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Small Press Live Show

By Tempo Lush October 13, 2016 October 13, 2016 Artwork, Comics, Events, Lucy the Octopus

Okay, so a few weeks ago I finished creating the Lucy the Octopus comic strip which I’ve been working on since 2012.

I planned to have a bit of a send off at my favourite comic shop Gosh Comics in Soho, London. I timed the final strip to go online the same day that the last print issue, Just the Dregs, would be released… Thursday 6 Oct 2016.

Parties are always more fun with more people involved and two of my good friends, both immensely talented creators, were kind enough to offer to share celebrations with me. Francesca Dare was launching her latest Penny Blackfeather comic…

And Amber Hsu of One Pound Poems created a special poetry zine in time for the event, The Moon and the Eye…

The good people of Gosh Comics helped prepare, including Nora Goldberg-Fourrel who pulled together a great poster when we barely had any art ready for it…

And soon it was the night of the Small Press Live Show!
Here’s all our new material ready for the party goers to look at and purchase…

Francesca with fellow comic creator Cherish York…

Trying to keep our launches interactive and fun, we asked attendees to write insults for Lucy, as well as some compliments. These would come into play during the musical section of the evening later on…
Box drawings by Francesca…

Writer and cake baker extraordinaire, Nas Bee made some delicious Pear & Chocolate cake for the event…

And we were off! Francesca introduced the night…

…before Amber delighted the crowds with the first of four poems taken from her new collection…

Then Francesca gave us a little insight into the making of Penny Blackfeather (as well as panda romance)…

We’d asked the party goers for some spontaneous questions for Francesca to answer. Some were comic related. Some were way off topic!

Amber treated us to to a beautiful poem on a difficult subject…

Then it was time for the Lucy the Octopus Musical (of sorts), which I’d been writing for a few months. I was glad to have frequent collaborators and musical friends alongside me (from left to right) Miki Mangione on ukulele / vocals, Miss E (Enoma Igiehon) on guitar / vocals (both from my old band Kablooie) and comic creator Sally-Anne Hickman on percussion and vocals.

launch-16-by-cherish
Best selling illustrator Mike Medaglia was kind enough to jump in and control the imagery in the background of the musical…

And the audience did an amazing job learning words and singing along when needed!

The unmistakable silhouette of Andy Oliver of Broken Frontier…

I already knew Amber Hsu is multi-talented but was blown away at how easily and well she handled being narrator. We’d not had a chance to rehearse altogether before, but the first performance was great fun and I’m very proud of my musical troupe…

The evening rolled on with more entertainment! Another poem from Amber, The Poet…

Francesca said a few thank yous…

…and Amber did her final poetry reading of the night…
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Then to round off the entertainment, Miss E and I had a bit of a musical battle (which she clearly won – amazing guitarist that she is) and we all went on to play a surprise cover tune, where Francesca and Amber joined in on maracas…

launch-24-by-cherish

I was very grateful for the amazing contributors who lent their talents to the night and everyone who came along to join in the fun, including my old friend and amazing musician / singer Piney Gir…

From left to right: Writer / cake baker Nas Bee, Francesca Dare, Me, Amber Hsu and talented musician and composer Garo Nahoulakian…

It was a great evening! Cheers all!
Thanks to Nas Bee, Pete Bunzl, Amber Hsu, Tibah Hussain and Cherish York for photos and videos!

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Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Francesca Dare, James Hickman and Kim Clements

By Tempo Lush November 25, 2015 November 18, 2015 Artwork, Comics

A final set of snippets of wonderful pictures from the recent Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox anthology on the theme of positive change.
Each contributor also suggested a positive idea in keeping with the theme of the anthology…

FRANCESCA DARE

Previous works include: Penny Blackfeather

Positive Idea: “No matter how down and alone you feel, there is always someone there to talk to. Your friends, your family, even a teacher or a doctor. And hey, there’s always a comic hermit in London who’ll listen if you want.
Remember that you are loved.”

