BLOG
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Just got back from a few days in Scotland (my friends Steve and Louise, who are now sunbathing in Sardinia, got married in Bearsden last Friday) and slowly building up a head of steam. I turned off my spam filter when I was away because the last time I escaped the desk my mail server ate some client emails and, understandably, they weren't too impressed. The downside to this is that I've spent most of the morning deciding which of my thousand emails are scams and which are genuine offers of work/viagra/free holidays in the sun. If I could afford an assistant I'd spend the money on a trip round the world and a new pair of jeans. Some stuff: My new El Words piece - Draft – New Miniseries (No Title Yet)  Sunset over Mars (via boingboing.net)  (Can't remember what the story was... via BBC) Other stuff: A really good interview with grumpy old man Harlan Ellison at A. V Club A great comic from Ryan Pequin: The Walk Last night my mate Rob texted me with the offer of a last-minute-spare ticket for Radiohead, who were playing in our local park, so I didn't have much downtime after the train from Edinburgh docked. Really good gig, a veritable trip down memory lane - even though I'm not very old. Honest! Their back catalogue will be getting heavy rotation in the studio this week. Studio. Hah... That almost sounded vaguely glamorous. If you're chomping at the bit waiting for an email, phone call, work, words of wisdom or a new Belly Button episode you'll get what you want soon - promise! Monday, June 16, 2008
Greetings, my brothers from other mothers and sisters from other misters - things have been a bit crazy here and I've neglected the blog a little. I really should have mentioned No Barcodes here, but figured that anyone likely to turn up would know that it was happening and that I was going to make an appearance. I'll be back here shortly to drop some links and maybe some artwork but in the meantime: A No Barcodes field report by me, over at Down The Tubes A bunch of interviews I conducted with talented cartoonists to publicise NBC: Dan Lester, Francesca Cassavetti, Andy Luke, Ben Powis, Josceline Fenton, Paul Rainey, Sean Azzopardi, Oliver Lamden and Tom Humberstone. And, of course, my latest Elephant Words stories: Hollywood Star - Live Tonight! A New Start Escape Real Life Through Use of Artificial Environments Add to this my latest rock-out with your frock-out Belly Button episode and you really shouldn't be complaining. Thursday, May 22, 2008
Hello again A bit snowed under with stuff I should be doing, stuff I want to do and other stuff that I'll probably get done at some point. In the meantime - I don't think it's too early to start getting excited about NoBarCodes - the all-day Uk indie comics extravaganza at Camden Lock Market on the 31st of of this month. That's 9 days time, kids! In double celebration - of this awesome event and the debut of Tongue of the Dead in glorious hardback - I'm offering a special not-to-be-repeated deal.  Yeah - that's 20% off. Just print off the voucher and bring it along on the day. I'll also have Mindy/Pool and Rocketboy on sale, for anyone who hasn't picked up those yet. Look to londonundergroundcomics.com for more news about NoBarCodes. New Elephant Word: Playground STUFF: John Carlin reports for the Observer on why Iceland is the happiest place on Earth. (I've been twice, and I can believe it). A nice Jack Kirby piece in last Friday's Independent. An Hour with John Pertwee on BBC radio 7, available until this Saturday Friday, May 16, 2008
Well I made it to the Comic Expo last week, despite not knowing until the last minute whether I could afford the time. In the end I was terrified of missing anything and went along for the Friday and Saturday, but instead of late night bar-surfing returned to the hotel and got some work done. I also found a stall in a market in town selling hundreds of old 60s and 70s sci-fi mags. I was (and continue to be) in geek heaven! Hello to everyone I met / hung out with / didn't get a chance to hang out with. Anyone who left without a copy of Andy Winter's Septic Isle, Bob Byrne's Mr Amperduke or Joel Meadow's Studio Space is either poor or a fool. (Poor fool is also an option). I just got back from the DFC launch party - which was a fun filled affair (and another opportunity for hanging out - it seems to be all I do these days...). I just have time for a quick blog post, a Belly Button update (29! 29! 29!) and emailing in some work before catching about twenty minutes sleep and heading off for the weekend. More nude sketches from the last time I joined Sean at his life drawing classes:   More Elephant Words: Number 13 El Capitan The Revenge of Suzanne recommended entertainment while i'm gone: To listen and read : As Befits a Man (as heard on A Prairie Home Companion last week) To read: Outbreak of Violets (Alan Moore) To watch: A Chris Ware animation from This American Life To read and donate: A great Gene Colan story from Mystery Tales #1 (If you don't know; Mr Colan is very ill at the moment, and his family are struggling to pay the medical bills. Paypal donations to genecolan@optonline.net are being gratefully accepted) Monday, April 28, 2008
