Newszoom: July Marches

July 16, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

A good reporter works and checks multiple sources but today I was inspired to steal from one video.

NI2013. Our time. Our place ‪#‎Wrecked‬
(created by the brilliant Loyalists Against Democracy)

I used to make a paper in the form of a comic, but this time I did something more traditional.
If you’re having trouble seeing it, you can download a better quality version from here and circulate merrily.

And yes I do hope the police arrest them.

Trailer: Caution, you thugs and bullies. For the people of the earth shall grow sick of your interruptions to their lolcats and Instagram and see you. Your ire will be met with a bollocking from the internet, the like of which your stomach has not known since that curry kicked diarrhea from your boxers and all down your legs and you were in agony for days. Don’t do it again.

165: Spellcheck (Flashfic)

June 24, 2013September 10, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

One of the great practices awarded me by the Belfast Writers Group is that of having a go at flash fiction, 15 minute writing exercises. Last week I uploaded ‘Locked Doors’ which I will tell you nothing more about. No. Forbidden. I wrote this:

The boys rolled the wooden wheel twelve feet all of it speedier and somehow keeping pace another three in front carted grid pallettes: stacked half dozen. Another the same ahead of them. Muscled up and aged between eight and ten, some acted as guards, waving them along. Or maybe they were like startled pigeons or the car passengers which ran alongside.

And they’ll drop them off and get them in another factory and the adults will stack them tall in the field and then everything will burn. The lush green land of Antrim, burn! The blue skies of Down, burn, smoke and flame! Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone —

“IF YOU BURN IT, Will it grow again?”, I yelled.

The boy whirled to look at me, then pushed his wheel again. My distraction would not help it stop. The two teams of carters did the same and escaped narrowly their own wounding. An ox-man and four-boobs bleacher turned to look at me, her saggy plastic bag even, piercing the area with it’s haunting.

I selfishly expected not to make it home by desk.

That night, the freedom fighting guardians urinate: our country-men undressed to Scientologist pyjamas, Westboro Baptist night-gowns, number 20Q the woman-beater. As they slept or did not, I took my reprieve, and crept out into the darkness. Jay met me among the criss-cross of back alleys and the graffiti exhorting warfare. It hadn’t seen a spell-checker.

‘Cameron Go, Game of Thrones Style!’

Then the pair of us moved the brushes and sprays onto the next blank wall. There we painted a large iris overlooking a yellowed union flag underpants, that dripped down into a coffee cup on fire.

‘Radio 4 – For God and Ulster’

That was on the next street over already.

‘Daily Fail Wordsearch – Today: Indians’

We took our time there because Jo wanted to make it ‘Canadians’.

By 3am we’d become annoyed, so returned home to a flask. He wanted to expose the negligent junkie dad at 3 G.S.E, I thought it would be good for us to de-weed the bus stop.

“Yeah, we’ll be putting up a timetable next.”

Forty new pieces of cross-discipline graffiti went up that night and there was a spate of copycat acts later that month with old world maps re-created, and classical music notes on the Albertbridge. Inked hyperlinks adorned Knockbreda, a mosaic appeared one night on the Castlereagh Road. In Dee Street, a minimalist man, Chad Kilroy peered over a wall, and asked, “Where’s Banksy?”.

Only four of these were burned in the July 12th bonfires, painted on the walls by people’s homes. Within two years, literacy was up.

Abrams Star Trek

February 3, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

Around Christmas, I’d an art commission as a gift for a Trekkie, who did not like what JJ Abrams did. The brief was for a friendly wind-up: make it look like Abrams was the definitive version, with TOS to Enterprise pale in comparison.

I’m taking a distance from making comics for a while, although you can buy issue 1 of Kick! online.

16 pages of brand new digital comics. Includes The children of Mow Street Mall, The A-Team, Doomlord X and Allergy, another tale about shopping.

Only 30p, available through Paypal.

Events

Galway University of Galway ComicsWest event was due to go ahead next week, but now it’s not, left until the summer. Everybody’s friends, The Emerald Garrison, are running the Heroes and Legends Con on 16th-17th February, at the W5 in Belfast.

Ahead of that, friend to my readers Stephen Downey, is signing his new comic Noe The Savage Boy with writers Mal Coney and Rob Curley at Forbidden Planet Belfast on February 9th, between 1-3pm.

Here’s Mal and Stephen on BBC Radio’s Arts Extra.

