Rob Jackson's Comics Blog

Comics in Travelling Man, Manchester

2012-01-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

I took some copies of 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business' 1 & 2 to Travelling Man, Manchester today if anyone wants to buy them there. Thanks!

New review of 'Flying Leaf creature' and 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business'

2012-01-26T01:38:00.001-08:00

Rob Clough reviews 'Flying Leaf Creature' and 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business' on his blog today. Thanks Rob!

A New Recipe

2012-01-25T05:53:00.000-08:00

I am between comic projects at the moment so I have drawn what I had for my dinner. Me and my brother invented it last night, its really good.

Review of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2012-01-20T12:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a new review of my 'Flying Leaf Creature' newspaper comic from Optical Sloth.

'It's A Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business 2' now on Sale

2012-01-19T05:41:00.001-08:00

My new comic 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business 2' is now on sale at my shop on my website. Its 24 pages, black and white with card covers and is A5 sized. They are £1.50 each with free postage to the Uk and Europe, please add £1 postage for the rest of the world. (There's an add £1 button at the top of my website shop). Thanks!

I've made a bunch of copies of part one as well as they had almost sold out so if you haven't read it why not buy both parts.

Cover for My Second Ice Cream Comic

2012-01-13T06:57:00.001-08:00

I think I've sorted the snow out now for the cover of my second ice cream comic. It just needed some more white paint. The comics all finished now so I'll get it photocopied next week. Its 24 pages, black and white and will be A5 sized, the same as part one.

Lewis Trondheim - Little Nothings 4

2012-01-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

My brother bought me this for my birthday and I read it this morning while hungover. It was just the right thing to read in my state. It's nice and light even though Trondheim has an illness this time and a stay in hospital to get it fixed. It might not have been quite as funny as the last volume but its still really good and I'll read it a lot more times.

Some of page 17 of new Ice Cream Comic

2012-01-05T04:09:00.000-08:00

Here's part of page 17 of my new ice cream comic. I'm drawing page 18 today, when thats done I'll be three quarters of the way through. I'm happy with it at the moment.

Half of Page 15 of new Ice Cream Comic

2012-01-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I'm busy drawing more pages of my second ice cream comic. Here's half of page 15 which I've just drawn today. I'm up to April 2011 now.

Benjamin Marra - 'Night Business - Issue 4'

2011-12-23T03:02:00.000-08:00

I got the new issue of 'Night Business' a couple of days ago. Another great issue. This time we see the crazed mayor of the city and there's a fancy double spread of 1980's sex as Johnny and the Rider get together. I hope other people in the UK are buying these too. It's got another great author photo and bio as well.

Bryan Talbot - 'Grandville' & 'Grandville Mon Amour'

2011-12-22T05:31:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed Bryan Talbot's two Grandville books that I read last week. My brother got them out from the library and he liked them too. They are good adventure stories, nice and exciting, and don't take themselves too seriously. Another good find in the library, but I'm running out of comics to get out from there, which is a shame. I hope they get some more books in next year if they still have any money. I've hardly bought any books this year so the library has been really good.

A Little Bit of my Second Ice Cream Comic

2011-12-20T06:44:00.001-08:00

I'm up to page ten of my second ice cream comic now. Here's a very basic panel from it before I rub out the pencils and add the grey bits. It's going to be twenty four pages long, same as part one.

Brrr

2011-12-19T02:00:00.000-08:00

Brrr. On mornings like this it is hard to get out of the house and go and sell things on a market outside all day. Luckily the weather went a lot more sunny later on, even though it was still very cold, and I had a really good day. That's the last of my markets this year so now I can have a break for Christmas. I'll try and get some drawing done too.

Ice Cream Comic News

2011-12-12T04:27:00.001-08:00

I'm drawing the markets from last January at the moment for my second ice cream comic. It's not a lot of fun as they were very quiet markets where it constantly rained. I hope this January is a bit better.

'Christmas Pudding Ice Cream' Recipe

2011-12-04T01:45:00.001-08:00

As it's December now, here's my christmas pudding ice cream recipe, from my second ice cream comic.

Comical Animal Issue 6

2011-12-02T02:06:00.001-08:00

Comical Animal Issue 6 is out today. Why not have a look? I did a drawing for it of 'British Animals in their Winter Coats'.

