Here is the next report, first one of the year, documenting production progress of my artist book/comic/graphic novel…Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics…Chapter 4- Beer, Chocolate and Comics. The story continues with both cats arriving in Hamburg in a shipping container on a freighter…and ends with them, seemingly accompanied by a newly acquired canine friend on another freighter bound for Tokyo Bay! However did that come about? Well, Japan is the setting for the subsequent chapter…as long as this scenario is not altered in the coming weeks.
I am continuing my graphic experiments with ink and paint on paper that is printed then torn and drawn upon…and sometimes collaged, to create documents, scenes and settings as well as thought and voice balloons for the characters.
(©2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).
(©2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).
(©2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).
(©2007 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).
The following quick sketches were made on my previous travels in Germany. They were kept in notebooks till it seemed they had some relevance and resonance for this project…and now I am finding ways of working them into this chapter.
More visual developments and an update on progress will be posted on this blog in three or four weeks time…as I continue to close in on completion of the comic.
UPDATE 20 JANUARY 2015: In response to a query in the comments…(see below)…I have added examples of how I intend using the abstract landscapes as backgrounds…or graphic expressions.
(©2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).
(©2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a Doctor Comics).
More visual developments and an update on progress should be posted on this blog around the end of the month…as I near completion of the comic…and, as always, your feedback on my blog is most welcome.
(All text, photos and artwork-©2015 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).
Doctor Comics 
Kay Rodriques says on January 19, 2015
The abstract backgrounds are interesting. What ended up on them? In other words, what did the final comics look like?
P.S. Where did you get that art bag and what brand is it? I need a small sturdy one like that that will also ward off water/dew on the grass in the outdoor locations I frequent for drawing onsite. Thanks!
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Doctor Comics says on January 19, 2015
I’m still actually working through this. Some I have simply used as backgrounds and others I have cut into shapes as thought balloons. I shall scan a couple examples tomorrow and post them here.
As to that bag. It is a nameless brand. I was lucky enough to find it at a second-hand store in the country. It was in bad condition so I had a boot-maker stitch it up and sew in a few replacement strips and fix up the fasteners and handle. It is quite sturdy and I have coated it with beeswax to make it waterproof.
Thanks for your interest.
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Kay Rodriques says on January 20, 2015
I love your work. Will keep a look out for the background posts. I do the same thing. The funeral paintings were all from cutouts of a background I created.
About the bag — you did great with that find.
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Doctor Comics says on January 20, 2015
Thank you. Good to hear that you are using a similar strategy. I have added two test images at the bottom of the post(above)-one using an abstract landscape as a background, the other using an abstract landscape as a thought balloon, just to give you an idea of what I’m doing.
And that bag, it was my day.
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Kay Rodriques says on January 20, 2015
Very nice. I like them.
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Kay Rodriques says on February 11, 2015
Hi! I have a question — you can email the answer if you prefer to: kayrodriques@yahoo.com
The question is about your postcards that were in sale in a gallery show. Were they originals or prints? How did you price them and did you sell them matted? I’m making some for sale at a “meet the artist event”. Some originals, some prints. All signed. But I don’t know what a good price is!! Help?
Tx so much.
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Doctor Comics says on February 12, 2015
Thank you for your interest and question Kay. The postcards were original prints, 6 x 4 inches in size on card and sold un-matted in cellophane bags. The bagging protected them from handling and enabled customers to see both sides of the card. I didn’t attach them to mattes as I wanted to underline their utilitarian aspect namely that they could be written on and mailed through the postal service. But collectors could arrange to have them matted and framed themselves if they so desired. Alternatively they could be presented as gifts in their shiny plastic bagging. If you take a look at Production Report No.29: https://doctorcomics.com/2013/11/01/blotting-paper-the-comic-production-report-no-29/ you can see a photo of some of the cards in their bags on display in the gallery. The cards were priced at $A5 which, in retrospect, was a bit undervalued considering they were originals and some mass printed art cards cost $A2.50 or more. I love this format of making prints on cards although I am gradually coming across to the idea of keeping the originals and making digital copied prints from these.
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