Showing posts with label david blumenstein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label david blumenstein. Show all posts

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Paper Trail

The Caravan of Comics yoinked from caravan of comics.

The Caravan of Comics cartoonists have completed their jaunt around American and Canadian comic events. David Blumenstein recaps their adventures here and Matt Taylor writes about the caravan here.


Melbourne Publisher of fine comic books, Milk Shadow Books, have announced a book of Fil Barlow's Zooniverse on their publishing slate. Barlow has been regularly producing animations for the monthly loopdeloop animation challenge, Have a look at his work here.

 Mr Unpronounceable Copyright 2012 Tim Molloy

Tim Molloy has teased an image from his follow up to his first book with Milk Shadow Books, It shines, It Shakes And Laughs. Molloy's new book will collect previously published Mr Unpronounceable Adventures and feature new material.


Dylan Horrocks is the featured cartoonist on Comic Strip Tees with a character, Alice Brown, from his current web serial The Magic Pen. In a recent blog Horrocks noted Alice Brown would be a featured character in books two and three of The Magic Pen trilogy. I'm not sure but I think this is the first he has mentioned of The Magic Pen being a trilogy. Eagle-eyed comic fans will recall this Alice Brown image featuring in Dunedin anthology Dud a couple years ago. Comic Strip Tees are only available for a month so order yours now.


Colin Wilson is featured on episode ten from series two of The Living Room.

Khulan copyright 2012 Katie Houghton-Ward

Katie Houghton-Ward has teased an image from an upcoming installment of her series Khulan. Khulan debuted in the July 2011 issue of Heavy Metal with inks by Simon Morse. Morse commented this was likely his last comic work before fully going full-time in the tattoo world.

 
A new publisher in New Zealand, Faction Comics, are producing an anthology and are looking for contributors here.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Drawn From Life


With more than a dozen events involving cartoonists in the Melbourne Writers Festival this year the expanding presence of Cartoonists has seen the production of a cartoon newspaper featuring 27 local and international cartoonists. Oslo Davis edited and produced the project and answered a few questions for me about Drawn From Life.

What was the print run of Drawn From Life?

35,000. We handed out 12,000 at 6 train stations on the morning of Friday the 26th of August, and the rest were handed out and picked up at the Melbourne Writers Festival at Fed Square and ACMI.

Were there any difficulties in coordinating the twenty-seven cartoonists featured in Drawn From Life?
 
Not really, there were some people who were too busy to be involved, but mostly I got who I wanted and everyone got their work in on time. A couple struggled with the concept, and I left my own contribution to the last minute so felt under the pump a bit, but we all worked through it.

I really enjoyed working with everyone, especially the extremely talented Colombian Diego Patino who did the cover - that was a very important part to get right.


With the expanding presence of local and international cartoonists in the Melbourne Writers Festival program do you think Drawn From Life could become a regular fixture?

 
Many people have asked if this could become more regular, but I am not sure if I could be the one to continue it. Not that I haven't enjoyed it, mind, but I need to step away from it for a while. Also, it will depend on funding and sponsorship.

What was the response to the distribution of Drawn From Life on selected train routes in Melbourne?
 
Very good. People came to the stations looking for it. Most were surprised to get it (in many cases it was thrust into their hands so they didn't have a choice!). There was no one 'type' of person who took a copy: everyone from students to business men to old people to housewives (or at least people who were dressed like housewives, whatever housewives dress like ...) took a copy and read it.

How did you go about selecting contributors for Drawn From Life? and what was the lead in time?
 
I had the luxury of a lot of time to select the artists I wanted in Drawn From Life. I came up with a 'hit list' and then worked with Steve Grimwade and the staff at the Melbourne Writers Festival to refine the list and contact the artists. I was in the fortunate position of choosing people whose work I liked, and those whose work I wanted to see more of, hence the mixed-bag nature of it all. Obvious I have been a fan of Bruce Petty and Ron Tandberg for many years, but I was also keen to see them alongside some up-and-comings and little-knowns, like Rebecca Hayes and picnick.

Interview conducted via email September 2011

Drawn From Life Contributors

Sarah Howell    Bruce Mutard     Fiona Katauskas    Jon Kudelka     Mandy Ord     Andrew Joyner    Judy Horacek
Matthew Martin    Jo Waite
   

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Inherent Vice: Ben Hutchings



During the Inherent Vice residency at The NGV Studio in Melbourne I spoke briefly with some of the cartoonists. Every day I have visited the NGV Ben Hutchings has been steadfastly chained to his desk with drawing utensil in hand. Ben enlightened me about what he has been up to.

How has the experience of been of working in public as apposed to your normal routine?

It's been really, really, really, excellent fun. I've really loved being distracted by people instead of by the fridge or the TV. I'm sitting here in the corner in front of these gigantic glass windows, where I'm the first thing everyone sees which is a bit weird, but It's great watching all the people walk past and talking to all the people coming in. Also having the other seven guys around is really good, really fun.

Did you have a specific project planned coming into the Inherent Vice residency?

I thought I'd set this time aside to work on this comic I've thought up called 'Walking to Japan'. I thought I'd be able to finish it in the five weeks here. So I've started working on it and It's a bit over half way through so the last week is just going to be a real massive hard slog to get that comic strip finished.


You're a full-time cartoonist?

Yeah I am. I do a strip for Picture Magazine and also just do a lot of freelance and stuff like that. I pretty much draw for a living completely.


The Inherent Vice residency is a curated event, were there any expectations from the artist's taking part?

Hardly any. They just said they'd like us to come in as often as we could and they gave us a little fee so if we could turn down some work and that sort of thing. There were no real expectations. There were plans to make a book at the end of this, a collection of our work, but it's pretty loose.




What got you into comics?

I kicked off with the British stuff like Beano and all that. That kicked it off and then I tried all types of comics, mainly with the style of humour it'd be the British funny comics like Viz and things like that which I just think are really, really funny. Also art styles a lot of black n white art from the seventies, underground stuff like Freak Bros, I picked up heaps of techniques from them and its a bit hard to say where I got techniques from but a bit of Manga I guess. Mostly black and white comics from the seventies and eighties I s'pose.

Do you have a favourite part of the comic making process?

Sketching out the thumbnails is the best bit, when you're writing out the comic.

Ben mentioned Milk Shadow Books will be publishing issue #10 of You Stink and I Don't, his long running one man humour anthology. Along with the Cartoonist/Animator David Blumenstein, Ben also hosts the hilarious podcast Comic Book Funny.