Ballymena Waterstones hosts Comic Book

July 16, 2011January 22, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

The evening of Wednesday 10th August involves a display of comic books and graphic novels, with a local bent, and a panel talk followed by Q & A. The event takes place between 7-9pm.

Among the guests are the Absence team of Andy Luke and Stephen Downey, and the similarly acclaimed Paddy Brown, author of The Cattle Raid of Cooley.

Luke will be appearing on a panel at Oxford’s Caption Austerity festival earlier that week, and following it with a Black Market Belfast appearance. The author denied concerns that he will be taking a seizure.

“I feel it won’t really benefit the book.”

He’ll also be in the final planning stages of the communally run Comics Barcamp, an innovative event which challenges the standard convention approach, and has been applauded by IT pioneers globally.

It’s an exciting time too for Stephen Downey, co-author of Jennifer Wilde. My moneys on the mini-series being a hot topic of talk around the web, and his growing recognition as eligible for a raised page rate. His famous April Fools announcement that he had been hired to work on X-Men looks less and less a fiction.

And Paddy Brown. Is there anyone better qualified to converse on Northern Irish comics? Rumours have reached me that he’s been in talks with Navan Fort about funding and distribution on Cattle Raid of Cooley. It may be that we see both his and Downey’s work in Waterstones, as organiser Emma Graham explains,

“Waterstones has recently been bought over and the new owner is trying to take a new approach to the company. They are trying to have each store run as an independent bookstore so then we are focusing on what our customers are interested in. My main section that I have to work on is graphic novels and this is why I am wanting to hold the event. We have had a huge interest in graphic novel section so I wanted to try and promote it more locally now the concept of graphic novels is catching on more. Plus my manager loves promoting local work.“

The event takes place at Waterstones, Unit 20/21 of Fairhill Shopping Centre, Ballymena, County Antrim.

McCloud in Belfast, Misfits Mouth, Colin Batman, Absencion

June 28, 2011January 22, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

Not yet on his website, but a glance to the Build Design event reveals Scott McCloud, is to come to Belfast.
http://2011.buildconf.com/fringe

Many attendees of the 9th November lecture already have their places at Conor Hall. Hosts, Build design conference, have sold out of tickets which include passes to the Fringe events.

Andy McMillan, organiser of Build, had this to say:

I’ll be making a small amount of tickets available for non-conference pass holders in the next few weeks. I’d recommend signing up to the mailing list (in the footer of the Build website), or adding @buildconf on Twitter, to find out when these tickets will be released, as they’ll likely go quite quickly.

I wonder if he’ll be at Comics Barcamp.

MOUTH OUT

Misfits joins Who, Sherlock, South Park and other cool pop TV with a new series this winter, although we may not be in with such a long wait.

Ben Stoll, Channel 4 script editor, confirmed a ten-minute web-only episode linking Series 2 and 3. He revealed “it won’t appear on TV..and features the departure of one of the cast, who has got tired of the role and wants to move onto other things.”

Stoll didn’t say who, but interwebs gossip consensus reveals it to be Robert Sheehan, who plays Nathan. No word yet on a replacement, though it would seem that Ruth Negga, who plays heart-transplant patient Nikki, is already in position by narrative.

As to how Nathan departs, would he really be so dumb as to test whether his old power and his new power mix?

The conversation was part of a “Drama with the Networks” panel hosted by NI Screen yesterday. Stoll also spoke with pride about the Misfits website, and quite rightly too. It’s dolly mixtures.

COLIN BATEMAN’S COMIC BOOK

Also at the event was author of Divorcing Jack, Colin Bateman. During our brief chat, Colin told me he’s always loved comic books and would love to write a graphic novel. On his bio, Colin says,

“Then it was on to Bangor Grammar School where I managed to shine in no subjects at all, but read a lot of Marvel Comics and Science Fiction.”

Bateman’s work, is to my mind, a globally certifiable reason to be proud of Northern Ireland. A safety net in the crap abyss a bad day. His novels have a dark humour and life-affirming humanity commonly found in the better work of Garth Ennis.

So to see his work in comics would be great. If he survives the experience.

Lap him up.

ABSENCES ALL OVER THE SHOW

“It’s a pleasure to read a story that is a fine piece of comic art with a touching, personal aspect to it. Even more importantly, it’s a piece of work that can give comfort and insight to those who struggle with epilepsy.” – Dan Jurgens on Absence

Jurgens was one of the first high profile comics creators to pick up on Absence, a comic by Stephen Downey and myself, currently enjoying distribution across Northern Ireland. Supported by the grassroots British and Irish scenes when first released last February, Downey’s art has helped it catch the eyes of Mike McMahon, Glenn Fabry and others, who have also had high praise for the work.

