Had a great time last night at the 'Waldo' book launch (see previous post below), and Woke up this morning with a smile on my face because my 'comics' related weekend had another dose for me, with our monthly 'meetup' today at 2.00pm at the 'Prince Alfred Hotel'.

Here are the snaps:


The Prince Alfred on Grattan St Carlton (across the road from Melbourne Uni). There we all are outside. Usually we're inside, though it was a nice day, though you can't tell by the photo, which i took just as a momentary cloud went overhead.


Paul Bedford's really a nice guy, he's just wearing really tight underwear.




All the regulars and some new faces.


Darren wearing Colin's hat trying to be the most 'regal'.

These long-time comicbook authors in the Melbourne scene are a wealth of experience and information. These guys are also some of nicest you'll come across. Bruce Mutard is now releasing his huge tome 'The Sacrifice' through Allen & Unwin (see some previews of it below on my 2-feb-08 posting).

Colin Brought along some work that he'd just finished for Star Wars.






Colin Wilson's recent work for future issue/s of Star Wars/Rebellion.

It was a great meet in the great outdoors in front of the pub this month. James arrived first, and I second. Soon everyone else trickled in, and in little time we had about 20-or-so people. Lotsa comic chat, previews and reading.

Memorable moments:

1. Seeing Colin's wonderful inked pages.
2. Chatting to some of the new faces (sorry guys, have forgotten your names.)
3. Grabbing one of Jason Frank's first comics 'One more bullet'.
4. Talking to Paul, David, Bruce & Jason about this-&-that... as well as others.
5. Colin giving me one of his pen nibs to take home and try.

At about 5-6 o'clock people started to slowly evaporate, leaving only a few of us there. Namely, David Cunning, Greg Gates, Michael Nason, James Andre and myself. By 7 o'clock, it was dark, and the discussion started to revolve around life, the universe & society's perceptions of comics, etc. It got so deep (probably helped along by alcohol and fatigue) that James looked like he was going to fall over, and Greg and I sat there trying to converse Psychology and it's relation to comicbooks and the types of readers out there. Finally it got to the topic of 'TRUTH'. (You can imagine what that may have been like.). Mike Nason is well read/versed on a whole lot of topics 'around' comics, and this turned into an interesting discussion, where Greg and I were trying to 'keep up'.

Anyway, my ride home arrived, and I said goodbye.

I'll be back next month with bells on.

Bobby.N

Not only do Friday evenings fill me with the warm promise of a workless next few days, but this weekend is doubly great because I caught up with my girlfriend after work to go to Gestalt's Melbourne book launch of Waldo's Hawaiian Holiday! at 'Brunswick Bound' bookshop. A nice looking book being launched at a nice looking venue.

Here's what Gestalt's book launch looked like:


A nice crowd turned up.


John Retallick theatrically introduces Waldo's official launch in Melbourne, while publisher Wolfgang listens on.


Chris Burns (Artist of the book) tries his best at a speech after drinking 53 bottles of beer.


...while Justin (colourist of the book) sits close by.


The bookshop's front desk - made of books.

After the speech I spotted a few of the Melbourne comicbook regulars and had a nice time talking about the event and the local comics 'scene' in general..


Some of the regulars that turned up to support the book's launch. Onya guys.

Memorable moments:

1. Chatting to publisher Wolfgang about Gestalt, their books and upcoming projects they are planning.
2. Chat with John Retallick about the great buzz in the local comics arena right now. John run's a weekly online comics radio show. He's as excited as i am.
3. Catching up with the regulars like - Colin, Darren and Philip.
4. After the event, went down the road to 'The Retreat' and had a drink & chatted with Colin & Tom.

For those who missed out on the launch (and the book), you can get it directly from Gestalt by clicking here.

Bobby.N

I was looking forward to this weekend because Supanova came to Melbourne. And since Armaggeddon & Supanova are the 2 big events involving comics in Australia (and only since last year in Melbourne... about time too!) - I, Admittedly, went in with an eye to see how they compared to one-other. Before the event even took place I noticed that, compared to Armaggeddon, Supanova didn't seem to 'advertise' itself as much. The venue was out of the way in the suburbs - BUT i suppose the 'plus' was the relatively cheap ticket price of just $20 entry for patrons, which I thought was really great.

