Showing posts sorted by date for query men only. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query men only. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Mark One Turns 25

 
For a brief moment in the nineties I had access to two comic shops within cycling distance of my home. After establishing their first store in Auckland the Mark One franchise set up stores across New Zealand including my hometown Napier and the nearby Hastings. Sadly at one point the franchises all switched to operating independently with Chris Lander's Mark One Comics in Hamilton left as the sole store under the Mark One brand.  My local stores disappeared after the boom years in the nineties and my interest in comics dropped off.  In the mid 2000's I moved to Hamilton on a whim and after a few curious visits to Mark One I rekindled my interest in comics.

A highlight of every week was picking up a pile of comics on Friday and then lounging on our mansion porch (yeah, we had a mansion) on the banks of the mighty Waikato River and thumbing through all the four colour goodness that I thought I had grown out of. I remember picking up Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca's brilliant Street Angel and the Palmiotti and Gray relaunch of my childhood favourite Jonah Hex amongst a regular stream of goodies. It was probably finding John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra chronicling Judge Dredd's origins in 2000AD that convinced me I needed to recommit to my childhood obsession. Chris was great for indulging my requests to order oddities from the Previews catalogue and things like, "Can you please not put sticky price tags on my Phantom comics?". Chris was great too for selling the tawdry comics I started making in Hamilton, "Here's a pile of hand stapled dick jokes I photocopied in an educational facility that I snuck into at 1am last night." It's really all Chris Lander's fault.



The following article appeared on the Mark One FB page and appears here courtesy of Tony Stevens.


Mark One Turns 25 by Tony Stevens

Superman puffs out his expansive chest triumphantly. To his left Batman glares menacingly, his shadowy costume a complete contrast to Supe’s provocative red and blue.

I take a few steps further and encounter Hellboy sporting his distinctive red stumps where two demonic horns should be. His giant stone hand protrudes from a scruffy leather coat filled with magical charms, amulets and protective trinkets.  A quick scan of the room reveals that I’m surrounded by aliens, predators, detectives, space cops, mutants, underwater monarchs, zombies and even the odd crew member the U.S.S. Enterprise.  Larger than life figures boast flowing velvet capes and proudly wear their underwear externally while more than a couple of billionaire playboys wear their egos and genius in the form of high-tech armoured battlesuits.  These are my heroes and there’s a special place in Hamilton where I can go to find them all in one place, not in the flesh but on the covers of a mighty array of comics, graphic novels, fantastical tomes and all manner of pop culture goodness.

That place is Mark One and I think it’s the coolest shop in the city.


Every Friday I pay a visit, intent on spending a good chunk of my wage on a rapidly growing collection of graphic novels.  I usually spend a few minutes inspecting the new releases on my routine trip but today I’m here to interview Mark One owner, Chris Lander, about his shop’s twenty-fifth birthday.

Chris has been enraptured with the graphic medium since he was eight when an issue of 2000AD, the post-apocalyptic story of future cop Judge Dredd, arrived via post in a little rolled tube.  His tastes have extended since then and he’s confident he can find a comic to please even the most persistent cynic.

“It’s just reading,” he says almost in defiance of the myriad stereotypes.

“It’s not a statement about you unless the statement is hey I can read.”

“Mark One isn’t a fan club; you don’t have to be a paid-up member of the costume brigade to come in here. I really do see us as just a specialised book store.

“The whole comic collecting side of it (as an investment) exists – but it’s just an aspect of it. They really are just good stories.” Celebrations for the twenty-fifth milestone kick off on Saturday, May 3, and will tie in with the international event Free Comic Book Day, where Chris will give away thousands of free comics to readers’ young and old alike.  The event has been swiftly gathering steam since American retailers birthed the concept in 2002. New Zealand audiences have been slower to catch on, however in the past two years hordes of Hamiltonians have assembled on Victoria Street to get their free comics.


“Last year we had 60-70 people queuing out the door. I opened the shop and it surged. I had to jump out of the way and I got trapped in the corner while this never ending torrent of people came through,” Chris said. Luckily Iron Man was on hand to keep the crowd pacified.