A Little Bit of my Second Ice Cream Comic

2011-11-30T06:42:00.001-08:00

I like this little bit of page four of my second ice cream comic. It's weird to be drawing about last Christmas while getting ready for this one.

Leeds Thoughtbubble Report

2011-11-21T03:06:00.000-08:00

Here's my table at Leeds Thoughtbubble. I took my green checkered oil cloth that I use for selling ice cream at markets. I was going for a sort of ice cream theme because of my new comic. I thought my table looked a lot nicer than usual so I was happy about that. I went to Leeds on the train on Saturday morning so it was a very early start.

The Saturday went really well. My table was in a good place, at the end of a row, with no queue problems like last year. I sold three times as many comics as last time, so I was very pleased. That means I will be going back again next year. Thanks to the organisers, I thought it was very well run. There were plenty of people on the Saturday but it was a bit more spread out, as it was two days long with two halls. That was good as it was easy to walk about and I got to see everyone. I didn't manage to go and look in the other hall as I was stuck behind my table a lot.

The Sunday was very foggy, and so was I, after the Saturday night party. It was a lot quieter and went really dead after dinner. Maybe it should finish about three on the second day so I can get home earlier. I was very tired but managed to get home by half nine on a very busy train. It was really nice to catch up with everyone that I only see at cons.

Here's my haul of comics. I got Michael De Forge's 'Lose - issue 3' from Koyama Press, which is amazing. Also I got Francasca Cassavetti's new comic 'Panic Attacks' and Dan Lester and Oliver Lambdens 'The Killer Next Door' which is the new issue in the Dan Lester Mysteries series. I got Simon M's latest 'Smoo #4' comic and Nick Souzek's 'Falling Away'. Also Colin from Accent UK very kindly gave me a copy of 'Bite Me' by Dylan Meconis. I'll have a read of them all tonight. I saw a lot of other great comics which I will be ordering soon once I sell some more soup.

Review of 'Its a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business'

2011-11-18T02:03:00.001-08:00

Here's a review of 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business' from Optical Sloth. Thanks Kevin!

Leeds Thoughtbubble this Saturday and Sunday

2011-11-15T02:09:00.001-08:00

I'll be at table 117 at Leeds Thoughtbubble this weekend. Please come and say hello! Here's a photo of the new stuff I'll have on my table, 'The Flying Leaf Creature' newspaper comic, 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business' and my hand-coloured 'Ice Cream Recipe' posters. Hopefully it'll be a great weekend. Here's a plan of the event so you can find my table.

Cover for 'Its a Mans Life in the Ice Cream Business Part Two'

2011-11-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a go I had at drawing a cover for the second part of my ice cream comic. I like it apart from the snow on the floor. Snow is hard to draw in black and white. I'm going to get going on this new comic now.

Review of 'Its a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business'

2011-11-10T02:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a review of 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice cream Business' from Richard Bruton at the Forbidden Planet blog. Thanks Richard!

Review of 'Its a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business'

2011-11-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a very nice review of 'Its a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business' from Rol Hirst. Thanks Rol!

A Page from 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business'

2011-11-04T03:04:00.001-07:00

Here's a page from my new ice cream comic as I haven't posted any artwork for a while. If anyone would like to buy it it's for sale on my website, only £1.50.

I haven't been able to do any drawing for a couple of weeks, luckily I've finished everything for Thoughtbubble so hopefully that'll go well. I am waiting to think of a decent idea and suffering with the writers block or whatever.

Rol Hirst - 'Too Much Sex and Violence'

2011-11-01T04:58:00.001-07:00

I really enjoyed Rol Hirst's new comic 'Too Much Sex and Violence'. Rol has written it all and the art is by many different artists including Paul Rainey, Andrew Cheverton and Martin Eden. Each artist has drawn a different short story so that works really well as a whole issue. They all tie together nicely and are all set in the small coastal town of Fathomby. There was a good review of it yesterday from the Forbidden Planet blog. It's quite a lot like the 'League of Gentlemen' with a large cast of very weird characters in a strange town, so if you liked that I'm sure you'll like this. I'm very interested to see what happens next as it's a very good start to a new series.

'Ice Cream Recipe' Posters

2011-10-27T03:34:00.001-07:00

I'm making these posters of my ice cream recipe cartoon to sell at Thoughtbubble. They are A3 and I am colouring them all in by hand. It takes a while but they look nice. I've made ten and so far I've coloured three this morning.