I was really sad to hear about the passing of Humphrey Lyttelton at the weekend. I only mentioned him here a few weeks ago. His jazz shows and his witty performances on ISIHAC will be sorely missed. (And I didn't know he was a cartoonist in his younger years - I hope some of his work surfaces online in the next few days). Over at Elephant Words this week the team will be coming up with fiction magic inspired by this photo (which I took after a party last year).  Same Hat! Same Hat! (one of the best scanlation blogs on the web!) reports on the recent Shintaro Kago exhibition in Amsterdam. Scroll down for a photo of the Manga God with fellow Camden conspirator Dirty Dan Lester. If you're at a loss for stuff to do tomorrow at about 4 in the afternoon, you could worse than listen to Word of Mouth on Radio Four. Among the guests invited to speak on the program are Posy Simmonds, Bryan Talbot, Martin Rowson, Alex Fitch, Paul Gravett and me. To read: Thursday, April 24, 2008
Listeners to Resonance FM will be treated to an Oliver Lamden / Mile End Thing special edition of Panel Borders this evening, but due to the magic of the Internet it's ready to listen to right now! Just click here to listen to brief interviews with such hilariously drunken people as Dan Lester, Oli Smith and Sean Azzopardi. I'm on there too, but I was sober (and a little gunky from the cold). I'm also on Radio 4 sometime soon, talking about the language of comics along with Oli and Alex Fitch (who usually presents Panel Borders on RFM), but I'm not sure when that's going out... Speaking of the infamous Sean Azz, I went to a life drawing afternoon with him last week in Angel. Sean's an old hat at it, but it was the first I'd ever been to. I wish I could afford the time to go every week, because I'm sure my figure drawing would improve really quickly if I did. Who knew people had five toes on each foot?     New Belly Button up today talking about some stuff that's been happening recently which I'm really, really excited about - watch out for episode 27 dropping soon! In other clicky news: Overspill has gone into overdrive recently with excellent interviews with comedy double act Al Ewing and PJ Holden and Blank Slate's Kenny Penman! ---------------- Now playing: Three Days Grace - Never Too Late (Weegle) via FoxyTunes
Comments:
Post a Comment
Posted by David at 4/24/2008 01:04:00 PM -
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
He took a duck in the face at two hundred and fifty knots. I just finished William Gibson's second newest novel, Pattern Recognition. My friend Big Dave bought it in hardback on the Monday it hit the shops and loaned it to me on the Wednesday, after he'd read it. I love Gibson's stuff, but for some reason the book didn't click with me - I hit about page 70 and let it rest on a shelf, meaning to finish it at a later date. Six years later Big Dave is living in Australia and I just picked the book up again on a whim. This time everything fell into place - I wonder if it was the clipped present tense prose that put me off before - and I inhaled it in about a week, travelling to and between gigs. I felt a bit let down by the penultimate chapter, but the final one sorted everything out for me. Big Dave - if you're reading this - do you want your book back? The Belly Button has been deliberately delayed for a double update this week, but if you're hanging around with nothing to read, my two new fiction experiments over at EW are: Project Perfect and The Wisdom of Uncle Sammy. Oh - and if anyone was expecting me to be in New York last week, I wasn't. I registered for NY Comicon, but then had to bail when other business came up here in the Uk. What did I miss? This week's a bit manic as I'm all over the place for meetings and stuff, so apologies if you're waiting on an email or hoping for a back rub. More before the wknd. ---------------- Now playing: Imitated by some, duplicated by NONE. We serve the FINEST mix of Chillout, Nu-Jazz, Lounge and Downtempo music. - Groovera.com (Groovera presents Low Mercury: (deepest chillout) No rap. No rock. No talk. 100% chill. Guaranteed.) via FoxyTunes Friday, April 11, 2008
I'm eating a cream doughnut. So there! New El Word up: The Shifting Box Hope you like it.  (photo[s] courtesy of SeanAzz) The London Underground Comics exhibition at the renowned bookartbookshop in Pitfield Street, Hoxton, London begins tonight at 6pm. Be there or be elsewhere, as they've been known to say. The comics will remain for two weeks after the cartoonists have partied and departed. Get them while they're hot! While I'm busy here are some internet things for you to look at: Clive James on aircraft telecommunications Raymond Briggs' studio space Mike Lynch - sad Peanuts An awesome Ralph Bakshi interview - if you're short on time skip to the incredible last paragraph You know when libertarians talk about the 'thin end of the wedge'? This is what they're talking about. Maybe see you this evening. If not I'll be at Camden tomorrow morning - apparently Radio 4 are coming down to talk to us about comics or something... Saturday, April 05, 2008
