PEOPLE WITH ISSUES Episode 27

I'm guesting on the latest episode of People with Issues, discussing comics with Mr. McGroovy. Amongst the topics are Blade Runner by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson, Fantastic Four Pocket Book and Hulk Pocket book by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Hate by Peter Bagge, Justice League by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, Spleenal by Nigel Auchterlounie, and Star Wars Weekly! Have a look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QezxzLHCZ8k

NEVER IRON ANYTHING - Peter Bagge

 

Delighted to be on Tony Esmond's podcast again, this time talking about Peter Bagge's comics.

Have a listen here.

ZINE LOVE - SMALL (PRESS) OAKS

 
Iestyn Pettigrew asked me questions about my influences and inspirations over at Zine Love website.

I mention Peter Bagge, Blade Runner, Bugs Bunny, Comic Books are Burning in Hell, Danger Mouse, Steve Howe, Tim Kelly, Jack Kirby, James Kochalka, The Police, Treehouse, Carol Tyler, and Al Williamson.

Have a look here.

THAT COMIC SMELL: The Top Three Creators of All Time

The latest episode is online now.

This was a livestream video as part of the online SparkCon held over the weekend by Aaron Rackley and Fair Spark Books.

Have a watch on YouTube here.

THAT COMIC SMELL: Books about Comics

The new episode is now online.

From the web:

“Get some culture! READ A F*****G BOOK”
Tis the season to be jolly! Hello and welcome to our second Christmas present to you all and the gang is back together. Something a little different this time as well. We are discussing books that are about comics. Bloody Books! Don’t worry though. This hasn’t become some after school book club get together. The folks still get their comics on and in full swing adoration. There’s Alan Moore, Tim Pilcher, Marvel, Tom Spurgeon, Pat Mills, Penguin books, Will Eisner, you name it! There are soooo many books and we had a ton of fun. We hope you do too. Grab a mulled wine, some mince pies and hell of a lot of Christmas cheer.

This and all the usual comics chat on the only comics podcast to make a list, check it twice…

That Comic Smell!

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @thatcomicsmell
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and most places you find podcasts.

Don’t forget to Like, Share, Subscribe, Rate & Review.

Thanks again for listening and supporting the podcast

Graphic Borders: Latino comic books past, present and future (Frederick Luis Aldama, Christopher Gonzalez)
Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of writing comics and graphic novels (Brian Michael Bendis)
Eisner/Miller (Interview Conducted by Charles Brownstein)
Will Eisner's Shop Talk (Will Eisner)
Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books (Jean-Paul Galbilliet)
How Comics Work (Dave Gibbons, Tim Pilcher)
The International Book of comics (Denis Gifford)
1001 Comics you must read before you Die (Paul Gravett, ed.)
The New Comics (Gary Groth, Robert Flore, eds.)
Marvel Museum: The Story of the Comics (Ned Hartley)
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (Sean Howe)
Understanding Comics (Scott McCloud)
The Supergirl: Fashion Feminism, Fantasty and the History of Comic Book Heroines (Mike Madrid)
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes (Nevin Martell)
Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! (Pat Mills)
From Hell Companion (Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell)
Super Gods (Grant Morrison)
Art out of time: Unknown comic visionaries, 1900-1969 (Dan Nadel, ed.)
The Penguin book of Comics (George Perry, Alan Alridge)
Stan Lee: The Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (Jordan Raphael, Tom Spurgeon)
Tales to Astonish (Ronin Ro)
Adult Comics: An Introduction (Roger Sabin)
Comic Book Hero (Barrie Tomlinson)
McSweeneys 13: The Comics issue (Chris Ware, ed.)
The Caped Crusade: Batman and the rise of Nerd Culture (Glen Weldon)
Peter Bagge Conversations (Kent Worcester)

COMICS FOR THE APOCALYPSE

I was the guest on Samuel George London's Comics for the Apocalypse podcast lately.

A great idea for a podcast; a kind of Desert Island Discs for comics.

