As reported by Egon, a new issue of Indy Magazine is up, mainly jam packed with content on Art Spiegelman, from a two part history of Raw to a consideration of the influence of Mad Magazine in Spiegelman's work. There's also a Phoebe Gloeckner eight page photocomic report of Angoulême 2005, and a Bart Beaty review of Literary Life by Posy Simmonds

Material from Kevin Huizenga’s Supermonster self published comic books and other new material is published by D&Q under the title ‘Or Else’. See a preview of 'Or Else#2' here.

See an early strip (appearing in Serializer 7) by Paul H here.

Via Thought Balloons comes news that Paul Hornschemeier is profiled in Rolling Stone. They've determined him to be an 'existential cartoonist', and I guess he draws, so he is.

Hornschemeier is the author of Mother, Come Home, as well as the recently released Return Of The Elephant and Collected Sequential. He also has a piece in the Project Superior Anthology which Pete mentioned here, which is out now and reviewed by Tom Spurgeon over on The Comics Reporter.

His next work is The Three Paradoxes, from Fantagraphics, a comic containing three non-linear chapters which attempt to tell "a story questioning change, progress, and worth within the author’s life."

Ping Teo has posted up her report of The UK Web And Mini Comics Thing to her blog in two posts.

Post 1
Post 2

Courtesy of Talk About Comics

Selina and Jay of Factor Fiction have taken a table out at memorabilia, on 2/3rd April, and would like to make the following offer:

Short notice I know! But would anyone be interested in sharing?

Or if you can't attend then sending us stuff to flog and we'll take 10% of sales to cover stall costs...?

Doctor Who seems to be the main guest theme of the event, which is why we're thinking about it because as well as doing comics we still have some of our charity DW anthology book and associated artwork to shift.

I know someone in the small press did go to a memorabilia recently and said it was interesting. I think they also recommended having an artist there doing free sketches to attract people to the stall so if any artists want to share that would be great!

Anyone interested, contact Selina here, or join the bugpowder mailing list and respond there.

Roger Langridge reports over on Talk About Comics that Fred The Clown has been nominated for a Reuben in the category Best Comic Book of 2004. The other nominees are Darwyn Cooke’s “The New Frontier” and Tom Bancroft’s “Opposite Forces".

Congratulations and good luck.

You've probably heard about cartoonist Gerhard Haderer, who has been sentenced by the Greek courts to six months for blasphemy through Tom Spurgeon's reports at The Comics Reporter.

The Guardian carry a brief round up of the state of play so far here.

I'm not a lawyer, but out of curiousity I've had a quick read through of the European Arrest Warrant, (link to pdf). It seems that, as well as acts which are crimes in both the country you are being extradited from and the country extraditing you, there are 32 categories of crime that you can be arrested for even if the act you are accused of committing is not a crime in your own country. Looking at the list, I'd guess the only one that would apply to cartoonists is that of Rascism or Xenophobia.

This bulletin on Statewatch may be useful, although the list of countries it mentions as having enforced the act would appear to be outdated, given Gerhard Haderer's plight.

Any lawyers in the audience are warmly invited to comment.

There is an online petition to Free the cartoonist.

Newsweek profile Crumb and run an interview with Aline Kominsky-Crumb.

"The problem with reacting to Crumb’s work is not deciding whether to laugh or cry, but how to do both at once."

And The Guardian's recent Crumb week has been archived at this link.

HELLO

OUT NOW
Fluffy part Three: The penultimate chapter of the FLUFFY series is
set in Catania in Sicily, any hopes that Michael had of finding peace in the bosom of his family are quickly dashed. There are plenty of family tensions and misunderstandings as well as a tender moment as Fluffy makes a profound realisation.

Buy your copy now from Simone

ART
We've put new work in the GALLERY and also in SIMONE'S SHED.

EXHIBIT
Tom has three pieces in the exhibition WORDS IN PICTURES at the Adam Baumgold Gallery, New York City which runs March 9th until April 2nd. He also has a new piece which forms part of the PRIMORDIAL INK: Frame by Frame showcase at The MATCH Bar (37-38 Margaret St, London W1) which runs 7th March to 2nd April (closed Sundays).