The ‘specialty’ bookstore had already been around for five years before Chris, 25, walked in to interview for a full-time position in 1994. The original owners Mark and Tania Paul had at that time established a network of Mark One franchises across New Zealand and two in Australia. The Pauls and their business partners were on the cusp of settling a deal to launch a store in the US, but a board-room scuffle and successive legal challenges derailed any plans for world domination, leaving the Hamilton store the lone survivor once the dust had settled.  Chris stayed on as manager and he and wife Rachel bought the business in 2000. Though when they took the keys he had to sell some of his personal collection to pay a month’s rent up front, including a rare convention special of Sandman #50 by renowned writer Neil Gaiman.  Despite the rent being well in hand now Chris maintains there is no treasure trove at home  – his collection is at the shop and it’s all for sale.

 
“I get a buzz out of introducing someone to a good read.  If somebody comes in and asks for a book it’s no good at home, it’s got to be here. “Besides when my kids got old enough to pull out my comics the safest place for them was at the shop.” Chris and Rachel’s youngest Ben, 6, thinks every family owns their own comic shop and is a big fan of everybody’s favourite neighbourhood Spiderman. Jamie’s a big fan of Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard, while his mother is more partial to Iron Man thanks to the suave performance of Robert Downey Jr – and Chris? “Who is your favourite superhero?” I ask. It’s obvious he has mused on this issue more than once. Chris looks torn, grappling with multiple possible responses. He begins mouthing “Bat-“ but stops himself and says, “Hellboy.” “I really love Batman but…Hellboy is really everything I love about working here. The comic has bubblegum elements, you know fighting against the evil Nazis, but there is substance to that bubblegum. There’s a tonne of mythology to it, Russian, Celtic and even Christian – there’s just so much in there and it’s just a fun read.”

Fun is the ultimate goal for Chris and he hopes for his customers too – the joy of reading a good story. He maintains that comics aren’t just “captioned pictures” and can point to a number of works considered literary masterpieces. He literally does point to a few tomes I can see from where we’re standing by the counter. I can see Saga by Brian K. Vaughan,Locke & Key by Joe Hill, and obscured from my vision Frank Miller’s seminal The Dark Knight Returns. He rattles off a few more titles, almost all of them produced by ‘indie’ publishers. I’m surprised at how little the ‘big two’ come up our discussion – when people think comics they usually point to powerhouse publishers Marvel and DC, who are responsible for the likes of X-Men, Avengers, Batman, and The Justice League.

He assures me Marvel and DC are still producing great comics, but says recently it’s the independent titles that have grabbed the industry by the scruff and given it a good shake.

“I actually do think today is a golden era in comics.


 “I was managing the store in the early 90s when (customers purchased) X-Men and nothing else (but now) there is such variety. “Comics are now being produced for so many different markets whereas in the past they were being written for kids knowing that they also had an older audience.” Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead is one such indie title that has stormed pop culture in recent years. Ever since it was released in 2003 Dead has been dominating the graphic novel market, not to mention spinning off a spectacularly successful TV show. It’s a black and white comic boasting themes of extinction, isolation, and societal deterioration, with a generous helping of blood and guts – definitely not one for kids.

Audiences have mutated as significantly as their comics since Mark One came on to the scene. When Chris started his career the industry was embroiled in a “speculator” boom where collectors rabidly snapped up multiple copies of titles, hoping their value would skyrocket over time.

 
“We’ve ridden fads like chatter-rings and Yu-Gi-Oh, but I’ve never seen a boom like the one I walked into. “You’d order a stupid load of something in and you still sell out. There were even firms in the US where you could pay a certain amount of money and they would purchase and even choose your comics for you and then store them in a vault, and you were apprised of its value every so often. It wasn’t happening to quite the same scale (in NZ) but it was still pretty crazy.” That historical priority of monetary value over a good yarn is the reason Chris is so adamant that Mark One is pitched at readers. The true value of a comic, he says, is the story, “otherwise what’s the point?” The speculator boom marked the glory days for comic book stores, but when the bubble burst a year later shops around the world began to sink, including many in the Mark One chain. Cue the legal arm-wrestle between franchise big-wigs. But Chris, mystified that his pay check kept rolling in, continued working. The closest he got to the skirmish was a phone call from Mark Paul warning him of attempts by stakeholders to change locks on the various Mark One stores. He was instructed to stand sentinel over the Hamilton shop until the corporate espionage had run its course.


According to Paul, Chris’ loyalty during this time is a big part of why the Hamilton shop survived when others collapsed. “Chris always struck me as an honest, hardworking guy with real integrity,” said Paul. “Chris’ loyalty (during the dispute) made it a priority for us to retain ownership of the Hamilton store, once the dust had settled. “This enabled us to eventually sell the business to Chris and Rachel, and we couldn’t be happier about that.”
Without Chris, Hamiltonians would be stuck ordering our comics from Amazon instead purchasing them from a local store we can call our own. No other retailers dabbling in the pop culture market have been able to match Mark One’s local popularity. 

