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J. Marc Schmidt
What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?
This year three of my books were released within a few months of each other between June-August, in three countries, so I was very busy. For a few months there I was working on all three at the same time! I translated my first long comic, Egg Story, into Esperanto with the help of several other proofreaders and it was published as Rakonto de Ovoj in Japan. It's actually doing really well! Next was a collection of my short comics, titled All You Bastards Can Go Jump Off a Bridge!, published by Milk Shadow Books in Melbourne. I went to Melbourne for the launch; it was enjoyable. Last was my first ever textbook/comic book, Test Your English, a collection of comics and cartoons was published in South Korea for the ESL market. It contains all-new material which I drew this year. I think it's really good and different, I want to do more of that kind of thing. So this year had old and new, looking forward and looking back.
Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the first time in 2012?
'Iron' Mike Grell, whom I discovered just last week! I knew of him but had never read his work. I discovered Sable, an action comic by Mike Grell published by First Comics in the 1980s. It's amazing - characters, plotting, scenarios etc. Also excellent is his Starslayer: Legend of the Jolly Roger. The artists and writers who continued both books are also good, and I am getting the impression from these and other First Comics that that publisher had very tight editing, resulting good or better storytelling. Yaroslav Horak, who drew James Bond comics in the 70s-80s. Excellent, unique, dynamic style, makes the Bond character really interesting. He lived in Sydney for a while and may still do.
What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?
I saw good exhibitions of Escher, Breughel, and Dutch masters (Vermeer, etc.). I read a lot of prose but the some that stood out were Time-Life's 1960s series on world history titled Great Ages of Man. Picked up almost the full series for $10 at the library. 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis. I found it on the side of the road during kerbside cleanup, I kid you not. What a terrific book. (As someone who sells books for a living, I should probably set a better example and buy retail more often!) Richard Roberts' Collier Quick & Easy Guide to Chess is both highly entertaining and informative. What a cheerful, funny and smart guy he is. I entered an art contest, teaching myself how to do acrylics in a day, then submitting two portraits. They turned out pretty well, but did not win. Was highly fun and rewarding anyway.
Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?
I've moved away from using computers, because I find it more satisfying to work that way, though I still have to use them a lot! I drew a lot of Test Your English on blank postcards; that way it's easy to do in trains, cafes etc. I made some comics from pet rocks that I made from river pebbles, dolls' eyes and fake eyelashes, then photographing them. That was very fun!
What are you looking forward to in 2013?
More of everything! We are living in a world of abundance, there is so much that is new to try. For example I want to get a motorbike, try surfing, get a cat or a dog, go somewhere completely new to me. I am looking forward to my next comics project, too!
This year three of my books were released within a few months of each other between June-August, in three countries, so I was very busy. For a few months there I was working on all three at the same time! I translated my first long comic, Egg Story, into Esperanto with the help of several other proofreaders and it was published as Rakonto de Ovoj in Japan. It's actually doing really well! Next was a collection of my short comics, titled All You Bastards Can Go Jump Off a Bridge!, published by Milk Shadow Books in Melbourne. I went to Melbourne for the launch; it was enjoyable. Last was my first ever textbook/comic book, Test Your English, a collection of comics and cartoons was published in South Korea for the ESL market. It contains all-new material which I drew this year. I think it's really good and different, I want to do more of that kind of thing. So this year had old and new, looking forward and looking back.
Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the first time in 2012?
'Iron' Mike Grell, whom I discovered just last week! I knew of him but had never read his work. I discovered Sable, an action comic by Mike Grell published by First Comics in the 1980s. It's amazing - characters, plotting, scenarios etc. Also excellent is his Starslayer: Legend of the Jolly Roger. The artists and writers who continued both books are also good, and I am getting the impression from these and other First Comics that that publisher had very tight editing, resulting good or better storytelling. Yaroslav Horak, who drew James Bond comics in the 70s-80s. Excellent, unique, dynamic style, makes the Bond character really interesting. He lived in Sydney for a while and may still do.
What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?
I saw good exhibitions of Escher, Breughel, and Dutch masters (Vermeer, etc.). I read a lot of prose but the some that stood out were Time-Life's 1960s series on world history titled Great Ages of Man. Picked up almost the full series for $10 at the library. 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis. I found it on the side of the road during kerbside cleanup, I kid you not. What a terrific book. (As someone who sells books for a living, I should probably set a better example and buy retail more often!) Richard Roberts' Collier Quick & Easy Guide to Chess is both highly entertaining and informative. What a cheerful, funny and smart guy he is. I entered an art contest, teaching myself how to do acrylics in a day, then submitting two portraits. They turned out pretty well, but did not win. Was highly fun and rewarding anyway.
Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?
I've moved away from using computers, because I find it more satisfying to work that way, though I still have to use them a lot! I drew a lot of Test Your English on blank postcards; that way it's easy to do in trains, cafes etc. I made some comics from pet rocks that I made from river pebbles, dolls' eyes and fake eyelashes, then photographing them. That was very fun!
What are you looking forward to in 2013?
More of everything! We are living in a world of abundance, there is so much that is new to try. For example I want to get a motorbike, try surfing, get a cat or a dog, go somewhere completely new to me. I am looking forward to my next comics project, too!
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