The Spirit of Hope is a wonderful charity anthology currently available directly from the comic book alliance website (with free limited edition prints while stocks last), also available through Amazon and Diamond (so ask for it at your local comic store, they should be able to get it in!)

The Alchemist's Easel - A Rough Guide To Drawing The Unconscious by Al Davison is "part autobiography part 'how to draw' and part dream showcase". A new Indiegogo project may fund a limited edition book by Al, which will be used to fund the softcover edition. Early investers can also get limited edition ink drawings and art from the book.

If you're too strapped for cash, you can take an active part in tweeting, emailing, forum posting and..oh right, you got it? Are you sure? Go on. go do it now.

There is some some enthusiastic discuss on the Facebook page and for those lending some extra participation the Indiegogo campaign page has some cool bonus features which I'm not looking at until I earn it. Wakey, wakey. Social bookmark time.

Less than three weeks to go to one of the world's first Bar Camps devoted solely to comics. Bar Camp is FREE FOR EVERYONE given that it runs on corporate sponsorship. Or should do, but y'know, this is comics. Blick Studios are our first sponsor, providing a reduced venue rent, full use of tech and presentation equipment and tea and coffee on tap.

Sales outlets and distribution - Patrick Brown
Establishing a regular local market in Dublin - Gar Shanley
Motivation - Gareth McKnight
Drawing from Comics Scripts - Stephen Downey
Writer Pitching & Bar Camp OR Digital Distribution- Andy Luke
Web Publishing - Gareth Watson

We're also hoping to see sessions on managing self-employment, institutionalised funding and design and marketing, organised by local entrepreneurs and council support from outside comics.

None of these presentations or discussions are time-fixed. On the morning of the event, the presenters place the titles on post-its on an open grid. Nor is any one person running Bar Camp. It is a group effort from everyone who is attending.

The website is a wiki. were you can read and add details, register, find the Google groups, the ICN forums, the tweeters or whatever way you want to plug into the discussion AND organisation. That's right. Bar Camp is COMMUNALLY run and EVERYONE is considered a guest.

Website
Indiegogo Fundraiser Page
Comics I made about Bar Camp
#ComicsCamp

It should be noted, CAPTION guest Paul Duffield's long running online FREAKANGELS comic (written by Warren Ellis) concludes today.

CAPTION is this weekend! Get down to Oxford if you can.

Guests include:
~Blue Lou - political cartoonist and artist
http://www.bluelou.net/
~NJ Culbard - is best known for his work on the Sherlock Holmes and Lovecraft adaptations for Self-Made Hero.
http://strangeplanetstories.blogspot.com/
~Jeremy Day will be getting the festivities off to a flying start on the Saturday with one of her fun workshops.
http://jeremyday.org.uk/
~Paul Gravett - will be letting us know what it's like to spend a year in his life.
http://www.paulgravett.com/
~Paul Grist, creator of Kane and Jack Staff.
~Paul Duffield, manga creator and artist on Freak Angels.
http://spoonbard.com/
~Kate Brown, creator of The Spider Moon and Fish + Chocolate
http://danse-macabre.nu/index.html
~Andy Luke, small press creator will be talking about his new comic Absence
http://absencecomic.com/
~Paul Rainey and Rob Wells will be representing Comics- On The Ration
http://comicsontheration.blogspot.com/
...And many more!!

If you've never been before, why not make this year your first?