Salt Cover Gallery

SALT was published fortnightly during World War Two by the Australian Army Education Service and distributed free to all ranks among all Australian troops in Australian and adjacent territories, and Royal Australian Navy, to inform, entertain and educate service personnel. Published in digest size, initial covers featured text descriptions of interior contents but eventually illustrative covers were employed featuring work from many cartoonists and illustrators of the time. SALT featured work from troops, staff writers and artists in the form of articles, illustrations, stories, poetry and cartoons.

Illustration Diversion: Places and Chases

 Jungle Man © Gary Venn

I'm late to this but thought it worth mentioning for folk passing through or living in Hamilton, New Zealand. Places and Chases, an exhibition of illustrations by Angela Keoghan and Gary Venn, is in it's last week at The Framing Workshop, 120 Silverdale Road, Hamilton.

Artist bio's from the Framing Workshop,

Angela Keoghan

Angela’s illustrations continue themes of exploration and discovery, which are commonly found in her work. In this exhibition they are based on a fictional narrative of a Wild Goose Chase set in the Victorian era. Her characters always seem to be outwitted by the wild and elusive, the curious and the playful goose and their hunt continues on and on becoming legend. Angela is an award-winning illustrator from Hamilton, New Zealand. She runs The Picture Garden, a freelance company specialising in Illustration and Photography.

Gary Venn

“In my commercial illustration work I have recently produced quite a few illustrated maps – for clients such as Jamie Oliver magazine and EasyJet airlines in the UK, and I have enjoyed the specific challenges of producing illustrations which ideally work as a mixture of map, landscape and narrative illustration all at once. I thought that it would be fun to carry this sort of approach over into a series of prints for a show, and these were the result. It was enjoyable to be able to make images that worked like maps but could be more abstract and decorative.”

 The Framing Workshop

Places & Chases from Sarah Bradley on Vimeo.

Several years ago I used to drag poor Gary Venn up and down New Zealand with my noisy pop band, Amy Racecar. As well as being a talented illustrator Gary is a mighty fine guitarist as evidenced here:

  

Peter Foster - Johnny Red

Upon emigrating from Australia to England in 1979, Peter Foster touted his portfolio around comics publishers, securing an initial job with IPC on the following eight page Johnny Red story for the 1979 Battle Holiday Special. Foster was the third artist to depict the adventures of Johnny Red after original artist Joe Colquhoun and his successor John Cooper. To achieve the grey tones for this story Foster experimented with grey paint whereas watered down ink or watercolour paint were more commonly used.

 

 

Johnny Red © 2013 Egmont UK Ltd.

Russell Clark - Living in a Maori Village

Prolific New Zealand illustrator Russell Clark previously featured in posts here and here. Living in a Maori Village is another example of his work for publisher A.H. & A. W. Reed. Written by co-publisher Alexander Wyclif Reed who wrote many books about the indigenous people of New Zealand and Australia. Reed had no firsthand knowledge of the Maori, deriving his research from secondary sources. Reed considered his role as an author to be a populariser and simplifier.

Reference: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4r9/1

Popeye - Langridge and Minhinnick

The Roger Langridge written and occasionally drawn Popeye series for IDW concludes with it's twelfth issue this year. Below is another New Zealand cartoonist's rendition of Popeye from 71 years prior, an editorial cartoon by Sir Gordon Minhinnick from The New Zealand Herald, 9 July 1941.

Click for bigger view

Minhinnick used Popeye to represent the might of 40,000 American troops stationed to Iceland to replace the occupying English forces two days prior to this cartoon's publication. Iceland intially declared themselves neutral during the war but found themselves occupied by German forces by 1940. After failed attempts to persuade the Icelandic government to join the Allies against the Axis forces, British Marines invaded Iceland on 10 May 1940.  The defence of Iceland by 25,000 British troops was transferred to 40,000 American troops on 7 July 1941, with American troops outnumbering Icelandic males at the time. (Iceland's population numbered around 120,000).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland_during_World_War_II

"Just Us" - Stopford Wrathall

"Just Us", a children's picture book from 1944, featured the vibrant illustrations of Stopford G. Wrathall and verse by John Brent. Wrathall uses a combination of painted art, line art, and crayon sketches to illustrate children's adventures as delineated by Brent. "Just Us" was published by The Morning Post Printing House in Rotorua.