Chris tells me about one of their early competitors Card Crazy, a shop opened in Centre Place by a Mark One alumnus at the height of the trading card craze. “Card Crazy?” a customer asks. He appears in his late thirties and certainly doesn’t strike me as the stereotypical comic book “geek”. “That’s going back a while,” he continues. Chris nods in agreement, and remarks on his own long innings. “Yeah you’ve been here since I was a kid,” the customer replies . “And you’ve got the customer base to prove it.”



This little exchange is a perfect example of the mutual loyalty that has kept the Hamilton store running for twenty-five years, almost unheard of in the turbulent industry. And he’s not the only customer to share nostalgic sentiments about their favourite shop during our interview. Another Mark One veteran, a seasoned gentleman Chris refers to as ‘Robin’, arrives at the counter a few minutes later and reminisces on shopping there pre-Chris, when he could get an issue of 2000AD for $0.30 (it’s now roughly $7.50). As Robin leaves I’m struck by how much foot traffic the shop has had since I walked in. I’ve been talking to Chris for close to two hours now and in that time close to 20 customers have come and gone. I’m anxious to get my own fix of comic books so I tell Chris I just have one question left for him.

 
What makes Hamilton such a good place to sell comic books? It’s a good uni town, he tells me. “We use to have to put extra staff on student loan draw down day when that was happening.” Cautious business decisions, avoiding fads and keeping within their capacity are all cited as other reasons for the shop’s longevity, but the biggest thing he tells me is, of course, the customers. “We’ve just got a great bunch of supporters that want to see us do well. “If you look after them they look after you – and I think MK1 is well looked after.”
I take my journalist hat off and check the new releases to see if any of my anticipated DC New 52 or Marvel Now! volumes are in stock. Nothing grabs me immediately so I turn my gaze to the back catalogue. I normally bounce back and forth between Mark One’s nicely laid out sections multiple times before making a decision – similar to a kid in a candy shop.
During these laps my eye catches a glimpse of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men. Whedon is also the director of Marvel’s cash factory The Avengers and I’ve heard his X-Men run is exemplary. I tuck volume 1 under my arm and continue browsing.

I recently finished reading Warren Ellis’ collected work on Planetary, a fantastic story of super-powered archaeologists charged with excavating the hidden history of the planet. I lament the closure of my journey with Planetary to Chris, who is a big Warren Ellis fan. He suggests I take a look at another of the author’s comics, Transmetropolitan.
I decide to give it a go and whip out my eftpos card to finalize the purchase. The card reader displays the price – $49.99 – the price of Astonishing X-Men on its own (volume 1 collects 12 issues). “Chris you forgot to add Transmetropolitan to the bill,” I say. “No it’s on the house.” That’s Chris – it’s almost as if he gets as much pleasure from exposing readers to the joy of comics as he does securing a purchase for his bank account. Though free comics are not the norm – except on Free Comic Book Day.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

2013 in Review: Theo Macdonald

 

What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2013?Publishing Theocra(D), the sequel to my comic Theocracy, co-creating the six-episode animated mini-series 'We Need to Talk about Richard and Theo,' and beginning the 'Richard and Theo's Funnybooks' project with 'The Norm,' 'Men on the Moon', and 'Irrelevamp.' 

What are some of the comics you've enjoyed in 2013?
Die Popular and American Captain are two of my favourite ongoing series online, and in print I'm enjoying Joe Hill's Locke and Key, which is supposed to finish next year (I think).


What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2013?  
The NZIFF had a great line-up this year. Highlights for me included Only Lovers Left Alive, The Bling Ring, Oh Boy, and Frances Ha, which I actually saw outside the festival, but enjoyed it greatly nonetheless. Also, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine is fantastic.  

What are you looking forward to in 2014?
Publishing another collection of Theocracy strips (to be titled Threeocracy), as well as continuing work on other projects in development. Also Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel looks fantastic

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Noel Cook Part One

 
Approaching the anniversary of the birth of Noel Cook (1897-1981) I wanted to post a few excerpts from a feature in my forthcoming Paper Trail book. As a cartoonist and illustrator Cook was one of the most significant and perhaps under-appreciated to come out of New Zealand in the twentieth century. Cook had varied career as a commercial artist/cartoonist/art editor and painter, producing a large body of work in New Zealand, Australia and England. In researching Cook I've found his life to be every bit as fascinating as the work he produced.