They’ve now been joined by Leonard Rifas (most famous for his championing of Barefoot Gen), and Professor Owen Barr of The University of Ulster. The Head of the School of Nursing has included the comic as a recommended resource for students.

You can read Absence in its entirety at http://absencecomic.com

Employers, I’m available for script-writing, and Stephen’s art skills also get better by the day.

Part 3: To The Point and Black Panel Tour

June 25, 2010January 18, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

Comics are distributed in and out of Ireland by small pressers visiting different festival cities on tour. In Part 1 of this column I’ve recounted our experiences at the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast and in Part 2, at the 2D Comics festival in Derry.

At the 2D Festival I’d picked up Phil Barrett’s Blackshapes, Ger Hankey’s Short Sharp Socks and three new Tommie Kelly titles for sell at our stall.

Also, probable liver damage.

(Above: Tommie Kelly’s new book From Rags To Rockstars and a piece from the new Something Wonderful series. If you’re funds are low on the ground, Tommie has made Something Wonderful available as a legal torrent: see the second link above for details)

6th June
It’s a two hour scenic beauty ride to Belfast by Translink’s Bus service. I’d taken the insomnia ticket the night before. It had come in at a few seconds. The Black Box is a fifteen minute walk from the Europa Bus Station. Paddy’s mum had the car out, and dropped me off to set up our monthly stall. Paddy wisely went home to Doctor Who. While I performed the gargantuan feat-breaker two comics festivals in a row without a stop?

Nay. It was “dead”.

Not a single sale. Barely a look.

The market looked finer than it ever had. Stalls were front loaded with a variety of miscellany, a harem of printed papers, silks, badges, poi staffs and knitted wear. Ben Allen afforded me a few words of comfort. Ben is great like that. He’s a regular fixture at the market who plays around with pop art and printmaking. He takes his inspiration from artists who are fans of music, Peter Blake, Robert Crumb…
If you’re on Facebook, take a look at his profile or read an interview about his work on Northern Irish iconography.

Above: Ben Allen’s drypoint etching of Cara Cowan, from his workings out of The Creative Exchange.

As it turned out, everyone in Belfast may have been recovering from festivals. The Hay Festival and Belfast Titanic Maritime Festival. Would it be too much to ask of my home city to get over flogging a dead ship?

June 9th

Alice Quigley, Black Market organiser mentions new creative academic and bursary opportunities in Belfast. She seems keen I give it a go, but it’s worth a mention for other interested parties.

The weekend has left me feeling spiritually drained so perhaps it’s time I started thinking seriously about this.

June 12th
Bloody Hell O’ Clock, Paddy might have said. Having slept for most of the last day, I’m a bit chirpier. I jump around sunlit fields looking for a laptop socket and the conductor informs me we have none. The sea outside Dublin looks the finest. I’d gotten a day return for £10 online, well worth it, and the tram to the dockside was 3 euros return. It was a smooth but unusual ride, as if Gene Roddenberry himself had returned to drive me by limo to the end of a street. We wander around for a while, looking into buildings still being completed. Sat outside on benches with cigarette and gourmet hotdog. More building fronts visited, with concrete and dust and hardhats coming and going. The front is laid out with tents offering ghee and cakes and paintings and prints and trinkets. Paddy spots a group of tents off to the side, four of them. And we set up stalls.

Point Village Comics Fest by Rob Curley

Above right: Barry Keegan, Gareth Gowarn, Robert Curley, Maura McHugh and Stephen Daly. Both photos made available via Rob Curley.

I was a bit nervous about selling comics outside but the sun never stopped and the wind was weak. English-based creators had come over for the day: Leonie O’Moore (There Goes Tokyo) and Jenika Ioffreda (Vampire Free Style) I’d my sales patter working fine and teamed up with Paddy to offer a special on our 24 hour comics which worked well.

Opposite, an attractive woman named Anna sat on the bench engaging the comic I’d written about my late grandmother, Eileen Lucas. Beside her, laid on the bench was her boyfriend taking in the sun. I watched them for a while and it was very pretty. The boyfriend exercised his legs and came over to the stall.
“My girlfriend says if I wish to know what your comic is about I should get to know you.”
Shyly, he retreated. I watched them for a few more minutes before joining them on the bench where we talked for ten about family, nationality, weather, comics and all sorts. Connecting with complete strangers are either side of the space between panels in a good comics festival.

