NANDO page 2 pencils and inks

I've posted the latest update on progress working on my new twelve page comic for the MLitt course at University of Dundee.

Page 2 has been pencilled and inked.

Have a look here.

NANDO: CREATING COMICS continues

More work has just gone up detailing my progress on a new 12 page story for the Creating Comics module of the MLitt course I am doing.

Have a look here.

THAT COMIC SMELL 3: EISNER AWARDS

The new episode of That Comic Smell is now online.

Have a listen at Soundcloud here or YouTube here.

From the website:

"This month, the folks at "That Comic Smell" discuss the Eisner Awards 2016 that were held at San Diego Comic Con in July of this year. We cover all the nominations and the winners. We are all very shocked at how little we know about the vast array of nominations and how our reading lists will now grow.

There is also mention of when the folks first learned how to ride a bike and a brief word about another fine comics podcast.

Plus there is a brief chat about what we have all been reading this past month.

All this on the brand new episode of That Comic Smell.

[These are some of the titles we discuss on the Pod]

La guerra civil española [Novela gráfica] (Paul Preston & José Pablo García)
Wrinkles (Paco Roca)
El invierno del dibujante (Paco Roca)
I dreamt we got back together (Tim Kelly)
Superfuckers Forever (James Kochalka)
Commando [1989 & 1990 Annuals]
Love & Rockets [Amor Y Cohetes, Human Diastrophism & Heartbreak Soup] (Gilbert Hernandez)
{NOTE: There are 11 volumes, so far, in total}
Superman Man of Steel #70-#79 (Louise Simonson, Scot Eaton, Dennis Janke)
Lieutenant Blueberry (Jean-Michel Charlier, Jean "Mœbius" Giraud)
Elstree 1976 [Star Wars Documentary Film] (Jon Spira)
Image+ Magazine
Lantern City (Matthew Daley, Paul Jenkins, Mairghread Scott, Carlos Magno)
Batman: Serenata Nocturna - El origen del caballero oscuro {Night Serenade - The Origin of The Dark Knight} (David Hernando)
Banana Sunday (Colleen Coover, Root Nibot)"

ZERO SUM BUBBLEGUM and DUMP at SPLANK!

Peter Duncan has written on my comics Zero Sum Bubblegum and Dump over at Splank!

Have a read here.

"David Robertson of Fred Egg comics has been kind enough to send me copies of a couple of his most recent collections of strips, ""Zero Sum Bubblegum" and "Dump 3".   David's specialises in slice of life stories and a kind of 'mundane fantasy' that includes things like Princess Leia musing on her relationships with men or a story where a time machine is built for the puspose of stealing a specific model of early coffee maker.

Many of the strips depict what are little more than incidents, thoughts or ideas put down on paper rather than complete stories but many of these are poignant or moving.   Some, I'll be honest, left me scratching my head wondering what exactly he had been getting at, but all were, at the very least, interesting.  About half of each collection showcases David's own art, with the rest consisting of collaborations with other artists.

David's art style is functional, naive.  He isn't going to be working for Marvel or DC or any of the other big publishers.  This is what I think of as 'zine art'.  What used to, way back in the eighties, be referred to as mini-comics or more recently as comix.  Comics for everyone, a sort of punk-rock "who cares how good you are, just do it" style.

Some of the collaborations are more polished artwise but David's work is effective.  Most notably in a three page strip called "Silently Falling" where a whole backstory can be inferred from a very few words and some simple images.

David understands story-telling and communication, but he makes the reader work.  Nothing is laid out on a platter for you.  He presents you with incidents and the story or idea is contained within.  I will admit to not quite knowing what I was looking at when I first looked at the books.   I was prepared for something that was pretentious or just plain dull.  In the end I found myself enjoying them and certainly understanding why he'd done them.

These comics are not for fans of superhero books.   They are not about alien invasions or supernatural evils.  They are about late library books, or swear words on a scrabble board.  Nobody is going to want to take individual panels and turn them into posters and a lot of people will just look at them and decide they are not for them.  I get that, if David hadn't sent them to me I would ever have read them.   But I'm glad I did and I really enjoyed them.  I'm not sure I'm qualified to pass judgement or review them, but I think I know a few readers of Splank! who would appreciate them and guys, I'm willing to learn.

In addition to the Fred Egg web-site there is a also a blog well worth checking out for David's writings about comics.  The most recent post (as I write) is a Bash Street Kids inspired strip - well worth looking out for."

BASH STREET KIDS

Here's a page I drew recently as part of an assignment on the Comics MLitt course.

The task was to do a presentation talk on an aspect of The Beano. I did a creative element too. The starting point came from course leader Chris Murray who suggested, "The Bash Street Kids taking the comics masters".

It was a good challenge to research the different art styles down the decades, find relevant panels and try to ape them. This Bash Street Kids comic is also designed to mirror the changing format of the Beano through the decades.