Art sample from her Tempo Lush tale: UndertowJAMES HICKMAN

Previous works include: Score & Script

Positive Idea: “It’s an old cliche but we were given two ears and only one mouth. It’s a reminder that we should listen more than we talk.
Change is inevitable but positive change is entirely up to us. It’s a journey that begins only when we stop going wherever we’ve been heading and take the time to listen to one another.
Also bring snacks. Snacks are always welcome on any journey.”

Art sample from his Tempo Lush tale: ColossiKIM CLEMENTS

Previous works include: The Great Cat Mystery, Rabbit Thoughts

Positive Idea: “When I feel down I think about the famous Audrey Hepburn quote that there is much beauty in kindness. I also find that when all the anger and the sadness of the world makes things feel difficult, that it can be easy to look through people. I hate myself for doing this so I always try to slow down and imagine people’s life stories and talents that I pass on the street. When I do this I feel much happier and I often end up having spontaneous conversations.”

Art sample from the Tempo Lush tale: Bugleberry Tree
You can get hold of the book online here, or at Gosh Comics!

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Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Lisa Woynarski & Mike Medaglia, Sally-Anne Hickman and Tammy Taylor

By Tempo Lush October 16, 2015 October 14, 2015 Comics

More snippets of fantastic drawings from the recent Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox anthology on the theme of positive change.
The contributors also suggested a positive idea in keeping with the theme of the anthology…

LISA WOYNARSKI & MIKE MEDAGLIA

Previous works include:
Lisa – Performance + Ecology
Mike – One Year Wiser, Wu Wei, Last Days of Nobodies

Positive Idea: “Our positive idea is of a collective awareness across the planet of our ecological connectedness where people face the effects of climate change head-on and have the courage to make a change in a big and meaningful way.”

Art sample from their Tempo Lush tale: The Death of the Familiar (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Tanoox)SALLY-ANNE HICKMAN

Previous works include: Bang! Crash! Whizz!, Black Diamonds and Blue Scars

Positive Idea: “The Margins Project based in the Union Chapel provides a range of vital support services to people facing homelessness, they offer a kitchen training programme to develop skills that can lead to employment. They also provide a winter night shelter followed by a hearty breakfast in the winter months.
www.unionchapel.org.uk”

Art sample from the Tempo Lush tale: Bugleberry TreeTAMMY TAYLOR

Previous works include: Bon Appetit, 18 This Summer

Positive Idea: “I think a good charity to support would be Springboard for Children as they provide one-to-one support to improve reading and writing for children who are in danger of being left behind in the education system
www.springboard.org.uk”

Art sample from the Tempo Lush tale: Bugleberry Tree
You can get hold of the book online here, or at Gosh Comics or if you’re heading to any comic festivals this year you can find me and Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox at…
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival (Kendal, Saturday 17 – Sunday 18 October 2015)
MCM London Comic Con (Excel London, Friday 23 – Sunday 25 October 2015)
Thought Bubble (Leeds, Saturday 14 – Sunday 15 November 2015)

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Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Keara Stewart, Amber Hsu and Paul Shinn

By Tempo Lush October 15, 2015 October 14, 2015 Uncategorized

More snippets of fabulous pictures from the recent Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox anthology on the theme of positive change.
Each contributor also suggested a positive idea in keeping with the theme of the anthology…

KEARA STEWART

Previous works include: On The Escalator, A Bit of Undigested Potato

Positive Idea: “I was born at the Royal Free.
The Royal Free Hospital was founded in 1828. It relied entirely on charitable donations not just for day to day running but to develop the pioneering research for which it has become famous. Amongst many innovations, The Royal Free was the first hospital to treat patients for free, the only hospital in London to treat cholera victims, the first medical school for women in England and the first hospital to admit female students. No one would choose to spend a lot of their life in hospital, but for some people that is reality, whether or not it is temporary or long term. The staff in a hospital can make all the difference to your experience, from consultants to massage therapists, nurses to volunteers. All hospitals have their problems, but some of the warmest and most compassionate people I have ever met have been at the Royal Free.
I am proud to be a Royal Free baby. Let’s love and protect our NHS.
www.royalfreecharity.org”

Art sample from her Tempo Lush tale: 1948
AMBER HSU

Previous works include: The Sardine and Gherkin – A True Love Story – and other One Pound Poems, Tiny Pencil

Positive Idea: “Sometimes a single act of kindness can save someone for an entire life.”