(IMAGE MISSING)

Parts of the day went by like tumbleweed too. There were workshops for kids on creating comics and a pop-up book workshop by Maeve Clancy which I would have loved to see.
I suspect festival organisers part-agenda in workshops for kids is to prevent established creators from abandoning their stall-hosting responsibilities.
(Check out Maeve’s pop-up book created for Lisa Hannigan’s video to “Lillie”)

I did manage to abscond for a few hours though, checking out the spit-roast pig, sharing coffee with a lovely environmentalist and visiting other stallholders such as Damien O’Reilly, whose Pinback Magazine is a glossy follow-on from his 2000-era artzine, Paper Cuts. (And well it looks too) The evening ended with a few beers at Maeve Clancy’s home before the Roddenberry tram treated my weakened bladder most delicately.

(IMAGES MISSING)

The Point Village gig was organised by Hilary Lawler. This is the link to her weblog where there are a number of lovely drawings.

The Black Panel will be selling the works of Irish mini-comics creators at The Black Box, Hill Street, Belfast on Sunday 4th and 18th July. We’ll also be picking up new comics at Summer Edition 2010, Filmbase, Temple Bar, Dublin on 24th July for selling in Belfast on August 1st.

Part 2D: Derry Comics Festival

June 20, 2010January 18, 2013Andrew 1 Comment

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

Photos by Ciaran Flanagan
Following on from last week’s report, the indie comix tour picked up at Sandino’s Bar in Derry for the fourth annual 2D Festival in Derry, NI.

Or rather outside the bar. The pavement has some seating (and twenty kegs), and as 2D “raises the bar”, each year the street fills further.

Inside, I was missing the ‘Social Commentary in Comics’ panel where Pat Mills spoke about Crisis, and ‘Everyone’s a Critic’, (photo above) which didn’t seem to have much focus in the twenty minutes I sat in it. (Though Ron from the Sunnyside Podcast was throwing out some great comedy moments.) On top of the drink and the food I came down with a dose of professional jealousy. I’ve slogged away at comics criticism for a decade. Oh well, I groaned. I’d wanted to put more time into making comics anyhow. (Skeptical readers can look out for my appearance at the Breaking into Comics panel in 2017 folks.)

This was pretty much the end of my getting any more professional revenue from the 2D Festival 2010. The rest of the evening was spent having mystomach operated on watching Mark Stafford dance like a Baachanalite pro.
Conversing with Phil Barrett, Paddy Brown, Ger Hankey and Aiden, the editor of Irish language comic, Ri-Ra.

I’d managed to drive all but Phil away, spreading my arms over the back of the dumpster, beckoning for a fight.

“2000 AD ain’t shit! Come on, why should I should read 2000 AD? It’s not so feckin great. Who’s man enough? Give me five good reasons. Bring it!”

After Phil had calmed me down on the mob’s behalf, Ger and Aiden returned. The conversation led to the importance of the Transformers comic in our growing up. (Ger Hankey is the quintessential Transformers professional: his portfolio captures the height of it’s powers: sign up someone!) Every week, we were delivered a cultural injection of action adventure morality in original narrative and cosmic art.

“Lew Stringer“, said Aiden.
Lew Stringer is the artist behind Brickman, The Suburban Satanists, Robo-Capers and Combat Colin. The latter two ran in Transformers, and Stringer’s pieces apppeared in most of the 332 issues of the series. So Aiden theorised that the comic’s success was due to him. Redeeming myself, I agreed that Lew’s work formed a central part of this generation’s cultural consciousness.

I’ve long been convinced Mark Millar gets way more column inches than he deserves. In soliciting big name creatives Johnathan Ross and Frankie Boyle in his forthcoming CLint

comic through UK newsstands, he’d earn his current attention. But where was Lew Stringer in all of this?

How could we, one mankind, united brother to brother and sister by Lew’s good works, have a regular British comic without content from Lew Stringer? So, I staggered to the hostel, and created a petition, and fell asleep. I figured this was the kind of thing to do while drunk.

5th June
Saturday of 2D is sales and signings day. I had the misfortune to have my white and black comics in the corner beside the good chaps at Comics and Collectables, the Derry comics store.

My booklets seem to take on a blank space and serve as Coca-Cola bottle coasters for the under-14s. Sales were slow, though this was going around. New stock for the Belfast market was acquired including Tommie Kelly’s From Rags to Rockstars, and two new Something Wonderful mini-comics, which gave the chuckles.

