark lost his shit and giggled like a girl
3

Number of Hugs recieved
8

Number of slaps recieved
5

Number of people who asked me "what are we doing tonight?"
Way too fucking many

Books i bought (australian)
All draw the same
Moshi Moshi 12
MA B (preview)
Pulp Crucifiction
Plump Oyster 4
Azerath 11
Word ballons 3
Knight Edge: Shintaro and the Magic Sword of Magic
Girly Pains 10
Welcome to Woodsville
Surfing the deadline 1,2
Generations 2006
Edina
OCD 1,2,3
Gypsy and the Astronaut
Young Mountain Agony
Alien Stew
Romantic Halluciations
Cyst (with holgraphic cover!)
New Ragey
After Life
Vigil
Millie Piddley Pup
Shameless
The Big Time

People Jing argued with
Danny Z - regarding the mocking of Jesus on the covers of Fist Full of Comics. Essentially it ended with Danny noting that because Jesus is able to be mocked that makes him real, Jing was impassive and glassy eyed. (People can start mocking my giant penis at their leisure).
Liz A. - i think it was over role playing but I just heard 'mwha mwha mwha' like when the adults talk in the Peanuts cartoon.

Minutes Doug spent at the table selling his books over the entire weekend
52

Minutes I expected Doug to be at the table selling his books over the entire weekend
5.2

Books I bought (american)
15 Iron Man's from the Layton/Romita Jr era ($2 bucks each!)

Dvds I bought
Boiling Point
Red Beard (i mistook Red Beard for Throne of Blood but still a good movie all the same)

Minutes of Silence in the taxi to the airport
0

Number of drinks Lucas drank
2 (one pint one schooner)

Number of drinks Lucas has drunk ever
(see previous answer)

Minutes Mark felt guilty and hoped Lucas' kidneys didn't fail
at least 15, 30 max

Minutes Mark hoped Dan's kidneys failed
Essentially the rest of the time after the cocksmoker incident

Madman have gone....crazy dude!

http://www.madman.com.au/actions/news.do?method=view&newsId=801

If i log on at midnight discover there are no more copies of Master of the Flying Guillotine I'm shutting this blog down. Down i say!

Supanova - Part 2

Embarassing moments

• Discovering after going to a panel and asking a question, walking up and down Artist Alley and buying stuff, that Dan had put a "Cocksmoker" label on my back.
• Being discovered on the floor of an elevator giggling hysterically by Clare (Dan farted and i found it hilarious - that's the embarrassing part)
• Walking up to who i thought was Chewie's girlfriend and Liz A., who were standing at the bar putting my arms around them and saying "Sprechen ze deustch baby?" only to discover it was Avi and Liz.

Best dressed
The old guy at the Spanish club with canary yellow pants and shirt with matching pocket square. Platform shoes, shaved head, clear glasses and a beautiful blazer.

People who had a congoer who kind of looked like them
Eddie Campbell
Ian Gould
Komala
Doug Holgate
Liz A.
Matt Hyunh
David Tang
Christian Read (There were like 4 guys that looked like Christian)

Number of people who had seizures in our vicinity
2

Reasons for seizures

• The radness of Team Adelaide was too much for them
• They had their kidneys replaced with Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls
• Some sort of medical condition

Number of Team Adelaide members who had kidney issues
2

Number of Gary Lau's milk lollies eaten by Mark
5

Number of Gary Lau's milk lollies eaten by Doug
24

Conversation with Tad P and Jason Paulos at their panel
"You talk that POD and webcomics makes it easier for you to publish your work, but isn't it making it harder for people to actually buy your stuff?"
"Yes that might be the case, i don't think i have all the answers" Jase then tried to get me to talk about Sureshot which i didn't think was appropriate in that forum and i was sick of myself by then.
Tad came in with "If you build it they will come"
My response was "Sorry, that's crap, build and they will come hasn't worked since WW2, you say newstand distribution didn't work for you but do you think it was a matter of format?"
"Probably"
It all ended with some sort of homosexual banter.
I have a big rant about POD in me.

Number of times we had chinese
3

Number of times I've had chinese in the last 6 months
3

Supanova Sydney - Part 1

I'm actually still trying to get over Supanova, having brought back a cold which has made me a snivelling, flemming, spluttering fool.
I never intended to do a full on report and with the amount of stuff that happened I'd probably be writing till Supanova Brisbane. So I'm just doing lists, facts and highlights

People who I travelled with and their Xmen identity
Clare - Marvel Girl because she can do things with her mind like get beers brought to her
Dan - Cyclops mainly because it doesn't take much for him to pull out the one-eye. Madman.
Lucas - Beast because he's a doctor (as in Dr House) and hairy (and quite the beast ladies)
Sarah - Angel because she's very flighty
I'm Iceman because i work better with moisture.

Phrases that were often repeated
'Lucas with the Lid off'
'Remember when I...' - Dan would continually repeat this and then tell a story. At times i expected him to start refering to himself in the 3rd person. Every story would end with me saying "Yes Dan, I was there"
'shoot your face off' - a hangover from Doujicon
'Fucking Bitch' - Usually muttered by Holgate when a con goer worked away empty handed after being pitched at. The worse case was one would-be attenedee who chatted with Doug for at least 15 minutess getting a tonne of tips and advices who then walked off.

People who did sketches for me
clare
ryan wilton
lucas
chris wahl
doug holgate
komala singh
matt g
sarah
(I'm not sure why i got so many adelaide people to do sketches when i could be getting people who i don't see regularly to draw for me, oh that's right I'm stupid)

People who was too afraid to talk to
Queenie Chan
Craig Phillips

People I didn't recognise
Drew from Adelaide - Even though i've drunk with him a couple of times I had no idea who he was when he said "Hi Mark". It took a "He's from Adelaide Mark" from Sarah to recognise him.
Jeremy MacPherson - Even though I met him once ages ago, he's dropped weight and looks good.
Sally Woeller

Sales
Sureshot Presents Galvanting Tales by D Holgate - 71
Sureshot PResents Ordinary Eyeball - 29
Sureshot Presents Gothic Boogaloo - 25
Vs - 25 (but i gave a shitload away)
Basic Wage Kids #1 - 7
Basic Wage Kids #2 - 10
How to Save the World - 3
Tales from under the Bed - 15
Dreams of Tomorrow - 5

People I told who came looking for Doug he was doing a poo
Everyone