BA3 Melbourne Comic Book Launch

  

I have a couple Pikitia Press comics launching at this weeks BA3 launch.

From the press release: 

Melbourne, Australia - the Melbourne comics community is hosting its third annual Big Arse Book Launch. This year they will be launching fifteen (15) new works created by authors from around Australia and New Zealand.

Once again the launch will be conducted by the one and only Bernard Caleo.

Saturday, March 2nd from 2:00pm
Sentido Funf
243 - 245 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy
Victoria, Australia

  

Big Arse 3 is proudly sponsored by All Star Comics.

 

 DIGESTED #6 (Gestalt Comics)
The sixth issue of Bobby.N’s series, continuing the lead feature OXYGEN and a variety of other tidbits and goodies. http://www.bobbyn.com

 

YUCK! #7 (Milk Shadow Books)
The Universe's greasiest comix anthology returns with Yuck! #7. Original surreal black comedy from a plethora of low-lives, including Ben Hutchings, Tim Molloy, Bruce Mutard, the Phatsville crew, Gregory Mackay, J. Marc Schmidt, Michael Aushenker, Scarlette Baccini, David DeGrand, Kapreles, Frank Candiloro, James Andre, Ben John Smith, Andrew Fulton, Johandson Rezende and many more surprising sickos. Straight from the gutter into your hands. Cover by Ben Sea. Edited by Mr. Slime. www.milkshadowbooks.com

 
ADVERSARIES (Pikitia Press) 

Matt Emery's laughey comics from the comics ghetto. www.pikitiapress.com

AWAKENINGS #2
Awakenings 2 is a stand-alone book in a series of two volumes. It contains short stories written and illustrated by artist and animator Jesca Marisa. Awakenings is an intensely colourful and beautifully illustrated book composed of multiple interweaving stories of a surreal and fantastical nature. The book was inspired by the author's remembrance of dreams which she has woven into stories of journeys undertaken by the diverse cast of characters. http://be.net/jescamarisa

BALLANTYNE: THE FLAW IN THE JEWEL (Pikitia Press) The third volume of artist Peter Foster’s collaboration with writer James H. Kemsley, originally featured as an adventure strip in the Sydney Sunday Sun-Herald during the 1990s. Based on Kemsley’s vivid memories of working as a patrol officer in post World War Two New Guinea, Ballantyne is a classic adventure tale in the fine tradition of Lee Falk’s The Phantom and John Dixon’s Air Hawk. www.pikitiapress.com

BUDD & LUU - PART I (FrankenComics)
Budd & Luu are a lovable comedic duo who get into all sorts of random and crazy adventures. When some mysterious force starts to erase their world the pair escape through a strange portal, which lands them in a high-tech asylum located in an alternate dimension. Soon, they are subjected to painful experiments, and they discover the truth about their existence, as well as the real purpose of the asylum. By Frank Candiloro. www.frankcandiloro.com

 
A BRUSH WITH DARKNESS (Milk Shadow Books)
Before Da 'n' Dill... before Batrisha... Dillon Naylor was the defining artist of the 90s Melbourne underground/alternative music scene. Naylor created comics for Area 7 and The Fireballs and many other bands, as well as tour posters for The Beastie Boys, Powderfinger and the Pushover Festival. This material is collected in its entirety, along with Dillon's early horror comics, unseen pages, sketches, notes and Anecdotes. www.milkshadowbooks.com

 
GRAPHIC/NARRATIVE #1
Graphic/Narrative #1 presents 'Panic', an autobiographical tale about the author’s struggles with an anxiety and panic disorder. The book conveys the experience of a panic attack and discusses the progression of anxiety disorders. Follow Brendan Halyday as his life falls apart around him. www.brendanhalyday.com

 
KRANBURN #6 (FEC Comics)
Both Brand and Silvia are on their own personal rampages. While Silvia takes care of the Nong messenger in her own way, Brand continues levelling the playing field on the Nong home turf. Do not mess with the people of Kranburn. By Ben Michael Byrne. www.feccomics.com

 
LADY McBLACK #1 (Black House Comics) 

At the behest of her three sisters, McBlack investigates the murder of Lila Bodicker by the Wester Reapers, a mixed municipal soccer team. But whoever killed Lila does not want the Bodicker sisters to find out what really happened and before long McBlack himself is being hunted in the streets. Written and pencilled by Jason Franks. Inks by Dave Gutierrez. Cover by Rhys James. www.mcblack.com

 
MR UNPRONOUNCEABLE ADVENTURES (Milk Shadow Books)
Tim Molloy has finally bound the exploits of Mr Unpronounceable, the ultimate anti-hero madman, into a single volume. 213 pages of throat-tearing, void questioning, dimensional tripping, laughing, crying, laughing, questioning adventures through the city of the Ever Open Eye by the creator of It Shines and Shakes and Laughs. www.milkshadowbooks.com

