Just for those of you who don't believe that I'm laying ink on paper... here's a peek at 2 pages from my next issue DIGESTED.02.


Click on image to enlarge.

Yeah, ok, It's not in the previous square format of issue-1, but after experimenting and getting nagging ideas out of my system in DIGESTED.01, I've decided that it reads better in the standard taller comicbook layout. I guess the old greats knew what they were doing... go figure?

This issue will be (6x9") 'digest' size... (no pun intended)... which is just a bit bigger than A5. The artwork looked 'just right' when I printed out a sample... we'll see. Who knows, the next issue might be a huge fold-out-map type of comic that's as big as your wall!..... just kidding.

See you all at the next comicbook meet in 2 weeks:

MELBOURNE MONTHLY COMIC MEETUP:
Day: 6th-December-2008 (Saturday afternoon)
Time: 2pm - onwards
Where: Prince Alfred Hotel (Pub)
Grattan St, Carlton (Across from Melbourne Uni.)


-Bobby.N

Since last week's Armageddon Expo (see post below) fell on our scheduled comics meetup, it had to be moved forward to the following week. Fine with me. One comicbook weekend followed by another is great in my book.

I slept in til about 10.30am, got up leisurely, had breakfast, and headed into the city. I arrived at the city around 12-noon and had a few hours to kill so I walked around some bookshops. I usually go to Minotaur bookshop last (sort of like a 'desert'), and as I wandered through, was tapped on the shoulder by Mr Greg Gates while I was about to buy Mike Dawson's book 'Freddie & me' (cover below):



Greg raised an eyebrow to me, to which I said, "Don't get the wrong idea! Im no Queen fan, but I like the art... and the story looks interesting." - and it was. A great book. Check out Mike Dawson's blog for samples.

Greg picked up a book by Mike Golden, and we headed off as it was 1.30. I commented to Greg as we made our way there that it would be interesting to see how many would show up this month as its always a crap-shoot to guess. Sometimes we get 4 people there, and sometimes it's 24. We arrived at the Prince Alfred Hotel at about 1.45pm and Trev Woods was already on the couches reading.

The first thing Trev said was, "Did you hear the latest news on the boards?", to which we looked puzzled and said ".....?"

"LAC is finished."

Greg and I were dumbstruck. "Bullshit!" I said. But it was true. Dave has decided to shut up the LAC shop. Details on the LAC website, and Pulp Faction. It's a little sad, but apparently Dave just doesn't have the time/energy/money to have so much on his back anymore. The good news is Dave isn't giving up comics, and will still be doing his own stuff... which is heartening to hear. He's too good to lose.



Soon others came & it was a huge turnout.




Jason Franks (AKA: The Fish) was powerdrinking so fast I couldn't focus the camera.


Paul trying to look as Macho as possible wearing a pink t-shirt.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS:

• LAC closing shop. (Very sad news.)
• Bumping into Greg & chatting as we made our way down to the meet.
• Conversations with exhibitors and patrons that went to Armageddon. Varied takes on the con, but overall everyone seemed to have a lot of fun this year. I sure did.
• Chat with Philip about his publication WORD BALLOONS & his view of it.
• Dave Cunning showed us some a personal comics he's working on (nice.), including slick looking KILLEROO finished inked pages that he & Darren Close are working on together.
• Talks with the regular faces.

I missed out on talking to some people, but I'll catch you next meet which is only a few weeks away!... Til then.

-Bobby.N

Well... this year I came to Armaggeddon as a spectator. Not being behind the table allowed me to wander the event & hang out with all of my comic-buddies, meet new faces, & look at all the comicbooks on offer without having to rush back to my table.



I arrived at around noon, & like last year, it seemed to be the busiest time. It was full of noise & fury. They had all manner of pop-culture on show. The wrestling was booming/crashing in the corner with middle-aged men & women in leotards (superhero connection?... hmmm.) pretending to cripple each other. The usual video games, toys, tv celebrities & self-publishers of books were all there. Overpriced food was in the back.

THE LIST BOOTH

THE LIST author Paul Bedford.