Upon walking in i noticed that the 2 events 'looked' identical. (ie blue colouring, boothes, setup, etc) so it was hard not to compare the two.

Speaking to various comibook boothes & creators exhibiting there, I got the sense that Armaggeddon edged out Supanova here in Melbourne because Armaggeddon was at the Exhibition Buildings (in the city's centre) but downside is ticket prices were higher for patrons, Armaggeddon advertised relentlessly on television a few weeks before the event (which drew in huge crowds), tables for exhibitors were only $100 compared to Supanova's $300, and Armaggeddon contacted the various main online messageboards giving exhibitor info which Supanova didn't seem to (ie. Exhibitors had to dig/search for info about booking/prices/etc.).

Now, don't get me wrong - I thought Supanova was great. I'm just putting a microscope on it from a self-publisher's POV. (BTW: The reason I didn't exhibit this time is because i didn't have any new work to sell & the $300 table price made my decision easier).

Ok - onto the photos...


The List table featuring writer (Paul Bedford), and Artist (Henry Pop).


The 'Local Act Comics' booth.


The 'Gestalt' booth.


Gary Lau's 'Knight Edge' booth.


A shot of the crowded isles.

On a personal sour note - i missed saying hello to ColinWilson & Bruce Mutard. It was a case of being there at the wrong times.

Just wanted to add that, I think hard working (and enthusiastic) publishers like David Cunning's LAC & Wolfgang Bylsma's Gestalt have done a lot in the last 2 years to make the volume of these events (especially in Melbourne) more viable and noteworthy. Not to mention creators like Bruce Mutard producing beautiful professional tomes like 'The Sacrifice', Paul Bedford & Henry Pop on 'The List', as well as a bunch of other local guys producing professional stuff. A lot of really great 'book store' worthy material is being published by many of you. Well done to all. Proud to be among you.

You're all making an 'industry' possible.

At about 3.30pm, I ducked out to have a peek at David Blumenstein's 'Comic Book Funny' at the Trade's Hall in Melbourne. Unfortunantly, I got side-tracked on my way in the city, and arrived for the last half. It seemed like a really great show from the little i saw, and I think a bunch of us local guys will make the show in a fortnight (as next week will be our monthly-meetup).

So rather than write a limited review, I'll just post a couple of pics and say that it was free, cosy and in a bar/pub at the trades hall. It's on for the next 2 Saturday's 4pm-5pm... so get to it!





See you next week for another post.

Bobby.N

This month's meetup was held at our (finally) permanent home at the Prince Alfred on Grattan street in Carlton. Starting time was/is 2:00pm. It's a wonderful 'open' pub across the road from Melbourne University. Normally a busy area, it's refreshingly quiet on a Saturday afternoon. I really like it.


About 20 people turned up. A big solid meet. Colin Wilson ('Star Wars' artist) & Bruce Mutard ('The Sacrifice' author: back to us in photo) will be signing autographs at the upcoming supernova in Melbourne. BE THERE!




Yeah, yeah. I know my camera phone is rubbish.


Jason & henry scribbling & chatting.


Tom Bonin brought along some of Tom Gould's work. Freakin amazing stuff. The penwork is great. The same type of workmanship you'd see in Crumb's work is evident here. Very patient and meticulous cross-hatching and lines.


A close-up. (Even though my camera is aweful)


Taken at around 6:30 when many people had started to leave.


David Cunning telling me to "take a photo! take a photo!" of his LAC t-shirt.

Memorable moments:

1. Though sad, saying farewell (albeit temporarily I hope) to Tom Bonin as he goes to England for a year. He's one of the nicest guys, and very motivated/committed to his craft.
2. Tom Showing me Tom Gould's comics.
3. Short chat with David Bird on making time for your comics in between family & work.
4. Looking at Greg Gate's tiny sketchbook.
5. Chatting with James Andre about writing and our similar taste in authors, like 'Hank' Bukowski & Jim Goad.
   
6. Chatting with many people this month on may topics.
7. A particularly in-depth chat outside (in the lovely cool breeze and sunset) with Tom & Philip about comics, conventions & *audiences.
   