Gift 2

December 11, 2012December 11, 2012Andrew Leave a comment

The Belfast Comics Fayre took place on Sunday, and as this week in Belfast would have it, was hampered by the bullcrap foisted on us by a small minority of troublemakers. People preferred to stay in, rather than risk travel being halted by little boys with dangerous toys. In a time where the rights of British-Ireland are called into question by international eejits, I can think of no way that the province’s status could be more sorely damaged than the violence of fleg-fighters. It’s a shame they devalued the identity of “being Northern Irish”. If only they’d take the short cut by actually shooting themselves in the foot, they’d save all of us bar the nurses some trouble.

For the guests that turned out we recouped something. We had some great craic with Bobby Best (The 2dcast), Stephen Downey (Noe The Savage Boy), Derm McGuigan (Potato Vampires) and I’m told Lightning Strike Comics Presents and Darrin O’Toole’s Tales From The Void are now on sale at FPI Belfast. Issue 7 of Paddy Brown’s Cattle Raid of Cooley is likely on his website bookshop any day now.

A future event is planned.

The ADF’s annual open show is again dedicated to seasonal gifts made by disabled artists, enabling you to spend for Christmas with a conscience! The artists have supplied small-scale work of all kinds with a modest price range, and I’ve work in there along with Alice Burns, Andrew Cooke, Andrew Gahan, Jennifer Hanley, Johanna Lodge, Rachel McBride, Niall McCormack, Sinead O’Donnell, Roisin O’Hagan, Keith Sheppard, Deirdre Ward and Trevor Wray. December opening hours are Monday to Saturday 10am–4pm, with occasional extensions. The Arts & Disability Forum are based on the ground floor of 109-113 Royal Avenue (opposite the Mace), Belfast BT1. You can invite friends on Facebook and there’s a special seasonal celebration from 5-7pm on Thursday 20th

Here are some photos I took at the opening.

You can buy Issue 1 of my new digital comic, Kick! It includes The children of Mow Street Mall, The A-Team, Doomlord X and Allergy, another tale about shopping.

ONLY thirtie englishe pennies!

I’ll be stripblogging my new Xmas card comic here a few days before Christmas. In the meantime, you can buy it from the ADF, or the online shop.

Belfast Comics Fayre

December 7, 2012December 7, 2012Andrew Leave a comment

This Sunday, December 9th, in Haymarket Arcade, off Royal Avenue, the Comics Fayre comes to Belfast.

Orchestrated by Avalon Arts with some arrangement from yours truly, the event is billed as a family fun day with FREE admission. There are exhibitions of comics art, workshops, comics launches, panels, talks, face painting, fancy dress, a cafe and a bar.

We’ve a few special guests from across the border: Darrin O’Toole (Writer, Tales from the Void), Eoin McAuley (Editor, Lightning Strike), Ciaran Marcantonio (Writer, ‘A Clockwork Universe’ for Lightning Strike), Daryl Cox (Artist, ‘Monkey of Oz’ for Lightning Strike) as well as Belfast’s very own Patrick Brown (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) Odds are good other home-town comics pros are making surprise guest appearances.

The market, which usually hosts local crafts, will push a surge of comics and geek ephemera such as tables recovered in comics strips, gamer badges and knitted trinkets.

The Stack comics store will be there with a range of graphic novels, and partaking in the re-launch of The Black Panel, an initiative to bring Northern and Southern Irish comics to the viewing public. I’ll be hosting The Magnificent One Day ComicBook Factory. There are also a series of short talks, and I’m pleased to announce that Eoin McAuley will be speaking on developing a small press comic from an idea to publication.

[Facebook Event link]

My christmas card range and new comics will also be showing at the Arts and Disability Forum’s Gift 2 exhibition, (on Royal Avenue) until December 20th. There’s also a special “Seasonal Celebration” wrap soiree on the 20th, with details on Facebook.

NERDTOPIA

August 5, 2012January 22, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

Normative, ha! What does normative know?

I am Andrew Luke.

Last month, I visited Nerdtopia in the leafy student district of Belfast’s Stranmillis Road. They were all out of Deli-Lite sandwiches, so instead, I’d a gourmet sausage roll made for the Sultan himself.

It was the morning after Q-Con, an enormous sci-fi and gaming thing, a village. We maintain being wrecked due to this pressurised stint of business, and not the Jack Daniels controlling our neurologies.

I love coffee; the dirty damage of any writer but frankly I’d been up since 6am working on my latest commission* and deserved a soothing addle of hot cocoa hyperdrive.

Nerdtopia Coffee Manager John, quite lovely. Please keep him in work.

Nerdtopia Says Eat Cake – The coffee making area is perhaps Nerdtopia’s greatest flaw. Not for the vanilla, caramel and chocolate syrups, the size it takes up in the small premises; an industrial length box perhaps ripped from an ice-cream shop.