Have a listen here.

SPOILERS!
Here are the comics I talked about:
The Cute Manifesto - James Kochalka; Eagle - Ian Kennedy; From Hell - Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell; Hate - Peter Bagge; The Incredible Hulk Pocketbook - Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko; Perry Bible Fellowship - Nick Gurewitch; Rosalie Lightning - Tom Hart; Star Wars Weekly #15 - Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin.

THAT COMIC SMELL 52: 90s comics

The latest episode is online now.
From the web:

“Get ready to see some serious shit”
Well, well. We hit the 90s. What folks term as the absolute dregs of comics. The decade that killed comics, but is it that simple? Of course not. We wouldn’t have almost 2 hours worth of chat if that was the case. We go to show you that the 90s was filled with absolute gems and that, that nostalgia hit is going to come at you thick and fast.
So strap yourself in and get ready. There is going to be some blasts from the past hurtling their way towards you.
This and all the usual comics (and snacks) chat on the only comics podcast to come live from the Liefeld space ship…
That Comic Smell!
Follow us on Twitter & Instagram @thatcomicsmell
Get us on…

Soundcloud: tinyurl.com/y8vzeh3c
Spotify: tinyurl.com/y2qtu2cs
Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/hwbqxab
Podbean: tinyurl.com/yxvecykj

and most places you find podcasts.

Don’t forget to Like, Share, Subscribe, Rate & Review.
Thanks again for listening and supporting the podcast

300 (Frank Miller, Lynn Varley)
Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo)
Aliens: Hive (Jerry Prosser, Kelley Jones)
Amazing Spider-man #388 (David Michelinie, Mark Bagley)
Batman (Doug Moench, Kelley Jones)
Batman Adventures (Various)
Battle Angel Alita (Yukito Kishiro)
Bone (Jeff Smith)
Cadillacs & Dinosaurs: Time in Overdrive (Mark Schultz)
Captain America (Mark Gruenwald, Rik Levins)
Concrete (Paul Chadwick)
Daredevil: Guardian Devil (Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada)
Deadpool (Fabian Nicieza, Mark Waid, Joe Madureira, Lee Weeks)
Death Of Superman (Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson)
Dragon Lives (Peter Quinones, Ron Lim)
Fleener (Mary Fleener)
Frank: Real Pa (Jim Woodring)
From Hell (Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell)
Give Me Liberty (Frank Miller Dave Gibbons)
Hate (Peter Bagge)
Hellblazer (Garth Ennis, William Simpson)
Hellboy (Mike Mignola)
Hulk #474 (Joe Casey, Javier Pulido)
Hulk: Future Imperfect (Peter David, George Pérez)
Infinity Gauntlet (Jim Starlin, George Pérez, Ron Lim)
Kingdom Come (Alex Ross, Mark Waid)
Long Halloween (Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale)
Madman (Mike Allred, Laura Allred)
Manga Mania (Magazine)
Marvels (Alex Ross, Kurt Busiek)
The Mask (John Arcudi, Doug Mahnke)
Sin City (Frank Miller)
Spider-man 2099 (Peter David, Rick Leonardi)
Spider-man (Todd Macfarlane)
Spider-man: Carnage & Venom (David Mechelinie, Mark Bagley)
Star Wars: Dark Empire (Cam Kennedy, Tom Veitch)
X-Force (Rob Liefeld)
X-Men (Jim Lee, Chris Claremont)
X-men Unlimited (John Francis Moore, Paul Smith)
Yeah! (Gilbert Hernandez, Peter Bagge)"

THAT COMIC SMELL 42 - Fantagraphics ft. Charles Raymond

The new episode of That Comic Smell is now online.