Art sample from her Tempo Lush tale: There Was Once…PAUL SHINN

Previous works include: March of the Penguins, Look What I Drawed

Positive Idea: “The British Red Cross responds to conflicts and natural disasters around the world, providing humanitarian aid to those in need.
www.redcross.org.uk”

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Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Chie Kutsuwada, Anna Dowsland, Matt Boyer and Jessica Martin

By Tempo Lush October 14, 2015 October 14, 2015 Comics, Uncategorized

More snippets of wonderful pictures from the recent Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox anthology on the theme of positive change.
Each contributor also suggested a positive idea in keeping with the theme of the anthology…

CHIE KUTSUWADA

Previous works include: Go! Go! Metro!, The Story of Lee, Hagakure: Code of the Samurai, Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud, Manga Shakespeare: As You Like It

Positive Idea: “I care about children and old people. They are the first and final chapter of this long, long trip called life. I think it would be the best if the world was where they can relax and smile.”

Art sample from her Tempo Lush tale: ReunionANNA DOWSLAND

Previous works include: Don’t Feed the Pigeons

Positive Idea: “Amnesty! www.amnesty.org.uk”

Art sample from the Tempo Lush tale: Bugleberry Tree
MATT BOYER

Previous works include: Runnning

Positive Idea: “I feel that the elderly can often be overlooked in our society, so a charity like Age UK that offers a number of services for those alone and potentially vulnerable is a great thing deserving of support: www.ageuk.org.uk”

Art sample from the Tempo Lush tale: Bugleberry Tree
JESSICA MARTIN

Previous works include: It Girl, Vivacity, Elsie Harris Picture Palace

Positive Idea: “My mantra for making your dreams come true, however small or great is “ Conceive, Believe, Achieve”. I also believe that creative endeavour in writing and art is a form of therapy. And anything that makes you feel good ( within reason) has got to benefit everyone! The book that reawakened my ‘sleeping artist’ was The Creative License by Danny Gregory. Picked up my pen and haven’t stopped drawing since.”

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Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Inko, John Miers and Rachael Smith

By Tempo Lush October 9, 2015 October 9, 2015 Comics

Here we go with the first of a series of samples of amazing artwork from the recent Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox.
I also asked each contributor for a positive idea in keeping with the theme of the anthology…

INKO

Previous works include: Go! Go! Metro!, Manga Cupcakes, MangaQuake, Howl!, Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud

Positive Idea: “Ichinichi Ichizen is a Japanese saying means One good thing a day, to encourage you to do anything good (as small as making a cup of tea for someone). No pressure to do anything big or a lot, just one in a day!
How about going to One Click Donations? By clicking company adverts there once a day, the company will donate to various charities instead of you! It’s a very simple and easy way of making a positive move!
www.thenonprofits.com”

Art sample from her Tempo Lush tale: Tanuko
JOHN MIERS

Previous works include: Score & Script, How to Train your Robot

Positive Ideas: “(1) “Mimesis as Make-Believe”, which is American philosopher Kendall Walton’s theory of how representational art works. Basically he says that works of art “function as props in games of make-believe”. So enjoying a fiction is a more developed version of what a kid does when it imagines that a stick is a horse, or its bed
is the sea. I think it’s a lovely idea.
(2) Whatever happens with the Labour leadership election, the whole “Jez We Can” thing seems to provide good evidence that if a coherent anti-austerity position gets a decent platform, it can enthuse a wide range of people, including plenty who don’t normally vote. That feels like a much-needed sliver of hope in contemporary politics.”

