Category: Events

No comments

MKomix 19 July 2012 6-9pm

  By , ,

I’m very pleased to announce that I will be exhibiting and selling my work at the MKomix event in the MK Gallery in Milton Keynes on Thursday 19 July 2012, 6-9pm.

The event has been pulled together by the very talented Paul Rainey and features many greats of the Small Press scene including David Ballie, Jay Eales & Selina Lock, Sean Azzopardi, Karen Rubins, Jon Scrivens and Dan Lester,  plus Jade Sarson who I could tell drew the excellent flyer below even before spotting her credit!

MKomix Flyer Drawn by Jade Sarson

 

No comments

Experimenting with Comics

  By , ,

From yesterday until 19 July, anyone passing through London Town can stop off at Orbital Comics and check out their gallery to see some amazing experminetal comic work from the fantastic Karrie Fransman.  We’re talking comics made from jewelery boxes, puppets, dollhouses, sewn comics and my favourite, the piece below featuring a 2D character moving between various 3D frames.

Karrie Fransman Experimenting with Comics exhibition

I was lucky enough to be at the launch evening which included a range of discussions and talks with Karrie, Paul Gravett and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey.

Karrie introduced us to her work before opening up a brain challenging conversation on the definition of what a comic is.  I won’t begin to go into the detailed debate that ensued (and is still going online) but it certainly raised awareness that comics can be all sorts of things beside strips and books.

I got a chance to discuss the nature of some of my own ceramic comics.  Nice to be a small part of a great evening.

Karrie asked the audience to decide if this is a comic…

Paul went on to talk through a history of experimental comics including comic installations in various galleries and spaces.  One of the ones that made the biggest impression on me was this 1903 strip by Gustave Verbeek called The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo. The title is no more crazy than the idea.  Each episode read the right way up, then the reader would flip the story upside down and read the rest upside down and it made perfect sense!

As a comic creator I can’t begin to imagine the headaches that would give you trying to make it work once, let alone week in week out.

The Upside Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo

Finally Daniel talked about Hyper-Comics, comics which involve a larger than usual amount of interaction with the reader.  It was a fascinating look into the possibilities of what can be achieved in the medium, with technology and imagination.  Daniel’s site e-merl.com is bursting with different ways of creating comic work – a fine collection of inspirations for any creator.  A Duck has an Adventure looks particularly fun and exciting so I can’t wait for an iPhone version.

Paul Gravett, Karrie Fransman and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey

One of the reasons I love comics is because anyone can make them with something as simple as a piece of paper and a pen, but considering possibilities way beyond that is certainly something I need to look into…

You can hear the discussion and see the slides on Orbital’s website here or just check it out below!

3 Comments

Free Comic Book Day 2012

  By , ,

Had a great time heading into Gosh Comics today.  Other than picking up my usual standing orders of monthly comic goodness (Marvel and Dark Horse stuff), I got hold of a lovely lot of free stuff, what with this being Free Comic Book Day and all!

Free Comics FCBD 2012

Check out my freebies: the Top Shelf Kids Club, Bongo Comics inc’ SpongeBob Comics, Dark Horse‘s Buffy / The Guild and Serenity / Star Wars, Papercutz‘ The Smurfs / Disney Fairies,  Marvel‘s Amazing Spider-Man and Claude TC‘s mini comic, Immortal Ewan and the rod of Rasputin.  Claude is a good man and makes hilarious, brilliantly drawn comics.

Ray Friesen and Sarah McIntyre FCBD 2012

Aside from getting to catch up with comic scene buds Karrie Fransman, Mike Medaglia and Josceline Fenton, I got to sit and watch my 4 year old boy Emir draw comics alongside the supreme talents of Sarah McIntyre and Ray Friesen. It was great being introduced to Ray and his wonderful kids comic Pirate Penguin vs Ninja Chicken which me and Emir enjoyed on the tube on the way home.  Ray also impressed us with this sketch of Emir’s favourite animal (for today anyway), the anteater…

Anteater by Ray Friesen

Sarah did a brilliant bit of comic work featuring Emir. Click here to see it plus Sarah’s other thoughts on the day!

All this fun inspired Emir to draw his first ever comic strips…

Emir's first comic strip: Two Monsters

Emir's second comic strip: Dinosaurs

When you’re into comics, it’s not hard to get your kid to share your passions!

No comments

Spring Comiket 2012

  By ,

Had a great time at Spring Comiket in the Bishopsgate Institute, East London on Saturday.  The Comica organisers Paul Gravett, Peter Stanbury and Megan Donnolley did an amazing job, as always, pulling such a big shindig together, and bringing in the crowds.

The bustling Comiket floor. Where's Timothy Winchester?

I’ve been to Comiket for the last four years, starting back when all I had to sell was Delicate Axiom and the Lucy the Octopus Mini Comic, when Comiket consisted of around twelve tables of creators selling their wares in a relatively small room in the Institute of Contemporary Arts.  Good to see how its snowballed!