Good morning! No - the time stamp on this post isn't faked or faulty, I'm up early. I just thought I'd mention that LondonUndergroundComics is today under the stewardship of myself, Sean Azz and Oliver Modern. Pop down and say hello! Friday, April 04, 2008
I can feel the beginnings of summer tugging at my kilt. Winter wasn't actually that bad this year (last year was miserable!) but I'm still anxious for the first day of the year where I can take my work to the park and relax in the sunshine. Two new El Words, for anyone who fancies: The Man Who Came For Dinner and My Funeral I met Jim Medway in the pub after all those London comix things last week and he was a really nice bloke. He speaks to Matty Badbacon at Overspill about stuff, most of which will be new to indie comics people. Well worth a read... News of the Siegel estate's partial reclaiming of the Superman copyright brightened up my week (it's just a shame there's no one from the Shusters to take similar action). Mark Evanier's review of the NYT's reporting on the story highlights another (recurring) injustice. The National Portrait Gallery is running a Vanity Fair exhibition until the 26th of May. This fantastic photo of Hilary Swank caught my eye...  I think I'll have to check it out. Clickee things for the bored: Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (I must do this one year) Six Gay Geeks Who've Improved the Pop Culture Landscape Wolverine Daily (these are brilliant!) More MAD tutorials (all good stuff) Thursday, March 27, 2008
This week's Belly Button is a couple of days later than I'd hoped, but over the weekend I had a head full of mucus and a house full of cartoonists. The story I relate in this episode comes from Brad Isaac's Persistence Unlimited blog, but I read it on Lifehacker. Lifehacker's a blog for people who like inspirational quotes, but I still like it. So there. Anyone reading this in France, or who speaks / reads French or who's going to be visiting France any time soon should keep an eye out for the latest issue of BD Zine, which looks like this:  And features an interview with yours truly! My latest Elephant Word story is called The Barbers Guild and can be read here. Things you should look at this week: The photo blog of Matt Brooker aka D'Israeli - this post in particular. A list of Arthur C Clarke (r.i.p.) predictions And over at the BBC's awesome iPlayer (and only available for the next couple of days - so be quick!): Mark Lawson talks to Galton and Simpson The Curse of Steptoe and Son OK let's try this FoxyTunes thing again... ---------------- Now playing: Beth Orton - Shopping Trolley via FoxyTunes Hmm... And during my redraft? ---------------- Now playing: Jay-Z And Linkin Park - Numb/Encore (Live) via FoxyTunes Yeah that seems to be working. Monday, March 17, 2008
Hello again As mentioned in last week's Belly Button, someone's been kind enough to pre-nominate me for an Eagle Award in the Best Newcomer Writer category. While it's beneath me to beg, if you do feel like voting for me here's the link. (PS. Newcomer? Pfah! I been doin' this for years.) Two new Elephant Words since last time I updated the blog: Koan of the Space Buddha and 352. Hope you like them. I've just listened to Humphrey Lyttelton's very last The Best of Jazz show after 40 years on the job. I hope the BBC offer up some repeats from the archives to fill the void... I've also just bought a book by James Tiptree Jnr on eBay. If the name doesn't ring a bell then you should read this... (A great author is often an engrossing story in their own right, and probably none more so than Tiptree!) Some other stuff to keep you entertained: A great article about Rudolphe Topffer (the great great grandfather of comics) by Chris Ware. MAD cartoonist Tom Richmond teaches us all how to caricature (in three easy chapters!) Frozen in Grand Central Station (YouTube video) Why you should think twice about supporting China with your tourist dollar. Another great essay from Clive James for the BBC (this time on privacy) This guy is a ready-made character for any story you might be writing. Right? And in other news I've started using FoxyTunes with Firefox and am pretty damn impressed. Although I'm not sure about its blog-appender. I'll give it a go... ---------------- Now playing: Boards Of Canada - In A Beautiful Place (Groove Salad: a nicely chilled plate of ambient beats and grooves. [SomaFM]) via FoxyTunes Monday, March 03, 2008