In the evening, food at a fancy meat joint with Barrett, Brown, Maeve Clancy and a few others. We returned again to Sandino’s, as full as my stomach. I had a pleasant chat with Glenn Fabry about mutual acquaintances and locality. However, the rest of the evening was a blur and I left early for the comfort of the hostel.

(Above: A quiet moment in the dealers hall, tiny stormtrooper and a talented young artist trying to raise some money to fund his university education. Photos taken by Ciaran Flanagan, 2D assistant and reviewer of graphic novels for the (venue), Verbal Arts Centre magazine. Below: the pub again)

My 2D experience this year was a downer. Feelings of depression, inadequacy, missed opportunities and hangovers. By the end of it, I was shattered and giving serious thought to my future with comics. As it has been turning out, this was fundamentally a good thing. Everyone I spoke with about the event volunteered they had a fantastic time. The organisers, David, Ciaran and other creatives handled with a professional respect that should be the envy of many. (I’m told Chief runner David Campbell had become a father only weeks beforehand, which makes this ADDED WINS.) Our sincerest thanks to the team for a great weekend.

If you would like to read some more about the event, check out Aaron ‘Ron’ Abernathy’s report for Culture NI on “the most relaxed’ comic con festival around”. There’s also some great video footage from the event.

6th June
Ah, but I’ve over-run my word count. Look out for Part 3 over the next few days as the tour moves from Derry to Belfast to Dublin and back.

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/

2D: Northern Ireland’s Festival of Comics

May 18, 2010January 11, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

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

The European City of Culture 2013 is the site for 2D. Although in its early years, the Derry/Londonderry festival is the closest Northern Ireland has gotten to a proper comics ‘con’ (if you must), and shows every sign of holding in there.

This year’s guest list is as impressive as previously: Pat Mills, Glenn Fabry, Leigh Gallagher, Rufus Dayglo, Garry Leach, Gary Erskine, Colin McNeil, Ilya, Emma Vieceli, Steve White (Titan), Will Simpson, Stephen Mooney, Nick Roche, Davy Francis, Bridgeen Gillespie, Phil Barrett, Maeve Clancy, Stephen Downey, Joe Campbell and the 2D Collective. Oh, and Paddy Brown and myself will be there too.

Details on the event have been slow to emerge and the organiser wasn’t available for interview. It appears the Facebook page may be the place to watch having supplied the above details and the following events list:

Tuesday 25th May – Friday 4th June – 2D presents ‘Irish Comic Art’ exhibition at the Void Gallery.

Thursday 3rd / Friday 4th June daytime – workshops

Friday 4th / Saturday 5th evenings – panel discussions

Saturday 5th – Comics Open Day

Somewhere among all that, “2D will be hosting the Titan Talent Search with Steve White (Titan senior editor). There will be opportunities for portfolio reviews and there will be prizes for the best portfolios. Anyone interested or would like to find out more please get in touch. Full details to be released soon.”

In previous years, the Thurdays events have typically been aimed at children and teenagers. On Fridays and Saturdays, the approach is much more all-ages, with these events being held at the Derry Verbal Arts Centre, high up the wall and hill. The Comics Open Day there provides free tables for guests and exhibitors, so for artists on a shoestring budget like myself, it’s a godsend. In the evenings, the event is at Sandino’s, a traditional Ulster pub, the sort of place historic yarns might be spun and where the smell of booze is a beautiful thing.

My memories of last year’s 2D Festival are alcohol-informed, though not all of it. Genuine laughter, smiles, education, dancing, positive feedback and great conversations. I scribbled notes during the panels but they’re hidden through travel, time and the War on paper-eating Silverfish.

I’d got into the centrally placed Sandino’s Friday night, a colloquial bar with a whiff of heart. Upstairs, ‘The State of Comic Art’ is underway, featuring at centre the visually recognisable D’Israeli and Rufus Dayglo. A seat opens up near Bridgeen Gillespie, but the tiny spirited bar is packed. The ‘Eclectic Micks’ panel right after discusses Irish comics art and industry, and Bridgeen may have went on a bit of a quality rant there. Like she did on this video Fractured Visions, a two-part open source documentary shot around the event.

Fractured Visions: Interview with Malachy Coney

Fractured Visions: 20 September 2009

[UPDATE: The films were made by Craig Smith, “PhD student with research interests including: motion comics, comics, animation, mobile games and digital media.” You can follow Craig @motioncomix on Twitter or via his eponymous weblog on wordpress.]