Have a listen here:
Soundcloud: tinyurl.com/y8vzeh3c
Spotify: tinyurl.com/y2qtu2cs 
YouTube: tinyurl.com/yajnxcno
iTunes: tinyurl.com/hwbqxab 
Podbean: tinyurl.com/yxvecykj 

From the web:
“WE TOLD YOU SO!”
We are diving into the truly sublime, the absolute cream of the crop, the comics greatness that is “Fantagraphics” David brings along only a fraction of his vast FG collection to show off. We discuss how some of their collected titles are published in the UK. We each take a turn appreciating the greatness of this legendary comics publisher and all whilst having an incredible special guest…
Yes, we are joined by the ever so talented ‘Charles H Raymond’ Creator of such titles as ‘Death Inc. , Chlorophyll, Dust and so much more that you can find here www.notsotiny.co.uk/index.html
We also explore our opinions on movies these days and a little trip down memory lane via our television nightmares growing up.

This and all the usual comics chat on the only comics podcast to be powered by gas…

That Comic Smell!

Here are some of the titles mentioned:

Peanuts (Collections) (Charles M Schultz)
Hate (Peter Bagge)
Love & Rockets (Hernandez brothers: Gilbert, Jaime, Mario)
Black Hole (Charles Burns)
King (Ho Che Anderson)
Ghost World (Daniel Clowes)
David Boring (Daniel Clowes)
Palestine (Joe Sacco)
Jimmy Corrigan (Chris ware)
My Pretty Vampire (Katie Skelly)
Fante Bukowski (Noah Van Sciver)
Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse (Collections) (Floyd Gottfredson)
The End of the Fucking World (Charles Forsman)
Fritz The Cat (Robert Crumb)
Hip-Hop Family Tree (Ed Piskor)
Usagi Yojimbo (Stan Sakai)
The Comics Journal
Eightball (Daniel Clowes)
Acme Novelty Library (Chris Ware)
Real Girl (Various)
Duplex Planet (David Greenberger)
The Job Thing (Carol Tyler)
Frank (Jim Woodring)
Raisin Pie (Ariel Bordeaux, Rick Altergott)
Self Loathing Comics (Aline Kominksy-Crumb, Robert Crumb)
War of the Trenches (Jacques Tardi)
The Nimrod (Lewis Trondheim)"

THAT COMIC SMELL 23: Glenrothes Con Swag

The new episode of That Comic Smell is now online.
After the Glenrothes comicon, we looked over our hauls in a restaurant.
Have a listen at iTunes, Soundcloud and YouTube.

From the website:
"The great LL Cool J once said "Don't call it a come back!" and you you really shouldn't, we've only been away a couple of months.
We are back folks and we are back with a brand new plan of attack... Did we say attack? We meant Theme song. Yes, the incredible "Chartsmasher" AKA. @JoanEdam with his track "Dial Up" is the official theme of That Comic Smell Podcast and we could not be happier about it.
This is just a short episode to ease y'all back into the swing of things around here and we will be bi-weekly from there on out.
David, Mike and Tom all went to the magnificent Glenrothes Comic Con and afterwards took a trip to Edinburgh in search of some comics gold! During lunch the boys unveiled their swag from the day.
So join us on our dinner date after a full day of comics."

THAT COMIC SMELL 20: Christmas Swag (Best of 2017)