Art sample from the Tempo Lush tale: Bugleberry Tree
RACHAEL SMITH

Previous works include: The Rabbit, House Party, Flimsy the Kitten, Dr Who

Positive Idea: “I’m a big supporter of the Alzheimer’s Society. My Grandad sadly passed away a few years ago after suffering from Alzheimer’s for many years. He was the nicest man in the world and I’d love for more support to go to this charity so they can care for people with this illness and make sure they still get the most out of life.”
www.alzheimers.org.uk

Art sample from the Tempo Lush tale: Bugleberry Tree
You can get hold of the book online here, or at Gosh Comics or if you’re heading to any comic festivals this year you can find me and Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox at…
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival (Kendal, Saturday 17 – Sunday 18 October 2015)
MCM London Comic Con (Excel London, Friday 23 – Sunday 25 October 2015)
Thought Bubble (Leeds, Saturday 14 – Sunday 15 November 2015)

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Round up of the Tempo Lush Penny Blackfeather Launch Night at Gosh Comics!

By Tempo Lush September 30, 2015 October 2, 2015 Comics, Events, Lucy the Octopus

On Friday September 18th 2015, a crowd of lovely people shuffled into the amazing shop known as Gosh Comics to help celebrate the launch of four new comics.

That would be the fourth Lucy the Octopus print collection: Too Cool for the Likes of You, the first issue in the second volume of Francesca Dare’s Penny Blackfeather, High Spirits#1, the anthology of positive change Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox (see Andy Oliver’s review on Broken Frontier here), plus we revealed the special project (top secret up until the announcement on the night), Alidade, a 20 page comic made from scratch over one weekend.

All photos are by the amazing photographer Mauricio Molizane de Souza (except where indicated).

There on the left is contributor to two of the night’s comics, Mike Medaglia, helping lay out the goods… So nice to see many friendly faces join us for the evening, some regulars and some new to the world of comic shops… Below (left to right): Friends of Gosh Comics, Paul Shinn (Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox contributor), Chantel Beaven and Lauren Louise Murphy. m06 On the left below, you can see my amazing co-host, Penny Blackfeather creator and Alidade contributor Francesca Dare.Below: On the far left is comic creator and director Andy Poyiadgi who kindly filmed much of the evening’s activities for us, on his own phone.
Taking a swig of beer is Alidade collaborator Tim Hassan, next to Paul Shinn and with the amazing pink hair is Paul’s fellow Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox contributor Anna Dowsland.It was great seeing comic related images projected nice and big in the shop……such as this wonderful panel by Francesa Dare, taken from her Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox story Undertow…
And there’s Francesca again signing a comic for a fan!It was great having the shop full, creating a brilliant buzz…It was a busy night but I was glad to catch moments to chat to star creators such as David O’Connell who contributes the first story in Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox, Flat E… m13 And there’s two good friends (and Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox contributors) who I barely got to chat to at all, even after they traveled to the event from Brighton, the amazing Inko and Chie Kutsuwada…I have a big grin on my face here but I think it masks my nervousness as I’m about to perform some music in a few minutes…Speaking of music, here’s three great performers, newly-weds Paul and Sally-Anne Hickman chatting to my old band mate Miss E (Enoma Igiehon). And two more contributors who created the Tempo Lush Tale Give It a Go, Angela Wraight (back, in glasses) and Nas Bee (front left) who surprised me with some incredible homemade cake to feed the masses… Aw! Such a nice bunch of folk including (left to right) comics academic and creator John Miers (who did a fantastic page of Bugleberry Tree in the anthology), Graphic Novelist S J Harris and Broken Frontier top guy Andy Oliver.
(Photo by fellow Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox contributor Keara Stewart)
That’s James Hickman holding a beer! James created the four page epic for Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox, Colossi, next to Lisa Woynarski.
Lisa used her theatre direction skills to great effect, timing the image changes during the evening’s performances on top of writing her first comic story for the Tanoox anthology: The Death of the Familiar. Miss E, Sally-Anne Hickman and myself downstairs in the shop after a bit of tuning up… And upstairs – Five minutes to curtain!Right! Things are really about to kick off as Steve Walsh, writer, podcaster and Gosh Comics superstar introduces his niece Aimee to get things rolling with a penny-whistle performance… Next up I start plucking away on Imani (my guitar) as we prepare for a special satellite link-up with the undersea town of Stoneydip… …and Lucy the Octopus!