I'll be posting samples from Cook's career on the Pikitia Press tumblr over the next few days as well. Read Cook's first installment of Peter for the Sunday News here.

The following recollections are excerpted from an interview conducted 6th May 2013 with Noel's son Peter Cook.

"You know what artist's are like they cut out everything that they see for ideas. Dad never threw anything away you see (Laughs). Except his paintings, they're the things he did throw away because he gave them to so many relations. He never held onto his paintings. There was one I remember as a tiny kid I had that I've never managed to find. There were some pen and ink drawings he did, I must have been about three years old."


Some of Cook's earliest work were cartoons and illustrations produced for The NZ Observer. This example from May 29th, 1920.

You know he was in the war? the first War? He called it the great adventure. His father was a newspaper proprietor in Auckland, New Zealand. His relations there have a lot of the history. He went with a whole bunch of friends to the war because they didn't separate you in those days, he stayed in the same platoon with them. They all got killed except him in one shell. The only time I remember him talking about it he must have been drunk we were only kids in bed and he was coming to give us a story. He told us a bit about the boys calling out to him, "Give my love...". It was like a boy's adventure story, he was very angry. Two German prisoners of war were carrying him off on a stretcher 'cause he was badly wounded himself and he threw dirt at them and then he felt sorry 'cause he knew it wasn't their fault. A friend of his, another friend had just lost his brother and Dad had taken a prisoner and this friend put a small bomb in his pocket. Dad took it and threw it away. He could understand that a man had just lost his brother and the German kissed him! He always remembered getting that big kiss. He went to England then for convalescence, then back to New Zealand.


Advertisement for Noel Cook's Peter in Sunday News April 3rd 1932

 Noel Cook Cover for Blue Star comic Valley of Doom. Interior comic by Royce Bradford of whom little is known other than he is rumoured to also have been a New Zealander.

I was pretty close to him although I was often angry with him because he couldn't control his drinking. I began to understand. He never forgot that you see. they were his closest friends. So by the time they got back to New Zealand he did get a job in an architects office. He met some other artists, he was always drawing. He used to draw the Rugby teams , The All Blacks and all that sort of thing. He met a bunch of other artists and they all went to Sydney. He was close to his parents 'cause he got letters but he just wanted to get away from the gung ho thing, 'cause everyone was saying, "Oh you're heroes," and he hated all of that because it was a horrible experience. He couldn't go along with that, although he always went to Anzac Day events, but he wasn't happy about it.

Cartoon for the NZ Observer June 12th 1920

The people that he went to Sydney with were Unk White and George Finey, they were great friends of his. The Finey's were quite close to us when we were young, the whole family. Another chap Alex King, he was a good artist, I remember him. Bill Constable was another one, there were quite a few he had some exhibitions with them over here (England) combined with them. When he went to Sydney it was all that black and white stuff, black and white footballers, or politicians, or you name it.


 Armistice Day illustration from the NZ Observer, 13 November 1920.

One picture he did for Armistice Day was a picture of his friends marching up a hill, Ghostly images of ANZACS advancing  through No Mans Land. I've still got that, it was printed in The New Zealand Observer. He had that on his mind a lot. He wasn't sentimental in another way it was deep down with him.

Later when he was working with the Consolidated Press in Sydney, Frank Packer was the boss you know. Dad kissed him in the lift! (Laughs) Frank jokingly kicked him out of lift. A childhood friend of mine, a cadet reporter Andy MacCullough, witnessed this. He was very fond of Dad who enjoyed a great joke with everybody. He was always in the artists room and that's my memories of going into the artist's room and being sat down and being given paper and a pen and seeing the men that had photographs that they washed in the sink. They were my early memories of him at work.




 Excerpted panels from early installments of Peter in the Sunday News 1932

Then he started the space stuff. I think he named me after his first strip, Roving Peter it was called (laughs). He started those and then I came after or just before. I think it was after. I remember We were living in Vaucluse then up on the hill looking out over the pacific and sunny mornings on Sunday reading the comic as it came in the Sunday Sun.