 
SEVEN #2 (FEC Comics)
Book 2 of the Seven series follows Kat and Hans on their search for their brothers - and as they stumble on a plot of betrayal, murder and an innocent goose girl, they find that acceptance of your fate does not lead to happiness.  By Alisha Jade. www.feccomics.com

 
STRANGE BEHAVIOUR
The debut graphic novel by Melbourne illustrator Marijka Gooding. Retold through the eyes of a six-inch version of herself, these short stories emphasize the ridiculousness of the world and encourage others to appreciate the subtle ironies hidden in the mundane. http://www.marijkagooding.com/

UNGENRED (Black House Comics)
A collection of Jason Franks’ non-genre stories. Drama, comedy, travel, autobiography, social realism and sentient robots. Illustrated by Bruce Mutard, J. Marc Schmidt, Nic Hunter, Ed Siemienkowicz, Renan L’Hopsum, Joe Pimienta and others. Introduction by Bernard Caleo. www.blackhousecomics.com

 
VELOCITY #3
A fantasy and sci fi anthology by some of Australia and South Africa’s most best creators. Edited by Moray Rhoda and Neville Howard. www.gaining-velocity.com

 

2012 in Review: Matt Nicholls

Matt Nicholls

What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?

First I started this year with Debuting my webcomic Collateral, illustrated by my new UK friend Lee Taylor, which was pretty exciting. Then I self published Collateral Dear John Issue one and two later this year, while also debuting another webcomic with a local friend of mine Ross Stewart called Vesper and since I didn't have much else on this year I self published a one shot 12 page comic with local illustrator Simon Wright called Our Love Will Never Die, But We Will.

Not to mention I tabled at my first and second con this year with Armageddon being the first and the little Oz Horror Con the second.

Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the first time in 2012?

Wow, where to start. I suppose I'll only comment on the ones from this year, even though I'd like to shout out to others. So I wont be mentioning Steve Sparke, Frank Candiloro and Brendan Halyday as we met last year. So I wont be mentioning how awesome they are and how good their work is.

SO to start with this year, I'll have to go with Matt Kyme. His work is awesome and thatbulletproofkid.com is a great new Superhero webcomic and he's not doing much so he's got The Ace happening as well on the same site. So lazy. He's the webcomic version of Frank Candiloro.

FEC has produced so much work this year it would be hard to mention it all, but you can check it out at FEC Comics but special mention would have to go out to Kranburn and Great Works.
Zombolette is an ace comic and I love how it isn't a zombie story.
 
MSG by Andrew Li. I met him once at the Melbourne Comic meet up. He was so quiet and reserve and his comic really deserves a read.

I really want to mention all the local comic scene, not just Melbourne but Australia, but there really is a lot out there.

What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?

I loved seeing one of my favourite local bands The Dirty Three again this year. I highly recommend this band. They would have to be in my top two bands I've ever seen live, and seeing them for the second time they did not disappoint.

I also went to Scienceworks this year. I hadn't been since I was at school many moons ago. That place is AWESOME!Go check it out, even if you don't have kids with you it's still ace.
Since I wasn't releasing much this year in the way of comics I renovated my kitchen. It's crazy how much you love your oven when you've gone without one for 12 months.

Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?

It's amazing how much you learn when working with different artists. I have had to change how I write my scripts to suite different artist. But my working methods tend not to change when I write in my half hour on the train.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

 Releasing more Collateral Issues and having more Vesper pages out as well as debuting at Supanova and Oz Comic Con. They are the main things. I also wrote a short comic for Brendan Halyday this year as part of the 24 hour challenge, so I'm hoping for that to get finished next year (No pressure Brendan :P)

 collateraldearjohn.thewebcomic.com

 vesper.thewebcomic.com

2012 in Review: Matt Kyme

Matt Kyme

What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?

In Sept I launched That Bulletproof Kid where I upload my ongoing superhero web comic; That Bulletproof Kid. It’s a full colour comic illustrated by an awesomely talented friend, Arthur Strickland. In October I began uploading a second web comic which I wrote and illustrated called The Ace. In Nov I also uploaded an 8 page story called Secret History which was illustrated by Gareth Colliton and coloured by Joe Roberts.
 

Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the first time in 2012?

