Sexy Men of Aust Comics Financial Year Calendar LAUNCH!

How's that for a headline?

As organised by David Blumenstein. Come along and spread the word.

Celebrating the funny in the art of comics.

In week four of Comic Book Funny: the unexpected launch of

THE SEXY MEN OF AUSTRALIAN COMICS 2009-2010 FINANCIAL YEAR CALENDAR!

Featuring (and this is a provisional listing, friends) portraits of the following sexy comics men by the following sexy comics women:
Pat Grant drawn by Nicki Greenberg
Greg Gates drawn by Carol Wood
Patrick Alexander drawn by Rebecca Clements
Bernard Caleo drawn by Kirrily Schell
David Blumenstein drawn by Sarah Howell
Neale Blanden drawn by Jo Waite
Gerard Ashworth drawn by Susan Butcher
Leigh Rigozzi drawn by Nicola Hardy
Chris Downes drawn by Tricky Walsh
...and three months to be revealed LATER!

Your host is the dashing Bernard Caleo.


Date: 25 April 2009
Time: 17:00 - 18:15
Location: Bella Union bar, Trades Hall
Street: Corner Lygon and Victoria St
Town/City: Melbourne, Australia

Two more episodes to listen to!

I've posted two more episodes of the show to listen to. You can listen on the player embedded in the blog. (look to the right -->) Or you can go here to download them.

The two posted are...

TheComicSpot Oct 08 - Pat Grant, Edward j Grug III, Jessica McLeod

In this show Bernard, Jo and I are joined by Pat Grant in the studio to talk about his upcoming show at Brunswick Bound and about his comic background, and via the telephony network I speak to Jess and Grug from Perth. The first couple of Perth comics talk about their works and being picked up vis the web by international publishers. The Bern, Jo and I do some R+R (read and recommended). We mention Word Balloons 8 by Phil Bentley, Something Wierd Quarterly 4 from the sadly defunct Local Act Comics, Guh!3 by Jase Harper, Hollow Fields by Madeleine Rosca and Jo talks about painting skulls!


TheComicSpot 200901 - Best of 2008, What's up 2009?

We sat down in the studio and i posed the following questions. In 2008 what was your favourite 1) Australain Comic Creator, 2) Comic Published in Aust, 3)Aust Comic Published Overseas, 4) Self Published Work, 5)Discovery of 2008. We also looked at what happened in and around town in 08 and what was up for 09. Here's to another great year.

TheComicSpot March 09 - Aust Comics in Literary Journals

Join Jo Waite and myself (John Retallick) on tomorrows program as we think a little deeper about a trend we've noted at TheComicSpot. That's the growing trend of Australian comics in literary journals.

We'll be speaking to Sophie Cunningham, the editor of venerable journal Meanjin and to the co-editor of Going Down Swinging Lisa Greenaway.

Listen live in Melbourne at 5pm on 855am 3CR or streaming live to everywhere in the world with an interwebs from 3CR.org.au.

Looking forward to it.

Cheers

Two more epsodes to listen to!

I've now posted the September and October 08 episodes of the show online.

Listen to them on the embedded player or go to thecomicspot.podomatic.com to download them.

Sept 08 - Eddie Campbell Interview

Bernard Caleo joined me in the studio for a live interview with comic creating legend Eddie Campbell. We had a ball doing the interview. Eddie was gracious with his time and handled us well. Thanks Eddie. He didn't have to deal with us after the show when we gabbled on like teenagers in excitement as we'd just spoken to our favourite Aust based creator. But after the 40ish minute interview with Eddie we still managed to fit in a Tango Anthology update, a review of J Marc Schmidt's 'Eating Steve' and we also had a chat about the Ugly Drunk and Stupid exhibition that was held during the Melbourne Fringe Festival

Oct 08 - Tasmanian Special

I was lucky enough to spend a long weekend in Hobart in October and decided to get to know some of the creators down there. I met some great people and managed to interview Christopher Downes (sirwdchosen.blogspot.com)about his 'Diary of a work in progress' and Matt Coyle (mattcolye.net) about his work in general and his book 'Worry Doll'. After these prerecorded interviews i spoke live to Sarah Howell (barleyhush.blogspot.com) about creating comics community in Tasmania and how moving to Melbourne has impacted on her own art.

Happy Listening!

Aug 08 Episode up online.

I'm finally beginning to post more audio online. There were quite a few problems with this audio file and it need some tweaking. I've had to chop and change it from how it went to air but it's all here. As a bonus i've included a few other bits i had on file.

See the episode description.

"In this episode i'm joined in the studio by Jo Waite who tells us about her Tasmanian adventures and in prerecord mode with Bernard Caleo we discuss Bobby Ns new comic Digested. I wrap up the coverage of DoujiCon with interviews with Bobby N (bluetoaster.com), Paul Bedford (the-list.com.au)and Amber Carvan (comicrehab.wordpress.com). There was quite a bit of messing around with this audio file so as a bonus feature i've included some unaired audio i recorded as a back up but for one reason or another never went to air. There's an interview with Trev Wood and Jen Breach about their work Sawbones (sawbonesonline.com), and a couple of discussion Bernard Caleo and i had around Tango and Eddie Campbells new work."