SHOPS
See our NEWS SHED for a list of our UK stockists.

CABANON PRESS

Tom Gauld and Simone Lia

Okay, it's been covered everywhere else, so let's add to it.

Comic Book Resources interview First Second's Editorial Director Mark Siegel.

Siegel sells the imprint thus:

"I think our approach is a little different. In some ways there's a little overlap and in some ways I'm really pleased for that because I believe creative competition can be a very good thing overall, basically driving the form onward in to its future. We're going to be doing most of our books, with a few exceptions, in full color. That's an important distinction. We'll be exploring color, quality color, not just your basic primary screaming colors. There are certain colorists in Europe who have pushed narrative color into some interesting places. So that's one part of it, in that they're going to look and feel a bit different. Also, thematically we're going to be opening up avenues that you don't necessarily find elsewhere. We're also going to be building bridges with other fields and disciplines very deliberately. Playwrights, novelists, historians and journalists. It is a gamble and I'm trying to stack the odds in our favor by teaming some of those people with some very seasoned artists who know graphic novels and understand the form and its possibilities."

The imprint of Roaring Brook Press has a website here, although all you can do at the present time is sign up for updates.

Work has been solicited from, amongst others, Jessica Abel, Eddie Campbell, Greg Cook, Lat, Jean-Philippe Stassen, Louis Trondheim and Sara Varon.

The work that has me most excited is THE BLACK DIAMOND DETECTIVE AGENCY by EDDIE CAMPBELL, based on C.Gaby Mitchell's original screenplay. A drama set in the turn-of-the-century Chicago, developed with movie production company Wonderland Films. Written and illustrated by the hugely popular Eddie Campbell, co-author with Alan Moore of FROM HELL. But then, I'm a Campbell fan boy.

Full list of scheduled publications found at CBR coverage of First Second's Press Release

James Sturm had a week long journal up on Slate Magazine last week. Like the hip, up to the moment man I am, I only link to it now.

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

My sketchbook is filled with dashed-off comics; mug shots; sketches of hobos, dogs, and aliens (always together); robots (every cartoonist likes to draw robots); and drawings of other cartoonists' work.

Stolen verbatim from poopsheet:

Carney & Edwards' Anteater

Ian Carney and Jonathan Edwards talk to the Pulse about their new comic, A Bag of Anteaters, from Slave Labor (where you can find a preview in their "Peepshows" section).

Creative Skin

Creative Skin is a new literary and visual arts site that features work by Rina Ayuyang, Dave Kiersh, Warren Craghead and Mark McMurray, among others.

Free Zine Day, May 7th 2005

I found the link on poopsheet, I don't know if we can extend this to the UK, but let's have a go! I'm just going to quote all the relevant info:

The goal is to create an event that piggy-backs the Free Comic Book Day each year, so that zines are given out at comic book shops who are already giving away comic books and zine libraries. We would like to have others around the world help us by talking with their local comic book shops and zine libraries and get them to participate as they would the Free Comic Book Day event. Also we need zinesters to support the event by either contributing to the Free Zine Day comp-zine, or by giving free copies of their zines to participating comic book shops and zine libraries.

We do not have the resources to make sure that every zine library and comic book shop knows about the Free Zine Day, that would take thousands of dollar and alot of phone calls. So we are relying on zinesters and zine fans to make this happen. Our offices are based out of Atlanta Georgia and so we are already compiling a list of a few participating stores for this area, which will be posted soon. If you contact stores in your area and they are interested please send us their information so we can post it on this site. If you would like to participate by giving out copies of the Free Zine Day comp-zine, we will be making a printable copy available online for anyone to print out and make copies.

You may be wondering what types of thing you can do to be involved. We have listed out a few ideas below. Almost anyone can do one of the things below, whether you do your own zine or your just a fan of zines, everyone can help. We have copies of flyers and banners below, or you can make your own.