Comics for Sale

2011-10-24T02:45:00.000-07:00

All my three new comics that I've brought out this year are on sale in my shop. I will also have them all at Leeds Thoughtbubble next month.

My Brother is Some Kind of Booze Making Genius

2011-10-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

My brother has been spending his time making various kinds of booze from fruits he has foraged around the place for the last few months and the first one was ready to try today. It's elderflower wine and it's really nice! I am very impressed. It tastes like a flowery desert wine like Beaumes de Venise but you can tell its made of elderflowers. Now we can drink lots of very cheap fruit wine. It gives me high hopes for the rest of the booze he's been making, redcurrant wine, plum wine, cider and apple wine.

Comics for Sale

2011-10-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

Today I dropped off some 'Flying Leaf Creature' and 'The Gods Must be Bastards' at Travelling Man, Manchester. Why not buy one if you are passing? They also have a couple of copies of 'Goblin Hall' left. I went in to see the Anders Nilsen book signing, and got my old copy of 'Monologues for the Coming Plague' signed and sketched in. Cool. Thanks to Travelling Man for selling my comics!

'It's A Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business' now on Sale

2011-10-13T02:16:00.001-07:00

I stapled and folded my new comic last night so it is now on sale. I'm going to take a bunch of copies to Leeds Thoughtbubble next month but if anyone's not going or can't wait they are now on sale on my website via paypal. They are £1.50 and are 24 black and white pages with black and white covers. Postage is free. It didn't take me long to fold and staple them, I guess it's one of those things you never forget how to do, even though I've not done it myself for a couple of years.

Optical Sloth Fundraiser

2011-10-12T02:10:00.000-07:00

Optical Sloth is doing a little fundraising thing for the next couple of weeks to help him pay his website bills. Why not buy some comics from his shop if you can or send him small amounts of cash? It's a good site for small press comics and it would be a real shame if he can't afford to carry on.

Old School

2011-10-11T03:51:00.001-07:00

I've just finished drawing my ice cream comic. It shall be called 'It's a Man's Life in the Ice Cream Business' and is 24 black and white pages, with black and white covers. I am getting it photocopied so I've got old Longy above out of retirement. It will be nice to do some old fashioned folding and stapling. I'll have the new comic for sale at Leeds Thoughtbubble next month along with copies of my 'Flying Leaf Creature' newspaper comic.

John Robbins - Inside Outsiders

2011-10-06T01:31:00.000-07:00

The whole of John Robbins 'Inside Outsiders' is up on Irish Comic News here so you can read it for free online. It's a very good story.

Half of Page 17 of Ice Cream Comic

2011-10-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

I'm just starting on page 19 of this now.

Gareth Brookes - The Black Project 1

2011-10-03T03:15:00.001-07:00

I got Gareth Brookes' 'The Black Project' at the Bristol Comics and Zine Fair. It's really good. It's the story of a strange boy called Richard who decides to build himself a girlfriend. He thinks that if people find out he will get in trouble so it is his secret project. He struggles to work out what to make the girlfriend out of, and to keep it hidden from his parents. Here's a link to his website where you can buy it and here's a more detailed review of it from Optical Sloth. Highly recommended, its very funny and dark.

'Flying Leaf Creature' Review

2011-09-28T01:28:00.001-07:00

Here's a review of the 'Flying Leaf Creature' from the Forbidden Planet blog.

Bristol Comics and Zine Fair Report

2011-09-26T02:42:00.001-07:00

This is 'Start the Bus' which was the venue for the fair. It was very rainy in the morning but cheered up later on.
Here's an obligatory shot of my table at the fair. My camera was running out of batteries so I didn't get anymore photos but don't worry I'll steal some soon.

I had a very good time at the Bristol Comics and Zine Fair yesterday. Thanks to Simon, Nick and Dave for organising it and sorting everything out. I went down on the Saturday and we had a good night out drinking bitter with loads of cartoonists. I sold a reasonable amount at the fair and did a lot of really good trades so I'll write about some of them in the future.

Here's a better picture, its Simon and Nick. Picture stolen from this much better written report on the day.

Bristol Comics and Zine Fair

2011-09-22T01:23:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that I'll be at the Bristol Comic and Zine Fair on Sunday. Why not come along if you live near there?