There are sooo many talented people out there! I was totally blown away by Hidden by Mirranda Burton. It was so tender and heartfelt, when you read it you feel as if you are listening to an old friend. I enjoyed the creepy and psychological atmosphere of The List by Paul Bedford. Fred Russell-Atkins had me laughing with his action packed, typo filled Spitfires, McBlack comics by Jason Franks are clever, surprising, genre challenging, 4th wall breaking meta which are a hoot to read. Thomas Tung’s Rent My Seal and Jake Harrison, Relationship Detective are a heap of fun as is High School Romance by Jin Chan Yum Wai. Guzumo by Matt Emery kept me and my high school students entertained and slightly confused.

Endlessly prolific writer, Matt Nicholls delivered 3 amazing comics this year; 2 issues of Collateral and my personal favourite, Our Love Will Never Die But We Will, which has to be the most romantic zombie story ever. Matt also has a wicked web comic called Vesper that is illustrated by Ross Stewart. One of my biggest highlights was discovering work by the amazing Frank Candiloro. His work is something else. His stories are all so different from the last and his artistic style is so original and unmistakable. My favourite of his is Behind The Crooked Cross. It is a harrowing comic which is testing and moving. I should mention the amazing artists and writers that I have been lucky enough to work/collaborate/brainstorm with this year, Franco Pollizzi, Eros Harries, Annerleigh Pappos, Gareth Colliton, Joe Roberts, Simon Wright, Steve Partridge, Andrew Fitzgerald and Arthur Strickland.

What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?

My wife and two kids are a heap of fun. We have had a heap of laughs together this year and I’m very lucky to have them. Outside of family stuff, I’m really digging the new albums by The Cribs and Cat Power. I finally gave into peer pressure and started watching Breaking Bad. The new series of The Walking Dead has been great. Avengers and Batman movies were really cool. I liked The Artist and Argo too. My kids have discovered The Aquabats Supershow which is super rad. That Kony video was good. The world not ending was pretty good too.

Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?

Pretty much everything is new this year.  I did all the art for The Ace (my first ever comic) after I finished writing it and it drained my life. I enjoyed writing it far more than illustrating it so I decided that from now on I would avoid doing comic art like it was the plague. The only thing I enjoy as much as writing comics is getting fresh pages of art in my inbox. Working with Arthur of That Bulletproof Kid is a dream. I give him some rough sketches when I send him the scripts. It’s up to him if he wants to use them or not. I have never had any complaints with his pages, the dude knows how to draw and I love his colours! As far as my working methods go, I have sketchbooks with ideas and design/sketches all over the place, I have files with all my random ideas for stories/plots and characters,  a file with the rough story lines and a separate file where I type out the finished scripts. I do a heap of cutting and pasting, tweaking, refining, reading, re-reading etc before I send the scripts off top the artists. Did that put you to sleep?

What are you looking forward to in 2013?
 

I look forward to working with Arthur on That Bulletproof Kid and perhaps some other projects. I look forward to meeting more creators and discovering their work. I hope the new Superman movie is good. I don’t know what else will be on the cards next year, just have to hold on tight and see what happens.

http://thatbulletproofkid.com/wordpress/

2012 in Review: Scarlette Baccini

Scarlette Baccini

What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?

Being a part of the Big Arse 2 launch was really special. I launched Zombolette, which is a collection of my comics about a zombie and her mutant guinea-pig best friend. Over the years I've come to care deeply for these characters, and I was really proud to see it all finished and in the hands of real-life nerds.

Watching Graphic Novels! Melbourne! at Readings with the good vibes of the local comic book community was also a mega highlight. I've always been a bit of a hermit in comic book land, but there's a real buzz in Melbourne comics at the moment, and finally being a part of it this year has been wonderful. The film kind of summed it up for me.

Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the first time in 2012?

This year I discovered Warren Ellis, who created such a massive and wonderfully realised world that I felt totally lost in the landscape. I also very happily discovered about a zillion local creators. Tim Molloy's It Shines and Shakes and Laughs was so moody and delicious, I
can't wait to see more of his work. Ben Hutchings' Lesson Master killed me, and I think Walking to Japan is one of the loveliest creations I've seen. Discovering the prolificacy of Frank Candiloro was also really inspiring.

What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?

Seven Psychopaths! Possibly my favourite film of 2012. I'd been having conniptions over drawing a lot of violence in a new comic I'm working on, and that film helped me to sort out my feelings on the matter.

Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?

I used to be very haphazard about drawing, and so years of strangling pencils whilst sitting awkwardly on the floor has given me pretty awful RSI. A few months ago I got my hands on a proper drawing board, started sitting at a desk, and learnt how to use brushes. It's been a bit rough learning to use all these new tools, but I'm sure I'll thank myself later.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Finishing a Zombolette graphic novel, and a few other shorter projects that are a bit out of my comfort zone.

http://scarlettebaccini.com/

2012 in Review: Frank Candiloro

Frank Candiloro 

What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?