This time around I wasn’t selling, but catching up with old comic scene friends and meeting creators.  I also managed to pick up a lovely bounty of small press comics…

Suki Kabuki displays small-press comic goodness

Top row:
Sevillana featuring the Alien Battle Monkey of Doom by Marina Williams
Jumping the Shark by Sammy Borras
Middle Row:
Panic Attacks 1: In the Beginning by Francesca Cassavetti
Places I Left You by Douglas Noble
Cafe Suada Vol 1. by Jade Sarson
Wu Wei by Mike Medaglia
Bottom row:
The Human Beings and Social Notworking by Sofia Niazi
Fecal Depot 3 by Aaron ‘Smurf’ Murphy
The Life of Noise by Emma Mould and Andrew Godfrey
The Phoenix Issues 14 & 15

Alex "Smurf" Murphy holds Fecal Depot 3

Very nice running into Aaron ‘Smurf’ Murphy and picking up the latest volume of his compendium of work, Fecal Depot.  The issue contains Zardok Infiltration, a story that I’d written for the hugely talented Aaron to illustrate.  It was great to see how good his art for the story looks in print.

Marina Williams and Sevillana featuring the Alien Battle Monkey of Doom, plus cup cakes

Nice to meet Kiwi, Marina Williams and get a copy of Sevillana featuring the Alien Battle Monkey of Doom.  Note to the Comics Industry: Free gourmet cupcakes with every comic is an excellent idea.

Jade Sarson hides behind Cafe Suada

Next up I spotted future comics megastar Jade Sarson.  I’m loving Cafe Suada!

Douglas Noble holding Places I Left You

Picked up a cool looking stand alone comic from Douglas Noble.  After the show in the pub, we reminisced about growing up playing games on a ZX Spectrum (coincidentally 30 years old today).  We both agreed Horace and the Spiders kicked monkeys compared to Horace goes Skiing.

Andrew Godfrey holdsThe CF Diaries 1 while Emma Mould holds Secret Language 1

Good to see the lovely Andrew Godfrey and Emma Mould again, who despite hailing from Bristol seem to manage to make it to all the London comic events!

Hooligans, Sally-Anne Hickman and Francesca Cassavetti

At every comic show there’s always a few bad apples who spoil the tone for everyone else.  See Sally-Anne Hickman and Francesca Cassavetti above.

Alex Fitch interviewing James Turner

My final pic is of the great comics journalist / interviewer Alex Fitch having a chat with Super Animal Adventure Squad creator James Turner.  Alex did a marathon session totaling four hours on interviewing various comic talents.  You’ll be able to hear the results on Panel Borders (the UK’s only weekly broadcast radio show about comics), broadcast on Resonance (104.4 FM in London and available online everywhere).

It was a good day – always inspiring!  In fact, I’m off to draw a comic right now.

No comments

Parallel Lives Launch

  By , ,

On Monday I went to the Laydeez Do Comics evening off Brick Lane (that’s in East London for all you non-locals) and got to hear a little about all six of the very talented interns of the London Print Studio Comics Collective: Lily Rose Beardshaw, Abraham Christie, Shamisa Debroey, Merlin Evans, Susan Yan Mach and Jade Sarson.

The amazing Karrie Fransman devised and taught on the comics internship program, and crammed it full of workshops, meetings, exercises and experiences, honing the skills of the young comic creators and preparing them for professional life.  It sounds like an intensely rich 6 months in which the interns must have picked up tips and knowledge that would normally take a decade of going to comic events to discover.

This lead to tonight’s launch party and exhibition at the London Print Studio celebrating the end of the internship and the launch of the collective’s anthology Parallel Lives…

Here’s Shamisa Debroey who’ll sadly be heading back to Brussels in a couple of weeks…

Shamisa Debroey

Susan Yan Mach with some of her amazing comic pages…

Susan Yan Mach

Abraham Christie and Shamisa Debroey putting on a brave face at the end of all their hard work.

Abraham Christie and Shamisa Debroey having a laugh!

Jade Sarson and the main character from her wonderful looking upcoming graphic novel Siddown!

Jade Sarson

And here’s a drawing Jade did on the studio window…

Jade Sarson's impressive window drawing

Finally here’s my efforts on the window.  It was fun drawing with interested people walking past outside, and there’s not many parties you can to where you can draw on the windows without being chucked out!

My less than impressive window drawing

No comments

Goodbye Monsterville and Hello & Goodbye Illuminate!

  By , , ,

I had a fun filled weekend visiting two exciting illustration / comic events, cultured kind of guy that I am.

Friday evening found me hitting the library, which was not as studious as it sounds.  The inside of the British Library was almost unrecognisable as for one night only it was transferred into Illuminate! A celebration of Illustration.  With music provided by Mr. Scruff, there was excellent and eclectic company as work of Quentin Blake hung next to the drawings of Jamie Hewlett and a host of other amazing artists.

It was good to see many of my buds from the London comic scene rubbing shoulders, including the very talented Karen Rubins  who I’m currently working on a short but exciting comic project with.   It was great to see her work displayed in such a fantastic venue.