*The conversation Tom, Philip & I were having, was exploring the popular question of how much does one target an audience when creating work.

I've always been of the opinion that most successful (if not all) creativity stems from the creator's need/desire to express something. He/she has a passion to lay it down in some form. My take on it is, "Im not going to spend months/years creating something about Britney Spears simply because she's popular." - i'd rather roll around in broken glass.

Particularly comics; where It's so labour intensive & time consuming, that you'd better enjoy making it.

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."
- Thoreau

anyway...

It was a great meet.
Looking forward to next month's at our new home.

Bobby.N

Today's meetup was held (for the last time) at the Retreat. After some pub-crawling by Greg & Philip, it was decided that subsequent meetups will be held at the 'Prince Albert'.

So...

I was the first to arrive at about 1.30, and was reading Bukowski when Trev walked in. We started chatting about the full-colour graphic novel that he's compiling of his 'Sawbones' online comic - and the 'interesting' hurdles he's having to jump over - as well as the interesting online chat thats been going on lately over at Pulp Faction's forum. Soon we were joined by Tom Bonin who's been a busy man working on his new 'Dicks' issue, as well as inking pages for the forthcoming issue of Paul Bedford's 'The List'.


Tom's finished inks.


Then Colin Wilson, Greg Gates & Bruce Mutard trickled in.



Bruce brought in about 5 advance copies of the first volume of his new 250 page graphic novel 'The Sacrifice' published by Allen & Unwin. Bruce signed & sketched something in the front cover for those of us who bought it. (Which was all of the first people there!) - ;)

It's a beautiful book, set in historic Melbourne. For those who don't know Bruce's work - check it out. Here's a sample...


Page-69 of 'The Sacrifice'.

This month it was my turn to bring in a little 'toy'. I brought along a pen i bought online 2 weeks ago through Ackerman pens. They have a range of 'pump' pens that take all sorts of antiquated pen nibs like the speedball & hunt nibs.




Greg Gate's first words after Colin's sketch were 'eBay!'. - lol



After a while our meetup was packed. Lots of drinks, hot chips & comicbook chat.

Memorable moments for me this month:

1. Bruce Mutard's new GN 'The Sacrifice'.
   
2. Tom Bonin's inks for The List.
3. Colin Wilson telling me to 'lighten up!' after showing how i procrastinate over the 'perfect' inking style in my work.
4. The chips
5. Greg Gates giving me the original 1986 trades of 'Batman - Year One'. (Oh, the nice yellow paper and old-style colouring)

Was a wonderful meetup yet again. Sad to be leaving the Retreat, as its a wonderful venue with big/long tables, but looking forward to next month's meet at our new home - the 'Prince Albert'.

See you all there.

Bobby.N

Well it looks like our regular venue (The Stork Hotel) got offended at us going to another pub last meetup (see last post) - and have closed their doors forever. A sad event because it was a great cosy venue, and central to most people.

It seems like rediculously HOT weather & comicbook meetups go together like a horse & carriage, because it was an oven outside AGAIN!

Anyway...

The meet was going to happen at one of 2 other nearby pubs, but as many of us found out that day, they were closed too. (Only for the holiday season though). I proceeded to call & leave messages on all the guys' mobile phones that i knew, to try and figure out where we'd go. David Cunning (LAC) graciously sms'ed me a few people's numbers, and eventually James got in contact with me saying that a few of them were meeting at 'last' month's pub (the Retreat) on Brunswick St. "Ok, I'll see you guys there." I said. I decided to swing by the empty pub again in case I spotted anyone I knew walking along. As luck would have it, I saw Greg Gates walking along chewing on a Hungry Jacks Whopper. So I waved him down and told him of the change of plans. Not a moment before he sat in my car, I got a call from Tom Bonin (Who had Colin wilson & Jason Franks with him) saying, "We're at the other pub and its closed!", so I gave Tom the scoop, and we all headed to the Retreat.

Once at the Retreat, we headed for the back beer garden (where we were last month) - but it was too hot. We decided to go inside, and sat in air-conditioned luxury inside the dining/pool hall. Its a wonderful environment. Big, cool & cosy.