(Missing from original article, Screenshot from the documentary featuring Bridgeen, organiser David Campbell, Declan Shalvey, David Lloyd and Malachy Coney)

With thanks to Declan Shalvey’s blogging skills for filling in the gaps in my memory.

Cameraman and reporter stand with Dierdre de Barra and Hilary Lawler (Longstone Comics) the following morning. At the Verbal Arts Centre outside by Derry Walls, high and windy, and I can see the whole sprawling city below. It’s kinda magnificent. Inside I take my free table, a bit Friday-fragmented.

(Re-united with Paddy Brown after years and meeting Barrett and Paddy Lynch: that called for a few drinks)

Below: My hangover wears off. Sourced from the Irish Comics Wiki.

The venue is quickly busy and my first chat with the public is a family and child asking me to draw Spider-Man. I’m flattered and panicked: I have the illustrative abilities of an earth-worm, oh, and most of my comix contain cussin. Heavy colouring pencils go into gear, but it’s still terrible. I send them away with a free, inoffensive comic. Sales trickle and rush, but there’s consistent quality interaction as many people come over for a look and a chat. On the edge of the central promenade, I have a clear visibility. When I nip off to check out the rest of the view, Brown is feverously out-sketching the beloved Will Simpson. The large upstairs hall of the Verbal Arts Centre is jammed, so I can only make it through the mosh pit to pass a gift onto David Lloyd before I’m carried out again. The centre’s hall is plastered with drawings from the children’s workshop: a monster drawing wall. D’Israeli has some good photo captures of that (such as the one below)

The evening session at Sandino’s included more panels and presentations. Whoops went up when Bryan Talbot announced he’d been presented with an honourary degree from Sunderland University for his work on Alice In Sunderland. Organiser David Campbell got in a few jars and distinctly treated me with a level of care and respect I very appreciated. The only flaw was one that every comics festival organiser makes: the venue was flooded with loud music, which cut conversation and willful intent to dance. Outside, the smokers and non-smokers gathered for those. I stood delicately on the fringes of conversations with Talbolt, Dayglo and Mike Collins and others. I wasn’t the only one with a romantic tear in my eye for a truly great festival experience.

Comicking (news tidbits)

April 23, 2010January 11, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

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

Walking On Broken Diamond

I raised an eyebrow at the serious empathy shown Diamond Distribution when they raised their minimum unit number recently. The cat’s out of the bag though, from this very long story about Checker Comics cutting ties, tweeted by the impressive and often Geoffrey D. Wessel.

People will be keeping an eye to see if this could threaten to dissolve the time-space continuum of comics distribution as we know it.
(Rich Johnston on Steve Geppi’s house-sale)
Solipstic Pop Takes London

Out soon. New work by loads of people.

“Book two of Solipsistic Pop contains 64 pages of sequential art from some of the best comic artists, illustrators and designers working in the UK today. With a 12 page newspaper insert, gorgeous gatefold cover and specially designed tote bag, it’s a must have for any comic fan.”

Check the website for details. The images above were put together by Luke Pearson.

Comics Festival Fortnight Ireland

Ireland has two comics festivals coming up. In the north, Derry hosts the wildly popular 2D festival, now in its fourth year. Special guests announced include Pat Mills, Leigh Gallagher, Rufus Dayglo, Garry Leach, Jamie McKelvie, Kieron Gillen, Gary Erskine, Colin McNeil, Ilya, Will Simpson, Davy Francis, Bridgeen Gillespie, Phil Barrett, Maeve Clancy, Paddy Brown and this one. For starters. 2D is made possible by the Derry Verbal Arts Centre, David Campbell and a host of hard working volunteers. It caters for the academic nerd and the whole family and does so quite well. Phew. Taking place this year from Thursday 3rd to Saturday 5th June.

The Point Village in Dublin, if this brochure is anything to go by, is a spanking new exhibition centre, a bit big and shiny like Birmingham’s ThinkTank.On Saturday 12th June Hilary Lawler (Longstone Comics, SuperHillbo!) is putting together a special comics festival. I’ll be there with Paddy Brown and many other well-known stars of the Irish comics scene. Special guest Jenika from London will also be there. Jenika is known for creepy lovely vampire goth comics. Also for having a chair at festivals in the hall part of her table for weary travellers to sit. Stylish. Tables are free, contact ~~02villagefreetable(at)gmail(dot)com~~ for details.

More news on both these events as they emerge over the coming month.

