Win an original sketch by Graeme Neil Reid

Throughout December and January artist Graeme Neil Reid posted up 18 different ink sketches ranging from comic superheroes, sci-fi film and Doctor Who characters on his blog, now you have the chance to pick one of theses sketches and have it posted off to you.

To enter the competition you need to be a 'Follower' of his blog so if you are not already then just hit that Follow button on site and sign on. Then, just leave your selection of which ink sketch you would like to win as a comment on this post only.

All the posts in December and January with titles that finished 'Ink Sketch' are the ones to pick from.

• The competition runs until the end of the 28th February when one winner will be randomly chosen. Full details at: http://gnreid.blogspot.com/2010/01/competition-win-ink-sketch-of-your.html

Colchester's firstsite puts out Call to Comic Artists

(with thanks to Smallzone and Bryan Talbot): Colchester-based visual arts organisation firstsite wants to hear from artists working with comic imagery and media, who are interested in undertaking a unique residency as part of their next project... here's the details in full.

WHAAM! Comics, art and popular culture : Artist Residency


Minimum of 10 days between 12 April - 1 May 2010, to include some evening and weekend work Based at firstsite, 4-6 Short Wyre Street, Colchester, Essex Artist Fee £3,000 + expenses (including materials, accommodation and per diems as required). This residency is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The opportunity


firstsite is hosting an artist residency as part of their forthcoming programme, WHAAM! Comics, art and popular culture.

The selected artist should be able to demonstrate a professional artistic practice working with comic imagery and media. During the residency the artist will be expected to develop and produce an artwork that can be printed or reproduced at the end.

This artwork could take the form of a comic book or graphic novel (approximately 8-12 pages), wall drawing, storyboard, animation, projection, installation but must be rooted in the language of comic art. The subject matter of the artwork should develop from Colchester and its urban landscape, using this as a backdrop to develop a new narrative.

The total artist fee available can be used by one artist to produce the artwork; any fees associated with a collaborative work must come from the allotted budget.

The residency will be hosted in firstsite's Project Space. This is a semi-public space and the appointed artist would be expected to engage with audiences and visitors, discussing their work and the project they are developing.

During the residency (12 April - 1 May) it is expected that the artist will be working in firstsite's Project Space for at least 10 days, which should include at least two Saturdays. The artist will need to run a "masterclass" for the public (to include all ages) on Saturday 24 April.

This residency is part of firstsite's Artist Space programme which was piloted at the Minories Art Gallery and will be an integral part of the programme planned for firstsite's new building. It seeks to be process-led and developmental, continuing to occupy the space between an open studio event and an exhibition.

firstsite is open to a range of career stages, practices and activities. All activity needs to be planned and proposed to firstsite in advance so that it can be prepared for.


WHAAM! Comics, art and popular culture Programme details: April 2010


This programme focuses on comics and graphic novels from the 1950s to the present day. Writers, graphic artists, academics, school children, teenagers and members of the public will be taking part in talks, workshops and an artist residency.

Talks include:

• Dan Dare and Misty: boys and girls comics from the 1950s and 1970s
Pat Mills, comics writer and editor Eric Fernie, ex-director of the Courtauld Institute and comics specialist

• How contemporary artists are using popular culture in their work
Richard Reynolds, Central Saint Martins and comic artist Simon Grennan, artist

• Manga comic artists on the subversion of popular culture / female stereotypes
Paul Gravett, Manga specialist, comic historian and curator Chie Kutsuwada, Manga artist

WHAAM! Comics, art and popular culture is programmed in collaboration with Ace Comics.

How to apply


Interested artists should submit:

• a CV
• up to 3 images
• a proposal (not exceeding 350 words) describing their aims and intentions for the residency and scope of activity that it would involve over the 10 days.

• Questions and applications should be sent by email to: laurae@firstsite.uk.net


• Deadline for submissions: 5pm Monday 15 February 2010. Interviews may be held on Monday 22 February 2010



• firstsite website

British FX designer Mike Trim headlines Andersonic Nine

The latest issue of the brilliant Gerry Anderson 'zine Andersonic (Issue 9) is now available and features a new, nine-page interview with designer Mike Trim, who discusses his work on the Anderson series from Thunderbirds through to UFO. His latest project, Agent Crush - a marionette-oriented spy spoof - is currently in post production.

While there's no comics material this time around, the 44-page magazine does include a feature that recalls a visit to the set of Space:1999's last episode, The Dorcons, in December 1976, and a reappraisal of Gerry Anderson's early supermarionation show, Supercar. Has it been unfairly overlooked in favour of its more colourful descendents? Andersonic argue it's 'most satisfactory'!

"X Marks The Spot" takes a look at the X-Planes and concept aircraft of the 50s and 60s that had such an influence on the designers at Century 21, while "The Roots of UFO" examines the film and literary influences that shaped the format of the Andersons' first live-action series.

Also included are retrospectives of some key episodes from several of the Anderson shows, including UFO's Ordeal, and a look at both sides of the argument when it comes to dating the time period of Thunderbirds, which was re-set to the 2020s in the 1990s.

• Andersonic is available via the website www.andersonic.co.uk - price £2.20 including UK postage and also from eBay for a limited period

Crikey! It's The Cloak!

British comic fans heading to their local comic store should ask if they're stocking Crikey!, the monthly magazine devoted to British comics, if only because the latest issue marks the return of Mike Higgs' The Cloak.

The Cloak first appeared in 1967 in Odhams' Pow! weekly, one of many comics that combined both adventure and humour strips within its pages - a format that, sadly, seems to have been consigned to history. Mike retained ownership of The Cloak and has brought the character back before (Lew Stringer has more info on his blog and Mike Higgs himself offers more background on The Cloak for both old and new readers in the magazine itself), but now, he's hopefully back for a longer run, starring in a four-page full colour comic strip in Crikey! Issue 13 that pits him against the Time Tea Leaf - a fun story that brings him to the present day.

Along with this wonderful strip Crikey! 13 also includes an exclusive interview with Kevin O'Neill, the Tony Ingram's concluding part of his Doctor Who comics series, a feature on Action! comic, and more on the Rise and Fall of Marvel UK.

• A subscription to Crikey! costs £30 for six issues. Subscribe by visiting the Crikey! website here:
www.crikeyuk.co.uk/sub.html


Lew Stringer's Blimey! blog articles on The Cloak:

• The Cloak is Back
• Enter The Cloak
• Christmas Comics: Smash, 1968
• 40 Year Flashback: Smash Regenerates