Sketches from the frontline

I made it home with my sketchbook this time. Unfortunately I managed to leave my copy of Jennifer Hayden's excellent Underwire on the train. You win some, you lose some...

Angouleme was a treat comme d'habitude. Great exhibitions, such as Dreams in Comics, which features plenty of Windsor McKay of course, but 70 other artists are on show. Quite a few strips involve sexual fantasies and neuroses of all sorts (Guido Crepax anyone?) with the odd one covered to shield it from the innocents' gaze. It is always a joy to peruse gorgeous artwork from Hugo Pratt, Fred, Moebius, etc etc – the list is endless. I particularly enjoyed the anxiety dream from JC Menu where president Mitterand comes to visit and he can't find anything to show him. He ends up having to give the first lady one of his rare vintage American comics.

The Willem exhibit was particularly fascinating, I emerged after an hour and a half having only read and examined half of it.

The Dutch contingent who designed and screenprinted posters over the four days were a brilliant idea led by Joost Swarte. I did not regret getting up extra early to catch his joint talk with Willem.

While I was in revelling in the Willemness of it all, Sally Anne was having a Dash Shaw fest with a talk, book signing, and generally spotting him around the place. The social aspect is also important, as we met old friends and acquaintances and made new ones. My fellow Dessinators Sean, Sally Anne and Oliver were once again perfect travelling companions, and my brother Hugo joined our gang for a while.

And to compensate for last year's sad loss, I managed to capture Willem afresh while he drew me an fabulous personalised dedicace.

Heading oop North

I have just taken delivery of some brand new comics hot off the press for your delectation.
Tomorrow morning we will be winging our way up the M1 to Leeds for the Bubblé Fest. Hurrah! See you there!

ladee done comics

I have contributed some artefacts to the St Albans Punk and New Wave exhibition that kicks off next week, details here. Heather and I headed out there to drop the stuff off, we hadn't been back for over twenty years. Strangely, the town doesn't seem to have changed that much... By the way, if you're in South London and a lover of the vintage, check out ChiChiRaRa, her shop in East Dulwich, you won't be disappointed.


In a fit of self-indulgence and vanity, I am posting a rare thing – a not hideous current picture of me. Taken by Oliver Lambden at his birthday drinks do the other night. There.
I like it.

The following night, Monday that was, I managed to speak for a whole fifteen minutes at Ladeez Do Comics. It was a very good evening, the other speakers being my lovely and talented fellow B.A.S.T.A.R.D Sean Azzopardi, Karrie Fransman and her posse from London Print Studio presenting their impressions of Angouleme, and the cerebral John Miers explaining his experimentations with language.
My thanks to Sarah Lightman and Nicola Streeten, the Ladeez in question, whose warmth and generosity help draw out any recalcitrant participants. The after show curry was much needed and helped thaw us out, the heating at the Rag factory leaving somewhat to be desired.

Next upcoming event will be the London Small Press Expo at Goldsmiths on March 12th. Rob Jackson has kindly offered to share his table with me. And I will have a new comic.

Thoughts on the Bubble

Leeds is definitely the best convention experience. Good size hall, good facilities, good attendance, and GREAT AFTERSHOW.
Drove down a carload of assorted comicsfolk to the sound of much hilarity. Richy K. ended up with a whole table while Sally Anne and I ended up with bigger space than we'd planned for, and the new tablecloth looked awesome: RESULT! Left it a bit late to check into our (very reasonable) hotel and got soaked walking back, hence the dodgy hair in the pic ( I know I look it, but I'd not had a drink yet, honest); also meant I managed to miss the panel game I was supposed to take part in (sorry, Ade).
Then the partying got under way. There was beer and pizza and burlesque sketching (Dan won the prize), and vodka and more beer and then there was DISCO! I'm not naming names but suffice to say that no one escaped the power of the turntable. As Sean so succinctly put it, now we've all broken the ice by exhibiting our moves, there's not much more we can do to shock.
Oh and I sold some comics, and badges too.
There's a proper review of the convention on downthetubes.com with a mention and a pic of yours truly.
Also more pics to be seen HERE. WARNING: may include dancing

The Thing vs Schmurgencon

Saturday 28th March dawned and Richy K. and I set off for the wilds of Mile End, fortuitously hooking up with Sally Ann on the tube. We set up our wares on our very well-positioned table, next to Rob Jackson, and awaited the rush of punters. It was busier than last year, possibly due to it not being Easter weekend, with a fair amount of the traffic stopping at our table. At the end of the day, I sold all my copies of Striptacular and came away with a profit after table costs, which is a good result.
I picked up the latest Curtis and Terrorist from Oliver Lambden, Jake Harold's That Time I Went on a Trip to Berlin, Rob Jackson's Bog Wizards 2 (with board game!), Paul Rainey's No Time Like the Present part 8, Phil Spence's Reasons Why I'm Scared to Love You and Whores of Mensa 4.
All really good stuff – I will endeavour to review things more fully at some point.

We then moved on to Schmurgencon which was taking place in uncompromising fashion just down the road.
It was altogether a more intimate affair, involving a certain amount of liquid refreshment and experimental performance art. The mysterious Norwegian was nowhere to be seen, he was rumoured to have suffered some kind of accident...

Of Mars and pen

Got my contribution to the Thing anthology finished. Hurrah!
Here's a taster.

Now just got to get the new comic completed in time...

Here is a rather splendid portrait of lovely Oliver Lambden from the Fitzroy pubdraw, who incidentally celebrated a birthday yesterday. I've been producing some very satisfying sketches lately thanks to my lovely brushpen, I will post some more when I get round to it.

Once more into the breach

Hello my brethren! I'm back on top of things as I'm busy beavering away on my entry for this year's Observer competition. It's a good feeling after a summer of being blocked. Admittedly there were extenuating circumstances but I always feel that bit more alive when I'm creating something new. It may be shit but it's MY shit. And here's a sneak preview.

There has been some pretty disturbing stirring up of ancient history of late which has been occupying a lot of space in my little brain, hence the creative block, but I seem to have got to a place where I can compartmentalise.
I'm back off to Paris for ongoing family business and catching up with some more of my past.

A quick word to express how much I enjoyed The Dan Lester Mysteries "Marked for Death". That man can certainly tell a tale, and if even half of it is true I will keep my kids well away from him, after all he is sleazy Dan Lester and has been known to bandy words like balls about. The cover is gorgeous and the lovely Oliver has done a stirling job of the artwork.

More thing

Got round to reading more of my swag; Oliver Lambden swapped Issue 7 of Tales from the Flat with me and it just keeps getting better, from the wonderful cover (I chose Oliver's) all the way to the extra story by Mallorychan at the end. And the anthology is packed full of great stuff really nicely reproduced in full color for those who took advantage of the opportunity (I did for my Retainer story and am well pleased with the result).
Have now redesigned the cover of Party Pieces but decided in the end not to retitle it...