Without my mum I don't think he'd have survived long. He met her at a Mrs Kneebone's Wine Lodge at Circular Quay. She was quite a brilliant pianist, she was at the Conservatorium, and the girls used go down (they wouldn't go to the pub of course) to this wine place. Very unusual in Sydney, I don't remember any but apparently there was, where ladies could go in just like a continental place. That's where he met my mum. I think her parents were worried but all her siblings loved him, he was very jolly with them, and he helped them out a hell of a lot because he never stopped working you see. Everybody was going out of work with the depression and all that.
 

Images © 2013 Estate of Noel Cook
Text © 2013 Matt Emery

sources: http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ , http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz , 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Ian Dickson - Gags Cartooning from Men Only

Another selection of New Zealand cartoonist Ian Dickson's gag cartoons from Men Only circa 1940-1950's. View more Men Only cartoons here. Biographical notes and further samples of Dickson's work here.








 

Friday, May 10, 2013

Ian Dickson

Another selection of New Zealand cartoonist Ian Dickson's gag cartoons from Men Only circa 1940-1950's. View more Men Only cartoons here. Biographical notes and further samples of Dickson's work here.








Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Ian Dickson

 
 
Previous biographical notes on Dunedin born cartoonist Ian Dickson here. Selection of Dickson cartoons below from Men Only magazine published in England circa 1940s-early 1950s.













Sunday, December 23, 2012

2012 in Review: Sorab Del Rio

Sorab Del Rio

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

The highlight of 2012 for me was the release of my first graphic novel - Zombie Cities! This was a personal and artistic victory. For it was work that challenged and I hope re-defines the zombie genre with its wit, humour and style. But above and beyond that, it’s one question to simply release a new work, as anyone can do that, but it’s another challenge to create a work that draws in the fans. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to see Zombie Cities received so well across the 4 conventions where Silver Fox Comics had a presence in 2012.

What makes this sweeter is that this is the 3
rd comic based venture I’ve created. So perhaps the old adage 3rd time lucky is actually real! The first was Skunge NYPD, and then of course our works for Zorro. Both of which are comics I loved, but failed to capture the fans. In 2011, I went to Sydney Supanova and sold 35 copies of Zorro at $5 each – I didn’t even cover the cost of the table. Now I know this is a common tale for creators but to me, if I can’t find an audience there is no point whatsoever, and I will leave a project if this can’t be achieved. My work has to find an audience or why bother. I’m not working a year in semi solitude to make a project no one is interested in. I left 2011 Supanova dis-heartened and beaten sorely, and thinking why do creators put themselves through this and that I need to make a project that connects with the fans.

So moving to 2012, we premiered Zombie Cities at Sydney Supanova not knowing what to expect. Was I going to sit through another 2 days and not sell a thing? No, not at all, we actually got it right selling 130 copies of the Zombie Cities graphic novel at $25 each over 2 days and 40 or so prints. We backed this up again at the Penrith Heroes and Villains convention, Melbourne Armageddon and Brisbane Supanova, and the support of comic stores, we’ve closed the year with 530 copies sold of Zombie Cities and over 250 prints. It was a project as some know came from a personal mission with the Sydney Zombies print and one where I also listened to fans in the making of this book. After the failure of previous years and projects, this was an even sweeter victory in creating a work the fans wanted and enjoy. I loved the conventions getting to talk about my work and making people laugh with what we produced. That’s what it’s all about for me – make a comic people enjoy and get immediately. At a con, you got 5 to 10 seconds to sell. When I was writing I wondered, this is really different to the regular zombie stuff – are they going to get it? Sure they did, so I’m personally pleased I went against the standard formulas to make Zombie Cities. Let me also take this time to say a thank you to everyone who bought anything from our Zombie Cities project, the artists from pencilers, inkers and colourists. Special thanks to Don Ticchio who has helped me across each of my comic book ventures. I do feel this is only the start with this project. 

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

Wow, so many to name, in fact too many to name. I have met many of the Australian comic creators through the conventions and now also discovering through your blog many more I am yet to discover.


We have a very talented independent scene in Australia that doesn’t get the limelight it deserves so thank you Matt for profiling us all here with your blog.

I think my biggest influence is Jason Brubaker with his online comic Remind and his associated blog and podcast Making Comics. I’m very passionate about marketing comics and he is achieving the independent self-publishing success I aspire to. He is one guy who has put as much time into marketing his comic as he has creating and it’s paid off with a $100,000 project on Kickstarter. 

