CAPTION 2006

Publicity image for CAPTION 06 - the CAPTION logo on the ape's T-shirt
is by Damian Cugley

CAPTION 2006 - Oxford's annual alternative comic convention - will be taking place at the East Oxford Community Centre this weekend (5–6 August 2006). CAPTION is possibly now the UK's longest running comic convention - it's taken place every year since 1992, and this is the first time for the new third-generation CAPTION committee. The convention has a different theme each year; this time it's "CAPTION Remix."
If you've ever been to a convention like Bristol or the old UKCACs, CAPTION is a revelation - a fun, relaxed time that's about meeting people, sharing ideas and enthusiasms, making friends, jamming and sitting round having a drink and a laugh. It's a broad church that takes in fans of everyone from Kochalka to Kirby.
Unfortunately, I'll have to miss this one - I'm acting as best man for an old friend that weekend - but I'm putting a couple of items in for the auction. I'll also have a sort of telepresence in the form of the short film Reptile Day, a live-action bluescreen film for which I drew backgrounds. The Phantom Menace it's not, but it is better written ;-P

More information on CAPTION at http://caption.org/.

Thought For The Day...

As you can see, I'm feeling better :-)

Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out...

..in my case, the sin of Believing Thou Art Dave Gibbons, And Sticking Lots Of Nifty Design Elements Into Your Comic That Mean You End Up With Fiddling Spot Illustrations To Do When You've Already Lost Time To Being Ill And It's No-One's Fault But Your Own.
Bum.
The upside is, it was a perfect excuse to play with the new free upgrade to Corel Painter (IX to IX.5, named with a fine disregard for both the Roman and Arabic number schemes). For those of you not in the know, Painter is a photoshop-style painting program with the added twist of looking like real media - oil paint, watercolour, chalk, crayon - and all of it capable of being squooged and squished (technical terms there) around in a way utterly impossible in Photoshop. I use Painter to make it look as if I'm using real paint to carefully imitate slick Photoshop colouring instead of, as I used to do, Photoshop to carefully imitate paint carefully imitating Photoshop. I think.
My first copy of Painter was version 6, which was a frustrating mix of amazing features (all the natural media stuff) hamstrung by a clumsy interface, incessant bugginess and the inability to deal with large files. Painter went through various hands before being bought up by the Corel Corporation (of CorelDraw and PhotoSuite fame), who worked hard on taming the beast, bringing the interface into line with Photoshop, and wrestling hard with the sh*te-storm of code under the bonnet. Their first try, Painter 7, received mixed reviews, but on trying a download of Painter 8 I realised that for the first time they'd created a serious tool for working on large print-resolution files. Normally I only upgrade my software with every other version number, but when Painter IX came out only nine months later, the speed improvements were so good I shelled out straight away. As with IX, IX.5 offers hardly any new features, just more speed improvements and the odd useful little tweak - like separating the eraser from the brush tool so you can select it work a keystroke. Colour handling is much better too, and best of all, it's a free upgrade if you already have 9 (though if, like me, you were still on 9.0, you need to run the free 9.1 updater first).
To celebrate this new version, I've made a Painter colour set that mimics the standard Photoshop swatch set. I'm making this, plus a custom Photoshop swatch and brush set, available for free download here. Have fun.
(NOTE: following complaints, I've discovered the Painter colour set won't open following download, so I'm withdrawing it until I can fix the problem; my apologies.)

The illustration came out quite pleasingly - it reminded me of Arno's spot illustrations for Les Aventures D'Alef-Thau. At some point I'll do a post to show the influence of Arno's work on my own.
Once I've got all my spot illustrations out of the way...

*i

Minicloud

noses
Originally uploaded by minicloud.

I discovered the Flickr comics group the other week, though I was a tad disappointed that most of the contributions were actually single-frame cartoons rather than multi-panel narrative comics (this is not imply that I'm making a qualitative judgement re the two forms; tractors are not "better" than double-decker buses, but each has its function and its place, and the one is not the other).
Of the few exceptions, most were people posting old/existing art for comment, but one noble exception was minicloud (Sarah Glidden) who, inspired by James Kochalka, is posting a daily comics journal. The entries are single page strips focussing on little aspects and fragments of daily experience; comics poetry.
It takes a certain discipline to put together one page of comics, and to commit yourself to regular output takes a certain doggedness; it's also the best way to progress, and she's already reaping the benefit of regular exercise, comics wise.
Minicloud's Daily Journal on Filckr.
Blog (as Cloudless).