The new episode of That Comic Smell is now online.
Have a listen at iTunes, Soundcloud and YouTube.
From the website:
"After some technical issues we are back online for 2018!
Hello folks and welcome to That Comic Smell Podcast Episode 20!! Can you believe that we have 20 in the bag so far?
In this episode the folks here discuss what they got for crimbo, making our way around the table and unveiling what was hiding in Santa's sack for us all.
In doing so however, we also discover what our best picks were for 2017, what we managed to get a hold of and what we thought ticked off that top spot for 2017.
So sit back, relax and pull up a chair.
Listen to the only podcast that ages like a fine wine... or a Tesco £3.99 deal, whatever you fancy.
That Comic Smell!
Here is a list of the titles we spoke about:
Grandville Vol. 5 (Bryan Talbot)
Lucy and Andy Neanderthals (Jeffery Brown)
We told you so comics as art (Story of Fantagraphics)
Wow! Retracted (David Robertson)
Spitting image komic (Various)
Etrigan the demon (Jack Kirby)
Mister miracle (Jack Kirby)
How comics work (Dave Gibbons, Tim Pilcher)
Valerian (Pierre Christin, Jean-Claude Mézières)
Seven to eternity (Jerome Opeña and Rick Remender)
2000ad graphic novel collection (Various)
Fax from sarajevo (Joe Kubert)
Portugal (Cyril Pedrosa)
Wired up wrong (Rachael Smith)
Our super American adventure (Sarah Graley)
Trashed (Derf Backderf)
World of madina
Iznogoud (René Goscinny, Jean Tabary)
The coming of galactus (Jack Kirby, Stan Lee)
Dilbert (Scott Adams)
Providence (Alan Moore, Jacen Burrows)
Untitled apes epic adventure (Steven Tillotson)
Shaolin cowboy (Geof Darrow)
Baking with Kafka (Tom Gauld)
Avery Hill (Publisher)
Good Comics (Publisher)
Micronauts (Bill Mantlo, Michael Golden)
FIRE!! (Peter Bagge)"

COVERS ALBUM

I was delighted to take part in the Covers Album series over at Broken Frontier.

Have a read here. As well as the three artists listed above, there is also a classic Kirby cover!

PETER BAGGE IN SCOTLAND

This is the fourth in a series of guest posts I'm running over the summer. I asked folk to write on any topic at any length - as long as it's comics related. Next up is Damon Herd...

In 1992 I was majorly getting into North American independent comics, Los Bros Hernandez, Dan Clowes, Dennis Eichorn, Fiona Smyth, Mary Fleener, Roberta Gregory and many others were putting out great comics that I would snap up. If it was on Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly or Vortex it would be in my bag when I left the shop. This all started around 1989 when I discovered a copy of Dan Clowes’ Lloyd Llewellyn Special in a box in a comics shop in Battersea. I had no idea what to make of it but quickly decided it was the best thing ever. Clowes jagged art and 1950s beatnik inspired detective was a revelation.

Around the same time I was given a few copies of Peter Bagge’s Neat Stuff, again I was dazzled. It was like reading some warped profane version of Looney Tunes cartoons, but Studs Kirby, Girly Girl and The Bradleys became must reads. I was now a big fan of Bagge’s twisted world. Both Lloyd Llewellyn and Neat Stuff came to an end just as I discovered them, but  Clowes’ and Bagge’s next comics, Eightball and Hate would make them ‘90s comics stars. They even went on a promotional tour together in 1993, the Hateball tour, I wish I’d seen that!

Up until then I had mainly been reading British comics, I read 2000AD as a teenager. Comics were still in the bubble caused by the successes of Watchmen, Maus and The Dark Knight Returns, but it was starting to deflate. Alan Moore’s Big Numbers had ground to a halt in 1990, and 2000AD’s publishers Fleetway had tried and failed to launch several new titles including Revolver and Crisis, both of which ended in 1991.

One comic that seemed to be bucking the trend was Deadline, launched in 1988 by two 2000AD alumni Steve Dillon and Brett Ewins. The success of Deadline had been one of the inspirations behind the launch of Crisis. One of the great things about Deadline was that it tapped into the small press comics scene and helped to launch that talent to a wider audience. Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin’s Tank Girl was huge news, and the very poor Hollywood film version was still a few years away.

Although attracted by the ex-2000AD contributing editors and the punky attitude of Tank Girl, I quickly realised that there were many other gems to be found in Deadline’s pages. A favourite still is Hugo Tate by Nick Abadzis, and other strips I loved included Philip Bond’s Wired World and Timulo by  D'Israeli D'Emon Draughtsman (Matt Brooker). I’d been reading Deadline since it launched but by 1992 my interest had waned in favour of these new American comics. Deadline must have seen the writing on the wall though as they began serialising Xaime Hernandez’ Love & Rockets story The Death of Speedy.