Here are some of the pics:


As you can see, we grabbed the big LONG table in an entirely empty dining/pool room. It was great. I think Tom was on his mobile making money on the stock market.


Micheal explaining something to James the only way a comicbook guy can: On paper.


I brought along some copies of Crumb's newest coffee table book "The Sweeter Side of R.Crumb" that i recently got at a discount. It's a great hardcover of about 80(?) pages, and I was selling them to the gang for $10. (It retails for about $30 in the stores.)

Due to the confusion in venue, the super-HOT weather, and being the first meetup so early in the new year (5th-Jan), we had a surprisingly good turnout of about 10 people.

Tom & Michael brought along their sketchbooks, which we all flicked through. We looked at tools (like Tom's nice ink-refillable catridge brush-pen), and discussed paper/boards with Colin & Jason.

Memorable moments for me were:

1. Colin Wilson telling us how he met Robert Crumb in France, and what he was like.

2. Jason Franks telling us what the Fantagraphics table were like when he asked them a question at a recent convention.

3. A philosophical discussion with Michal Nason of the differing types of comicbook creators and how their upbringing shapes their work ethics. For example: Michael has lived on many continents in his life and has lived in 17 (?) different homes so far. He thinks it may reflect his changing/broad styles of art. He also likes short stories and struggles with maintaining interest in a long epic one. Michael likes variety and exploring different worlds periodically. The benefit of which can be seen in his sketchbook and inked pages. (ie. Each page of Mike's sketchbook looks like it was done by a different artist. As do each of his finished inked stories).

By comparison, I was born, raised, & have lived in the same city all my life. I'm comforted by routine, and seek long-term goals. I have little interest in doing my own self-contained short stories, but revel in large epic ones. I like building on one thing and moving in a straight line and becoming the best I can at it. Building one LARGE thing is exciting to me. I don't see a lot of value in variety. (ie. I find a pen/paper that works for me, and I stick to it.) - it takes a lot to sway me to another horizon. Im not distracted or bored easily either.

Greg, Colin & Jason joined in the conversation and we discussed this topic further and how other influences in the outside world may have shaped the way we work, or what themes we draw/write. (Such as relationships, religion, and upbringings).

It was deep man... deep.

There was also a LOT of beer flowing (suffa Paul;) - where I kept hearing Greg Gates saying: "Enough!" whenever a new jug of beer was put on the table. No joke.

Anyway - til next month people.

Bobby.N

Mandy's work has always been a favorite of mine. Her brushwork and inking style give her stories a real density and boldness. Her books are a real pleasure to read.

On the weekend, Mandy launched her new book 'Roof Tops' at the Brunswick St bookshop 'Brunswick Bound'. The place was full of people. A great turnout for Mandy and a thoroughly enjoyable environment.

Except for the HEAT. Geez it was hot. And I mean HOT.


The book launch was on the second floor of the shop.


The display was simple - yet striking.

Mandy had frames of her book enlarged, then 'tiled' across the length of the wall to form wonderful eye-candy. It really 'sold' the book well and gave people a chance to 'voyeuristically' look at the artwork before they held the book.




As people crowded in - the temperature went UP, and I got uncomfortably hot.


So I shot toward Mandy's books like an arrow.


Bought a copy, and left the crowd to go downstairs to view it in air-conditioned luxury. Trev and I sat comfortably on a couple of awesome fat couches and chatted a while. A few regular faces came past and joined us. Had some good chats with the likes of Philip & Micheal about the book launch and 'what sells' in our environment.

Soon most of the regulars congregated around us, and so we decided it was time to head down one block to the pub.



We headed to the back (beer garden) of the pub and nestled into a small alcove with wall-to-wall couches. Very comfortable, and (I'm told by Paul) - was a good environment for drinking.

What followed was the usual talk of comics, craft, books, drinking, etc....... all the things that make these meets great. It was a lot of fun.

After it's over, your filled with a little sadness because you'll have to wait another month to engage your fetish 'publicly' again.

Till next year's meet in January...

Bobby.N

PS: Click here for some more pics from Colin Wilson's sweet little iPhone.

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