* Talk to your local Comic Book Shops and Zine Libraries
* Throw a Free Zine Day bash in your town
* Post FZD flyers around your town
* Print out and give away copies of the FZD comp-zine
* Put an ad in your zine for the FZD
* Send us free copies of your zine to give away
* Submit to the official FZD comp-zine
* Create your own FZD comp-zine with your friends
* Give out copies with every order from your distro
* Donate items or money to FZD
* Tell everyone you can about the FZD
* Link to us

We are accepting submissions for the first Free Zine Day Compilation Zine. We are accepting just about anything from just about anyone, taking into account that this zine may be viewed by minors. If you would like to help spread the love of zines while promoting your own zine to hundreds of people around the world then submit to us now. All submissions will be compiled together into one zine that will be made available on this website for anyone to print and distribute. All credit will be given to those that submit so please include your information with your submissions. All submissions must be received by April 30th to be included this year.

FZD Comp-Zine Specs:

- 1/2 page size (5.5"x8.5")
- Copied, b/w
- ? page count

To submit by mail:

Free Zine Day Submissions
Po Box 484
Athens, GA. 30603

To submit by the net:

click here

Spread the word, and get involved. Email us for more information.

NOTE: I assume this is open to UK contributors, as it didn't specify it wasn't.

The SPX Anthology for 2005 is to be edited by Brian Ralph, author of the acclaimed books Cave In and Climbing Out., and is also to be theme-less.

Brian Ralph says, "This book will showcase the best work of the underground and the alternative, whether the artists are self published or unpublished. I really look forward to seeing what people send in. I'm going to be looking for a great variety, from the high gloss to comics that push the envelope a little more. Even stuff that makes you ask, 'is that a comic?' This is a fantastic opportunity for up-and-coming cartoonists to appear in print alongside the more established artists."

The Details:

Length: As long as it takes for great comics. Please do not include title pages, fake covers, or any other sort of lead-in. Dive right into that comic.

Deadline: Submissions must be received no later than June 30, 2005.

Please plan accordingly as overnight delivery can be very expensive.

Format: Please send your submissions, if at all possible, in an electronic format. Art should be scanned in at 800dpi bitmap tiffs (unless your art has tones, then grayscale). If you do not personally own a scanner, many copy centers such as Kinko's now have scanning facilities. The dimensions of your artwork should be as follows:

Page (trim) size: 6.625" x 9"
Live image area: 5.375" x 8"
Bleed image area: 7.125" x 9.5"

Delivery: Please do not send original art. Submission packages will not be returned. CD-ROMs are preferred over ZIP disks. You must also include a print-out of your submission with the package. Please send your labeled discs and hardcopy printouts to:

SPX 2003 Anthology Submission
c/o Big Planet Comics
426 Maple Avenue East
Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-9412

Please include the following information with both your hardcopy and electronic submission:
Name, address, email, title of story, page count of story

FedEx, UPS, and the United States Postal Service all have package tracking abilities. Please do not call to check on the status of your mailing. (Stay tuned for FTP or e-mail delivery methods.)

Paul Rainey writes in again to tell us:

I have decided to serialise the graphic novel or, as I prefer to call it, ‘long comic’ I have been working on for the last few months alongside my website. It’s called There’s No Time Like The Present. Part one is 28 pages long and has a fabulous colour card cover. For more information, visit www.bookoflists.co.uk .

Part one of There’s No Time Like The Present is out now, order details on website.

There’s also been lot’s of updates posted to the site since I mailed you
last. Several completed comic strip lists have appeared. They are…

Note to Self; Stop Acting Gay

Dear Parent

and

Compliments

with Extreme Sports going up in the next few days. Visit the Lists
section of the site to read these.

Also, I recently posted a selection of Mouseferatu comic strips to
www.bookoflists.co.uk. He’s a mouse and he’s a vampire; what more do you
need to know? www.bookoflists.co.uk/mouseferatu.htm

Thanks for reading my comics.