In March 1992 my two comics worlds came together in the 3rd annual GlasCAC (Glasgow Comic Art Convention). Many of the Deadline crew were attending as part of a promotional Mini-Tour. But the bigger news for me was the appearance of Peter Bagge promoting Hate. I don’t really remember meeting the Deadline folks but I did manage to get drawings by Philip Bond and Jamie Hewlett in my sketchbook. My main target though, was Bagge.

I was pretty shy and the convention as a whole was a weird experience. It was mostly superhero creators that were there and I had no interest in them, so I felt a bit like an outsider at an outsiders’ convention. I found Peter sitting at a table in a quiet room but took a while to muster up the courage to talk to him, I was in awe. He was there with his wife Joanne and they were both the absolute sweetest folks. We chatted a little about comics and about how their trip was going and they put me at ease. I felt a bit weird asking for a sketch, asking an artist for free work always seems strange but it’s accepted at conventions apparently. Peter obliged though and drew me a quick sketch of Girly Girl. I don’t have the drawing today though, I immediately gave it to the friend who introduced me to Neat Stuff.

DUMP #2 GUEST ARTIST INTERVIEW: DAMON HERD

Another in a series of mini-interviews with the guest artists who are featured in Dump #2. Next up is Damon Herd…

DR: Have you always been interested in comics?

DH: Yes, I've always been interested in comics. i remember buying the NUTTY when I was a kid and had a drawing published in issue 26. 

I had a few Marvel UK Hulk comics as I loved the TV show (also Wonder Woman but never got any comics). I never really read much superhero stuff after that, I do remember spending days in the local library reading Asterix and Tintin books. My Dad had fabric pens for drawing on T-shirts and I made my own Asterix T-shirt!

I recently remembered reading TOPS magazine, which was a rival to Look-in and had TV and pop music strips. I was a big fan of Adam Ant and they ran a bio strip about him as well as fantasy adventures, that was probably my first experience of autobio type comics.
As a teenager I read 2000AD and then Deadline and started getting into American indie comics when I discovered Peter Bagge's Neat Stuff and Daniel Clowes Lloyd Llewellyn. Then Love & Rockets and Dennis Eichorn's Real Stuff. Autobio became my big thing especially Eddie Camppbell's Alec, David B's Epileptic, and Julie Doucet's Dirty Plotte. Most recently I've been impressed by the work of Geneviève Castrée and Ulli Lust.

I did a short strip for Graphixia last year about my life in comics (

http://www.graphixia.cssgn.org/2013/01/22/100-standing-in-relation-to-comics-a-special-100th-post/ )

DR: What had been your experience in making comics yourself before your contribution to Dump?

DH: I drew the occasional comic as a kid. I remember making a Danger Mouse one as a kid with a pal and I used to copy the characters in Asterix. If I drew a superhero he would have the physique of a muscly legionnaire.

The Weetabix skinheads were an influence too. I didn't draw much in my teens which I regret but slowly picked it up again in my 20s with a very occasional one pager.

I didn't really get going again until my 30s when I went to art school. I studied Book Arts and they were very happy for me to make comics as my projects. I started to do my own minis, such as You're So Vain which looked at scalp replacement surgery. On my illustration MA I produced my autobio comic The Adventures of Ticking Boy.

 

Twitter and tumblr are both good ways to discover and connect with other cartoonists, and for the last 2 years I have taken part in 30 Days of Comics. Each day in November you have to create a short strip. I've produced a minicomic of my results each year.

The creating of strips has been sidelined slightly by my current PhD studies but I have produced some autobio strips as part of my research.

DR: What other artistic pursuits do you follow? I've seen you implement guitar playing into your comics talks.