Around about is a booth for four, round two-person tables, a set of comfies and throws, a reader shelf and accessible pinboard. This informs the realisation I’m sitting in a community space. A business sure, but it feels inclusive, almost organic. The shop has it’s backbone of regulars, explains John, “but we get all ages in here. Many are locals just looking for somewhere with a bit of colour.”

This is Chris, the store manager. Out the back of the shop is a large room ideal for workshops and signings, used by gaming groups on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They open a little later then.

The comics selection is one black case of about eighty books built of Judge Dredd, Batman, The Walking Dead and Warhammer. They also have on sale key rings, die-casts and brushes; board games, tobacco cases and the United Rizla Papers of Benetton.

The Nerdtopia flyer, with £1 off any large tea or coffee. Hot! They also do a 10% student discount.

In my dream scenario, comics readers are treated as the over 25s and allowed to mix strips, beer and daylight if they so choose, without awaiting allocated convention days. We’re all responsible drinkers, except for the Whovian cosplayers. The next best thing is this social model of selling coffee with comics. The late Jack Brodies in Camden sold Dr. Octopus and orange juice, and I’m told Plan B Books in Glasgow has Satrapi and Sumatra, and that Dublin City Comics and Collectables does Kickass and Kitkats.

I’d taken the 8a there, but it’s really a ten minute stroll back to the city. First, the bladder must be emptied and John points me out to the back room. Then another doorway. a tall enclosure stretching to the celing, it’s outer walls on each side an assuring police box blue welcomes me to travel the streams with the technology within.

Nerdtopia are located at 86 Stranmillis Road, Belfast, BT9 5AD. Here’s a link to their Facebook page.

*Andrew Luke is currently finishing writing the Looking For Work series of books for the Social Security Agency of Northern Ireland.

Belfast work by the co-creator of Judge Dredd: America

August 3, 2012January 22, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

Back in 1997, a Belfast collective launched DNA Swamp, a cosmic rock n roll anthology frayed around the edges. Carried in the news-stands it showcased work by a lot of talented people, including PJ Holden, John Farrelly, Malachy Coney and Sean Doran.

Along the three issues there was a habit of pro creators producing the covers. Frank Quitely did the first, Philip Blythe the second, the third was painted by Colin MacNeil.

That’s it; currently up on ebay for £250 or nearest offer.

You can read more about DNA Swamp at the often reliable Irish Comics Wiki.

September 3rd for UK and Ireland’s first comics barcamp

July 19, 2011January 22, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

The date has been confirmed for the second Comics Barcamp in the English speaking world. The venue is Blick Studios in Belfast, who are also co-sponsoring the event. Announced in the week following 2d, Christine James of Blick and Andy Luke confirmed the date yesterday.

A barcamp is essentially an “unconference”, a creative business brainstorming seminar, run along communal lines. The communal element is essential, because if a set number of people don’t take part, barcamp doesn’t happen. It relies on advance planning, but has an improvisational element that keeps the energy fresh. It also generally has reverberating effects after the event such as a web-streamed presentations and blogging.

While employing a plethora of talented imagineers, the comics industry is known to produce mostly bland generic vanity work; rarely sensually relevant, often linked with class trappings. Much like most other media industries. Until recently. the format of comics conventions has remained much the same as it has for over thirty years. Creators are largely used to invites with guest focus promotion, more often being told what to speak on.

Can Comics Barcamp really change that?

With around six weeks to go and little discussion, it remains to be seen if this barcamp will work. Irish comic industry expansion in recent years indicates the gain from events like this could be considerable.

Confirmed attendee, Andy Luke, refused to be drawn into a lone voice mentality, and has invited his imaginary friend to speak on his behalf.

“The possibilities of what Barcamp could achieve are incredible, for humans, autobots and decepticons alike. We must work TOGETHER to raise the credits for this event..to TALK among ourselves and construct fantastical presentations only existent in our imaginations. This is a new day for Cybertron, and for Earth. A FREE BARCAMP. The Living Matrix only knows. Or the AllSpark. Whatever.”

It is unknown if Optimus Prime will attend Comics Barcamp. His enemy Starscream, also lives in some people’s heads, and also supports the idea.

“The universe is ours, rich for the plunder! Now… WHERE IS MY FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE TABLE OF COMICS CREATORS TALKS?”

Barcamp starts now.

Wiki-Website
Register for the event
Discussion Group (as well as ICN’s forum)

Part 1: Black Panel Tour

June 11, 2010January 11, 2013Andrew 2 Comments

A re-blog from the archives of my regular column for (now extinct) Alltern8; Comicking.

