I have still not completed this issue of my comic but I am getting there! Completion of the fourth issue of my artist book/comic…and ultimately, graphic novel…Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics is near. The printing and publishing process of those pages will follow. This includes the sequential stages of the pages being printed, collated, trimmed, covered and bound. As with the first three issues the fourth one has a total of 40 pages plus end-papers and covers. For this issue the covers will feature a wraparound print that includes the title. Being an artist book there will be a limited edition of 30. Each book in this first edition will be numbered and signed by the artist.
The addition of some spot colour plus a few paragraphs of handwriting is needed. It may also receive a bit of a toning touch-up and a little overprinting. I have spread out the pages in sequence on the floor of the studio. This reveals some sense of the overall flow of the comic. There might be the odd alteration to the sequencing in the final edit. I try to feel a sense of rhythm from reading and turning the pages.
©2015 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.
UPDATE 6 JULY 2015: COMPLETION OF ISSUE #4! Although it took a little longer than expected I have now completed production of the fourth issue of my comic! The pages have been printed, collated, trimmed, bound and covered with title labels. Copies have been mailed to my supportive, personal readers. A possible launch is being looked at in Tokyo in October.
After running past the planned deadline and being slightly over budget I decided to finish in D.I.Y mode. This resulted in a somewhat hand-crafted look.
Now it’s on to the likely final issue…although reprints of previously published chapters are also a possibility…as is the eventual merging of all chapters into graphic novel form…I wish!…and can’t stop thinking about that possibility. Looking ahead, the tentatively titled 2 Tickets to Tokyo Bay Chapter 5 will be set in Germany and Japan. It depicts the continued activities of Doctor Comics’ cats and their new canine companion Barks in “funny animal” comics style. It may also contain further comics related recollections from Doctor Comics’ past, particularly his research of manga. Below is the ad for Chapter 5 on the back page of Issue 4.
(All text, photos and artwork-©2015 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).
Doctor Comics 
Megumi says on May 13, 2015
It’s fascinating to see the pages laid out almost like a collage or puzzle, before it all comes together. Can’t wait to see it printed and bound!
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Doctor Comics says on August 12, 2015
Thank you Megumi and apologies for the delay in responding. I actually thought I had done that but now discovered I hadn’t. Yes, the view of the pages spread across the floor from a standing position on the tabletop is very collage-like as you suggest. It doesn’t take in the notion of page-turning and the consequence when reading that you can only see two pages at a time but it does provide an overall feel of the visual content and flow. Anyway, now that you have seen the printed and bound version, how does it seem in hindsight?
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