He also has a report of the recent UK Web & Mini Comix Thingy on his site, which this correspondent sadly missed as Sainsbury's deemed their shelves too empty to spare such a valuable stacker. Anyone who has a report, feel free to email bugpowder and we'll link to it or even host it as an entry.

Typocrat Press, an independent comics publishing company based in London has just released its first book, Alex Baladi’s “Frankenstein Now and Forever”, to comic book shops across North America. They're holding a launch party for the book in London on Thursday, March 31st.

Here’s the information:

Frankenstein Now and Forever Launch Party!

March 31st, Thursday

The Horse Hospital, “The Real Home of the Avant-Garde”

Colonnade, Bloomsbury

London, WC1N 1HX

Nearest tube: Russell Square

Buses: 7, 59, 68, 91, 168, 188

7:30pm until 11, FREE entry

There will be monster movies and beer. Books will be selling at a special discounted price and Alex Baladi will be there signing them.

Movies playing include Thomas Edison’s classic short “Frankenstein”, directed by J. Searle Dawley, 1910.

For more information, check out www.typocrat.com and www.typocrat.com/Misc/Launch_Party_Flyer.htm .

Tom Spurgeon has offered up gems in lieu of a week long absence. If only other blogs were that generous!

An interview with Scott Mills is here.

Preview of lead story to Dylan Horrock's Atlas #2 is here.

Preview of a Horrocks short, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen, is here.

Preview of a Horrocks story to be published in a future edition of the Dirty Stories trade anthology is here.

The horrocks features are only up for a limitied period, so go look now.

Drawn! is a new collaborative blog by a bunch of illustrators concentrating on comics, illustration, animation, design and more. Early days still but shows much promise.

Or at least, that's what his website says. Sketchbook is up, looks like more will be added shortly.

New comics and other good things to be had at Philip Barrett's blackshapes. They can be bought through Dylan William's site Sparkplug Comic Books.

Australian cartoonist Kirrily Schell has updated the comics and animation on her site inkwinks and blog.

Connecticut cartoonist and 2003 Ignatz nominee Jesse Reklaw has added an illustrated dream diary aspect to her slowwave site.

a collective dream diary authored by different people from around the world, and drawn as a comic strip by Jesse Reklaw. A new strip is uploaded every week on the first minute of Saturday in San Francisco; 3 AM in Ottawa, ON; 5 AM in London, UK; and 3 PM in Sydney, Australia. Bookmark this page and check back each week for the latest 'Wave!

You can submit your own dreams on the site.

Neill Cameron has a new website. Which is, you know, nice.

Maybe the funniest webcomics ever? Go visit Leisuretown. I just can't seem to get any work done around here since I discovered it....

Garen Ewing writes on his blog that he's revamped the Rainbow Orchid site featuring a serialisation of the whole comic. Currently the first chapters of volumes one and two are online and free to read. The rest of each volume will cost £2.50 to access. Since volume one is out of print with volume two due to be serialised in Fusion this is the best way to catch up.

The Case for Comics Journalism in the Colombia Journalism Review another of those really quite insightful and interesting overview articles that are hidden behind an excruciating subtitle and opening paragraph, but I guess it's progress of a sort.

"The independence of the words and the pictures allows for an overlay of subjective and objective storytelling. Tensions between the written word and the image can be used to highlight uncertainties, ambiguities, and ironies that other media might inadvertently play down or deliberately ignore."

So, obviously, it's the middle of The Guardian's Crumb week and I just get around to mentioning it. Haven't bought the paper this week either. Sod's Law.