24 HOUR COMICS DAY REDUX

I took part in 24 Hour Comics Day at the weekend. 10am Saturday – 10am Sunday, at the Dundee Comics Creative Space.

I've done it before. I was jokingly telling people that it took me 7 years to get over the previous go round, but there may have been a hint of truth in it.

I went into the event with a few lessons learned. Last time I did six panel pages throughout, and I decided to go between 1 and 3 this time. I also had a more square format page in mind rather than an A4. I was thinking of a comic like James Kochalka's Quit Your Job.

The best decision I made was to write and layout the whole story before I started drawing any pages. That really changed the feel of the entire day. Instead of blindly forging on, hoping it was all gonna come out okay, I already had my solid ground to work on.

As I worked through the day and night, I posted photos on Facebook and Twitter. Here's what I put up:

1.13pm: 2 pages done. 22 to go. Time for lunch.

4.11pm: Hey! 3 more pages. Coffee time.

6.58pm: Pages 6-10. Pizza has been ordered. 24 Hour Comic Day continues.

10.27pm: Here's pages 11-14.

12.49am: Pages 15 and 16. It's still 24 hour comic day even though it's tomorrow now.

3.20am: Here's pages 17-20. I'm still at it for 24 hour comics day. In body anyway, not sure where my brain's wandered off to.

5.20: Finished! My pages for 24 hour comic day, under the protective eye of a promo poster for DKIII: The Master Race.

Rebecca at the Dundee Comics Creative Space was also tweeting pictures of the event throughout. Here are a couple:

This event was attended by comics students and artists from the local area, and there was a lot of serious talent on show. The Dundee scene is truly booming and very inspirational at the moment.

SNEAKY BUSINESS #2

I have a story called "FB--Out!" in the latest edition of Sneaky Business, which is out now.

The comic is edited by Rozi Hathaway, has a story by her and also features Elias Bevan, Lorne Colt, Wallis Eates, Isa Enriquez, Alex Hahn, Alan Henderson, Martyn B. Lorbiecki, Rica March, Jamie Me, Danny Noble, Jessy Oddie, Elizabeth Querstret, K. LY R,  Jason Song Quinn, Evan Stamps, Alex Tawns, and Phu Vuong.

Andy Oliver has reviewed the comic at Broken Frontier here.

NANDO: Creating Comics on the Comics MLitt course

I've started on the Comics and Graphic Novels Mlitt course at the University of Dundee recently and one of the modules I'm working on is “Creating Comics” with Phillip Vaughan.

As part of the module, I'm required to keep a blog detailing the creation of a new 8-12 page story, due to be finished in December.

Anyone interested in how I do comics should give this a read, as although I always give a brief bit of background in my comic books, this will be more detailed than those.

So far I have written up the "pre-creation" thinking to my story and published the first two layout pages.

Have a read here.

DUNDEE SHMUNDEE!

I've been wanting to do a series of Dundee themed comics for a good while. The idea has been percolating in the back of my mind. As time has gone by I've chosen topics I'd like to write and draw about. I finally got the opportunity to start on what I've called Dundee Shmundee!

The strips have now begun running as a webcomic over at the Dundee Comics Creative Space site.

Have a look here.

THAT COMIC SMELL 2: UNDERGROUND AND LESSER KNOWN COMICS

The new episode of That Comic Smell is now online.

The podcast is like eavesdropping on a bunch of pals discussing comics. Teaspoons clinking for added ambience.

Have a listen at Soundcloud here or YouTube here.

From the website:

"This month, in the kitchen, we discuss some of the heroes of the underground movement and some other titles that have tickled our interests from those less well known creators.
We also have a brief talk on how our very own David Robertson comes up with ideas for his comics (Fred Egg Comics). We find out the name of one of Tom's amazon Wishlists and our second half is dedicated to all the latest and San Diego Comic Con 2016 News that has came out since last we met.
Also, who is Steve...Rogers? Trainer? Trevor?
All this on the brand new episode of That Comic Smell.
[These are some of the titles we discuss on the Pod]
Monografico (Fanzine)
Magic Whistle (Sam Henderson)
Den/NeverWhere (Richard Corben)
Groo (Sergio Aragonés)
The Dying and The Dead (Jonathan Hickman, Ryan Bodenheim)
Space Riders (Fabian Rangel Jr, Alexis Ziritt)
Spread (Justin Jordan, Kyle Strahm, Felipe Sobreiro)
D4ve (Ryan Ferrier, Valentin Ramon)
Zoo Hunters (Peter Steigerwald)
Kennel Block Blues (Ryan Ferrier, Daniel Bayliss)
Hot Damn (Ryan Ferrier, Valentin Ramon)
Trashed (Derf Backderf)
The Many Works Of R.Crumb
World Of Quest (Jason T. Kruse)
The Exterminators (Simon Oliver, Tony Moore)
Enjoy!"