7 Comics You Can Buy from Sticky Institute Right Now (Unless they sold-out at the Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair.)

7 comics possibly available right now from the Sticky Institute, 10 Campbell Arcade, Degraves Subway, Melbourne.

Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen - Dylan Horrocks

 

Dylan Horrocks' forthcoming graphic novel Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen is now available for preorder as part of Fantagraphics Fall schedule. I don't think an official announcement has been made yet other than Publishers Weekly mentioning last month that Fantagraphics had taken on publishing. I believe the Magic Pen was originally planned as a trilogy of books but will now be a single 210 page hardcover volume.

Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen online.
 
From Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen book description:

Acclaimed cartoonist Dylan Horrocks returns with a long-awaited new graphic novel, the first since his perennial classic, 1998’s Hicksville. Cartoonist Sam Zabel hasn’t drawn a comic in years. Stuck in a nightmare of creative block and despair, Sam spends his days writing superhero stories for a large American comics publisher and staring at a blank piece of paper, unable to draw a single line. Then one day he finds a mysterious old comic book set on Mars and is suddenly thrown headlong into a wild, fantastic journey through centuries of comics, stories, and imaginary worlds. Accompanied by a young webcomic creator named Alice and an enigmatic schoolgirl with rocket boots and a bag full of comics, Sam goes in search of the Magic Pen, encountering sex-crazed aliens, medieval monks, pirates, pixies and — of course — cartoonists. Funny, erotic, and thoughtful, Sam Zabel and the Magic Pen explores the pleasures, dangers, and moral consequences of fantasy.

As part of the New Zealand festival Dylan's collection of shorts Incomplete Works launches from Victoria University Press on Saturday 8th March, 7:30pm at the Exchange Atrium. More details here.

Nevile Lodge - Golden Kiwi and Convoice

Nevile Lodge drawing the Golden Kiwi numbers and visiting a NZ news stand in 1964.

Nevile Lodge (1918-1989) drew from an early age and like his fellow New Zealand cartoonist Sid Scales honed his skills as a prisoner of war during World War Two after being captured at El Alamein. Lodge later joked that he ‘studied on the Continent for three years’ referring to his time in camps in Austria and Italy. After the War Lodge became one of New Zealand's most prolific cartoonists of the twentieth century with regular features in newspapers as well as book and magazine illustrations. In 1981 Nevile Lodge was made an OBE.

Prior to his experience as a prisoner of war Lodge contributed cartoons to a variety of troop publications including Parade and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Times. In 1941 setting out with fellow New Zealand troops of the 4th reinforcements aboard H. M. T. 24 Lodge contributed cartoons to a sixteen page troop publication Convoice which is credited on the last pages as 'Published and printed on board H. M. T. 24'.

From the Convoice introduction,

CONVOICE - a voice from a convoy. A live young voice, born, nursed, and grown on H.M. T 24. It laughs, it moans, in patches it is serious. To those on board we hope it will be more than a memory of life aboard the "Twenty-four" on this, her first voyage with New Zealand troops. To our people at home we hope it will show something of our hopes joys and little disappointments. Newspapermen at home. overseas, and even in the Army are wont to talk -shop-. So it was on this ship: they talked, planned, appealed, wrote and from it all arose this publication. It sounds easy, but let nobody be deceived. There were a thousand difficulties each one presenting its own little complications. From the beginning it has been a race with time. Old Man Time has had his supporters, but with more than our fair share of good luck we have won. Photographs and cartoons were rushed ashore to make reproduction blocks; thousands of sheets of paper were bought and taken on board; a printing staff has worked 24 hours a day. A race well won has its own reward. All we ask is that "Convoice" be accepted in the spirit with which it was published. Overlook its short-comings and remember that it is a troop magazine written by troops for troops. Long hours of work and thought are nothing if to those on board, all working for the same cause, it is of some small value. To many ashore and afloat we are indebted for their assistance. To them all we extend our thanks. Other troops will follow us in H. M. T. 24. and other magazines will be published. We hope they are an improvement on what we have done, but, as New Zealanders, we are proud to have been the pioneers.

Lodge began a long association with Wellington newspaper The Evening Post in 1947. Lodge is one of the few New Zealand cartoonists that had cartoons produced at broadsheet size with his cartoon covers for the Saturday Sports Post. For significant sporting events Lodge would prepare multiple covers for publication depending upon the outcome of the game.

Nevile Lodge Sports Post Covers on Pikitia tumblr.

Nevile Lodge cartoon from the Sports Post.

