Radio interviews with Al Davison, David Hine, Tom Humberstone and Tony Lee

Panel Borders: From small press to mainstream

In a panel discussion recorded at SCI-FI-LONDON, the London International festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film, guest presenter Matt Badham talks to comic creators David Hine, Al Davison, Tom Humberstone and Tony Lee about starting their careers in independent comics and how that influenced their style and choices when breaking into the 'mainstream' industry. (Edited by Alex Fitch)

• 8.30am, Monday 22nd April, repeated 3pm, Thursday 25th April, Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / extended podcast after first broadcast at panelborders.wordpress.com


• Last week's episode featuring interview with Louis Roskosch about The Adventures of Leeroy and Popo, and Matt Fitch and Mark Lewis about Frogman is available online now.

In Review: Solipsistic Pop Issue 3

Published By: Solipsistic Pop Books

Edited and Designed by Tom Humberstone
Price: £12 UK
Web: http://solipsisticpop.com

The Book: Book three of Solipsistic Pop contains 80 pages of comic art created to be accessible to readers of all ages. 30 exclusive stories from 26 of the best comic artists, illustrators and designers working in the UK today. Includes a free Solipsistic Pop pencil to create your own comic and an A3 poster with re-peelable stickers.

Featuring contributions from Kristyna Baczynski, Becky Barnicoat, Adam Cadwell, Warwick Johnson Cadwell, Francessca Cassavetti, Faz Choudhury, David O’Connell, Darryl Cunningham, Rob Davis, Joe Decie, John Cei Douglas, Marc Ellerby, Sarah Gordon, Anne Holiday, Tom Humberstone, Daniel Locke, Lizz Lunney, Mark Oliver, Luke Pearson, Octavia Raitt, Edward Ross, Philippa Rice, Anna Saunders, Julia Scheele, Tom Smith, and Andrew Waugh.

Limited to a print run of just 500 copies, downthetubes is honoured to have received an advance copy of this ace anthology. We'll admit it's not cheap - £12 an issue is steep - but the artwork and the title's quality definitely counts in its favour.

I think we should also bear in mind that a good quality originated hardback graphic novel of the same extent would probably set you back about £12 with retailer discount. On that basis, Solipsistic Pop, which this issue comes with a branded pencil, sticker set, and poster is actually pretty cheap. (Especially when you consider that some people are paying £3 (and over) for 22 pages of an American mainstream comic that has advertising and either Disney or Warner essentially bankrolling them as loss-leaders for movie franchises...)

Highlights? Definitely Darryl Cunningham's 'Stan' strips, Tom Smith's 'A Joke' (A man walks into a bar full of weird animals...) and Anna Saunders one page 'Kitty Control Centre' and Andrew Waugh's 'Teething Problems' (Robot wanting to explore the outside world), both of which made me laugh out loud and scare wildlife. But there's so much more to enjoy, and I feel a bit mean singling out particular strips when everything is so top notch ('The Magical Unicorns of Keith the Wizards' by Lizz Lunney is making me smile even now).

Solipsistic Pop features some of the very best of British indie comic creators at the top of their game, all clearly enjoying the stories they've created for this anthology (and yes, anthology rules apply, not every strip will appeal to all, but I'm confident you'll find more to appeal than less.

This is a real gem of a title – 80 pages of independently published, alternative, offest-printed, environmentally-sound, ad-free comics (mid-recession). What more do you need?

• Where to Get It: http://solipsisticpop.com/shop

• Pre-order your copy today to avoid missing out!

• On Friday 12th November, the publishers will be celebrating the launch of Solipsistic Pop 3 with a party in Camden’s Black Heart (NW1 0AP). Entry is £3 and the doors open at 8.00pm.

Comica Comiket: Independent Comics Summer Fair gathers pace

(with thanks to Paul Gravett): Independent publishers, small presses, zinesters and self-publishers are gathering under a marquee for the first ever summertime Comica Comiket Fair in Battersea Park, London as part of the Hypercomics Exhibition at the Pump House Gallery and kindly sponsored by the wonderful Gosh! Comics.

A dazzling range of comics big and small will be on offer - and of course there's the chance to  meet the artists and creatives behind them. Exhibitors should include graphic novel outfits Blank Slate and Accent UK, innovative groups Nobrow (whose line up includes artists Brecht Vandenbroucke, Nishant Choksi and Rose Blake, among others), Solipsistic Pop and Danish group Aben Maler, zine collective Alternative Press, Phonogram team Kieron Gillen and James McElvie, and solo creators like Paul Rainey and Timothy Winchester (sample below).

Indie comic publishers interested in joining in should download an application form (Word format) fast - there are only a few tables left. The organisers say they’ll do our best to get you your share of space.

Throughout the day there will also be live events, workshops, Hypercomics artist tours, with admission and all events totally free. And to top it off, a scrumptious barbecue too! Come rain or shine, it’s going to be an unmissable Hypercomics time!

• Comica Comiket Summer Fair is at the PumpHouse Gallery, Battersea Park, London SW11 4NJ on Sunday 22nd August 2010 from 12.00 to 6.00pm. Online info: www.comicafestival.com/index.php/events/detail/comica_comiket

• Stall Booking: Download an application form - deadline 1 August 2010.

