What have been your personal cartooning/comics highlights of 2012?
Being
introduced to the Melbourne comic book scene and all its lovely people.
I think because the Melbourne scene is still quite young there is this
stronger feeling of camaraderie and support amongst its members.
Who are some of the comics creators that you've discovered and enjoyed for the
first time in 2012?
Early this year I discovered the Nobrow
books. Nobrow are a small, independant publishing group from the UK,
started in 2008, who specialize in beautifully crafted, one off comics
and publications. Their work hit home for me the importance of looking
at books as physical objects and as commodities to be kept and admired. This pushed me to see my own work as a final, packaged product and take
into consideration basic aesthetics like the weight and feel of a book.
What is something non-comics that you have enjoyed in 2012?
Mostly
due to the comic book (Gooding's debut graphic novel, Strange Behavior.), I've been a bit of a shut in this year so my most
enjoyable moments have been mostly small wins, like the day I found a
slightly squished Caramello Koala wedged in between the couch cushions.
Have you implemented any significant changes to your working methods this year?
I am happy to say that this year I finally become friends with typography. After
undergoing, and almost failing, first year typography classes at Uni, I
had written myself off as never being any good at it. I found the whole
thing so intimidating with its strict conventions and anal retentive
specifications that I completely avoided using type in any of my work.
It wasn't until I started to collecting examples of type myself (old
tins, on the side of old trucks, wrappers, vintage signage, comics) that
I started to really love it.
I noticed that the work of the comic artists I admired (particularly
Dan Clowes, Chris Ware and Charles Burns) all had this strong, graphical
consideration of type and I think that all stems from their mutual
respect for both the written word and image. I wish someone had shown me sooner how exciting and varied type could be.
What are you looking forward to in 2013?
The Big Arse 3 comics launch scheduled March next year.