Four Colour Love

Comics Tutor Steve Bissette of the Centre For Cartoon Studies to the comics frat as the cartoonist behind Alan Moore’s ground-breaking run on Swamp Thing and author of the self-published Tyrant, chronicling the early life of a tyrannosaurus rex. Also as publisher of Taboo, the anthology which kick-started From Hell. Oh, and 1963, which with Moore and a host of mainstram and alternative artists brought us the most wonderfully fun superhero comics series of all time.

Retired from the industry, Bissette has no wish to invoke the Moore scotch but wishes to leave a legacy for his children and students. To that end, 1963 characters N-Man, The Fury, The Hypernaut, and Sky Solo are to appear in Tales of the Uncanny – N-Man & Friends: A Naut Comics History, Vol. 1 from About Comics. This 200 page volume features new work from Bissette and accompanying-universe characters from his students. Contributions are on a work-for-hire contract, Bissette retaining the trademark for characters he has designed and students apparently retaining theirs for new work in the book.

Worth a sponsor I suppose. The book is ready at the end of the year and the preview given out at Mocca can be ordered via paypal from Mr. Bissette while stocks last.

The Above News Story Via Rantin’ Rich Johnston.

Oh, and eventually CBR and TCJ

Why Is Everyone Ignoring Paper Tiger Comix: War – The Human Cost ?

Seems I was wrong on my initial predictions that pre-orders necessarry for publishing this book would be reached within the month

There are still about two weeks left to get a comic that contains a host of professionals such as Spain Rodriguez, an album containing a host of professionals such as Michael Franti and the Spearheads, and donate to Campaign Against Arms Trade.Pre-subscriptions are required for printing costs. See Paper Tiger Comix and IndieGoGo.

Free Runaway Who

Oli Smith, revolutionary mini-comics dealer has his first Doctor Who book, The Runaway Train, imminent. This Saturday the audio version, voiced by Matt Smith and Karen Gillen, is being given away free with Britain’s Telegraph paper. This is sure to disappear very quickly and probably highly ebayed, launching Oli’s career nationwide. No delays to that platform then.

And hopefully, he’ll not end up looking like Tom Baker when he’s old.

Swipefile.

The new eye-in-the-stalk from Victory of the Daleks, Mid-April.

(Image Missing)

The new comic by Ralph Kidson, Early March.

(Image Missing: The story refers to “Dalek Home Guard”, which was created around about the same time as production on “Victory of the Daleks”. Both featured Daleks serving tea from eye-stalks uttering, “Would you like some tea?”)

Hate to say I told you so.

A Comic In 366 Frames

Warsaw cartoonist Dennis Wojda writes,

“I’ve decided to make a comic. I will draw one frame each day during one year plus one day. That’s 366 frames. I have no script and I have no story. It’s an experiment. It’s a flow.”

But who will review all these comics?

Matthew Murray is “Reviewing zines and minicomics every day.” on his 365zines blogspot. He has a stack of unread gear, but is welcoming to trades. (Source: Matt Badham)

Filmish

Matt sent me a copy of ‘Filmish’ by Edward Ross, which appears to be degree assignments on film theory essays in comic strip form. As such it reads too McCloudian on occassion, but for all its flaws I’m very happy that work like this exists. 24 A5 pages of black and white comic book for only £3 plus p+p. Now available with Paypal for UK, European and U.S. customers!

Irish Cthulu

Talesofthe.com is worth a mention. Featuring Stephen Downey and Andrew Croskery of Insomnia in Irish arts freeform. The new site contains comics, paintings and music. Featuring Downey’s debut directing short films with a brilliantly disturbed Malachy Coney in the lead role. Worth a see.

In Absentia

The print version of my new comic launched in London and Belfast last week.

Number 25, Quarter Centennial. Check it out in the display in the Hoxton district in London’s East End at Bookart Bookshop before the end of the month. Look for it to appear in Belfast’s Black Market, Derry’s 2D festival and Dublin’s Point Village Market. Interested retailers get in touch.

Contact me for news stories, stuff and things at drew.luke(at)gmail.com or join us on the forums.

Comicking

March 30, 2010January 11, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

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

Collected comics art, news, snippets and stories of note. The easter egg extras that don’t make it to my regular columns, but are a tasty treat nonetheless.

Stop Crime. Collect Jesus.