Azzopardi launches "Sightings"

I caught up with enthusiastic and inventive indy press creator Sean Azzopardi on Free Comics Book Day at Orbital Comics, London, where, among others, Kieron Gillen was tapping out a script and Tom Humberstone was busy sketching along with enthusiastic fans, copies of the brilliant Solipsistic Pop #2 on sale nearby.

Sean recently finished The Sightings of Wallace Sendek, a collaboration with Douglas Noble, whose work includes Complex, Unfriendly Romance and Robotnik.

"Douglas is a man of infinite patience, as this 22-page comic took over three years to complete," Sean says.

It's a creepy tale, centring on the apparent disappearance of a famous, but fading musician, and one woman's seeming encounters with him after his death. Has she seen him or not?

Drawn in an appropriate, haunting style, this is a book well worth tracking down and is on sale in shops well known for supporting the indy press, such as Orbital Comics and Gosh in London, as well as online.

Not resting on his laurels, Sean's now busy working on a new story, Black Leather, featuring "Teeny rockers, hells angels, freaks, booze drugs and music." He's hoping to have the first chapter ready for the Leeds Thought Bubble convention in November.

• Check out The Sightings of Wallace Sendek via phatcatz.org.uk

Solipsistic Pop Launch Date Set

Solipsistic Pop - a new, bi-annual anthology featuring the best alternative comic artists based in the UK - will be launching book one at London's ICA on 8th November.

"The book has been created with the intention of providing a support structure and outlet for inventive, original comic artists in a unique and beautifully designed printed product," says Publisher Tom Humberstone. "Think of it as a British Raw, Mome, Kramers Ergot, or McSweeneys...

"It has also been established as a way of finding comics a broader audience and to promote the medium as a viable artform."

The limited edition book – just 500 copies will be published of the first issue - costs £12 and features over 50 full colour pages, a 16 page insert and two mini-comics.

It includes the work of artists such as Andrew Blundell: Anna Saunders, whose work has appeared on Channel 4’s Big Brother, The Friday Night Project, and BBC’s Dead Ringers; Daniel Locke, whose work has featured in Attitude Magazine and can be seen on the TV show Dating In The Dark; Howard Hardiman who's perhaps best known for his web comic about a lonely badger moping around South London; Web Comics Nation creator Joe Decie; Julia Scheele, who's running the 69 Love Songs, Illustrated Project on the internet and can often be found at zine fests and conventions throughout the UK - she's contributed a seven-page comic titled "My Year As a Christian" to the first issue; Dancing Eye founder Mark Oliver, whose projects include a self-published book about a performance by Lenny Bruce and series of prints about sex; journalist Matthew Sheret; Ninja Bunny artist Philip Spence, also a freelance web and graphics designer; surface artist/designer and stylist for sets and photography Philippa Johnson; Rachael Reichert, who says she lives in a bubble of comics, fashion and ignorant bliss in London and is continuing the theme of anthropomorphic escapist fantasies of nature in her work; Richard Cowdry, probably best known for his comic strip anthology, The Bedsit Journal, which was widely available in the
UK for a few years and whose weekly strip Somersault appears on the award winning
Forbidden Planet International blog; freelance illustrator, comics, dinosaur and Star Wars fan Robbie Wilkinson; illustrator and animator Sarah Gordon, who says she is working on being the best at drawing things and standing on one leg without falling over (not necessarily at the same time, although you would be surprised how often they coincide); and the ever-wonderful talent that is Stephen Collins, who won the Cartoon Arts Trust award for Best Strip Cartoonist for The Day Job – his weekly strip in The Times.

Finally, there's publisher Tom Humberstone himself, creator of Art School Scum, You’re Wrong, and Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Crohns Disease and whose latest comic, How To Date a Girl In 10 Days, won an Eagle Award in 2008 for “Favourite black and white British comic”.

He is also the co-author of My Fellow Americans, a book written and drawn during an eight week roadtrip across America following the 2008 Presidential elections and is currently working on a collection of short stories for his next book – Ellipsis.

• For more info visit the Solipsistic Pop web site

Solipsistic Pop Launched

Solipsistic Pop - an anthology that features the very best in alternative UK comics - has launched its website with a manifesto that states the intentions of a new wave of comic artists taking over the UK alternative scene.

With contributors that include Anna Saunders, Daniel Locke, Philip Spence, Stephen Collins (above) and Tom Humberstone, Solipsistic Pop is to be a biannual anthology designed to spotlight the best in alternative comic art from the UK.

"It features diverse, beautiful, twisted and peculiar Comics that you won’t be able to find anywhere else," explains Humberstone. "Comic artists old and new are encouraged to contribute. Solipsistic Pop intends to provide a support structure and outlet for UK alternative Comics.

"Each book of Solipsistic Pop will be a boutique, tactile product: an interactive, unique artefact designed to suit the content of each edition with an extremely limited printrun."

The website will be updated with previews of artwork from the first book, to be published in November, essays, news and related live events.

• Read the manifesto and find out more at: www.solipsisticpop.com/