Also some of my comics will be on sale from the Rotherham Zine Library table at the Sheffield Zine Fair on the same day (Sunday 25th of September) if you live near Sheffield. There will be copies of my newest comic 'The Flying Leaf Creature' at both events.

Part of Page 12 of Ice Cream Comic

2011-09-21T02:03:00.001-07:00

Here's part of page 12 of the ice cream comic, chalkboards in the rain. I've done half this comic now as it will be 24 pages long.

Part of Page 10 of Ice Cream Comic

2011-09-16T02:07:00.001-07:00

I have been mainly drawing my ice cream comic this week, and making ice cream. Here's part of page ten.

Ryan Cecil Smith - Two Eyes of the Beautiful 1 & 2

2011-09-12T05:06:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed these two minicomics I bought the other week from Ryan Cecil Smith. They are a reimagining and redrawing of Umezu Kazuo's 'Blood Baptism', a horror manga. The first one is good but the second one gets really great. I thought Ryan's drawing got a lot better, it gets really interesting and very creepy with all the horror scenes. The story is about a beautiful woman with a disfiguring disease who runs off to a small town with her daughter to start some sort of bizarre cure from a secretive doctor. Here's a link to his website. I'm looking forward to part three to see what happens next. They have great colour printed covers too.

Jesse Moynihan - Forming Volume 1

2011-09-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed Jesse Moynihan's 'Forming'. This is the first part of a trilogy and has been published by Nobrow Press. its the first Nobrow Press book I have bought and as expected the printing, binding and book design are lovely. These all came out as a webcomic first.

The drawing is great and I love the colours. Its a mythological kind of story with all sorts of space aliens and superbeings from Zoroastrian, Christian and Dogon creation stories all landing on prehistoric earth. Then they all start mating with the earth people, messing around and fighting each other. Everyone talks in American stoner talk, a bit like in Multiforce or CF's work. 'Let me take him Dad, I'll unravel his balls into long parallel lines' says Cain. I'd like to find out where he goes with Volume 2.

Ice Cream Comic Page 5

2011-09-07T03:16:00.001-07:00

I think this might be page 5 of my new ice cream comic.

Thunder Brother - Soap Division

2011-09-05T01:26:00.001-07:00

Paul Rainey has started serialising his new comic Thunder Brother - Soap Division on a new website today. I am excited to see what it is about. Here's a link to it. He's going to update it with a new page every Monday and Friday.

Comical Animal Issue 5

2011-09-02T01:46:00.001-07:00

The new Comical Animal is up today and I have a story in it called 'Tib-by has the last Laugh' where I carry on from three panels of a cartoon from 1956. Have a look at it here.

Ice Cream Comic

2011-08-31T04:48:00.000-07:00

Here's some of my trying out things for my ice cream business comic. Its the hardest game in the world.

John Robbins - The Well Below

2011-08-30T01:40:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed John Robbins' latest comic 'The Well Below'. I think it is my favourite of all his comics that I've read. It has two short cartoon stories, and then a long text piece 'The Time Machine' which is really good, and then it ends with a great longer comics story, 'The Well Below'. Very highly recommended, why not give it a try. Here's a link to his website.

'Flying Leaf Creature' Now On Sale

2011-08-25T01:27:00.000-07:00

What's this in the post? It's the 'Flying Leaf Creature' full colour newspaper comic! It's come out really well, I am very relieved. If you would like to buy one please do, I have put them on my website for sale with paypal or contact me for other ways to buy it. They are for sale at 4 pounds each including postage as they need big envelopes. I will have them for sale at the Bristol Comics and Zine Fair on the 25th of September and then at Thought Bubble in November.

Bristol Comics and Zine Fair

2011-08-23T09:24:00.001-07:00

I'm going to have half a table at the Bristol Comics and Zine Fair on Sunday 25th of September. Here's more info. I should have my new 'Flying Leaf Creature' Newspaper comic on sale at the fair for the first time.

Zine Exhibition in Sheffield

2011-08-18T01:57:00.000-07:00

I've sent some comics along to the D.I.Y. Summer at Site exhibition, workshop and events in Sheffield. Sounds cool. It runs from the 23rd of August till the 7th of September at the Site gallery, Brown Street, Sheffield. They are setting up a new Zine Library there too. I sent some comics for sale and some for the library.

