OFF LIFE

One of three blog posts tonight...

I have a comic in OFF LIFE!

What is OFF LIFE?

OFF LIFE is the UK's only street press comic magazine. Each issue we’ll be collecting comic stories from today’s best indie talent, compiling them in a bi-monthly magazine and then leaving them around bars, coffee houses, shops and galleries for good people like you to pick up – free of charge.

Comics for a lost generation

Our aim is to provide a platform for up-and-coming talent while opening comics to a whole new audience. Sure Spider-man is fun and Wolverine is tough but at their best comics are as smart, adult and culturally relevant as any novel, film or classical art. We hope that OFF LIFE will be a stepping stone to all the works of genius that exist out there in four-colour print because bold voices in every art form deserve a place to shine. Yes, even comic slingers.

READ ONLINE HERE!

Or look out for copies around London and Bristol....

PRESENTS! FOR YOU!

Hey hey, so I did a stock check this week and it turns out that Big Cat Parade is down to the last 5 copies and At The Planetarium will be sold out pretty soon too (maybe 30 copies left max) so as a special treat I have reduced my shop postage back to only £2 within the UK no matter what you order. If you want a copy of either comic make sure you grab one while they are still in print. BUY HERE!

All shop orders come with a free sketched on postcard and a sticker.

Because I don't intend to get sold out comics reprinted as a special reward I have put Big Cat Parade and I Love Dinosaurs as well as my old Top Shelf 2.0 comics online for you to read FOR FREE!!!


READ BIG CAT PARADE HERE!

READ I LOVE DINOSAURS HERE!!

READ A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF HERE!

I have also ordered a DUST STAMP so any orders from my online shop as of next week will arrived covered in a rainbow of dust....

Bristol Comic And Zine Fair!

Today I will be at this:

 

Bear Pit Zines presents, for 2012, the 2nd annual:

Bristol Comic and Zine Fair
Sunday 23rd September 2012
12-6, downstairs at Cafe Kino

 The Bristol Comic and Zine Fair returns for a second year to celebrate the world of DIY publishing.

The Fair brings together  brilliant artists, writers and makers from across Bristol and further afield for a one-day market. There’ll self-published zines, homemade comics, handmade books, alternative publications and all things in-between on offer.

Come along and meet creators,  be inspired, and pick up great art and writing at affordable prices!

Process!

I thought I'd add my roughs for the comic I put on my website today. I usually prefer the rough drawings but often they are so scribbled in my sketchbook they are not really readable which is why I draw them up neater for the final strip. However, I think in that I lose some of the original character of the drawings which is a shame so here is a comparison between rough and final drawings for anyone interested:

In this case there are a few panels in the final strip that are still kind of scrappy but I like that (for example final two panels- I forgot to edit the Y in photoshop and the rabbit's head in panel 14 is total rubbish) I usually draw directly over the original sketches with a lightbox to try and retain what I can of the original expressions etc. But often I also add things to the final strip that were not in the original sketch or change bits of dialogue and things.

This comic is about stealing ideas from other people! I think a lot of artists will be able to identify with this.

Keith The Wizard Book Artwork Call Out!

At the moment I'm working on my next book which will be debuting at Thought Bubble this year. It will be the same format as the Depressed Cat collected volume and so I'm putting a call out for Keith The Wizard artwork! If you have ever wanted to draw Keith and his unicorns now is the time and I either be incorporating the artwork into a gallery in the book or be adding them online when the book is released (or both) Please send any artwork to me (sushimonsters at gmail dot com) Deadline will be mid October I expect. See more Keith comics here!

Here are the book details:

The Magical Unicorns of Keith The Wizard

Keith The Wizard is spending his retirement being looked after by his harem of slave unicorns; John, Paul, George, Valentine, Rudolph, Glitterbreath, Sparklefoot, Planetarium, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Ringo.
This book collects some of the moments from his lifetime of sorcery in one magical purple volume. An 80 page A6 comic printed on recycled paper with a spine!

I decided to do a Keith book because the results of my character poll are in and he came out on top! Thanks to everyone who voted. I'm keeping the poll ongoing as it is really useful hearing your opinions so if you haven't filled it in yet you still can here.

See results below in rainbow form! (First entry was a test) 

My favourite comment was this one:

"Keith the wizard is so lazy and sassy and relaxed, I love reading about him, because I'd like to be more like him. in real life, I am more like Dullbog, but I don't mind and I also like to read about his non-adventures..I wonder what would happen if they ever met..???" 

...so I will make sure Dullbog is in the book too! The book will collect all the current Keith stories as well as a bunch of new ones and like in the Depressed Cat book it will contain cross over stories featuring other characters too!

Hic & Hoc

This is a very delayed blog post! At TCAF earlier this year Hic & Hoc Publications took a bunch of my comics to distribute at various conventions in America! I have since sent over a big parcel of new comics so you will be able to grab them on the Hic & Hoc tour as follows:

 SPX (September 15-16)
The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo (September 29)
The Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Fest (November 10)

Exciting! All three of these expos sound pretty great. I'm hoping to try and make it along to SPX myself next year. Anyway, go find the Hic & Hoc table and you will find my comics there along with a bunch of other amazing titles. And you can follow here on tumblr too. 

Now buy some!

Tomorrow will be the last of my ONE A DAY comics for August. If you have enjoyed the month of free comics why not buy some from my online shop?

I'm going to try and keep up the one a day comics into September if I can... I do usually try to do this every year after the August comics and it doesn't last long but maybe I can promise a couple a week on a more regular basis or something. It's partly laziness and partly that I'm busy with other things but I will try! Tomorrow I will announce the results of my character poll and other news.