Co-creator and former Director of the Master of Animation, Master of Design, and Visual Communication Design courses at the University of Technology, Sydney, Dr. Michael Hill has a Master's degree in animation and a Ph.D. in comics studies, prompting his introduction on ABC Radio as “Doctor Comics”. A member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Comic Art, and former member of the Comics Grid Journal of Comics Scholarship and the Advisory Committee of the Q-Collection Comic Book Preservation Project, he has delivered public lectures on Comics, Anime and Manga and held academic directorships in Interdisciplinary Studies, Animation, Design and Visual Communication. Having retired from academia and completing the donation of his collection of research materials on Australian alternative comics to the National Library of Australia, he is now active in the artistic domain, writing, drawing and printmaking, creating art postcards and prints and his own graphic novel: Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics.
This post covers some glimpses of the works on display and visitors to the exhibition Blotting Paper: Works On Paper 18-29 September at GAUGE Gallery in Glebe, Sydney. It included the publication and launch of the second issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 2: A Blot On His Escutcheon.
Did you see this exhibition? If so, I would love to hear of your impressions of the show and of my art…and/or of this post about it. You can post to this Blog, Michael.
This post covers the installation of my comics art exhibition Blotting Paper: Works On Paper. It was held from18-29 September at GAUGE Gallery in Sydney. It included publication of the second issue of my artist book/comic: Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 2: A Blot On His Escutcheon.
The second issue of my artist book/comic… Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 2: A Blot On His Escutcheon… has now been published. As with the first issue the publication was planned to be accompanied by an exhibition of associated art work. This time the exhibition opening, at GAUGE Gallery, preceded the publication. The exhibition was larger in scope and located in a gallery, as opposed to a bookshop. The comic was late! It arrived on the fourth day of the event. The launch had to be postponed due to its uncertain delivery date. When the book finally arrived at the gallery it went on sale but retained its “yet to be launched” status. With two issues now complete the thoughts of it potentially growing into graphic novel size continue to circulate in my mind! We’ll see! Michael
Publication of the second issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 2: A Blot On His Escutcheon is forthcoming. September is looking increasingly likely subject to completion of the printing, binding and delivery of the comics. The comic will form part of an exhibition of my works on paper at a new gallery in Glebe called GAUGE. Below is an image of the title page. The image has been constructed from elements of photography, printmaking, typography and collage. It shows Doctor Comics returning from a shopping expedition. UPDATE: Exhibition dates have been firmed to 18-29 September 2013 but still no firm launch date for the comic…which is beginning to raise thoughts in the long term of its potential development into a graphic novel. We will have to wait and see about that!
Prior to the emergence of one of the larger comics and entertainment media conventions in Australia Supanova Pop Culture Expothe same management team, led by Daniel Zachariou, staged an event called Comic-Fest. This had a mostly comics oriented focus compared with the subsequent broader span of Supanovain which comics represents just one of several entertainment media that included films, television series, toys, trading cards, computer games and the internet. There were two stagings in 2001, at Fox Studios in February then followed in September by Comi-Fest 2 at the Sydney Centrepont Convention Centre.
Trevor Bovis in space, the Greener Pastures program cover, designed by Tim McEwen.
Saturday seminar details with my involvement in the superheroes panel.
For the September event, withsupport from the event director, Daniel Zachariou, I organised a panel discussion on Australian alternative comics by local creators Dillon Naylor, Daniel Gloag, Amber Carvan and Ben Hutchings who each talked about their own comics and answered my questions. A general discussion of the Australian comics scene followed.
Aside from the panel discussion the big attraction for the local small press was the opportunity to set up shop and trade their work on the commercial floor along with the imported comics. There was also the opportunity to meet fellow local creators and exchange comics, contact details and curry recipes.
Along with the commercial trading there was the social attraction of meeting and chatting with fellow comics creators and sharing ideas and production experiences.
Did you go to COMIC-FEST? What did you think? Would you like to add a comment about your impression of that event on this Blog post? I would be happy to hear, Michael.