'Flying Leaf Creature' First Page

2011-08-15T01:21:00.001-07:00

I've finished scanning and cleaning up and arranging the pages of 'Flying Leaf Creature'. Now it's in a newspaper format, finally. This is what the front cover of the newspaper will look like. As soon as I can get enough money together I'm going to get it printed.

Osamu Tezuka - Buddha (volumes 2 & 3)

2011-08-15T01:16:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying this series which I have been getting out from Bolton library. They are ideal books to get out from the library. I don't think I would buy them, especially not while I'm a bit skint, but they are great to read for free. Also it means I can read them quite quickly which feels right for a lot of manga. I hope I can find the rest of the series there soon. These two volumes are about the young Siddharta (Buddha) and his quest to escape his upbringing as a spoiled prince and become a monk.

'Flying leaf Creature' Stall Paintings

2011-08-08T03:06:00.001-07:00

I have done these two paintings of my 'Flying Leaf Creature' character to decorate my stall at Leeds. I'll have it for sale by then.

Scarecrows at the Allotments Open Day

2011-08-08T03:01:00.000-07:00

I liked all these scarecrows the allotment holders had made at the Harpers Lane Allotment Show yesterday. I was selling ice cream and cheese there, even though it rained we did really really well.

Gas Giant 3

2011-07-31T06:02:00.000-07:00

Gas Giant 2

2011-07-31T05:58:00.001-07:00

Gas Giant

2011-07-31T05:52:00.000-07:00

Here's some of a story I was drawing a while back that I've given up on.

MCM Manchester Comics Expo Report

2011-07-31T04:59:00.001-07:00

Wow, I did amazingly badly at this convention yesterday. I ran off early in the end for the first time at a comics show to go and get drunk at a barbecue. There were massive crowds but they were totally uninterested in my stuff. It was totally the wrong crowd for my comics and was the opposite of the Birmingham Zine Festival where I did really well and had a great time with lots of interested people. The show seemed well organised and that on the day, and it was really well attended but its just not for me. If anyone notices me thinking about going to another really mainstream comics show can they please punch me repeatedly in the face and remind me that I always do really shit at them.

Thanks to all the people who came and talked to me, and the guy who bought a copy of 'Goblin Hall'.

New Ice Cream Signs

2011-07-27T03:26:00.000-07:00

I had to make some new ice cream signs as my last one was knackered by a torrential rain storm at Hoghton Tower this month. I haven't made them quite as fancy as they don't last that long.

MCM Manchester Comics Expo

2011-07-25T04:05:00.000-07:00

I'll be at the MCM Manchester Comics Expo on Saturday. I don't know what it'll be like, I hope comics people come along to it. The table was free anyhow so it can't be that bad and I hardly have to travel at all. There's lots of other exhibitors I've not seen for a while so it'll be good to catch up with them. I'll have all my comics for sale, any sales will help me pay for printing 'Flying Leaf Creature'. If you're not going why not buy any comics you are missing from my online shop.

If you're nearby why not come and say hello, it's only five pounds to get in.

A Cover for 'Flying leaf Creature'

2011-07-21T02:21:00.001-07:00

'Flying Leaf Creature' is finished now. This will probably be the cover. Now I have to make some money so I can afford to get it printed soon.

Another Bit of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-07-19T04:07:00.001-07:00

Only three more pages to go now.

Another Page from 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-07-12T04:09:00.001-07:00

Here's another random page of 'Flying Leaf Creature'. I've done 55 pages now out of 62 so it's very nearly finished. Just got to do the end properly and then do some title pages.

Birmingham Zine Festival 2011 Mini Report

2011-07-11T01:40:00.000-07:00

Yay! Birmingham Zine Festival was great. It was right in the middle of Birmingham and free to get in, which is how comics shows should be. There were loads of people there all the time, except for the last hour, and they were all very interested and having a good look at the comics and zines. Lots of people were flicking through my comics which is good, some places they only stare at the covers and don't like to look at the insides. I had to go home afterwards so I couldn't go to the after show stuff which was a shame, but I was already very sleepy due to it being a hot and sunny day and probably would have just fallen asleep anyhow.

I had my best comics sales for a long time, much better than Leeds last year or the London Small Press Expo, so I am very happy and encouraged. Thanks everyone who came along and the organizers! I would definately go again next year if they have another one.