DH: Ha, yeah, I did play an electric guitar soundtrack to a strip at a DeeCAP performance evening. DeeCAP stands for Dundee Comics/Art/Performance and we host comics readings which can be as straightforward or highly performed as the artists like. You've done a few great turns there yourself! Interestingly I started off by just reading prepublished strips but for the performance you mentioned I created the strip knowing I wanted some sort of musical accompaniment. The strip doesn't really work without the music. We are planning the next DeeCAP in April as part of Dundee Comics Expo. I am not an accomplished musician by any means but I like to have a go and I know a few chords.

I am also a practising fine artist and have been part of several exhibitions across Scotland. I work across several media including murals, video, installations and print making, I'm especially partial to screenprinting. Much of my work is influenced by comics though, either by including comics language such as panels and balloons, or by actually being comics such as my piece on Sandford Fleming, the inventor of standard time, which was a 4 panel comic strip in which each panel was 1m x 1m.

DR: How did you find the process of drawing "Why I Vote"?

DH: I enjoyed it. It was a pleasant change to work from someone else's script - difficult to do if most of your work is autobio! And it was an an insight into another person's way of working. If it's not cheating to do this, you can see my more detailed thoughts on collaborating with you in my post at Graphixia

http://www.graphixia.cssgn.org/2014/01/28/152-a-collaborative-dump/

One thing I didn't mention there though was the trying out of a new working method for me. Usually I pencil the page on Bristol board then ink it and then, once dry, I rub out the pencils. I recently got a lightbox and so this time I did the pencils on paper and used the lightbox to then trace the inks on board. No pencils to rub out on the finished art!

Can we expect to see more comics from you in the future?

Good question! I've put together my strips from 30 Days of Comics in November and should be printing that shortly. It will also be featured in Graphixia's 30 Days... epublication which should hopefully be available soon.

I've done a few strips for my studies which I will collect at some point but not until I have finished my PhD! It would be good to have another issue of Ticking Boy out by the end of the year but I might get lost in finishing my PhD, we'll see.


Have a look at www.damonherd.com for more information.

PETER BAGGE RESET
I’m obviously not scanning the internet as often as I should. It took opening up the latest Previews catalogue to see that Peter Bagge has a new series out soon. A new comic from Bagge is always a cause for celebration. I previously did a lengthy interview with him in 2008, you can have a look here if you so wish. Since his big series Hate and Neat Stuff, he seems to be following a pattern of releasing a new graphic novel every 2 or 3 years, which is just fine by me.

His new comic is called Reset and is published by Dark Horse. This summary is from their website:

If you could relive major events in your life, would you take a stab at making things better—and would your best attempts only make things worse? Or would you use your second chance to put your most twisted, perverted fantasies in motion? These are questions washed-up actor and comedian Guy Krause asks himself after he signs up to be the main research subject for a virtual-reality experiment.

Excited about this series, I asked Peter to tell me some more about it…

DR: You're quoted as saying "I originally envisioned Reset mostly taking place in the virtual fantasy world of protagonist Guy Krause’s imagination". Are there similarities between this story and Other Lives?
PB: Yes, in that they both touch on the use of computer technology as an escapist tool, while also revealing much about someone's character by the way he or she uses it.
DR: Krause is a willing guinea pig in this story. Does he give informed consent? In the cover image he seems perturbed.
PB: Yes, he signs a contract, though as you'll find out when you read it NO ONE is "fully informed" re: this technology. I'd be giving away too much if I explain why, though!
DR: That image reminds me of Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Were you influenced by that movie in creating this comic? Or is that way off?
PB: Not influenced, but not way off either. Again, I'm trying not to give too much away!
DR: Ha ha! OK, what can you say? Why should I buy this comic, Peter?
PB: To answer all these questions you've been asking, David! This book contains the KEY TO LIFE!
DR: Ha ha! Brilliant! I don’t doubt it! What else can we look forward to from you in the future? Do you have any other comics lined up after this one?
PB: Yes, a biography of Margaret Sanger. Go figure!
DR: Have you actually finished Reset?
PB: I'm almost done with issue 4, the final issue.



I’m looking forward to reading this. The first issue will be in the shops April 18, 2012.