Showing posts with label Michael Hawkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Hawkins. Show all posts

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Fleshtonez


Pics from the comics fair held on the last day of the Fleshtonez exhibition at Paradise Hills in Melbourne.

David C. Mahler

Jnr Blue

Michael Hawkins and Katie Parrish

Marc Pearson

Lee Lai

Simon Hanselmann

People

Michael P Fikaris

Emily Hasselhoof

Michael Hawkins

HTML Flowers

Katie Parrish

Marc Pearson

Michael Hawkins

David C. Mahler

My haul from the comics fair. Turning up early pays off kids, I was very pleased to score Blood & Thunder #1 and Pat Ausilio's Marvel Comics Presents. (There were only 2 copies of each there!)


Stopped off at an op shop in a church hall along the way. They had this cool painting of Jesus and his pals from 1939. The church guy told me he found it out the back of the church a while ago and thought he should hang it up.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Paper Trail


Pretty much everything Darian Zam posts on Long White Kid is fascinating to me and in many cases tangentially related to New Zealand cartooning. This recent post on establishing dates for a set of cards showcases some beautiful work done for the Four Square Supermarket chain.


 
Paintings of Garrick Tremain.



Lemuel Lyes writes about George Patrick Hanna.

The New Zealand unofficial cartoonist (Lieutenant G. Pat Hanna) enlivens the walls of the officers club. Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association : New Zealand official negatives, World War 1914-1918. Ref: 1/2-012806-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22606412

 
 Katie Parrish.

 
Bob hates Captain Sunshine!


A favourite of my mispent youth, David Tulloch and Simon Morse's Straitjacket Ninja.



The massive 230 page anthology Blood and Thunder #2 is three-fifths of the way to its Pozible campaign target with six days to go. Still time to get on board what is likely to be the most beautiful risograph produced publication this year. Pozible here.


Michael Hawkins previews part of his 22 page contribution to Blood and Thunder #2.


The New Zealand Roz Chast? MVH still spilling sardonic wit all over tumblr.

  
Paul Briske writes about Oz Comic Con Adelaide 2013



Allan Holtz writes about the syndicated work of Australian cartoonist Allan "Sols" Salisbury.



Zen Pencils in Russian.


Clementine Hetherington walks into a place that closely resembles Pikitia Press central.


Paul Mason writes about the Adelaide and Perth Oz Comic Cons.


Angelo Madrid's Freedom too Offend.


Desktop interviews Reg Mombassa.


Pat Oliphant to be honored at AAEC convention in Salt Lake City.


Emmett O'Cuana interviews Emma Jean.


The Knowledge Club of Melbourne are heading to Squishface Studios.


Six page preview of Jason Paulos' EEEK! #8
 


A recent CBLDF article that made the rounds of comics link bloggers pulled some of the best bits from an article on censorship in Australian comics by Daniel Best. Read the more detailed original here.

  
Paper Trail masthead courtesy of Toby Morris.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Simon Hanselmann Interview

 Simon Hanselmann

"VDS is cigarettes and acid and funerals."

Uber busy Melbourne based cartoonist Simon Hanselmann recently launched Victoria Drug Scene, a 76 page anthology of established and young cartooning upstarts primarily from Melbourne. Contributors include Michael Hawkins, HTML Flowers, Marc Pearson, Lashna Tuschewski, Michael Fikaris, Magic Sweater, Sam Wallman, David Mahler, Katie Parrish, international guest Josephine Mairead King Edwards.

Victoria Drug Scene will be available in the next few days from the Silent Army Storeroom. ( Proprietors of many fine Australian and New Zealand comics.)
I asked Simon a few questions about the production of Victoria Drug Scene.

You're quite a busy cartoonist at the moment, producing work for multiple publishers around the world, what inspired you to edit an anthology?

"It's basically like when Eminem blew up and got kinda popular and did the whole D12 thing, getting all his old friends together and being a group and saying, "Hey, look world, here are my cool friends. Give them deals and money, please. I love them and hope you will too."

Also it's a direct rebuttal to the recent documentary film "Graphic Novels! Melbourne!" (LOL). It's my opinion of what is the most vibrant, exciting, interesting work being produced in this city."


Did you take cues from any particular anthologies when producing Victoria Drug Scene? Did you have any themes or particular visions for the anthology?

"I staunchly specified "NO THEME" to all of the invited artists. I'm not a fan of themed anthologies. I wanted people to do whatever it is they do best and whatever the fuck they wanted to do and I just had to hope that people wouldn't fuck it up and I wouldn't hate their pieces and have to tell them they screwed up.