Here's a good bunch of photos of the event. These are from quite late on as you can tell by my eyes which were constantly closing.

Posy Simmonds - Gemma Bovery

2011-07-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

I got this out from the library and read it last night. It's great, really smart and really funny. I'm not sure why I have never read it before, I'm sure I meant too. Anyhow I'm going to get the Tamara Drewe from the library next as soon as they have it in. Her drawings of people are brilliant.

Posy Simmonds books were some of the first comics I read come to think of it. My mum and dad had some of her Guardian collected books on their shelves, and also her 'True Love' book.

Birmingham Zine Festival

2011-06-30T01:55:00.001-07:00

I'll be at the Birmingham Zine Festival next Saturday. I'll have all my latest comics and some copies of 'The Sorry Entertainer' newspaper anthology for sale on my table. Why not come and say hello.

Todays' the MCC Big Drink and Draw so I'll be there from 4 in the Sandbar. (see post below).

Lots of little comics festivals at the moment aren't there. I want to sell a few comics to motivate myself a bit extra to finish 'Flying Leaf Creature'.

Big Drink n Draw

2011-06-23T09:39:00.001-07:00

I'll be at this next Thursday selling my comics. Why not come along if you are near Manchester, it sounds cool. Here's a link to more information.

Duk Boki

2011-06-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

For many years I have had a dream, which was too once again eat a particular very hot Korean street food. I had it ten years ago in Taejon and have very fond memories of drunkenly eating loads of it at a little street stall. It's my favourite street food ever.

Last week I found it was called Duk Boki (by searching on the internet, why hadn't I done that before?) so I found a recipe here, and made it for my tea tonight. It was very nice, and tasted pretty much as I remembered. I changed the recipe a bit by adding some deep fried tofu, green peppers, thai fish balls and a bit of shredded cabbage. It's not exactly the same as I remember of course, the main difference is I had no beer.

More of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-06-22T02:12:00.001-07:00

My Next Comic?

2011-06-21T00:54:00.001-07:00

I want to do some kind of autobiographical comic about ice cream once I can decide how to do it.

'The Gods Must be Bastards' Review

2011-06-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a new review of 'The Gods Must be Bastards' from Rob Clough's 'High-Low' blog. Thanks Rob! I've still got copies for sale on my website if anyone wants one. They are £4, free postage to UK and Europe, add £1 for postage to the rest of the world.

More Panels from 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-06-14T02:38:00.001-07:00

Here's a few panels from 'Flying Leaf Creature' as I don't want to give all the story away.

Shigeru Mizuki - Onwards Towards Our Noble Deaths

2011-06-09T01:50:00.001-07:00

This is the first book by Shigeru Mizuki to be translated into English. That seems mad as they have been out in French for years, they even won a prize at Angouleme a few years ago. I hope his supernatural story books (like Non Non Ba) get translated next as I'd really like to read them.
This book is the '90% fact' story of how the army unit that Mizuki would have been attached to ended up having to make a suicide attack in Papua New Guinea. Some of the men managed to survive and then were told that as their 'noble deaths' had already been reported they would have to go back and attack again, and this time make sure they all died. Mizuki had lost an arm and had malaria so had been sent to the hospital instead of to this unit.

It's a very very angry book. The army looks like hell. The newer rookie soldiers are constantly beaten and slapped, almost on every page. Even if they hadn't done anything wrong they are beaten at each rolecall. They are constantly starving hungry and mainly think about food.

The drawing is very strange in many ways. There are a lot of really detailed backgrounds but the people look more like Japanese gag cartoons. Each different soldier is drawn in a very different way, with a lot of cartoony-ness and distortion. It is from the 1970's. It takes quite a lot of getting used to, I had to read it twice through to follow the different characters properly. You can feel his rage with the commanders and the terrible waste of lives on almost every page.

Highly recommended.

New Page of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-06-07T02:09:00.001-07:00

Here's the latest page of 'Flying leaf creature', my new comic. This is page 38 I think.

Comical Animal

2011-06-03T01:58:00.000-07:00

There's a new Comical Animal up today. I did a strawberry ice cream recipe for this one.

Another Page from 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-06-02T09:34:00.001-07:00

Here's page 35 from my new comic.

'Sorry Entertainer' Newspaper Comic

2011-05-24T03:52:00.001-07:00

My contributor copies of the 'Sorry Entertainer' newspaper comic have come in the post today. It looks great and has some really good comics in it! If you would like to buy one go to Simon M's website. I'll bring some copies to the Birmingham Zine Festival in July.

