Greetings fellow travellers.
I've an awesome run with the postie in the last couple of weeks. It seems it's my new goodie delivery service to the island to the south of the big island you all call the 'mainland' though there is nothing 'main' about it. You're just bigger - so stop bullying us smaller more 'boutique' islands!
First there was a selection from Blackhouse Comics.
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A Mind Of Love - Bruce Mutard. Having the old Street Smell issues in a box is nothing compared to having the remastered and fully completed story on my bookshelf with Bruce's other works. A quite impressive array when all put together - available from Blackhouse Comics.
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Paul Mason's Soldier Legacy - Very impressive and definitely Australian to it's core. Usually genre comics are not my thing but Soldier Legacy whilst inspired by action and adventure comics is not derivative. If this was next to a Phantom comic when i was sixteen i would have flipped my lid. It's full of action and I had fun reading it. Looking forward to more. Get it here.
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| Dark Detective: Sherlock Homes; having watched the BBCs latest Sherlock and loving it i was very open to this as I've never read any of Conoan Doyle's originals, and I quite enjoyed it. I was a touch suspect of the art on first glance but it grew on me and the more i read it the more the art really fitted the tone. By the end I was chastising myself for questioning it and nodding in agreement with the choice. I even tried out their digital version. I'll probably grab it in trades from now on so it can sit on my shelf. Get em here. |
Then I got a package from Gestalt Comics.
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| The Deep: Great fun and adventure - and Jeffrey the goldfish! The Incredibles meets Jules Verne. Extremely well written, story structure and timing was lovely with smashing art to boot. So good I bought another copy to give to the ten year old up the street. Action, adventure, humour and great character dynamics. She loved it too. Get it here. |
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| Still yet to read but was intrigued by this when speaking to Gestalt editor Wolfgang on the radio show. A Werewolf tale where it's from the wolf's perspective ie; turning human is the scary thing. I've been scared (or scarred) of Werewolves since seeing An American Werewolf In London at too young an age. Humanising this beast sounds very interesting. Will report back. Get it here. |
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| Digested 5 by Bobby N - Bobby continues his beautifully drawn Digested series. The main Oxygen story has built to the point where there is some real meat on the bones now. I've told myself to wait for issue 6 before I sit down and properly read the whole shebang. These books are shiny!! - and they are an absolute bargain at $2.95!! Are they crazy? Get them here. |
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My god, what an impressive looking book this is. I've only skimmed it to date and will report back but I am enamoured with the art and design. Very lovely indeed. The story sounds intriguing and I can't wait to lay in the reading hammock and take it all in. - Get it here.
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And then the minis rolled in...
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Mongrel 1 from Bernard Caleo and Guh! 5 from Jase Harper.
Mongrel is Bernard's Pozible funded 'minis in the mail' monthly project for 2012, where three interwoven stories will seek to ask the very question of whether Australia exists - or is it a dream? Guh! 5 is a spledid, whimsical, funny and touching collection of three panel strips from Jase that see the author as semiautobio protagonist wander in the world around him. Gorgeous both . Go get Mongrel and go get Guh!
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Trevally Of The Shadow of Death by Leigh Rigozzi and Flora by Maude Farrugia.
I grabbed both of these though the Sticky Institute. Trevally is a collection of stories previously published in the early 2000's by Leigh when living in Hobart and as it's my new home town I just had to grab these. Funny autobio and great observations are found within. Maude's Flora is a touching tale of what happens when we try to capture the beauty of nature. Super sweet and perfectly timed. There's lots more minis by both through Sticky. Just browse the catalogue for Leigh and Maude. |
And most recently in the post...
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Blue by Pat Grant.
My golly gosh gee willikers! What a beautiful book this is. I read Blue online and thoroughly enjoyed it. Was moved and touched by it, but it is nothing compared to what the cartooning looks like on the printed page. Stunning! This book is lovely to hold, to read, to experience and to contemplate. Pat, you've created something truly special with Blue. Do yourself the biggest favour ever and buy many copies for yourself and for gifts. |
Phew. Can i just say what a stellar line up of material the postie has had carrying around in his satchel. I'm sure every bill and bank statement that came into contact with these books brought delight and happiness to all that received them. That's just how good these comics are.
And in other news....
- I really like this image from Anton Emdin about the
Americanisation (AmericaniZation?) of Australian Politics. With the brewhahah in the ALP this last week i think we can see how running Presidential style elections when the PM is actually elected by their peers can impact on the public perception (and KRudd's perception) of how our political system works.
- From Uncle Neale :
Cartooning; The Manly Pastime.
- From Earth's End let's us know about a
new Tim Molloy story and a
Dylan Horrocks interview.
- Matt Emery is on a role! First there is the crazy
Bitch Slap Bird and then there's
this.
- Matt is also the editor of the
Pikitia Press blog. What a great resource this is. Featuring all sorts of goodies including this
nice long interview with
Rebecca Clements.
- Have you been reading Joshua Santospirito's graphic novel in progress
'The Long Weekend'? No? Well, you should be. Go
here.
- More crazy wonderful
Plump Oyster comics from
Ben Constantine.
- I recently discovered Zen Pencils. Comics driven by inspirational quotes. It's a nice read whenever it pops up on my feed. Go
check it out.
- Here's
an interview with Eddie Campbell from Angouleme in France about his early work and why he developed the style he did.
and finally...
- The super dooper popular Kate Beaton brought back childhood memories of building chook sheds with my Dad
with this comic. She's such a clever clogs that people ask her
all sorts of questions about how to be a successful web comicker. BTW - she draws the
bestest Wonder Woman ever.
Cherio.
John