As I headed over to 'artist alley' (the self-publisher area), the first person I spotted was my main man Paul Bedford with his hands behind his back... looking more like he was protecting the wall behind him rather than selling the items in front. The long awaited THE LIST-2 is about to be released in the next few weeks/month, and from the previews I've seen, looks to exceed reader's expectations from the amazing high water mark of the first book. Followers of this series will definitely be impressed.

Its always a lot of fun to hang out & chat with this driven & talented fellow, but we can never seem to stay serious for long, as intellectual conversations, roll down a juvenile hill with just one push. Judge for yourself as Paul & I try and talk about comics in the podcast below... which i had to stitch together in segments as we kept getting interrupted by buyers wanting to (you guessed it) BUY something from Paul's table. We even interrupted ourselves. Even Ernie Hudson (from The Crow movie) distracted us to inquire about Paul's book! Very nice, friendly & gracious fellow... but I didn't record it damnit. Anyway, have a listen at us attempt a focused conversation:





BLACK GLASS PRESS BOOTH


Right next to Paul, was the BLACK GLASS PRESS booth which had Jason Franks & J. Marc Schmidt sitting behind it. Jason was selling a whole bunch of his anthologies under his banner, including the latest KAGEMONO-2.

J. Marc Schmidt, while being the artist in many of Jason's comics, also had his own books, framed pictures & cards for sale.


[Click here to see some of J. Marc Schmidt's work.] - Being a previous fan of his work, I was glad to meet and chat with him. I picked up his books (Published by Slave Labor Graphics) - and read his EATING STEVE book later that night. Really great read... get it!

I recorded a chat with both Jason & Marc.
Have a listen...





Wondering around I saw...

Mark Selan & Ive.

And the only other familiar booths with local faces behind them (that I knew at the expo), were the LAC guys. They splashed out for a large corner booth in the midst of all the traffic... which i think helped their sales out considerably. Location, location, location.


Busily drawing away were Darren Close & Trev Woods.


The whole LAC booth.

LAC has just released some really slick looking Graphic Novels that were on sale for the expo. The quality of these were astounding. If you haven't seen any of their stuff, check it out at the LAC Website.


Dave holding up his latest offering... the book, not his crotch.

Across from the LAC booth, behind a hoard of fans and a looong queue.... was Star Wars & Judge Dredd artist Colin Wilson. I couldn't even get close to him, and only managed to hold my camera high above the crowds' head to take the following shot...


Colin Wilson sketching for a fan...

Later, as the convention was winding down, I got to chat to Colin about how the day was going, and got to flip through the sexy reprint of his book Du Plomb Dans La Tete (English transalation: 'Headshot') - which has recently been optioned for a big Hollywood movie. Also chatted to other familiar faces like Greg Gates, who showed me some very nice artwork for a story he's working on behind the scenes.


Greg giving me the usual finger...

I had a great time at the expo as a spectator, and enjoyed spending time & chatting with various people. Hope I didn't annoy people too much hanging around, and see you all next week for our monthly comic meetup at...

MELBOURNE MONTHLY COMIC MEETUP:
Day: 8th-November-2008 (Saturday afternoon)
Time: 2pm - onwards
Where: Prince Alfred Hotel (Pub)
Grattan St, Carlton (Across from Melbourne Uni.)

Open to everyone who's into comics... see you there next Saturday.

-Bobby.N

The Hawthorn Zine Fair is a small fair/market that is FREE for exhibitors to sell their works to the general public. And... FREE entry to the public.... it's ALL FREE! Setup in the main town hall of Hawthorn... its quite nice.

(An art exhibition was on at the same time around the corner, so it would potentially draw in a few extra people this year.)

Last year I dropped into this event, and was impressed by the setup & intent of it (ie. local/small press). My only minor disappointment this year, was that only half the hall was used. I thought last year's set up was much better where all the tables were in one main place... and even though it still looked like a intimate event compared to others - it felt that this big hall was just waiting for you (the self-publisher) to FILL it next year... which made me eager to contribute the following year. This year's felt a little 'dislocated' and smaller due to the separated/smaller layout. But, I'm just being pedantic, and I think its still enormously worthwhile and a great opportunity to sell your self-published stuff. Do it.