Page 30 of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-05-23T04:45:00.001-07:00

This is going to be page 30 of my new comic. I'm drawing this page all in pencil. It's about half finished at the moment.

Chester Brown - Paying for It

2011-05-18T03:09:00.000-07:00

This new book by Chester Brown is very interesting. It's about his many years paying for sex with prostitutes in Toronto. The drawings are a bit like 'Louis Riel' but even more stripped down to the basics. He draws a lot of those black circles round the action, I don't know what they are called, where they are made up of little black lines. The people have very little in the way of expressions and incredibly simple faces. He never shows the prostitutes faces, often covering them with word balloons. It's a long book but only little sized which I thought worked really well.
Here's where he first goes looking for prostitutes, riding around on his bike, and worrying. I found a lot of the bits in this book very funny. I'm not sure what I think from a moral prespective, but it did make me laugh out loud a bunch of times, which is rare from a comic. There are some gross bits where he starts going on prostitute review internet sites, and leaving reviews. Those seemed really weird to me, a bit like leaving reviews on Amazon or something.
This also made me laugh as he works out his accounts. He is so logical.

After the cartooning there are a load of appendixes and notes where he sets out his ideas that prostitution is great and romantic love is bad. I liked the notes from Seth (who is a character in the book, along with Joe Matt) who says 'I can't resist noting that the idea of Chester Brown and Joe Matt discussing the nature of romantic love is not unlike two blind men painting a sunset'.

Highly recommended. Even if you hate the whole idea it is very interesting as autobiography.

Another Panel from 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-05-11T02:30:00.000-07:00

I have drawn some medieval castle style stairs. The bit of paper I stuck on here to cover up my mistakes will be hidden in the final cleaning up of the page. I'm up to page 23 now but this is from page 21 where our heroes stop for crumpets and scones.

Julia Wertz - Drinking at the Movies

2011-05-11T02:25:00.000-07:00

This was a very good book. Its very funny and I have read it four times since I got it about Christmas time so it must be good. It's an autobiographical tale of Julia Wertz moving from San Francisco to New York. There's loads of pages on her website so go have a look. The website used to be called 'Fart Party' but now it's called 'The Museum of Mistakes'.

News

2011-05-09T02:55:00.000-07:00

There's not been much to put up on here for a bit... I've done twenty pages of the 'Flying Leaf Creature' story now. I'm thinking about where it's going to go next, it's going to have to be pretty long so it's probably about half finished. Hopefully I'll have it for Leeds Thoughtbubble in November if I can work out how to get it printed.

The 'Sorry Entertainer' newspaper anthology has been totally funded on Indiegogo so thats great! I'm really looking forward to seeing that. It's very hopeful that there are enough interested people who want to fund such an interesting comic.

Today's Page of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-04-26T03:08:00.001-07:00

I am happy with this page of 'Flying Leaf Creature' that I coloured in today.

Another Page of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-04-22T05:45:00.001-07:00

I drew this page completely out of order as I was getting a bit bored of drawing the start of the story. This will be in the middle somewhere.

Comics for Sale

2011-04-22T00:12:00.000-07:00

There's lots of comics for sale in the paypal shop on my website if anyone wants any. Free postage in the UK and Europe, add £1 only for the rest of the world.

A Little Bit More of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-04-18T00:54:00.000-07:00

I don't want to put too much of this story up anymore so as not to give all the story away. Now I'm just starting page twelve.

New Ice Cream Sign

2011-04-12T01:22:00.000-07:00

I've painted a new sign for my ice cream business. It's the same as the old sign, but bigger. I accidentally left the old sign at Nether Kellett Market on Sunday, which was a shame as it was only three days away from retirement.

'Sorry Entertainer' Fund Raising

2011-04-11T04:57:00.000-07:00

Roll up! Roll up! It's the Sorry Entertainer Newspaper Anthology!
Throw your pennies into the hat for a new, international newsprint comic collection.

Simon M and Nick Soucek are trying to raise money for the publishing of the newspaper sized comic 'The Sorry Entertainer'. If you have any cash why not donate some and get copies and fancy free stuff. I've done a big newspaper sized page for it and it's got a great line-up.

