From The Here Gallery in Bristol:

'Please join us for the opening night of “Ready for Action” new and old work from Mark Newport. Ready for Action features Mark’s trademark knitted superhero costumes, hand embroidered comics book samplers and prints featuring Mark in a variety of super-heroic scenarios. Mark Newport will be travelling from his home in Arizona to attend the opening of this, his first UK show, and I’m sure he’d love to meet you.'

'Ready for Action will run until May 28th but if you can’t make it for the opening please drop in and view the show during May- normal opening hours are Tues-Sat 12.30-6.30pm or by appointment.'

They are also hosting a comics soiree on 13th May.

Small Press comics for sale over at the Poopsheet Shop!

An interview with Dave McKean, comic artist and director of Mirrormask. (via)

Paul Scott's press release for the second issue of his self-published science fiction anthology comic OmniVistaScope really has to be seen to be believed.

Written by UK indy comics mainstay Jason Cobley (BAM) and fully illustrated by Neill Cameron (Dumbass Comics, Beautiful Things), Bulldog: Empire is an all-ages action-adventure comedy extravaganza starring a full and diverse cast of bolshy Brigadiers, mad scientists, Samurai Pandas and militant suffragettes.

Issue 2 has just been released.

The Comics Reporter reports on the recent closure of UK distributor Red Route.

AN INTRODUCTION TO...MANGA by Paul Gravett.

A US student has filmed a rather good alternate video for Kochalka's Monkey Vs Robot

Brighton's brand new free comic magazine The STRIP is launching at the city's intimate NEST gallery on Wednesday 26th April 2006.

An exhibition by the emerging and established comic artists of The STRIP will coincide with the release of the first edition and an opportunity to purchase artwork and comics.

The exhibition will run throughout the Brighton festival until May 31st.

Richard Cowdry of small press anthology The Bedsit Journal has a cool website.

The Eagle Awards have rolled around again and with them the chance to vote for several deserving small press comics.

Oliver n Laurence of TFTF tell me today is the 4th Annual Web comics St Georges Day Piss Up. And heres a link to those taking part.

The lads also have a new myspace up, and yes, theres better. The lads have a new full colour strip up on theie Tales From The Flat site to link in with the piss up ! Link at top of their newly refurbished website

With a tip of the hat to the old British war comics, Massacre For Boys ("from an alternative 1949-83") is a new website from Chris and Steve Denton, publishers of 2005's Walking Wounded. The site features a couple of webcomics too, so you can see what it's all about.

Tony Husband is Salford Lowry's very first cartoonist in residence. Tony will be in The Lowry Galleries on Fri 5 May and Bank Holiday Monday 29 May creating cartoons, so you can drop in and catch him in the act!

Dirk from Tokyo has a nice interactive cartooning blog -

Readers from all over the world are invited to submit assignments (meet a
local dj, ride a rooftop rollercoaster, talk about gender in japan) and can
read a comic about his efforts the following week.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/tokyoblog

John Cei Douglas’ Flash driven website is here, showcasing some of his lovely, illustrated strips.

Ian Culbard has a blog. I'll let him do the introductions himself:

'I was the 'Brit' for Dark Horse's New Recruits programme, volume one of which was published earlier this year.I'm currently posting a comic called "Mad Doctors In Love" and generally keeping a blog of my foray into comics. '

Paul Scott of Solar Wind fame will be making a documentary about comics at the Bristol Comic Expo. If you want to participate, pop along to the Solar Wind table for a chat about the small press, old comics and Solar Wind. Paul emphasises that is his first foray into documentary-making and will be 'a bit of an experiment'.

A CALIFORNIAN CONTROVERSY: MANGA BOOK BANNED FROM LIBRARIES.

More about the removal of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics from Californian libraries.

Midlands/Wales-based Bugpowderites might be interested
in this: The Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival.

Head over to the Blue Cardigan website to sample 'Steve's(?)' web-strips.

Bill Postmus, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of suburban San Bernadino County, California, has ordered the county's libraries to remove the scholarly text Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics from circulation.

The Real Cost of Prisons Project brings together prison/justice policy activists with political economists to create popular education workshops and materials which explore both the immediate and long-term costs of incarceration on the individual, her/his family, community and the nation. These materials include comics.

Boychild Productions seem worth bigging up as they're ploughing their own particular furrow in the world of small press and self-published comics.

Comic collective Accent UK has a new website and will have a new anthology, Monsters, out in time for the Bristol Comic Expo.

A preview of the cover for Bulldog Empire 2 by Jason Cobley and Neill Cameron.

Small press comic artist Leonie O'Moore's cover for sci-fi mag Scifantastic 4. (I just thought it was pretty cool).

Rich Johnson makes an appeal on behalf of Brit indie publisher Mam Tor in his latest Lying in the Gutters column, dated 10th April (you'll have to scroll down a bit to find the relevant part).

There's a chance to buy 27 issues of Rol Hirst's 1990's small-press sensation 'The Jock', as well as "a Christmas card, signed by Rol Hirst", the annual and the gallery issue. £20, via Abebooks from a bookshop in Salisbury. "A chance for collectors of alternative comic strip books to buy an unusual collection." (via)

A stage adaptation of Dave McKean's and Neil Gaiman's The Wolves in the Walls at The Lyric Hammersmith now.

A reminder that Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley will be signing at Page 45, Nottingham's highly indiecentric comic shop, tomorrow. I've just bought Hope's Gray Horses and it's beautiful.

Smallzone, Shane Chebsey's online indie and small press comic shop, has a new comic downloading service.

From Graham at Bookville:

I wonder if Bookville would at all be interesting to you. We're an independent, artist run project that started in Newcastle and is now in Rotterdam, which has as its focus DIY zines and books by artists etc.

I'm personally really into comics and I'm organising this event in Hull called the Publishathon where we are offering free publishing to all comers who want to make a comic or a zine or who want to do something and get thinking about what publishing is really all about.We have a weblog where people can find out more.

Cartoonist Jeremy Dennis sums up the small press experience.

This from The Smallzone website:

If anyone is in Birmingham between 17 - 30 April there is an exhibition of the local amateur & professional comic artists artwork at the Custard Factory in Digbeth. It's free to get into and there's free booze on the opening night (17th). It will be featuring 15 of Birmingham's ever growing armature comic talent that is being nurtured by local comic artists - John McCrea, Hunt Emerson & James Hogkins.

(Can't find a reference to the exhibition on the Custard Factory website though).

The Smallzone Website has had a facelift. Go there to buy top-quality indie and small press comics from this country and abroad.

Big things happening over at Kingly Books, graphic novel publishers par excellence, including a new gallery of Ronald Searle stuff on their website and a book launch on the 12th of April.

Khaki Shorts, the Glagsow based comic of intrigue and humour, has just launched it's latest issue, and features 28 pages for only £1.50 inc p and p. Included are 5 brand new pages of John Miller artwork!

It's 'Second Chance April' over at Paul Rainey's Book of Lists website. During 'Second Chance April', a panel from the Book of Lists which has appeared previously just the once will be posted every working day.

Letterers Annie Parkhouse and Ellie de Ville interviewed over at 2000AD Review.

There's a Drawing Room Exhibition now on, featuring the kickin' Lady Lucy.

The HERE Shop in Bristol is in serious danger of going under and needs financial assistance to stay afloat. You can help by buying comics! Or donating money. Visit the web site to shop online and keep this very special volunteer-run Zine'n'Things store open.

Another great article about comics from Paul Gravett.

Some cool illustrations over at small press cartoonist Mardou's blog.

Lots of Grant Morrison interviews.

Some good stuff over at small press artist Bolt-01's blog.