Lucy’s shy at first but does a good job introducing the evening, despite some trouble. You can see screen grabs of the satellite link up here and a video below…

Lucy welcomed to the stage my two musical collaborators for the night, Sally-Anne Hickman……and Miss E, who as Lucy pointed out, bears a striking resemblance to someone who appears in Lucy strips like this one! We three performed a little guitar instrumental I wrote a few years back, which still doesn’t have a name…(Photo by Karen Rubins)

Next it was the turn of the Francesca Dare Theatrical Players to perform a scene from the new Penny Blackfeather comic with style and panache… Left to right: Francesca Dare, Paul Shinn, Steve Walsh and Lauren Louise Murphy.Left to right: Saul Taylor and Ramsey Hassan.

The crowd lapped up the culture, including Andy Oliver and contributor to two Tempo Lush Tales collections Matt Boyer…Now for the serious business of creator shout outs…Musicians strum while Francesca Dare leads the role call of talent involved in the evening’s new comic offerings……such as Graphic Novelist, singer and actress Jessica Martin who produced an amazing page for the Bugleberry Tree section of Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox……and Saul Taylor who won last year’s Complete the Lucy the Octopus strip contest! m44

Now it was time to reveal the secret project! Francesca called to the stage our collaborators on the book……and the crowd saw the 5 artists who made Alidade! (Left to right) Me, Mike Medaglia, Tim Hassan, Karen Rubins and Francesca herself!Mike explained how we created the 20 page comic from scratch over one weekend in August, how fun it was, how stressful it got and what a great experience it turned out to be…

Finally I said a few thank-yous before launching into the song Bugleberry Tree alongside Miss E, Sally-Anne and the whole crowd in the shop.

It was great to display artwork interpreting the song for the Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox collection, such as the panels seen in the background below drawn by Rachael Smith.
(Photo by Keara Stewart)

It was a very special night for me – Thanks to all the friends and collaborators who turned up and made it rock monkeys!
All of my new books are available to buy in Gosh Comics and the Tempo Lush Etsy shop!
Phew!

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Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox

By Tempo Lush July 31, 2015 September 15, 2015 Comics, Events, Uncategorized

Holy Schmoly! Check out the line up of creators involved in the upcoming anthology from Tempo Lush…
Brand new comic book stories on the theme of positive transformation from…
Nas Bee (Paper Houses) & Angela Wraight (Circuit Breaker, Yoshitoki is Making Waves, Paper Houses)
Francesca Dare (Penny Blackfeather)
Emmeline Pui Ling Dobson (Knights of Eve, Wu Wei)
James Hickman (Score & Script)
Amber Hsu (The Sardine and Gherkin – A True Love Story – and other One Pound Poems, Tiny Pencil)
Inko (Go! Go! Metro!, Manga Cupcakes, MangaQuake, Howl!, Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud)
Chie Kutsuwada (Go! Go! Metro!, The Story of Lee, Hagakure: Code of the Samurai, Rosie and Jacinda: Demon Cloud, Manga Shakespeare: As You Like It)
David O’Connell (Jampires, Monster & Chips, Tozo, The Public Servant)
Keara Stewart (On The Escalator, A Bit of Undigested Potato)
and Dr Lisa Woynarski (Performance + Ecology) & Mike Medaglia (One Year Wiser, Wu Wei, Last Days of Nobodies)