Go to http://www.thecomicspot.podomatic.com/ to download the audio or listen to it streaming from the player in the side bar.

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I also heartily recommend you support the Bushfire appeal. Around 200 people have lost their lives, thousands of people are homeless, countless numbers of farm and wild animals have also been decimated in this tragedy. This will take many years to recover from.

I was touched by the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983 and though nothing like the extant of these ones i have the deepest sympathy for all their plights.

Give as much as you are able. http://www.redcross.org.au/

Listen for the 08 wrap up. Thurs 29th at 5pm

Join Bernard Caleo, Jo Waite and myself on air 855am 3cr at 5m to hear what we thought of 2008 in and around comics in Melbourne.

What we read and like, people we discovered, events we attended, things we're looking forward to in 2009.

Drop me a line if you want to contribute. Answer these questions

1. Fav Aust creator published in Aust?

2. Fav Aust creator published internationally?

3. Fav self published work by Aust creator?

4. Fav Aust creator discovered in 2008?

5. Looking forward to in 2009?

Send your answers to thecomicspot@hotmail.com

And as to the lack of blog posts this month? I've been working on a circus at my day job and it's been pretty busy.

I have this stack of books to read through and blog on over the next month.

Stay tuned see what i think of this pile of goodness!

Interviewed again!

I've been interviewed by the wonderful Jane at 3CR who is producing and presenting "Arts Geek" in the DIY Arts timeslot for the next few weeks.

We spoke about using the internet as community building device for comickers and for those like me who comment and thrive on the creation of comics. It was great to be on the other end of the mic and to wax lyrical about how comickers and myself use geeky techy stuff to build communies around what we do.

Listen Thurs 8th Jan at 5pm on 3CR on 855am in Melbourne or streaming here.

I had fun and i hope i wasn't too difficult an interviewee to shut up!

Thanks Jane

Profiled!

I was lucky enough to be approached and profiled by Perry Middlemass for his wonderful Matilda Litblog.

He asked a bunch of litbloggers a series of questions and i suggest you check out their answers and their blogs respectively. It's good to read books without pictures occasionally.

Check it out and see how i and other Aust litbloggers answer how they would eat an elephant!

Tally ho!!

Review : Lonely Monsters by Matt Dunn

ZOMBIES in Brunswick! What more do you need to know about this comic to buy it? That’s a pretty good hook right there. Over 100 pages of zombie action with a bonus section of art, a peek at book2 and a bonus short story. I bought the whole package that included a signed print and a CD soundtrack. More on that in another post. Or you could do worse than getting the book alone.

Lonely Monsters is set in a world 12 months after a Zombie outbreak has occurred in Australia and threatens to spread to the rest of the world. A zombie has swum across the Tasman to New Zealand, there are rumours of outbreaks in Indonesia and a global conference on the outbreak is debating whether the best solution to the problem is to nuke Australia whether or not there are survivors. That’s the big picture.

Within this premise we focus on the personal stories of survivors who have managed through grief, horror and terror to last twelve months totally oblivious to their possible fate. Some have barely been able survive on their own. Most have formed small gangs to survive, some organised along paramilitary lines. One has donned a gasmask and spends his days on the streets of Brunswick slaying the walking dead with a hammer, including people he used to go to school with. (And who hasn’t dreamed of that!)

Matt Dunn fills his book with grainy black and white art strongly influenced by stencil street art. The grittiness of the art, the angular framing of events and faces sits perfectly with the tone of the story. I do wonder if the original art may have been created for colour as some of the more subtle tones within the art seem a little overwhelmed in the black and white printing. That being said the art is gritty, focussed, professional and finds it strength in telling the story Matt has chosen to tell.

This is a very strong book with story, art, production values and value for money all coming together in a strong package. Published under the auspices 696 Publishing which I assume is based out of 696 Gallery at 696 Sydney Rd Brunswick in Melbourne. I’m very much looking forward to part two, due in 2009. Well done Mr Dunn.

Get it here.


And a reminder that the latest Tango Anthology published by TheComicSpot co-host Bernard Caleo's Cardigan Comics is on sale now in all good books stores in Melbourne or available online here. The preview copy i've seen looks great and i can't wait to get my hands on it.

Cheers

Jul 08 ep posted - DoujiCon Report

This episode finds me reporting from DoujiCon3 which was held at Trades Hall in July. The small press expo was full of creators pitching their wares. It was a pleasure speaking to them all. This episode features interviews with Jason Franks of Blackglass Press(http://www.blackglasspress.com/), Wen Huang with her book Sweet(http://www.spaemakesart.com/), Tanya Nicholls and her Baby Books(http://www.stormpublishing.net/), Ive Sorocuk's wonderful work(http://www.superteamnonstop.com), the Modern Gentlemen from Modern Gentlemen horror comic (http://www.pleasant-productions.com/), kiwi Matt Emery with his Let's Kill White People available at comic and other outlets around the place, and finally Dave Cunning from the now sadly discontinued LocalAct Comics - though great to hear Dave is still creating.

A packed show.

Listen on the player or go the http://www.thecomicspot.podomatic.com/


Later this week i'll be posting the Eddie Campbell interview from September.

Tally Ho!!