A couple of years ago I attended the San Diego Comic Con, armed only with a selection of my minicomics, an oat bar and a bottle of water, looking to score some professional engagements in the comics industry. For those that don't know, SDCC (as it is known, affectionately or not) is a four-day beast of a convention with no air conditioning and over a hundred thousand attendees, all wearing Green Lantern costumes that are four sizes too small. The hall is about a half mile long and walking from one end to the other, squeezing through narrow tunnels of green spandex, has been known to take up to nine hours. The editors at SDCC are generally stressed and tired, and most don't have time to talk to some guy from the UK with a bunch of minicomics. It's easy to get discouraged and I did. One of the few things which lifted my spirits over those dark few days was meeting an editor who was not only happy to speak with me, but was enthusiastic about his work, my work and everything that was going on around him. That man was Mark Siegel and it was his first SDCC... Mark is the head honcho at First Second, who have produced some of the most interesting English language graphic novels of the last couple of years, and he's also a talented cartoonist. Check out his account of meeting Moebius at Angouleme. Isn't that great? I'm in a bit of a Jack Johnson mood at the moment, and I just found this at the Internet Archive: a bunch of live recordings of his shows! (Tomorrow I'll likely be in a Metallica mood, but there's nothing similar for my favourite middle-aged rock moshers). Some lovely photos at the BBC's Pictures of the Week selection a couple of weeks ago, and if you cycle along to #4 you'll be looking at one provided by FP blogger and all-round top lad Joe Gordon. In other news, I only just realised that Joe is the same Joe who writes the infamous Woolamaloo Gazette blog... You know - the one that made every UK news outlet in the world when the author was sacked from Waterstones in Edinburgh for mentioning his workplace. Lots of people stopped shopping there as a result. Bokononism. Just in case you didn't click on it the last time... One of my favourite cartoonists in the world, Shintaro Kago, is interviewed in the latest issue of Vice magazine. I couldn't find one (and I'm not sure if it appears in the UK version anyway) but luckily someone has scanned it and popped it up online. This story about a new technological breakthrough meaning the end of the perpetual painting of the Fourth Rail Bridge gave me deja vu - it is the premise for Tom Stoppard's 1967 radioplay Albert's Bridge. I wish I could find that online somewhere... Elephant Words since the last post : Mycophagist and Petrified Norman. Hope you've been reading the rest of the entries though! Monday, February 18, 2008
Hello my neglected friends... Busy, busy, busy week at Baillie Mansions... Speaking of which - if you change your religion on Facebook does everyone get a notification like they do when you change relationship status? I've given up on Facebook. Every time I log in I have a million invitations to look at crapbook or compare cats with someone. I mean - WTF? While you're waiting for interesting things to happen you should go read this great short story, Wikihistory by Desmond Warzel. (thanks to MattyBad for finding it) For fans of The Big Lebowski: this is a very funny (and not safe for work) re-edit. I realise I haven't posted any tasty art here for a while, so here's the page I did for the awesome 24 Minute Comic at last year's Caption.  The rest of the comic can be found at Jinty's Flickr wotsit... Now it's on to the blatant self-promotion section of the post. (Hope you don't mind) The boys at Indie Review have very kindly posted an in-depth interview with yours truly. Their site has just undergone a revamp and looks great - it's a one stop shop for interesting stuff about the UK indie press and also has some great advice for new creators up there. In other news you can now get more of me every week. How? I hear you ask! Well... read on: Elephant Words is the brainchild of Nicolas Papaconstantinou - a great burst fiction site which I talked about here when it launched, mostly because it features weekly work by my good friends Douglas Strip For Me and Andy Candy. Last week they held auditions for a replacement for the legendary Rol Hirst. My piece went up along with a bundle of others (you can read it here, but I warn you now, it has lots of bad words in it!) and I was selected from a fine list of writers to join the official roster. My new piece - The Sentry and the Centaur can be found here. Hope you like. Monday, February 04, 2008
As anyone reading this week's Belly Button Chronicles will notice, I opted to scan the whole thing rather than rip out the pages. Over at tysdiorbad Mattybum Badham interviews cartoonist Ellen Lindner. Once you're finished reading that - two new comics for you to check out: Friends in Spring, by my good friend Paul Fryer. And Turtle Guitar by Ben Powis - which was brought to my attention by the lads at indiereview, and then I was pleased to see it turn at up at the stall on Saturday. Speaking of the stall - you should really click here and check out the new video promoting that very same and awesome comics outlet. I star in this one... Although I might accept second billing to Alan Moore. OK, maybe third... Oh my God - am I nothing but a bit player?
Comments:
Posted by David at 2/04/2008 04:06:00 PM -
Hi David,
Thanks very much for linking to Turtle Guitar, I hope you enjoyed it! Lovely work you have on this site, All the best, Ben www.benpowis.net
My pleasure, Ben. I really enjoyed Turtle Guitar - and so has everyone who picked it up at the stall.
Post a Comment
Keep up the awesome work!  |