May 2:

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival brings to Belfast a wealth of creative acts each year. Traders turn up to the fat gazebo at 10am, rather than 11:35, for the midday start. Big black tent. In retrospect, quarantine zone and reflection of the darkskies. The only lit area is a huge spotlight which spends the day trained on my retinal damage. Paddy says I’m being grumpy today, I think (later), that’s his expression of the same. A room-sized sound system scalps my ears, steals my notions away from the quality of talking with customers. I’m worried the cognitive connect will place us at the marquee, rather than the usual venue. Paddy and I make the same money as a usual day, but not so the artists we’re stocking. I have two days migraines.

The event lasted for only four hours. I wish I’d noticed that before setting my alarm.

Good stuff: I liked the painting wall and peanut butter cupcakes. Ok, the music was okay.

Lesson to event organisers: Think about what works. Don’t hit small markets with formed standards of big markets. It’s wanky and regressive.

May 5: We’re invited at short notice to be part of the Black Market for kids special but decline. Ri-Ra, two issues to date, is a great Irish language comic with great artists. Less than half our indy comics are suitable for kids, Ri-Ra and Hilary Lawler’s SuperHillbo are the only ones with an aim close to them. Paddy issued a call for more kids comics last year on his blog. The event was held in a marquee somewhere.

May 6: Belfast Comics Pub Meet is turned into a Drink n Draw. At the request of Stephen Downey I script a quick Batman comedy. Animator Ann Harrison of Celtic Dragon Studios is lashing down pencils and erasers of female characters. (The Pratchett visual opposite is from Ann’s blogspot) Paddy Brown speed-draws Iron Man and Stephen Downey is photographing everything in sight like a contortionist with part tricks.

Email comes through. Upcoming Black Books is our final one. By and large our comics stall has been successful, but we’re the exception. The event is cancelled as a regular bit, asides from a Trans July 18th event. (Trans aim to offer an alternative to Ulster July-festivals, away from the drumming and burning of stuff. They facilitate both the Black Books and Black Market events).

May 8: Interview with Phil Barrett, our best-selling cartoonist. You can read that here.

May 16: The final Black Books and again we draw in the crowds and the cash. I’ve begun to gather a fanbase and get a few sales of ‘Absence’, including off the back of my previous 24 hour comic. ~~I don’t have any photos of this, so here’s one from a previous gig.~~ (missing again)

Left to Right: Andrew Croskery (Kronos City), One satisfied punter with my comic. She also picked up a copy of Cancertown by Stephen Downey, and on the end next to him, beside the comics and handbags, my stall-mate, Patrick Brown.

June 2: Back from the pub meet where PJ Holden is seducing us with his “Ippad”. The printer on loan from a writer friend has been buzzing all week, replenishing stocks of the sold-out ‘Absence’. Map and bus ticket? Check.

June 3: The Derry Verbal Arts Centre for the 2D Comics Festival. Gary Erskine is looking over my thumbnails and generally being quite helpful and enthusiastic. Garry Leach comes over for a look too. The twenty other students making up are busy at their thumbnails.

Walking along the walls with organiser David Campbell I’m treated to a view of Phil Barrett‘s new collection which has been run through his printing and publishing service. Also joining us on this downhill trip are Pat Mills and the unexpectedly stable and attuned Glenn Fabry. I’d expected him to be drunk and cursing about women. A total pleasant gentleman.

Before I know it I’m in a sort of green room: softly lit comics celebrities across the skyline. I don’t know any faces to names and spying Barrett in the corner, make my way across before security turfs me out. At dinner, we’re joined by Colin MacNeil who is also pleasant. I don’t know where all these tortured artistic psychos are that I’ve heard so much about.

Then, it’s off to Sandino’s Bar. Glenn has heard it’s a socialist conspiracy venue full of rant and rage. I miss the first panel as I stop for a Guinness outside in the evening sun. It is to be a harbringer of things to come.

Look for Part 2 of The Black Panel Tour in a few days on Alltern8 as Andy tries to sell his work at three comics markets in a week. If you’re in Dublin on Saturday, you should join in. Details here.

Dublin’s New Cultural Venue Launches With Grassroots Comics Festival

June 2, 2010January 11, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

A re-blog from the archives of my regular column for (now extinct) Alltern8; Comicking.

