Daily Drawing #43 Abandoned Cover

Abandoned Comics #4

Daily Drawing #42 Smukey and Chucky

Caricature

Sarah Murray accurately depicts my typical drawing posture in caricature from Brisbane Supanova 2010

Daily Drawing #41

Charles Altamont Doyle's Sketch Diaries

 

  

Excerpts from a reproduction of Charles Altamont Doyle's sketchbook diaries, I recently picked up for three clams at the Salvation Army store. The Father of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles was admitted to a nursing home and asylums late in life with depression. In Charles own words:

"Keep steadily in view that this book is ascribed wholly to the produce of a MADMAN. Whereabouts would you say was the deficiency of Intellect? Of Depraved taste? If in the whole book you can find a single evidence of either, mark it and record it against me."

 Written in 1889 in the Montrose Royal Lunatic Asylum, the ailing and epileptic Doyle would spend his last years institutionalised, passing away in 1893. His sketchbook diary was long forgotten by the family and eventually auctioned off amongst a job lot of books in 1955. From there it was stored in a child's playroom for twenty years before being discovered and reprinted as a hardcover reproduction in 1978. 

 

  
The Diaries are filled with line drawings in the vein of Punch Magazine and beautiful watercolours depicting fairies, children and surreal environments that bring to mind the work of Henry Darger. Quips and puns line the pages and add to the sense of mystery about a man history has largely forgotten.

Abandoned Pages #1

A couple pages from Alcoholic Inventor and Time Travel Cripple that I cut out of The Guzumo Show. The top page I penciled most of during a couple tram rides between Brunswick and St Kilda whilst moving house.

All and Sundry #1

A couple pages from Wendy & Warlord #0. One of the few collaborations I've done from several years ago. My pal Karlos inked digitally over my pitiful pencils and my other pal MC Stormtroopa coloured the cover. Wendy was supposed to be a preview for a complete story in the #1 issue that was never finished. I wrote a sequel when I moved to Melbourne, Wendy & Warlord Make Revenge but instead of drawing it I drank lots of beer. Would love to come back to this one day. I'm writing a little article for an upcoming comic about some of the abandoned projects, zines and mini-comic of my youth.

Bought a couple old DC Sci-Fi anthology books on Ebay for a few coconuts. Love these giant size books from the 70's. A lot of Charlton artist's that Dick Giordano bought to DC that I dig from the day, Ditko, Grandenetti, Giordano, Tom Sutton, Don Newton.  The bulk of the colouring is by Adrienne Roy, who sadly passed away recently. I remember her name being synonymous with a lot of books I read as a kid. I rarely paid attention to colourist's but her name would come up so often I couldn't help but notice it. Looking at the credit's most of the folk on these books are no longer with us. Ditko is still going strong, recently the upcoming publication of his thirteenth comic in three years was announced. It's almost as if the attention Blake Bell and Simon Yoe's books have given his work has re-energised his creativity, although I'm sure he cares not for those books or his work from the past.

Here's a sweet Ditko 6 pager from Timewarp #1

 

  Here's a few panels from an adventure story that I won't be serialising online. Colours by the lovely Miss Mai.

 Some ideas for a music video that never got made

I knew If I looked hard enough on the Internet this would exist

 

Another rainy day comic

Sketch from Life Drawing Class

Supanova Melbourne April 9-10 2011 + The List Volume III Launch

Last weekend's Supanova in Melbourne was the best Con I've been to yet. Well attended with Saturday's crowd about equal to both day's last year. I had a plum spot opposite the Auditorium where regular streams of folk would spill towards me after each panel. Met a lot of lovely folk that had read my work previously and I sold out of the 25 posters I had brought by early Sunday. I wish I had finished a new book as there were certain folk that had everything I've done. From the sounds of things everyone in artist alley were happy with the weekend's proceedings. The new larger shed was great for the size of the crowd that turned up. Still three or four more conventions this year I hope the rest are as good as this one. Special thanks to Trev Wood and Greg Gates for minding my table when I had to duck out.

Bruce Mutard, Greg Gates and Philip Bentley

Henry Pop, artist of the List, and some crazy homeless guy

The List Volume III Launch at Loop Bar followed Supanova on Saturday. Me and Bren rocked in as the speeches started. Mc'ed by Trev Wood, it was a tight affair with brief speeches from creators Writer - Paul Bedford, Penciler - Henry Pop and Inker - Tom Bonin and then an excellent audio visual presentation of key moments form the new book from Trev Wood. Culminating five years of work the fellas have pulled out all the stops in creating the final volume weighing in at just over 100 pages. The List team had a remastered version of Volume one at Supanova over the weekend and further down the track they'll be offering a collected version of all three volumes. 

 The first time Henry Pop has smiled since starting The List five years ago

Mighty congrats to the guys for seeing this labour of love through to the finish line. Anyone stupid enough to be making comics in a serious fashion knows the amount of work that goes into making a complete book, If you worked out an hourly rate it would be a pittance with the amount of time involved. I think it is very rare that an entire story is completed like this, so many creators burn out and give up after an issue or two. There are a lot of unfinished to be continued's in the comic book world. Check out The List here.

Buy The List online at Paul's Secret Sack

Gentleman Greg Gates and Boisterous Brendan Halyday

Handsome Trev Wood the Illustrative half of Sawbones

A few Sydney comikers were in town including Jan Scherpenhuizen of The Twilight Age

  

Animator and Cartoonist double threat Frank Candiloro and Brendan 'Bi' Halyday

 Bobby N, Darren Close and Tom Bonin. I won't give them nicknames cause each one of them could smash me with deadly force.

 Chris Sequeira tells Paul Bedford the Secrets of the Universe

Paul Abtruse in repose

Daily Drawing #40 Peedy, Chuckles and Snakey

I'm toying around with doing a book containing one single adventure. This is from story about Snakey, Chuckles and Peedy and their run-in with a mega corporation. At the moment the story is all told through pictures without words which has come together surprisingly easy.

Supanova Cosplay Melbourne 2011

 Mario!

 She thought I was staring at her cleavage, No dummy! It was her boyfriends ridiculous Afro that held my gaze

 I spotted this cute couple on the floor and beckoned them over for a pic

Then they came back later with the rest of the Mystery Machine! Best Effort of the weekend.

First Droog I've ever seen

 Yay! Frog from Fables, a great effort on a fairly obscure character

 Young Tankgirl

 Wonder woman, Vampirella and some Hobo

 

Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern