Toothycat.net is a website which holds a treasure trove of UK webcomics written and drawn by Morag Lewis (aka. Sun Kitten). At the moment she’s working on two new webcomics, ‘Ambient Rhythm’ and ‘Reya’, each with frequent updates. For those who may prefer completed stories to comics that are still updating there are three long-form webcomics available that are entirely finished. These are ‘Phoenix Feathers’, ‘Looking for the Sun’ and ‘Artifaxis’. Not a fan of long comics? Then you can read the shorts! There are about 10, ranging from one page to over 30 pages in length. Prefer printed editions to webcomics? Most of Morag’s comics are also available to buy in single issues or graphic novel format through Sweatdrop Studios (of which she is a core member). There are a few of Morag’s comics that are only available in print format, but never fear as she has helpfully uploaded previews of them to her website so you can try before you buy. By now you may have picked up what I’m trying to say – if you want to read some UK webcomics, Toothycat is the place to go!
After a fairly uneventful few days off work (assuming you regard shelling out cash as a result of an MOT uneventful) my wife Sara and I fancied a day out. A bit of shopping, something to eat and a stroll around an interesting, preferably new (for us), place with character and history. I vaguely recalled that on Shane Chebsey's Smallzone website (you don't know it? Get straight to it! www.smallzone.co.uk ) that his retail outlet was located within Infinity and Beyond in Shrewsbury, a town reputed to have plenty of charm and all the other attributes that make it worth my while driving yonks for. I suggested we go and Sara eyed me with a bit of suspicion, as though I only wanted to go to visit yet-another-comic-shop, but she was intrigued enough to go with the flow.
Andy Winter's newest comic, coming off the success of the Eagle Award winning Hero Killers and the brilliant Blood Psi, unfortunately doesn't live up to it's predecessors.
As some of you may know, the Eagle awards have hit the voting stages for this year (named 2007, but don't let that confuse you), and you can pick your choices Here. Great to see the likes of Bob Byrne, Declan Shalvey and Bryan Talbot all up for the mixed American/British awards, and obviously a big well done to Tom Humberstone and the guys from Modern Monstrosity for getting nominated again. (Head over to the interviews section and you'll see a brand new interview with Tom Humberstone!).
Jenika Ioffreda has been reviewed by Richard Bruton at Forbidden Planet's Blog, a great review for a set of great comics we touched upon a few months ago at IndieReview, you can find the Forbidden Planet item here: http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/?p=7015.
Oli Smith and his ragtag gang of indie creators that man the London Underground Comics stalls in Camden Lock every Staurday have announced a new mini-con called "No Barcodes", taking place on Saturday May 31st. If you want to be selling your wares at their con, send an email over to Oli Smith himself at: camdencomics[at]hotmail.co.uk. For a heck of a lot more information, pop on over to: londonundergroundcomics.com or if you're Facebook inclinced, you can find all the details at: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=25301629384.
Where can you find a crazy Kat, two Puppies and an armadillo? It could only be TwoSidesWide Studios!
So far I've been investigating UK webcomics which have had a single ongoing story, so for something a little different this fortnight I'll be kicking back and having some fun looking at two webcomic strips available from TwoSidesWide Studios: ‘TwoSidesWide’ (which spawned the name of the studio) and its little sister TinySidesWide (or TiSiWi for short). As well as these two comic strips, the Studio also produce their own manga-styled comics. However seeing as their website is chock-a-block with content I'll be focusing on just the strips this fortnight. If I piqued your interest though, go check out the website where there are lots of different comics available to read for free!
Tom Humberstone (creator of How to date a Girl and illustrator of My Fellow Americans and Eagle award Nominee for this year - make sure to go and vote for How to Date a Girl in 10 Days!) takes a couple of hours to go over some topics with me. We discuss how he got into creating hiw own comics, what the future holds for him, and a bit of a discussion about the current state of comics and comic shops. And Tom now just nudged in front of Oli Smith for the longest interview length, so kudos to him!
Teenager Bubblegum Soda has a whole heap of problems. He’s been forced to change schools and leave the person he loves behind, and is getting stick from his teacher for being in a bad mood about it. On top of that, some unwanted attention from a new girl has brought out the local bullies too. But just when life seems at its darkest, an enchanting group of people enter his life, not least of these is a mysterious elf called Sundae.
Mysterious elves and characters with foodie names? It could only be this fortnight’s webcomic - Rainbow Carousel by Chloe Citrine! The comic has the feel of a light, sparkly slice-of-life story, but on top of this it also tackles some real issues that teenagers can face. Romance amongst classmates is covered, as is bullying, and some of the issues around being a gay high school student. There are shonen-ai themes within the comic, but the story doesn’t get bogged down in following just its gay characters like some other series in the genre.
I’ve had to neglect this column for a few months while completing work on the forthcoming Septic Isle graphic novella, so I’m going to ease my way back in with a short piece aimed at anyone attending their first comic convention as an exhibitor this year (you do know that the Bristol Expo is a little over a month away, right?). Here are 10 items you should take to ensure you, your table and your comics make a real impact…
1. Tablecloth
Chances are the table you have hired from the convention organiser is going to be a bit old, plain and knackered. You therefore need to disguise its utter gruesomeness with a nice bright tablecloth. I usually buy a couple of disposable bright red ones from Sainsbury’s, the idea being to make my table and its display as eye-catching as possible. Trust me, your display’s going to look a bit bare if it hasn’t got a cloth under it yet it’s the one item exhibitors always seem to accidentally leave at home or fail to consider in the first place.
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