My vision was for a cheaply produced anthology of interesting local work that could, "Compete on a global level", by people who know what's happening in the world of comics, literature, fine art, film and fashion and whose styles are fully formed (or near fully formed).

No zombies or Star Wars references. No cute, meandering, artless, poorly-paced bullshit by boring people with nothing to say.VDS is not "geek culture". VDS is cigarettes and acid and funerals.

Regarding other anthologies that may have provided inspiration: It's it's own thing. It's Melbourne comics in early 2013. It can't possibly be anything else."

 Panel from Megg and Mogg by Simon Hanselmann

Is there a common 'scene' or 'aesthetic' contributing artists to VDS are a part of? If I recall rightly you were abroad for a while before coming to Melbourne in 2011 what are your general impressions of the Melbourne 'comics community'?

I moved to Victoria from Tasmania in early 2008 (and before that I'd always been aware of Silent Army and most of the interesting stuff coming out of the state. I kept tabs on everything happening whilst I was away in the UK from late 2008 to early 2011 (lots of interesting young people started making comics and self publishing in that period. HTML flowers, Lashna Tuschewski, David C Mahler, Marc Pearson, Katie Parrish etc).

Victoria is, in my opinion, the state producing the best comics in Australia. no other state even comes close.

I guess most of the artists in VDS are kind of coming at comics from an arts background and are not aware of, or interested in "mainstream comics". Most of them are in their early twenties and know their shit.

We all tabled together at the Melbourne Zine Fair and were referred to as "The Cool Kids" and "The stoners that sneak alcohol into the event". "The Pretty Weirdos"."

 Panel from Megg's Therapy by Simon Hanselmann

Will you be producing further anthologies?

Yes. VDS will be a quarterly publication for the foreseeable future. There are more young, emerging Australian artists that I will be asking to produce pieces for future issues. Evie Cahir, Tom Hunter, Hamishi etc.

I'll also continue to invite different international guests like Josie Mairead King Edwards from the first issue. I met her on tumblr and think she is utterly brilliant. And she's 17. I put her piece right near the front of the book as a warning to the other artists, "LOOK. look what Josie has done. Pick up your game." I may also start to feature small amounts of related "fine art", sculpture and fashion photography.

 
Can you name some cartoonists more people should be aware of?

Local: Marc Pearson. Marc has impeccable taste in the current global comics scene and is one of my favorite people to talk shop with. His last two books have been wonderful and he's blossoming into one of our best writers.I predict big things for him in the future. 

Michael Hawkins is eternally unique and brilliant and one of my oldest friends in comics, his Frosnall Graaf series is the Australian Twin Peaks.

Lashna Tuschewski is probably one of the coolest people in the world.

Sam Wallman is brilliant. Dave C Mahler is churning things out in his sleep.

M P Fikaris is running the Silent Army Storeroom which holds all the best comics to be found in Melbourne, he's also been releasing his anthology 'Dailies', a wonderful snapshot of the broader Australian scene. Pretty much everything that "matters" is in there.

Worldwide: there's too many people to mention, here's some of the top of my head: Aiden Koch, Lala Albert, Patrick Kyle, Jonny Negron, Noel Freibert, Royce Icon, Ines Estrada, Alex Schubert, Heather Benjamin, Edie Fake, Charles Foresman, Dane Martin, Zach Hazard Vaupen, Mickey Z, Joe Kessler, Gabriel Corbera... those are most of my current favorites...

I buy all my books online, usually direct from the artists. Australian comic book stores are pathetically behind the times and completely unaware of what's new and awesome. They're too busy selling toys and trinkets. Minotaur disgusts me. It actually smells in there. Plus they put those fucking metal price-stickers on all the "graphic novels" and they either tear the books up or leave greasy stains.

(I'm actually quite shocked that we have so many comic book shops in the city centre. Minotaur. All Star. Comics R Us. Comix... I hate all of them and find them poorly curated and totally useless. I wish at least ONE of them had ONE employee with taste who would order in interesting NEW small press and "art comics". Instead there are life-size plastic batman statues and pinball machines. ugly t-shirts. *Sigh*)"

Monday, February 11, 2013

Sticky Zine Fair Melbourne 2013

Like a fool I tested my new camera on a bunch of comic folk at the 2013 Sticky Zine Fair in Melbourne and ended up with a bunch of pics taken with a low light setting. Please excuse the fuzziness and lack of focus, here's a bunch of comic folk snapped at the zine fair yesterday.












Melting Nazi Face

Milk Shadow Books' James Andre and Incredible Hulk Scholar Larry Boxshall






 

I picked up a sweet haul from the fair.
  
 


Contact/Tintin Mashup print from A Woodward and a hand-drawn Simon Hanselmann T-Shirt!