Ink drawing from Tales by Ghost Light by Karen Rubins

My photo doesn’t do her line work justice so best to check out Karen’s online portfolio here!

Death Do Us Part

Death Do Us Part: Comic Sculpture by Karrie Fransman

Likewise, the picture above taken on my iPhone fails to capture how cool Karrie Fransman’s work is.  As well as displaying her comic art, Karrie ran one of the many workshops that was taking place on the night.  In her case this was a popular 3D Narrative Life Drawing workshop which included Karrie dressing up as a horse for the benefit of the surrounding artists who all grabbed the chance to draw live Medieval characters.  Here’s my own efforts…

3D Narrative Life Drawing Sketches

On Sunday I headed to a rare event that appealed to my 4 year old son as much as me.  Illustrators Sarah McIntyre and Ed Vere not only gave readings of their fantastic children’s books Morris the Mankiest Monster and Bedtime for Monsters, but had a nail-biting monster drawing showdown too! You can see more on the event on Sarah’s own blog here.

Ed Vere and Sarah McIntyre drawing in books at Monsterville

Sarah McIntyre and fan with "Vern & Lettuce" and Ed Vere's "The Getaway"

It was brilliant for me and my son to meet and chat with these illustration greats! It’s only a shame that the event was marking the final weekend of Monsterville after 6 months at the Children’s Story Centre in Stratford.  The planned Comics / Superheroes event there looks like it should be good too though!

No comments

Web & Mini Comix Thing March 2010 Pix

  By ,

This year’s thing was my best yet! Thanks to everyone who bought my stuff, bought me a drink, asked me questions and didn’t beat me up.

I picked up some killer comics while I was there, including gems of great beauty by Luke Paton, Claude T.C, Saban Kazim, Strange Biros, Josceline Fenton, Jenika Loffreda and the groovetastic Francesca Cassavetti.

Another treat at the show was seeing some more work in progress from the most excellent Aaron Smurf Murphy – that story coming to a Tempo Lush comic soon!

Also took some pix which are seen below for your pleasure and entertainment. Couple of apologies – I still haven’t fixed the bug on my site which that means the footer of this page appears somewhere in the middle. It does work on Firefox but not on Opera or some versions of Internet Explorer. I’ll sort it out soon – promise! Second apology as it seems my camera adds the most extreme red eye ever. Enjoy!


Neither of these people are Lizz “Gleeeee” Lunney. One of them might be Sean Azzopardi and one of them is looking forward to a Snickers.


Tozo creator and amazing illustrator David O’Connell. Good times, good times.


The magical world of Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Douglas Noble.


Watch out folks the Bastards sirens are calling you to their table. Don’t let Francesca Cassavetti and Sally-Anne Hickman trick you. If you go near their comics you will crash your ship on the jagged rocks of their comic goodness.


Peekaboo – it’s… Timothy J Winchester!


Smile Jenika Loffreda – I’m taking a pic for my blog! Ooh – I think I’ll buy that lovely cat T-shirt too!


Josceline Fenton and Claude Trollope-Curson right before they head off to their Hoola Hoops Anonymous meeting.


What kind of hip cats are holding the Tempo Lush Cosmically Enlightened Gift Set these days? Why it’s hip cats like Lando and Dickon Harris!


My great discovery of this year’s thing – the very talented and pleasant to sit next to while crazy comic folk wander past for several hours Luke Paton


They’re fun! They’re lovable! That’s right, they’re Oliver Lamden and Jake Harold!


Shabs talks artistry, politics and embroidery with Japanofail


Van Nim of Capes & Drapes sells her quality merchandise.


Phil Spence, he’s not that dense, and for a few pence, he’ll start to make sense! Sorry Phil – it’s late and I’ve run out of decent photo captions!

2 Comments

Dino-Saw-Us Passport Stickers

  By , , ,

This year at the Web & Mini Comix Thing, the fabulous Lizz Lunney and the equally fabulous Timothy Winchester have organised a fun little something known as the Dino-Saw-Us Passport!

The first 180 Visitors to the show can pick up a special passport when they come to the show and many of the comic creators exhibiting will give away free stickers for the passports! Very cool! You can see a list of all the lovely artists taking part here, and a sneaky peaky of the Tempo Lush stickers below…

8 Comments

Alternative Press Fair Pix

  By ,

Had a great day at the extremely buzzing Alternative Press Fair on Saturday. Always cool to hang out with lovely comic friends before they all get too big and successful to acknowledge my existence.
Thanks to everyone who bought my comics and gift sets and prints and box sets.
Here’s some pix…

Wowzers! What a busy crowd of sophisticats.
alt_press-fair
The amazing Lizz Lunney and the enigmatic Timothy Winchester
liz-and-peter
Guys geting down to business. Mallard Small Press, Al Maceachern and Gavin Burrows.
guys
Woohoo! It’s Zarina Liew!
cobalt_cafe
Shamelessly promoting his fine new comic “A Call from Karl!”, it’s Dickon Harris!
dickon