Ben Hutchings
What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?
It would have to be opening the doors of Squishface Comics Studio. I have barely left the place since it opened! It has grown and become a household name nearly of it's own accord. (the houses of cartoonists) I enjoy being there and sharing in the dramas surrounding the other cartoonists.
There were also two cartooning trips - the Caravan of Comics, and a recent commercial job in Singapore with David Blumenstein, Pat Grant and Rebecca Clements.
Not to mention a trip to Japan where I visited the Osamu Tezuka museum for a second time, and got a personal tour of the Kyoto Manga Museum!
Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the
first time in 2012?
Nah not really! I wasn't paying a huge deal of attention to anybody else's work, let alone their names, sorry. That's not to say there was nothing good at all!
I'm just slipping into senility or something. Probably should be worried. It could be that so much is happened that I haven't digested it all.
But I did rediscover and get fresh inspiration from an old artist I have always loved.
His name is Yamahami Tatsuhiko. He is best known for a character called Gaki Deka. What is funny about my work has been funny in his work for decades.
He is fantastic, with a dirty, but detailed style. I have no idea what any of his comics are about, however.
I also discovered another manga artist by mistake because they have similar names and styles. I was searching for Yoshiharu Tsuge, and mistakenly picked up some English
translations of the work of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, which looks similar. This fellow does work of such poignancy, and gravity. His themes include sexual frustration, loneliness and death. I very rarely do anything this heavy, but would love to. So I would recommend seeking out both these manga artists.
What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?
Dredd 3D, Tintin, Avengers and many other excellent comic movie adaptations. Seeing Avengers with the other Caravan of Comics dudes was a gas. Americans know how to watch a movie. They're so noisy. And every one-liner they guffaw at so excitedly. The floor at the end was covered in trampled popcorn and everybody was so darn excited about what they just watched. When I watch a movie, we usually just walk out pretty much in silence and go for a wee.
I also discovered another band I love called Sparks. I don't like any music ever, so they're like band #5. It's good to have music to enjoy. They repeat themselves a lot, with strange orchestral backing and hard rock riffs. But mainly I just love the repetition.
Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?
Not significant changes, but I have noticed my skill slowly growing! My lines are cleaner, my knowledge of anatomy is better, overall I think I've settled into a particular style that I really like.
What are you looking forward to in 2013?
Keeping commercial work to a minimum and finally leaping head - first into finishing the last ten pages of my graphic novel draft. I will also have at least two trade paperbacks out through Milk Shadow Publishing, including two You Stink & I Don't collections, possibly a Glenjamin collection reprint too.
We talked about a book of serious, art-heavy fantasy and drama stories too, which might have to wait til 2014. I have a selection of scripts which are very different than anything I've ever written before. They are all melancholy and tragic, but the tone remains friendly and positive. I'd love to see if I can pull that off.
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