This year's Zine Fair was a short Sunday event between 11am-4pm. It was very relaxed and was a chance to get local people (who may not read or be interested in comics, though possibly interested in 'art') to see my work. It turned out to be a really worthwhile thing. The books I had on sale were $1, $2, $5 & $7. By the end of the day I had made about $70.

So it was good.





Memorable moments:

1. A nice long chat with my fellow creator Jason Franks about the craft & motivations of making comics. He also brought in his newly printed KAGEMONO#2 for me to hold & smell (ah, fresh print.)
2. Seeing/chatting to familiar local faces like Bernard Caleo, Joe Waite, Ive, Greg Gates & Philip Bentley.
3. Grabbing Philip Bentley's latest WORD BALLOONS magazine. A nice publication... and you can get it from Philip's blog here.
   
4. Chatting to non-comic folk who bought my books. I was surprised how they knew about certain comic 'novels' & 'authors' (like Dave Cooper's RIPPLE, and Dan Clowes' EIGHTBALL) - but people were surprised that there were local Australian authors publishing comics too. It's still an ingrained perception that comics are U.S superhero material aimed at teenegers. It just goes to show that this medium of comics (done well) has a broader audience out there just waiting to enjoy it if we can only produce things that they'd be amenable to. There just needs to be enough diverse genres for people to choose from (read: Not just spandex) done in this medium to a professional standard... and be placed in the market for them to buy.
5. The free coffee and muffins. (thanks Mardi!)
6. Contributing a panel to the day's 'jam' comic.
7. Zora's help, snacks & badges.
   

So... I highly recommend you get a stall at general/art events such as these (ie. Fairs, Markets, etc) - because its a way to get your work in the hands of people who haven't been exposed to comicbooks before... and hopefully put a smile on their face, and a few gold coins in your pocket.

For more... check out John Retallick's account of the day over at
The Comic Spot.

-Bobby.N

Some three years ago, I published 300 copies of WITHHELD (my first self-published effort) - and recently, got down to my last seven copies, so it was time for another print run. It's now got a new cover, but the book is as solid & well printed as the last. Maybe better? Thanks to Baden at Jeffries Printing who did an amazing job on it.

WITHHELD means a lot to me, as this little tart was the first time I went for it as a complete book. I'm happy it's sold steadily over the years, and in the spirit of 'do-it-yourself', I'm able to keep it in print.


New printing of WIHHELD | A5, 40pgs (ONLY $7)

So if you haven't bought it yet - you can get it at my website www.bluetoaster.com. Or even if you have a copy of the first printing (which is probably worn out by the 523rd reading), or if you need a spare incase someone breaks into your house and steals it, or you want to give someone a wonderful gift, or...

uh... you get the picture.

Anyway, I'll be at the Hawthorn Town Hall's ZINE Fair this Sunday where you can pick up a copy. I'll even do a sketch inside the front cover for FREE!.

See you there.

-Bobby.N

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Some great points to consider... and I am.



I was just snickering to myself, thinking, "What if, by the time I'm ready to go to print, I've drawn a completely different cover?... won't you all be pissed off with me?" - :)

-Bobby.N

In light of Jo Waite & Bernard Caleo's organisation of the 'Ugly, Drunk & Stupid' exhibit as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, this month's meetup was shifted to the Hawthorn Town Hall Gallery to take part in this event.

Colin Wilson & I arrived early and sat down at a nearby corner pub and talked shop as people walked by in the sunshine. At about 1.45pm we made our way across the road to the gallery.

Some of our comicbook locals were already there, as well as new faces. Given that there was about 10 minutes before Bernard began his talk on the exhibit and it's themes, it gave us a chance to look at the artwork and say hello to a few people.






Then Bernard began his talk about the exhibit and the themes of 'Ugly' drawings in comics. From memory, he used the examples of Basil Wolverton, (some other guy), and Peter Bagge as the main focus of the talk. It was a nice presentation with examples of work handed around during the talk. There was plenty of back-&-forth with the audience as everyone joined in with their interpretations and opinions. A lot of fun.