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


Non comics – what on earth do you mean?? Kidding!
Music: As some of you know, I love my old school rnb and salsa. I’d have to mention the Prince concerts which were amazing – I saw Prince in concert twice in Sydney, and also Janele Monae live – love her!
Movies: I went through a phase where I decided not to watch any English films as I’ve just gotten tired of the same regurgitated crap. During this time I watched 20 foreign films in a row. My favourite was The Skin I Live in by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar – this is macabre thriller of which I had no idea where this was leading to. The City of Men Movies which are set in the favellas of Rio, and Amores Perros – are more foreign films I discovered this year.
Books: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Saffon. In regards to English releases – Breaking Bad is phenomenal!
Home: Seeing my dogs – my gals - Rio and Ria talk for the first time was incredible. I’d never believed this was possible. I also enjoyed meeting an Italian girl at salsa last week, lets see where this leads ;)


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

 
Right now I’m working on Zombie Cities Violence Vs Compassion. This time I’m writing with the strait jacket off and my muzzle is unleashed. There’s a real wild abandon happening with this project – a real crazy spirit happening with this project. I don’t know how it’s happening but I almost feel that these new stories are happening unconsciously and just flowing. It’s not something I implemented, it is just happening naturally.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

 
The release of Zombie Cities Violence Vs Compassion! This will be a tour de force! I hope get to more conventions across Australia in 2013. I may need to do a crowd sourcing campaign to assist with financing. And figuring out how to release this internationally – whether its digitally, a free online comic to build a worldwide audience, a Kickstarter or similar campaign, but I am now starting to think internationally is where projects need to be. There are 3 other projects in my head knocking on my forehead every day asking to be let out so this will also happen – projects totally unrelated to anything I’ve done before.


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

2012 in Review: David Blumenstein

 
  David Blumenstein and Andrew Fulton

What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?
 
Going on the Caravan of Comics and getting to know the other caravaners better.

Coming across an amazing comics scene in Ann Arbor, MI, thanks to (among others) Kids Read Comics' Jerzy Drozd and Dan Mishkin.

Seeing Sarah (aka my hot cartooning wife) meet some of her favourite comics artists (John Porcellino, Bill Messner-Loebs) and watching her slowly create a graphic novel right before my eyes.

Finishing 100 pages of my "Bret Braddock" comics and getting the kind of mixed response I hoped for (amused/angry/litigious).

Being newly in the Australian Cartoonists Association and, while it's an organisation in flux thanks to an aging membership and a crumbling print media, feeling quite at home with the people themselves, a great bunch of guys with amazing links back to Australia's cartooning history.

Being part of Squishface Studio, putting on many great, informal, events and some big-arse exhibitions. Hoping we can keep it going another year.

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

Bought minis at MoCCA Fest, favourites being ones by Greg Kletsel, Tasha Harris and Paul Hoppe. I like them because I like them, that's why. Met some brilliant artists in Chicago, the ones who collaborate on "Trubble Club", a jam comic that's that's really good. Enjoyed stuff by Jeremy Tinder and Sam Sharpe (and probably more because all the panels are by different people and oh god I'm confused and sleepy.)
 
What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?

I only enjoyed comics this year. Some of the TV shows I watched and pissed on include "Mad Men", "Boardwalk Empire", "Sons of Anarchy" and "The Newsroom", all shows with an incredibly high opinion of their characters, all portrayed much more nobly than the writing deserves.

"Breaking Bad" is still great, though. "Looper" was a good movie.

Loads of my friends are becoming big time published authors! Anna Krien is a lovely person and wrote a great Quarterly Essay about animals and ethics you could go pick up at a snobby-type bookshop.

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

Many. Thanks to people at Squishface I've loaded up on brushes, brush pens, colour, bristol board, art paper and all sorts of things I'd barely tried before.

I'm writing a graphic novel. That's not something I would've thought to do before this year.

I finally caved and bought a slate computer with Wacom capability and it's going to blow the arse out of my old storyboarding methodology. Good for on-the-spot digital illustration, too.

What are you looking forward to in 2013?

Getting better with all the new pens and brushes I've been trying.

Continuing to grow Squishface, do new things there and maybe even figure out a way to make it pay for itself.

More little steps forward for the attitude and quality of the Melbourne comics scene.

Maybe taking a Caravan-style trip to SPX if I can afford it.

Last two years have been packed with tons of comics stuff. More next year, thank you.

Oh, and I'm finally making a series of my animated cop show, "The Precinct". It's a little mini-series of shorts called "Be A Man" and it's coming out probably Mar/Apr.