It’s been a big year for me comics wise – I’ve managed to put out 4 books ranging from 30-70 pages each, had a number of interviews and positive write-ups of my work, was involved in Big Arse 2, got featured in Best Art Ever on Comics Alliance a few times, Brian Michael Bendis bought one of my books.… it’s been very encouraging to say the least :P

But if I had to name one major highlight, it would be finally putting out Behind The Crooked Cross; it was something that I wanted to do for a long time and was reluctant to do so since it was a World War II story and it being so different to the comics I usually make. I'm glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and made something that was very difficult and emotionally exhausting to create. In the long run, I think it paid off. I think it’s my best work to date. 

Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the first time in 2012?

It’s been a big year for Image Comics, and in particular their reboot of Prophet was something of an eye-opener for me; it made me discover the work of Brandon Graham, Giannis Milonogiannis and Simon Roy. They each have different and unique styles but also work quite well together, delivering an awesome, dream-like sci-fi environment, reminiscent of Moebius. Another highlight was discovering some of the old stories that Steve Ditko wrote and drew, such as Mr A, the H. Series and Avenging World, reflecting his objectivist views. It just re-affirmed how great of an artist the man is.

Regarding the local comic scene I discovered a lot of great artists who I had known of for a while but had never sought out their comics until this year. People like Tim Molloy, Scarlette Baccini, Peter Foster, Fil Barlow, Matt Kyme and Matt Nicholls did some superb work this year, among many others, and it’s pretty inspiring.

What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?

I went on a trip to the US in July, and stayed a while in New York. I had always been interested and influenced by New York culture and it was an amazing, stimulating city, with so much character and history. The Museum of Modern Art, Greenwich Village, Grand Central, Broadway, Little Italy, I could have stayed there for a year and not get enough of the place; it made me think about a new direction for my future comics. It’s inspired me to make a story about it, which should be out at the end of 2013. 

Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?

I realised that if I wanted to make at least 4 comics a year, I’d have to get a lot more stringent about my creative process. So I decided that I’d draw for 6 hours each night, whether it be comic pages or just random artwork if I’ve completed a comic. It’s important that you’re always making art no matter what it is or how terrible you believe it may be.

I also decided that I’d begin writing the next comic while finishing the current comic I’d be doing. It’s not because I want to speed up the creative process, but simply that I have a lot of ideas for future books, and writing them down in script form ensures that I’ll get around to making them.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Naturally I’m looking forward to putting out more books, and also to see how much more the local comic scene grows. It’s still fairly small but the overall quality of the books is vastly improving, so I think there are bright days ahead. Here’s to many more great comics.

 http://www.frankcandiloro.com/

Bit and Pieces

Comicbook Factory Chief Karl Wills has recently released a new comic Princess Seppuku Book One. 32 pages, black and white with a colour center spread and in the style of his Jessica of the Schoolyard Tijuana bibles. For those unfamiliar with Wills work visit The Comicbook Factory.

Wills is one of New Zealand's finest cartoonists I heartily recommend you buy a copy from here.

I have been researching a piece on Anti-Maori propaganda in cartoons. Cartoon below by Garland William Woon is from the Taranaki Punch produced during the 1860's.

ARC2002-538 Taranaki Punch, Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth, New Zealand

New Zealand born cartoonist Colin Wilson talks about his career on the latest episode of Melbourne comics podcast NonCanonical.

Cover of Prophet #29 by Australian cartoonist Fil Barlow (Image Comics).

Issue #22 of Prophet featured a four page back up by Barlow and series writer Brandon Graham has been very effusive in his appreciation of Barlow stating in an interview with Gavin Lees, "There’s this artist named Fil Barlow who, when I was 10, I got a hold of this six-issue series he did called Zooniverse. It changed my comicbook life, you know? It was so exciting, and he put so much work into these six issues that I’ve memorized the things pretty much." 

Barlow has been blogging in recent times over here.

Prolific Melbourne cartoonist Frank Candiloro has released a new 40 page horror comic available from his Etsy store as well as his past works over here.

Recent interviews with New Zealand cartoonists. Roger Langridge at the Washington Post here and with the Orbiting Pod here. Dylan Horrocks answers 15 questions with Sequential Highway here.

Congratulations to Becky Dreistadt and Frank Gibson for more than doubling their Kickstarter goal to raise funds for a 110 page deluxe hardcover collecting the first three years of their Tiny Kitten Teeth webcomic.

Gorgeous Stanley Pitt cover for a pulp western from Australian publisher Horwitz Publications 1958.

New Zealand born Maurice Bramley single page of a western comic digest undated from Australian publishers Page Publications. Apart from this page the entirety of the comic is made up of reprinted american material.