After the talk, everyone was invited to sit down behind a long table and draw their most 'ugly' character on a beer coaster. People walked around, drew, viewed & discussed the artwork and its themes, and indulged in sweet sherry.

Thanks to Jo & Bernard for their efforts. It was a lot of fun.

More details of the event can be found at Bernard Caleo's website, and more photos at Mardi Nowak's website (Gallery Curator).

-Bobby.N

Don't mind me... I'm just pulling my hair out trying to figure out which direction to go colouring the next issue. I swear, B&W is easier sometimes... so few choices that it's comforting.



-Bobby.N

Jason Franks, a regular at our monthly meetups, was under the pump to finish the second issue of his comic series KAGEMONO for the upcoming 'Armaggeddon' convention (in November). Jason, being the smart person that he is, realised that it's safest to leave 1 month for the printer to proof, print & deliver his book, and so needed to compile/complete the issue this week. Well, he worked his ass off like a sweatshop worker & did it. Just... isn't that always the way?

Anyhow, I offered to help him out with a drawing for the cover (so he had 1 less thing to do), and here it is...



Jason will be selling it at the upcoming Armaggeddon Expo in Melbourne, as well as from his website Black Glass Press. Check it out.

Reminder: I'll be at the Festival-pub thing this Saturday. (Details in the post below.) Come down if you can and say hello.

-Bobby.N

Am half way through the next issue, and thought I'd give you a preview of the tentative cover. Am hoping to finish DIGESTED.02 by year's end.



In other local news, this Saturday the Melbourne Fringe Festival (Town Hall Galley: Hawthorn TownHall) is on, and Jo Waite is organising a local comicbook creator exhibit in it. The theme for the artwork is 'Ugly, Drunk &/or Stupid.

Thursday (2-Oct)
Opening (6-9pm)

Saturday (4-Oct)
Main event starts (2pm) Bernard Caleo opens the exhibit and talks of comic art, etc. Draw off (3pm) Artists draw the Ugliest faces they can.

I forgot the festival was on this weekend, and seeing as i promised to do a drawing for it, i quickly inked up something and shot it off to Jo. Here's the result below.


Hope to see some of you there this Saturday.

-Bobby.N

Thought I'd just share with you a preview of a page I just finished this weekend. This is a double-page spread of a short piece that'll be in DIGESTED.02.

Ok, first I sketch a small thumbnail of what i have in my mind.

It's a very quick composition with basic shapes. Pretty much all my thumbnails are like this. I like to get the shapes & proposrtions right, before I go into detailed penciling. (The thumbnail is about 14cm wide x 8cm high, just to give you an idea... oh, and it's a double-page spread - notice the fold marks in the middle.)


Next, I scan the small thumbnail into the computer, enlarge it so that it can fit on A3 & print it out on 2 seperate a4 sheets, stick them together - then use that as my undrlay. I then place my final artcard over the top, and lightly pencil the shapes. Once the light penciling is done, I take the underlay away, and have a fun time penciling all the details.



Next I ink the pencilled page.

I usually start with the foreground, and work from thickest lines, to thin/details. Here, I started with the forground of traffic, and used thick lines first (ie. The closest objects) - and then going further away into the perspectives using thinner nibs/pens.


See... the thickest lines are all filled in first.

I do it this way because it gives the drawing a 'confidence' of foundation. When I proceed to the details next, I then feel like the drawing in 'anchored' with the thick blacks and foreground. If I did the background (small/thin details) first, I'd probably feel a little apprehensive because I'd be worried if the main/obvious lines of the foreground (which people will see the easiest) - isn't done yet... so i think "am I doing this deatail all for nothing?"... I guess I like to get the hardest stuff out of the way first. Just the way my mind works.


The inked page. (Background/details done.)


The completed artwork of the 2-page spread. (2 greys used.)

There's still letttering to be done to the page to finish it, but you'll have to wait to see it in DIGESTED.02... hopefully out by year's end.

-Bobby.N