Plus a jam comic featuring the drawing talents of…
Matt Boyer (Running)
Chonto (Acclaimed Japanese Artist)
Kim Clements (The Great Cat Mystery)
Francesca Dare
Anna Dowsland (Don’t Feed the Pigeons)
Sally-Anne Hickman (Bang! Crash! Whizz!, Black Diamonds and Blue Scars)
Jessica Martin (It Girl, Elsie Harris Picture Palace)
John Miers (Score & Script, How to Train your Robot)
Chibi Shibby (Stories about Me and You)
Paul Shinn (March of the Penguins)
Rachael Smith (The Rabbit, House Party, Flimsy the Kitten)
Tammy Taylor (Bon Appetit, 18 This Summer)

If that wasn’t enough, there’s a foreword by Laydeez Do Comics founders and award winning comic creators Sarah Lightman (Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women) and Nicola Streeten (Billy Me and You, Becoming of Age).

It’s an embarrassment of riches and I’m thrilled and in disbelief that they’ve all agreed to take part!

Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox is a follow up to last year’s Tempo Lush Tales (see reviews on the Big Comic Page and Broken Frontier). Again I will be collaborating with some amazing artists, but this time round I’ll generally be handing over the writing duties to other creators. It’s going to be a wonderful mix!

There is a definite theme to this collection too. At times it’s hard to see out world moving forward and getting better so I thought it would be good to ask the creators to focus on the idea of positive transformation. Obviously this can be interpreted in numerous ways and it looks like each writer has their own distinct spin on the idea.

It’s all coming together nicely ready for a launch at Gosh Comics in London on Friday September 18th. Save the date – and see the Facebook event page here!

The book is available to order online here on Etsy!

That leaves just one question… What is the Tanoox?

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Comics at North London Collegiate School

By Tempo Lush June 18, 2015 June 18, 2015 Artwork, Comics, Workshops

I had a great time yesterday visiting the North London Collegiate School in Edgware.It’s an impressive place, dating back to 1850 when it was the first school for girls in the UK and also the first school with a headmistress. I had a look at some of the A-level art on display – an incredibly high standard showing so many creative ideas.

One sure sign of a good school is the range of comics and graphic novels in the school library! This didn’t disappoint as Terence Chan, the Senior School Librarian explained he’d had help selecting the titles from my friend and collaborator Steven Walsh of Gosh Comics. Nice to see Francesca Dare’s Penny Blackfeather there amongst the goodies!
Nice to see I was expected…
Really pleased at the reception of my comics masterclass…
…and my talk on my work as a comics freelancer and self-publisher! Now the students are working on three panel comic strips for a competition which I’m looking forward to judging!

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Interview with Finish the Lucy the Octopus Strip Contest Winner: Saul Taylor

By Tempo Lush January 21, 2015 January 21, 2015 Artwork, Comics, Lucy the Octopus

I was so happy with the response to the Finish the Lucy the Octopus Strip Contest that was run over on lucytheoctopus.net at the end of last year.London Based Saul Taylor’s entry nabbed first place for its off kilter humour, a great expression on Lucy’s face and the pathos of trying to draw a friendly smile on the guitar.

I asked Saul a few questions to find out more about the man behind the winning entry…
You’re a familiar face on the London comic scene, as a vocal fan at various conventions as well as other regular comic based meet ups such as Process, Gosh!p, Laydeez Do Comics and the Comica Social Club. How did you first get interested in local comic events?
Even though I’d been shopping at Gosh! regularly for years, I had no idea about Gosh!p until several months after it started when I heard about it on the Panel Borders podcast. I wasn’t sure about going (believe it or no I’m incredibly shy, I know that might seem hard to believe to the people that know me via Gosh!p but it’s easier with people I know) but I’m so glad I did. I love discussing comics and I’ve met some awesome people who have become friends.