There's a Indie go go page here where you can donate.

The Sorry Entertainer features the work of…

The Dynamic Duo: Messrs Andrew Cheverton and Rol Hirst

The legendary Lord Brad Foster

The ineffable Master Christopher Fairless

Mr Dangerous himself, David Ziggy Greene

The mysterious Dr Thom Ferrier

The curious case of Jarod Rosello

The wistful Master Jason Martin

The card-shark stylings of Messrs Jordan Collver and Richard Worth

New York’s finest tumbler, Miss Lauren Barnett

Florida’s own Ringmasters, Messrs Loren Knack and Ron McVicar

Argentinian mastermind, Loris Z

The stage-ready Mr Matt Reichmann

The ever-suffering Master Nick Soucek

The despairing President Noah Van Sciver

Buskin’ Paddy Lynch

The excitable Mr Peter Batchelor

Master of Northern wit and ice-cream salesman, Rob Jackson

Diarist and humourist, Mr Sam Spina

…and Simon ‘just whose idea was this anyway?’ Moreton

Another Page of 'Flying Leaf Creature'

2011-04-06T04:56:00.001-07:00

Comical Animal

2011-04-01T03:33:00.000-07:00

The new Comical Animal issue is up today. Why not go and have a look, it's free. I've done a four page autobiographical story about things I did as a child, but with rabbits.

Flying Leaf Creature Page Four

2011-03-31T00:31:00.001-07:00

'The Gods Must be Bastards' Review

2011-03-30T01:56:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice review of 'The Gods Must be Bastards' from Optical Sloth.
It's still available in my website shop for only £4.

Flying Leaf Creature Page Three

2011-03-29T11:13:00.001-07:00

Flying Leaf Creature Page Two

2011-03-27T07:28:00.001-07:00

'The Gods Must be Bastards' Review

2011-03-25T01:22:00.001-07:00

Here's a nice review of 'The Gods Must be Bastards' on the Forbidden Planet Blog.

First Page of a New Korea Story

2011-03-22T03:45:00.000-07:00

Trying out pastels and sellotape.

Flying Leaf Creature

2011-03-22T02:12:00.000-07:00

Maybe this will be a new story.

News

2011-03-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

There's lots of comics for sale in the paypal shop on my website if anyone wants any. Free postage in the UK and Europe, add £1 only for the rest of the world.

What have I been doing? I've mainly been making and selling soup and ice cream. Here's a photo of some of my soup. This one is carrot, tomato, potato, leek and onion. These are very big pans and I had to do this much twice, so it takes a long time. The food business is doing much better now as Spring is coming and people are leaving their houses to buy stuff.

London Comic & Small Press Expo Report

2011-03-14T03:16:00.000-07:00

Here's my stuff on the table at the London Comic & Small Press Expo. I was sharing the table with Francesca Cassavetti, thanks Francesca! Also thanks again to Annie Koyama for kindly paying for my table!

It was a very nice venue with natural light and nice big tables and the show was very well run. It started very slowly though and I was getting worried but it really picked up about 3 pm and in the end I did well. I would definately go back to the show next year. Thanks to everyone who bought a comic!

I didn't buy much stuff due to poverty. I got Francesca's new comic 'Teenage Horror' which is great and has individual lino print covers. Also Nick Soucek's new comic 'A Working City' which was good and the new Bristol based zine 'Bear Pit'.

I had to run off at the end to get to Kendal for my mates wedding do on the train. I made it as far as Preston but then the train I was on was badly delayed and I missed the last connection with a bunch of other people. Luckily the train people were very nice and helpful and sent us to Lancaster on another train and then paid for a taxi for me to Kendal, so I was only half an hour later than I should have been. Then I got drunk at the wedding do and had a dance. Next morning I got up and had a good full English breakfast and then travelled to Nether Kellett to sell cheese for an hour. My mum and dad were kindly running the stall the rest of the time. That went really really well and making money filled me with energy again. Then that faded away on the way home and now I am very knackered.

London Comic & Small Press Expo March 12th

2011-03-08T01:52:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I'll be at the London Comic & Small Press Expo. Should be cool. I'm at table 10 so if you are there why not come and see me. I'll have lots of copies of my new comic and all the older ones too. I'll be sat with Francesca Cassavetti, who also has a new comic.

Here's the sign I've made to thank Koyama Press for paying for my table.