Today, Tuesday 30th at 11.00pm, BBC Radio 4 revisits Britain’s end of the 1954 McCarthy-Werthram-Horror Comics trials. “The Gorbals Vampire” concerns invasions of schoolkid vampire hunters in a Glasgow cemetry and the consequential drive by the churches and tabloids to put horror comics publishers out of business. If you can handle abuse filtered through historical documentary, there’s a write-up and video at the BBC website (and elsewhere)

Lew Stringer put in a bit of research, and has managed to dig up some relevant newspaper archives at his blogspot.

(If you’re reading these source clippings, try replacing the words “horror comics” with “tabloid television”)

Lew also puts out a nod to Martin Barker’s “fantastic book on the UK anti-comics crusade..A Haunt of Fears”
Well said, Lew.

Three Comics Festivals In A Weekend

A lot of UK comics folk have been off over the three festivals this weekend – The Hi-Ex in Inverness, London’s UK Web and Mini Comix Thing and eh Schmurgen Con 4, which hosts it’s first awards ceremony.

So far, a few reports are in from The Thing with an illustrated piece from Aaron Foster showing off his table, substantial micro-blog and photos from Wychwolf and first-timer Freddy H with his comic strip experience.Apparently the panels were cancelled. Apparently the panels were cancelled and responses to the event were mixed – some had a great time, others got restless. Customer Tim Harries was one of the former, here’s his blog report.

Kev F Sutherland weighs in here on his Hi-Ex 2010 and Joe Gordon from Forbidden Planet on his journey there. FPI Blogger Byronv2 aka Lord Woolamaloo already has a good sized photo stream up on Flickr. Opposite, his fancy art snap of John Higgins,

And of course, customary Tweeting on SchmurgenCon, HiEx and The Thing.

Make Bad Comics

And while the rest of the UK comics scene were ‘conferencing’, sometime on Saturday night, Mr Tony Lee of the bored masses tweeted,

Followed by,

Quite soon, Paul J Holden was in on the act. Unsurprising as his Pro-Creator tweets from a few days ago had a similarly amusing style,

Pro Artist Tips: Make sure you sneak wolverine into every page – that’ll give you a good secondary income when you sell the pages…

#ArtistsTips Don’t want to draw that panel? why not photocopy an earlier panel and ENLARGE it. Almost no-one will notice.

#artiststips Marry someone rich

And so on.

I’m guessing the poor quality contents of the large selling Twilight graphic novel had something to do with the tip over point. (via Rich Jonston, one for Cerebus fans there) Or the #makeradcomics trend, not sure which came first.

With a fierce tweet-off underway, Lee and Holden must have each made around 100 tweets, with concern expressed for Holden’s health. Others got in on the act in masses on both sides of the Atlantic, creating an amusing trending topic.

deantrippe: Female superheroes should be written and drawn to appeal to 40-year-olds who think and act like 14-year-olds. #makebadcomics

Robgog: trace over photos to make people look realistic. Don’t worry that people look like their frozen in time cos it looks ‘real’ #makebadcomics

Deathnerd: Oh what the hell. The strongest protagonists are always stereotypical males. #makebadcomics

madmarvelgirl: There is no conceivable situation in which a female superhero would choose not to have her panties and/or cleavage showing. #makebadcomics

ShawnJDouglas: Yes, everyone wants a sequel to Watchmen. #makebadcomics

Richjohnston: Tell, don’t show #makebadcomics

A few serious multi-tweeters: the very funny Mike Garley, the poetical stylings of Twitsofftoya and I had a drunken go.

The people largely responsible: Tony Lee, Paul J Holden(collected on his blog)

You will want to check the variety. The hashtag is still going as I write this.

David Baillie – Paris, Colchester and Where You Are Sitting Now

March 12, 2010January 11, 2013Andrew Leave a comment

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

A fixture around the UK comics scene for years, the creative David Baillie has been strongly touted as set to make the jump to television. For those of you unfamiliar, here’s the intro from David’s friendly website,

“His work has appeared in 2000AD, Judge Dredd Megazine, Tripwire, Redeye, Comics International, Zombies, Robots and a dozen other fabulous places. His screenwriting has recently been nominated for a BAFTA/Rocliffe Award and shortlisted for the hotly-contested Red Planet Prize and Scotland Writes Drama Competition. Exhibitions of his art have been mounted in London, Edinburgh, Paris and Oxford.”

Paris

Baillie has recently completed The Casita Situations, with webcomic pioneer Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Italian architect Valerio Ferrari. “A micro-world” within the walls of the children’s mental health clinic at Avicenne Hospital in Paris, Ferrari conceived “a series of interchangeable wall panels…text, written in the diverse range of languages spoken by the young people there.”