The Dreaded Lurgey* Strikes!

Woke up yesterday morning with vague nausea that, over the course of the morning, developed into general slight flueyness and a heavy stomach. Nothing crippling, but that nagging sense of "not-rightness" that is more of a harbinger of real illness than any specific symptom.
When you're self employed, life is dominated by the simple equation "work equals food" - or paying the gas/leccy/phone/ broadband bill/mortgage payment, you get the picture. One thing I have learned over the years though, is to know when to give in; a day lost to recovery now can prevent extra days of illness in the future. It was a lesson hard-learned; back in 1994, when I was inking Marc Hempel on Sandman: The Kindly Ones, I tried to keep going through what seemed like a persistent cold, only to end up collapsing so badly that I was off work for more than six weeks.
So I spent as much of yesterday as I possibly could sleeping (except for when my belovèd, the lovely Dr.F, succeeded in smashing her own head in on a concrete clothes-post, and I had to administer cold compresses and then nip down to the chemist's for some Hirudoid™ cream, the things we do for love) which seems to have done some good - I'm feeling well enough today to alternate bouts of work with bouts of dozing, though it's so hot and humid here I honestly can't tell if I'm feverish or not.

*For any American readers, "Lurgey" = "Cooties"

Chaos Reigns

No proper post today I'm afraid, as we're having electrical work done on the house and the power will be off most of the day. See you tomorrow....

Progress...

Didn't manage to post yesterday due to a mix of hecticness and Blogger running slowly. I'm down to the last nine pages of The Great Game, with a further three pages roughed out already (see left for an example of my rough page layouts).

Thought For The Day...

The Incredible Hulk is a trademark of
and copyright © Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.
The Incredible Hulk was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

(Dedicated to Steve W, who would draw this so much better than I can...)

Leviathan Update

Just had notice from Rebellion that the Leviathan collection is due out in October; it will include the additional "Tales of the Leviathan" stories. I'm digging out my original design sketches to include in the back of the book; given that Ian and I first planned the story in 1994 (9 years before if it was published) some of the original concepts are strikingly different from what finally saw print...

Countdown To Ecstasy!

Glad to be getting away from this @*!!!$$$@%! page!

Some pages go just as you expect, a few blessed ones are quicker and easier, and some, for reasons that are never clear, fight you every step of the way and take ages. The one I've just finished was like that - didn't look as if it would be too bad but for some reason it took me five days. Bastud.

Still, it's done, and as of 1.40pm today, there are only ten pages of The Great Game left. Good thing too, 'cause the deadline's rushing me like a rhino on steroids.

A Blast Not Only From The Past, But The Very Depths Of Obscurity...

Does anybody out there remember Phoenix 5? It's something I remember from my childhood in the early 70's, viewed in crackle-o-vision because it was broadcast in the neighbouring Tyne Tees ITV region, which we could sometimes get if the wind was blowing in the right direction. It was a sort of ultra-cheap Australian Star Trek knock-off, set in the same sort of enlightened multi-cultural future as Jim Kirk and his lot, just one where there were different accents and a lot less money around. It was never networked in the UK, and as a result is so obscure here that until a year ago I'd never met anyone else who'd even heard of it; until I found traces of it on the Internet I wasn't sure that it had ever existed.

Half as a joke, I suggested to Ian that we include a little tribute to Phoenix 5 in Scarlet Traces: The Great Game, and to my delight, he not only agreed, but found this website that gives details about the programme, also explaining how it was the third of a trilogy of TV series, the first two being Interpretaris and Vega 4. All were not only set in the same shared universe, but seem to have recycled the same props and models, judging from the screenshots on the site. It also means, to be fair, that Phoenix 5 isn't quite such a steal from Star Trek as I always thought, concept-wise, since Interpretaris pre-dates its American cousin by nearly a year.