 

The 19 December 1944 The Bay of Plenty Beacon reviewed "Just Us",

Outstanding Production

What promises to be one of the most appealing books ever produced for juvenile readers and of interest to adults as well, is a book "Just Us", which has a distinct local flavour. Written by an Opotiki author under the pen name of John Brent and beautifully illustrated in colour by Stop Wrathall, the book, in verse form, shows a very fine understanding of the working of the young mind, and it's humour will be appreciated by young and old. One of the many subjects dealt with in the book is the family's war effort and this will especially interest ex-Home Guardsmen.

Mention of Hukuwai, Ohope and Peter Petersen's and a large illustration depicting children damming up a stream at Hukuwai Beach will especially appeal to local children but it's appeal will also be widespread, and it should sell well throughout the Dominion.

The verse, illustrations and general layout in "just Us", are far superior to most of the children's books which come from overseas. Wrathall's genius in depicting children at play adds largely to the success of the work. The Printers, the Rotorua Morning Post, have spared no effort in this first-class production and are assured of a quick sale of the limited number of copies available before Christmas.

Copies of this book are now available at the local stationers. 

  

Click for larger view

In the 1950's Wrathall illustrated promotional material and cartoon maps of Waiheke Island and Rotorua.

 Click for larger view

Wrathall and Brent collaborated on a follow up in 1954, Meet The Chactadee, published in England by WM. Collins Sons and Co. Ltd.

Sources: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast, http://waihekenews.weebly.com/old-waiheke.html

Paper Trail

Rejected Pat Alexander 4 pager from Dark Horse Presents here.

 

Andrew Fulton's Smaller Comics have a pay what you want sale on here.

Chromacon is a new Illustration and Comics Art convention in New Zealand launching on 12 May at the old Armageddon stomping grounds, the Aotea Centre. A fine line up of illustrators and cartoonists have already been announced on their site and unlike other conventions down this way entrance to Chromacon is free. More information here.

Jason Franks writes about crowdfunding.

 Art by Jan Scherpenhuizen and story by Jason Franks from Sixsmiths vol. 2

Toby Morris has a tumblr!

What if money was no object - Alan Watts at Zen Pencils.

Hamilton comics alert: www.cakeburger.com

(I once saw Mr Cakeburger walk into a comic shop, swipe an issue of Gaiman/Romita Jr's Eternals off the shelf, pay for it and then roll it up and shove it in his back pocket. Cakeburger ain't precious about his comics, I like that in a comics creator.)

The Duluxe Tiny Kitten Teeth Hardcover is now available from Topatoco.

 The Beardy and the Geek podcast interview T-Rex Jones.

The latest issue of The Lifted Brow #15 is available and continues their run of featuring fine cartoonists from Australasia and around the world. Cartoonists featured int he latest issue are, Ben Sea, Blaise Larmee, Noel Freibert, Tin Can Forest, Ben Juers & Bailey Sharp, Simon Hanselmann.

  

The Melbourne comics scene documentary Graphic Novels! Melbourne! film makers Daniel Hayward and Bernard Caleo have announced a screening at the 2013 Angouleme Comics Festival in France (French article here), with screenings in Berlin, Hamburg and London to follow. Focusing on the work of Pat Grant, Mandy Ord, Nicki Greenberg, Bruce Mutard, Graphic Novels! Melbourne! also features Scott McCloud, Dylan Horrocks, Paul Gravett and Shaun Tan amongst others.

 Pat Grant's poster for Graphic Novels! Melbourne!

Another screening in Melbourne will be at Cinema Nova (380 Lygon Street Carlton) on Wednesday 23 January at 6.30pm, with a Q & A afterwards.

Photos from the Carlton Readings laneway premiere are here.