What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2013?
This is a cinch. Working with author extraordinaire, Andrez Bergen, to produce Tales To Admonish. The three stories that Andrez concocted were all so varied and original. All three of them stem from his novels; The Condimental Op and Who Is Killing The Great Capes Of Heropa?. Andrez is a breeze to work with and he is a brilliant wordsmith.
I’d be remiss to mention the fine work that Arthur Strickland has been doing on our ‘That Bulletproof Kid’ webcomic. Arthurs pages just get stronger and stronger
Being invited to participate in Darker Forces: Degeneration by the good folks at Gaining Velocity was a huge honour. My single page in this project will sit alongside work by an amazing group of artists from Australia and South Africa. I can’t wait to see that comic.
I’ve recently worked on a project with the awe inspiring Katie Houghton-Ward, which I’m hoping to be able to announce more details on soon. Her art is off the scale.
I drew a really fun project called Mercenary Dreams written by Fred Atkins. We hope to get it on shelves at some stage. Fred has a very unique, zany style. It was a lot of fun to collaborate with him.
Lastly, I recently finished a quirky little three pager for an upcoming issue of Darren Koziol’s DECAY. The story that Darren sent me is honestly my favourite story from any issue of DECAY I’ve seen.
What are some of the comics/cartoonists you've enjoyed in 2013?
Discovering (thanks to Andrez) Lone Wolf and Cub. It’s so addictive. The story is so beautiful in its simplicity, but each new test the protagonists face is so well crafted by Koike, he never repeats himself, each new challenge is so different from the last. It’s a very endearing tale of fatherly love in the most perilous circumstances. And don’t get me started on Kojima’s art.
Locally, I really dug new stuff from Matt Nicholls. His third issue of Collateral was as consistently excellent as its predecessors. His pace is perfect and the tension is really foreboding and palpable. Craig Bruyn exploded onto the scene with the debut issue of From Above which showcases his strengths in writing and art. I thought it was very impressive.
Marvel/DC/Image/etc offered up some treats: FF, Daredevil, Savage Wolverine, Superior Spiderman, Thanos Rising, Infinity, Batman, Batman Black and White, Batman/Superman, Batman Incorporated, Batman and Robin (THAT’S A LOT OF BATMAN), Injustice: Gods Among Men, Superman/Wonderwoman, The Walking Dead, Invincible, Saga, Jupiter’s Legacy, Mind MGMT, Hinterkind, X-O Manowar. A lot of these were hit and miss but all deserved a mention.
What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2013?
What are you looking forward to in 2014?
Darker Forces: Degeneration and my story in DECAY will be published early in 2014. Andrez and I will have Tales To Admonish 2 landing on shelves sometime. The way we work, you may expect a few issues. That Bulletproof Kid will also be making his first appearance in print early next year. Depending on Arthur’s wrists, we could very well have That Bulletproof Kid 2 out by the end of the year
Mid-year should see the launch of a big fat project I’ve half-jokingly/half seriously dubbed ‘That All Star Bulletproof Kid’. This will feature no fewer than 13 short stories featuring That Bulletproof Kid and his supporting cast buy some of the most amazing creators you could imagine. More details on this soon.
thatbulletproofkid.com