Source: Ian F. Grant. 'Lodge, Nevile Sidney', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 5-Nov-2013 URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/5l14/lodge-nevile-sidney

Alex King

 

Selection of gag cartoons by Alex King for the Australian Woman's Weekly circa 1930's - 40's. I've found little information about Alex King other than he was a friend of Noel Cook and Ginger Meggs second artist Ron Vivian and worked for many of the newspaper markets of the time including Smith's Weekly. If anyone knows more about King's life and work I'd love to hear from you.

Alex King pencil portraits on Pikitia tumblr.

Source: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper?q

Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier 2014 Zine Fair

 

I'll be at the Festival of the Photocopier 2014 Zine Fair this Sunday at the Melbourne Town Hall with a handful of new things:

The Australian and New Zealand Comics Interview Zine #1: David C Mahler - First in a  series of $2 zines focusing on interviews with comic folk from down this way. I hope to pull together a dozen of these this year.

All the latest and some classic mini-comics from Oily Comics. The End of the Fucking World, Teen Creeps, Blood Visions, Lou, Noise, rave, Real Rap and more, $2 each.

I'll be playing with Boatbuilder at the Festival launch party on Thursday.

Brodie Mack - Free Lance Covers

Brodie Mack illustrated covers for Wellington newspaper The Free Lance from early 1917. While still a teenager Mack provided covers and cartoons for The Free Lance during 1915-1917.

Further examples of Brodie Mack's work and Biographical notes.

Brodie Mack and Archie E. Martin's Kazanda.

Source: http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

Advice Comics

Some fresh advice from Advice An Online Cartoon Advice Column.

James Squires Interview

 
A year or two back cartoonist/Faction editor Damon Keen turned me onto James Squires' sublime webcomic Moonbeard.  I really like James' absurd wonky and sometimes heartfelt humour which is a special thing amongst the glut of humourless parody crowding for our attention on the Internet.

 

I asked James a few questions about his work via email.

What got you interested in comics? What got you into making comics?

As a young impressionable child I was gifted some boxes of old comic strip collections, mostly Garfield, Footrot flats, Bogor, Tintin. I assume it was this that got me into drawing comics in the first place because all my very first comics were blatant rip-offs of the above, but eventually I started doing my own thing, more or less. I think it was a couple of old Michael Leunig books—his first two collections—that first got me interested in what a comic could be, because up until that point I'd only really seen newspaper comics and Tintin. I drew a pretty bleak strip Fishing for Orphans for the Canterbury Uni mag Canta for a few years while studying, and have been making silly comics ever since.

 

Were there other cartoonists contributing to Canta during your study years? Were you drawing a weekly strip?

There were a few during the years I drew for Canta. When I started my comics were messy ink things with a muddy mix of ink wash and watercolour crayon, and I totally forget his name but Canta already had a pretty polished cartoonist to make me look bad (I was). Nearer the end I was joined by surreal cartoonist Michael Leung (not to be confused with Leunig) who had a great unique style. Fun times.

Fishing for Orphans was more or less weekly, usually drawn at 3am the night it was due. I think the comic received slightly more fan mail than hate mail, so there's that.

Why do you make so many comics about cats?

There's not that many, but the ones that feature cats seem to do much better online than any others (turns out The Internet likes cats). I have a cat called Ted Danson who often hangs out around my desk while I'm drawing, so that probably contributes.

Are you involved with a comics community or scene in Wellington?

No but I should be. I bet it's wonderful.

What is the most enjoyable part of the comic making process for you?

I also really enjoy the initial concept phase, when you don't know an idea is terrible yet and you're approaching it with a giddy enthusiasm before you realize it has nowhere to go (unless it does).

I also enjoy playing around with structure and pacing. The comics I make are at their core single page "gag" comics, except usually without gags to speak of, so it's important I (try to) nail the pacing and beats to sell a concept and make a short comic feel complete. I'll often finish a comic ending with a gag or a punch and be left wanting, so I like to take from the beginning and add to the end until I'm left with sort of an anti-comic: something that starts with a punch, or a twist, and then dwells on what happens afterwards (or what doesn't). When I say "play around with structure and pacing" I may mean "take a half-baked concept and butcher it until I think it reads well."

What are some comics you've enjoyed reading recently?

My New Year's resolution was to read more comics, so I'm in the process of stocking up and very open to recommendations. Have been re-reading through Jason's work, which I am in love with: The Living and the Dead, Werewolves of Montpellier. Jim Woodring is amazing. Regularly reading and enjoying a whole lot of webcomics, off the top of my head: Matt Bors, Tom Gauld, Extra Ordinary, Anne Emond. Moth City. Am also regularly reading and enjoying Wellingtonian Die Popular's stuff and Aucklandite Eddie Monotone's work totally deserves more fans. I read far too many online comics because my bookcase is all the way over there.

Any plans to put Moonbeard in print?

Definitely. WATCH THIS SPACE

moonbeard.com