Luckily, The Guardian have this page for us silly sod's. It contains, so far:

• Crumb On America


• Crumb on sex, taboos and censorship


• Simon Hattenstone talks to the artist at his home in the south of France


• Robert Hughes explains his relevance 40 years after Fritz the Cat, the Vulture Demonesses and the Snoid were born


• Steve Bell on Crumb


• Jon Dennis selects some choice sites devoted to Robert Crumb

Tomorrow, The Culture Show where-in Mark Kermode meets R. Crumb, BBC 2, 7.00pm 10th March

The R. Crumb Exhibition, Bonhams’ Gallery, New Bond St. 9th – 18th March

Another Crumb exhibition, Whitechapel Gallery, 1st April - 22nd May

Another event - perhaps slightly esoteric, but should be worth going.
Dean Clough Website
how to get there
site map

New from AdHouse Books is Project: Superior, an anthology where indie creators deal with superheroes. Hmm... Not heard that one before... Still, the roster looks nice and impressive and it should be a giggle. Might even be great. Creators are
Nick Abadzis, Graham Annable, Tim Biskup, Jeffrey Brown, J. Chris Campbell, Scott Campbell, John Cassaday, Ronnie del Carmen, Victor Cayro, Martin Cendreda, Tony Consiglio, J. W. Cotter, Farel Dalrymple, Mike Dawson, Doug Fraser, Dean Haspiel, Seonna Hong, Paul Hornschemeier, James Jean, R. Kikuo Johnson, Nathan Jurevicius, John Kerschbaum, Daniel Krall, Jason Lex, John Lucas, Jim Mahfood, Brian Maruca, Tara McPherson, Scott Morse, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Onsmith, Chris Pitzer, Paul Pope, Joel Priddy, Ragnar, Paul Rivoche, Jim Rugg, Jay Ryan, Fermin Solis, Zack Soto, Jeremy Tankard, Jamie Tanner, Rob Ullman, Megan Whitmarsh and Brian Wood.

Top Shelf are having a massive sale with loads of graphic novels at $3.00 and comics at $1.00. Some absolute gems in there and while the minimum order is $30.00 plus shipping, the weak dollar should more than make up for that. If you can't find 10 books of interest you either already own them or you're a dumbass. Get in there.

That sick fuck Robin Bougie writes to inform of a rather interesting webcomics competition, the Daily Grind Iron Man Challenge. 56 web-based cartoonists have each put $20 into a pot. The one who manages to run a daily comic for the longest takes the pot, standing at $1,120. This one could run and run.

Starscape begins anew with the first issue of volume 2. And it's the best yet!

For a paltry £2 (plus 50p UK p&p), Starkids get:
- A glorious full-colour gun totin' cover
- 'Dead' zombies invade the wild west by Gary (2000AD) Simpson & Lee
(Vurt/ Confessional) O'Connor
- Pest Control's Grant (the new Morrison) Springford brings his
weird world of time-travellers to 'scape in Clock Works
- Cockchesters very own dynamic duo, the Guard Dogs romp through
more a tale more Snowscape than Starscape from talented Spider-Man
writer/ Marvel/ Panini editor Jason Quinn and the Spanish wonder,
Pedro Cruz
- Marvelman creator Mick Anglo gets his Wonderman reprinted in full
colour, plus
- Solar Wind's Paul (Cosmic Ray) Scott and Oliver (Bart Dias)
Redding give an overview of the British ghost-hunter, Quisling

AND there's a free VCD (playable on PC and DVD) featuring George
Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Fleischer's Superman: The Mummy
Strikes (plus a little something extra) FREE!

Payment can be made online at www.StarscapeComic.co.uk or by cheque/
PO made payable to SuperHeroStore MultiMedia c/o 4 Lothian Crescent,
Paisley, Scotland PA2 8AQ.

Keep looking to the stars!

James Morris also popped up on the mailing list to announce:

Hi all, Jampot here.

Just to say that as well as my blog, I now have an official webcomic, The
Adventures of Blob, featuring none other than the inimitable Blob himself.

You can find the site at http://adventuresofblob.keenspace.com

Also, the last time I checked, after 3 days of being online, The Adventures
of Blob was ranked 580/2110 or so on the Webcomics List, which seems
promising!

Cheers!

-James (Jampot) Morris

www.jampotcomics.blogspot.com

Engine Comics have posted an interview with Colin Dinnie of Underfire Comics.

Paul Rainey has popped up on the mailing list to let us know he's produced a one shot of unseen Swill The Alien material. Price is £1.50, email Paul to order, and why not visit the bookoflists website.