How long have you been into comics and what started your love of them?
Here comes the origin story. Back in 2007 I decided to re-watch all my Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs. I got really obsessed with the show again after not having seen for years. It was around the time the Season 8 comic was starting up so I decided to read that (I know season 8 didn’t finish well but I still have fond memories for the first few story arcs). Anyway, I’d been reading about the comic and I knew that a man by the name of Brian K. Vaughan had written the next story arc, and Joss Whedon would be writing an arc of Vaughan’s Marvel comic Runaways.
This intrigued me so I decided that I’d like to read Runaways, but they didn’t have it in the Hackney libraries system so I got out another Vaughan comic instead called Y: The Last Man. By the time I finished the first trade paperback I knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: dedicate it to becoming the world’s number one comics geek.
If there were three comics or graphic novels you would suggest a typical non-comics reader should try, what would they be?
That’s an impossible question, because the sort of comic I’d recommend to one person isn’t the sort of thing I’d recommend to another. I’d want to know what sort of thing they liked in terms of TV, film and books without pictures.
If they’re more into action/adventure fantasy/sci-fi type things I’d maybe suggest:
Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neil
Alias by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos
But if they tend to prefer more “realistic” or non-fiction type of stuff then maybe they might like to start with:
Palestine by Joe Sacco
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
The Nao of Brown by Glyn Dillon
Narrowing it down even for twice the number you asked is hard though, I wish you’d asked me for a top 50.
You have a unique sense of humour which comes across in your winning Lucy the Octopus competition panel as well as other cartoons and images you’ve produced. Do you have plans to make more comics or cartoons in this way? I hope so!
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Sure, when I was a kid I had other ambitions as well. I wanted to be a Blue Peter presenter and be the Prime Minister (not at the same, I knew if I was busy presenting a twice weekly children’s television programme I wouldn’t have had the time to run the country in my spare time).
Making up stories with ideas I get from my mind is always something I’ve wanted to do. Before I got interested in comics I wanted to create TV shows, but as soon as comics came into my life I wanted to be a comic book writer (and artist, but a writer more).
I came up with idea of creating a character called Captain Utopia (sample above). You can see the first (and so far only) comic I produced about him here! I’ve started writing other stories about him but never managed to finish any of them. You might be right that I should try to do more in the humour vein than the epic action/adventure sagas with a strong social message that I’ve wanted to do but have managed to finish.
I assume the Lucy panel was produced using Photoshop or similar drawing software. Is this your preferred medium and do you ever work straight onto paper too?
I use GIMP instead of Photoshop because GIMP is free to download while Photoshop cost hundreds of pounds. I do still do a bit of painting and drawing, but I enjoy digital art making because it has an undo button.
You also produce ceramics which often have a pop culture flavour to them! How would you compare making 3D ceramics to producing cartoons?
Working with clay takes bloody ages. You can make a model in a few hours but then you have to wait for it to dry which might take weeks if it’s a big piece (you don’t want it to dry to quickly because then it could crack).
Then it has to be fired (if you don’t fire it, it’s just a pile of dry clay that will break into tiny pieces if you look at it in a funny way).
After you fire it you can add glaze and then you can fire it again and hope the glaze stays where you put it instead of trickling down your piece. I can only go to pottery class once a week, so it can take a month of two to get anything finished.
Thanks very much Saul. Good to learn more about you.
Really hope we can all see more work from you soon!

Tag: Gosh Comics

Small Press Live Show

Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Francesca Dare, James Hickman and Kim Clements

Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Lisa Woynarski & Mike Medaglia, Sally-Anne Hickman and Tammy Taylor

Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Keara Stewart, Amber Hsu and Paul Shinn

Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Chie Kutsuwada, Anna Dowsland, Matt Boyer and Jessica Martin

Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox Tasters: Inko, John Miers and Rachael Smith

Round up of the Tempo Lush Penny Blackfeather Launch Night at Gosh Comics!

Tempo Lush Tales of the Tanoox

Comics at North London Collegiate School

Interview with Finish the Lucy the Octopus Strip Contest Winner: Saul Taylor

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