Above is my Phoenix 5 tribute model. The original is more-or-less aircraft like - two wings with rockets on the end, tail with motor, and an overall impression of too many fins and nacelles for its own good - so I did the same trick as I did with the Zero X and turned it into an upright design with trilateral symmetry. Since none of these TV series have ever been available in any format anywhere, we reckon it's safe to keep the names this time.
Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately for the sake of the end product) I couldn't fit in a tribute to my other great obscure love, the black & white Bavarian Star Trek precursor, Raumpatrouille Orion (Space Patrol Orion). Made with what were pretty good SFX for 1968 TV, it features strange choreography, cities full of fish, and an amazing sculptural bridge set notable for a combination of clever technology (the bridge viewing screen is built into a frosted-glass table-top with a cine-projector underneath, so the characters can interreact with the images on the screen while the camera pans round) and what seem now like amusingly Blue Peter-like touches; plastic beakers as light fittings and curvy 60's steam irons as control switches. The acting and chemistry between the cast seem pretty good for that sort of thing; my limited German isn't up to assessing the quality of the scripts, but it looks as if it could give Patrick Troughton Dr.Who a run for its money (I'd be interested in any German speakers' opinions on this). It's worth watching episode one for the dancing alone.
Best of all is the theme tune, by Peter Thomas and his Sound Orchester (Sic). It's a true classic in the Sixties Groovy Style (think Man From U.N.C.L.E. or Man In A Suitcase*) and what's more you can get it on iTunes; the track is called Space-Patrol (Raumpatrouille) from Raumpatrouille (The Complete Music).
Much of the rest of the album sounds like someone having a fit up against the Blackpool Tower Ballroom Organ (though you may go for it if you're into Frank Zappa), but the following tracks are recommended as amusing oddities:

Shub-A-Doe (hilarious German scat)
Piccicato in heaven (ethereal)
Take Sex (good for repelling Jehovah's Witnesses)

Raumpatrouille Orion the TV series is available as a DVD box set (amazon.de is a good place to start) but as German domestic product there are no English soundtrack or subtitle options. It's still nearly worth recommending it to non-German speakers just for the dancing in episode one, but not quite.

PS - I've just found there's an English section to the Raumpatrouille website, Starlight Casino.

*recycled, in his one public act of good taste, by Chris Evans as the theme for T.F.I. Friday.

Oh No, It's That Dredd Cover Again, Again...

Guess which twazzock failed to read his free copy of 2000AD from last week?

(Clue: The name begins with a "D'")

The mystery character whose identity I was trying to protect was already in part one of the Dredd Weirdies story last week - it's the "Arse-face" guy, who I really didn't want to leave out because he's such a great character, but I thought might put the wind up WHSmith's, so I hid him behind the 2000AD logo on the cover. Here's an unlettered version so you can see him in all his glory.

2000AD and Judge Dredd are trademarks of and copyright © 2006 Rebellion Developments Ltd. This image used for review purposes as defined by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

And that's the last of me trying to wring posts out of this particular cover, I promise...

(If you've missed this issue (2000AD Prog 1497, 19th July 2006) at the newsagent's, you can order back issues from Tharg's Future Shop on the 2000AD website)

Dredd Cover Out!

2000AD and Judge Dredd are trademarks of and copyright © 2006 Rebellion Developments Ltd. This image used for review purposes as defined by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Here it is, 2000AD Prog 1497, dated 19th July 06; it's for a new story featuring Citizen Snork, which is what I didn't want to give away by showing the background figures in earlier posts.
I was going to post an unlettered copy so you could see who I hid behind the 2000AD logo, but I realised on reading the comic that he doesn't appear yet, so I'll save that one for another week.
Meantime you can have a go at spotting my Hitchcock-style cameo somewhere among the Weirdies in the background. If you need a clue, there's a picture of me here.

(If you've missed this issue (2000AD Prog 1497, 19th July 2006) at the newsagent's, you can order back issues from Tharg's Future Shop on the 2000AD website)

Semana Negra

Reflector Page 2
Originally uploaded by The Glass Eye.

As promised, I've posted photos of my trip to the Semana Negra in Gijon, plus the whole of the strip I contributed to the Semana Negra "Guernica" book:

Semana Negra photos on Flickr

Guernica Strip on Flickr

Guernica Strip Slideshow

Because I was snatching photos in the middle of the book launch and signing, I don't have any of myself at the event; if anyone has any shots they'd be willing to let me post, I’d be grateful.

See Me, I'm Back...

Semana Negra Book Rush
Originally uploaded by The Glass Eye.

Sorry for the lack of posts the past few days... I was playing hookey in Spain, promoting my contribution to the Semana Negra book which is produced each year as part of the festival of literature in Gijon (click on photo for details).
I'll post a proper report and samples of my contribution (oo-err vicar) tomorrow.