Baillie and Goodbrey have thought through the language of visual psychology. The work is uplifting, and by design, engaging. The opportunity for patients to decide on placement allows for them to be a part of creating the environment they are in the care of, and so empowers. Also…dinosaurs, winged men, dog and cat-heads in suits…it’s super-kewl!

Goodbrey has reproduced the Situations online as a randomly generated hypercomic.

Colchester

Baillie’s stint there seems an extension of this; the production of “an anthology of stories about Colchester and its inhabitants” arrived at through interacting with visitors. He’s to be involved in a master-class there, and I would guess he’ll be pulling extra shifts. Firstsite have decided that April is comics month. Their programme has contributions from writer/editor Pat Mills, historian Richard Reynolds and artists Simon Grennan, Ed Hillyer (Ilya) and Chie Kutsuwada. Boys and girls comics, contemporary art and comics and manga and subversion are to be explored in talks. There are also several schools sessions and activities for the family and children.

Oh, and a screening of Persepolis. All here.

Online

I recently went through David’s website and read a bunch of the handsome, entertaining and free comics there. I was struck by the fact that Baillie is a fantastically great writer. His way with dialogue, particularly in ‘Scribe’ and the World’s Finest pieces, stand out like the shape of a fit model, endowned with intellect and great hips. Likewise “The indiscriminate device”, a powerful work, directed with pace and care.

Like the rest of his website, the comics seem a great lesson in how to present an online portfolio, with something in every medium, genre and style. Television executives, take note.

To end on, my capsule reviews of Baillie’s works to date.

The Belly Button Chronicles (2008) Webcomic diary of a man approaching thirty. Currently running near 300 pages and full of friendly observations, wit and varying shapes. Could so easily be lazy, but not Baillie’s way.

The Final Adventures of RocketBoy (2007) ‘Wittle’ protagonists in pastels and a smattering of computer-aided lettering in this Weekend Cupid Cutefest extravaganza with jetpacks. Occassionally too shallow and sweet, delivers a finale that made me both shed a tear and laugh heartily.

Tongue of the Dead (2007-08) From the first third of the book, a fluently related sword and sorcery adventure. Great page layouts and realised action scenes. Ordering a copy direct from the author via Paypal for only £10 (p&p included) will get you a personalised sketch too!

A Dog’s Tale – Nonsensical fun and fast-moving adventure narrative containing every something you could want out of a stupid comic. Recommended.

The Indiscriminate Device(2004-05) Well rendered scream from the heart.. One of the most affecting comics I’ve ever read.

Kwot – Slow starting science fiction evolves into a 2000AD-esque tale. Super-heroes, Hitmen, Mutants, robots and regular working folk. Dedicated to Will Eisner, containing a lucid and random-ness often found in his work.

Mindy / Pool – The trials of a pool attendant and a famous artist, visualised in classic minimal style. Full of wit, poignancy, sadness and frustration. No ill side effects, these comics have proved very popular with readers on the festival circuit.

Monkey and the Writer – Four shorts: cute and fun.

Scribe – Another brilliant piece of reverse-engineering iconography, or if you prefer, a story about writer’s culture and it’s ability to envelop or remove. Also, taps into universal and hidden notions we get from reading comics. A solid down-to-earth winner.

Just Like Greta Garbo (2005) A thinking, ripping yarn with deeply considered attention in this “World’s Finest” story. Visually disperses with show-off realist flash, opting for a fantastical friendly look, coloured using prettiness. Wholly functional and layers of cleverness. I like it, I like it a lot.

How I Learned To Love The City (2002) A short about the author’s big lifestyle choices. Artistic evolution in topic, content and form, with pleasing results. Optimism out of Drudgery.

Cradle to the Grave – Mini meditation on mortality, with anecdotes and Baillie’s running symbolism.

The Dream – Visuals only mini-comic dream diary. Simple and creepy. (2002)

The Ballad of Jack (2003) Short rhyming character meditation. Sensible words on lifestyle.

You can read most of these works and buy them at David’s website, http://davidbaillie.net

andy-luke.com

A writer who draws

event

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McCloud in Belfast, Misfits Mouth, Colin Batman, Absencion

Part 3: To The Point and Black Panel Tour

Part 2D: Derry Comics Festival

Part 1: Black Panel Tour

Dublin’s New Cultural Venue Launches With Grassroots Comics Festival

2D: Northern Ireland’s Festival of Comics

Comicking (news tidbits)

Comicking

Stop Crime. Collect Jesus.

David Baillie – Paris, Colchester and Where You Are Sitting Now