Point Village Comic Festival 2010 will be introduced in the Point Village Market on the 12th June. It has been created by Hilary Lawler (creator of Superhilbo!) & Kate Farnon (Events Manager) from VSC Events to help promote comic book creators in Ireland. The stalls at this event are free for comic creators, artists and illustrators and the promotion and organization has been widely supported by the small press community. Hilary hopes this event will highlight further to the Irish public, what talents and wonderful publications are available to them. Often at events relating to comics, the cost of a table or stall hire can have a negative impact on the independent publishers pocket, so she hopes this event gives people a chance to network, promote and sell their comics and art.

I asked Hilary for a few more details on the event.

Andy Luke: How many creators have you lined up?

Hilary Lawler: At present there are 35 people who are confirmed for the Point Village Comic Festival event. These range from comic creators to illustrators, animators and artists. All are involved in publishing a range of artistic endeavours from stand alone pieces, webcomics to regular volumes of work.

AL: Who’s attending? I notice a few names not local…

HL: From the list (off the top of my head and in no particular order) there are familiar names in comics such as Longstone Comics, Sancho, Road Crew and Atomic Diner, but there are also some names that may be new for most people such as Neptune Factory and Pinback. Either way it is proving to be a healthy mix of the great range of talents in Ireland.

AL: What can you tell us about the venue at this point?

HL: As the Point Village Market will be opening on the 29th May, it is difficult to give an exact description of the venue. As such the venue can be described, based on the images used for its promotion so far, to be a modern, open plan market with the intention of developing the market into the same vibe as Covent Garden. The Point Village Comic Festival will be an event that runs alongside the market for Saturday 12th June.

AL: Will comics creators be accompanied by other arts stallholders, eg. Camden, Belfast Black Market or Dublin Co-Op Independent’s Day?

HL: To the best of my knowledge the stalls in the market for each weekend will range from food to arts & crafts. The Point Village Comic Festival event is specifically aimed at those in the small press that can’t avail of a regular stall. This opportunity to sell your creations without having the cost of stall hire, is directly aimed at supporting the Irish small press. A creative expression in the form of a comic can be a costly affair, so at least anything sold remains a profit in this instance. It is aimed as a comic event but it is open to artists and illustrators in all areas.

AL: When is the event open from and to?

HL: It runs on the Saturday, 12th June – opening times are to be confirmed and stall holders will be notified closer to the time. The market opening times are advertised as 8.30am -5.30pm. However, the Point Village Comic Festival event time will open a little later in the morning to allow for setting up.

Hilary: It is a free event and some details are still being confirmed regarding workshops and panels. There is an exhibition on for the day so anyone is welcome to avail of the chance to exhibit their work. We welcome anyone who wants to take a free stall still, just email me at:
longstonecomics (at) gmail.com to register your details (blogspot, contact/mobile, website).
It is something I really hope will positively impact comic creators as it is an artistic path that I’m passionate about and love to promote. Seeing how many fantastic Irish creators there are out there, just persevering through the highs and lows of creating, really makes me want to ensure events like this help elevate them further. I know from my own experience that it takes a lot of dedication, commitment and perseverance to keep going in this industry. What does help is having the chance to see the public respond positively to your work, and that can only happen if we encourage and support events like this one.

The Venue: Point Village Centre, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland
The Where: Saturday 12th June 2010, 11am-5pm (Stallholders from 10am)
How to get there: Luas Red Line (straight to venue), The Dart, Buses are Regular (esp. the 15)

Last bus: appears to be around 11pm. More info at Dublinbus.ie (also the name of a good comic by Paddy Lynch)
Driving: Look for the 02 Arena out by Dublin port.
If you’re lost: Phone for directions at 086 827 4839
Parking available at various spots nearby.
Entrance Cost: There is not such a thing.

Website: www.pointvillagecomicfestival.com

The accompanying flyer designed by Ger Hankey is shareware and is available from Ger, Hilary, myself or any stallholders involved with the event. Why not put a screen grab on your website? These are available at the Facebook Events page too.

Ger is premiering the print edition of the second issue of “Short Sharp Socks“. As revealed on Alltern8 last month, Phil Barrett may also be premiering a new comic. I’ll have a second edition of “Absence” ready. There’s also the welcome visit of guests such as the creator of Vampire Free Style, Jenika Ioffreda. Well, with a blow away roster like that, even by MS Paint challenged skills couldn’t resist tinkering with a poster design. My attempts are below, complete with graphics from creator’s websites and the venue brochure.

Related news: Readers may also be interested to learn of Edition Book Arts Summer Edition 2010: Artists’ Book, Comic and Zine Fair on Saturday 24th July from 11am – 5pm at Filmbase, Temple Bar, Dublin. Details on that at http://www.editionbookarts.com/

andy-luke.com

A writer who draws

Belfast