Important Safety Information - Scarlet Traces: The Great Game #1

If you spot this comic at your local retailer, please follow the approved safety procedure:

1. Alert other customers to its presence in a calm, approving voice. Do not cause panic.
2. Pick up the comic carefully by the edges, making sure the cover is visible to those around you.
   
3. Holding the comic above your head, take it to the till.
4. Pay for it using cash, cheque or credit card.
5. Exit the shop in a calm, orderly manner.

Following this procedure should result in a satisfying read with the minimum of panic, injury and blindness. Please note that, contrary to some rumours, stuffing this comic up your nose will result in death.
Your co-operation is appreciated.

Drat & Double Drat!

The advance copies of Scarlet Traces: The Great Game #1 have arrived - at my Mum's (where I was living a couple of years ago). Since my Nice Mummy lives in another town for me, she's having to post me a copy.
With luck I might just get to see it before it hits the street next week.

Chick Tracts

Get the power of Jesus in your shopping cart with Chick Tracts.

Someone who shops at my local Somerfield (née Kwiksave) must distribute Chick Tracts, 'cause this is the second time in two years I've found one there. Despite finding them scarily mad, they fill me with delight; as much because they prove the power of comics as a medium of communication as anything else.

Thought For The Day

Hi Diddly-Dee, The Bourgeoisie For Me

Cycle lamp thrown into our back garden yesterday;
it's broken now, and you only have yourself to blame.

It's been a week for personal landmarks; yesterday there was the news that the advance copies of The Great Game are out, today I received the documents confirming that I've successfully bought into my girlfriend (the delightful Dr.F)'s mortgage. As of today I'm the proud owner of 2/15 of a nice little terraced house along with 1/3 of a conservatory and a central heating system.
To celebrate my entry into the property-owning classes, I intend to start wearing sandals with socks and begin a campaign of snotty letters to the local paper about the behaviour of young people in the area.
In that spirit, will whoever threw this cycle lamp into our back garden please come and collect it. We don't want your rubbish.

Arrival

From page 4 of Scarlet Traces: The Great Game #1 - I think we're close enough
to publication to risk showing you a finished panel.

Just had notice from Dave Land at Dark Horse that the approval copies of Scarlet Traces: The Great Game #1 have arrived at the office and will be shipped to us today.
It's always nerve-wracking to see if a new project has printed alright, more so at the moment as I still have to devote most of my waking hours for the next month to #4, whether I'm happy with it or not.
Don't get me wrong; I'm perfectly confident that the repro will be good, since Dark Horse usually do us proud, and Amy Arendt's design work looks grreat - it's more to do with my feelings about my own work. There were technical problems with #1 that involved me changing the way I worked on the pages part-way though. As a result, it feels like a real mish-mash to me, but I'm hoping the join won't be too obvious to anyone who doesn't know about the problems I had. Time will tell...

Oddments

Aside from my usual work, I sometimes do the odd thing for friends... if you're in Aberdeen, you might possibly see this on flyers for a karaoke night.


Batman is the registered trademark of and copyright © DC Comics Inc.
Batman was created by Bob Kane.
This drawing was inspired by the cartoons of Steve Whitaker.

More Lolling About In Caffé Nero

Arbeit,
originally uploaded by The Glass Eye.

Well, not lolling really, I was doing thumbnail sketches for the next set of Great Game pages, honest... Ian emails me script that I print out (sheets under notebook, left of frame), then I work out the page layouts in my kinky rubber-covered notebook from Muji. My page layout notebooks last me ages... this one was started in Feb 2003 (the first thing in it is episode 5 of XTNCT for the Megazine).You'll notice I use a wide-angle notebook for more dramatic layouts :-)
The ultra-high caffeine cappuccino and blueberry muffin are optional.

Stuff I Love To Draw (No.1 In An Occasional Series)

Judge Dredd's Lawmaster Bike - long did I fear having to draw it, but once we met, we got along fine. A design classic.

Skinny Muffins

Number of pages of The Great Game remaining: 15

A little moment of luxury snatched from the chaos of the day... I'm not, of course, fool enough to believe that "skinny" muffins are that much better for you than ordinary ones, but since skinny ones are rarer, you must, ipso facto, eat fewer of them if skinny ones are all you allow yourself.

(Back to comics next post, I promise.)

10pm On A Sunday...

...and I'm still at it. Mind you, I'd have been done by 8pm
if I'd not sat around posing for photographs ;-)

This Day In History...

Hannibal and Scipio?
Kangaroo?