This is the eleventh in a series of posts called Archives of Australian Comics History that document moments in the recent history of Australian comics, particularly alternative comics and the Australian Small Press. I started researching this subject in the late 1990s and it eventually led to my PhD thesis: Ph.D. Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, A Study Of Contemporary Australian Alternative Comics 1992-2000 With Particular Reference To The Work Of Naylor, Smith, Danko And Ord, 2003. On completion of the research I donated the materials and comics I had collected to the National Library of Australia: Michael Hill Collection of Australian Comics.
Continuing reports documenting the production process of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics…Chapter 1: The Ingurgitator andChapter 2: A Blot On His Escutcheon…this post shows more examples of the image-making aspects of the project. These include assemblage, drawings, design, photography, printmaking, plus project management.
Some colourful project management in my blog log book.
This blog on my Blotting Paper comic has provided a means of documenting the production progress of the comic.
Both fish and cats feature in the comic, the fish more realistically rendered than the cats. Above is an image from my earlier fish animation, with added blood. Below is a rough sketch of one of the feline characters.
It was ten years ago that the second Sequential Art Studies Conference took placeat the University of Technology, Sydney. At the time, minicomics, having blossomed throughout the 1990s, were making an impression on the local alternative comics scene. The event was billed as A Mini Conference on Minicomics and featured presentations by comics creators as well as scholars. The conference was convened by Spiros Tsaousis (now Spiros Xenos) and I. It was a sequel to our previous and first Sequential Art Studies conference held in Sydney in 2002. That was the first comics conference held in Australia. It was also staged in association with Supanova Pop Culture Expo again. Included in the event was a minicomics market.
CALL FOR PAPERS: 2nd Sequential Art Studies Conference May 23, 2003, Sydney. The Interdisciplinary Studies Unit of the Faculty of Design at UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) http://www.uts.edu.au will again host this new scholarly conference that will be held during the same week as the Sydney Writers’ Festival. The inaugural event in 2002 attracted a small but stimulating range of papers from local academics and students. It is hoped that this year’s event will build on that. Scholars are invited to submit 250 word proposals which address alternative approaches to comics, whether local or global, recent or historical, online or offline, artistic or commercial. The conference will adopt an interdisciplinary approach and so welcomes papers from a broad range of areas. Send proposals by email to either of the conference convenors and coordinators by February 28, 2003: Michael.Hill@uts.edu.au Spiros.Tsaousis@bigpond.com
CONFERENCE PROGRAM: Scholarly Papers
4.00pm Opening of Conference and Welcome by Assoc. Professor Steve Harfield Assoc. Dean of Research Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building University of Technology, Sydney
4.05pm The Sydney Morning Hell of Glenn Smith, Dr. Michael Hill, Interdisciplinary Studies Unit, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building University of Technology, Sydney
4.30pm Fear and yearning of “manga Japan” in Australia, Craig Norris, School of Communication, Design and Media, University of Western Sydney
4.55pm Taming the ‘Superhuman’ Shrew: Identification with Superheroes in Comics and the Popularisation of the Human Potential Ethic, Adam Possamaï, School of Applied Social Sciences, University of Western Sydney
5.20pm The Problem of The Yellow Kid: From Single Panels to Sequential Images, Spiros Tsaousis, La Trobe University
Craig Norris, University of Western Sydney.
Adam Possamaï, University of Western Sydney
CONFERENCE PROGRAM: Artist Presentations
6.00pm Alex Major (Naomi and Poggie)
6.20pm Komala Singh (Moshi Moshi)
6.40pm Bernard Caleo (Big Cardigan Comics)
7.00pm Katarina Knebel (Cult Fiction Comics)
7.20pm Ben Hutchings (Geeen Comix)
7.40pm David McDermott (Glitter Shy)
Bernard Caleo ‘performed’ his comics manifesto…brilliantly!..and promoted his own comic Tango.
Komala Singh talked about her minicomic Moshi Moshi.
David McDermott goes Glitter Shy and playfully ‘performed’ some of his pages live to projected images of the panels.
Chloe Lyttle introducing David Maccad.
Ben Hutchings had fun going Geeen!
Katarina Knebel talks Cult Fiction Comics.
Alex Major describes his minicomic Naomi and Poggie.
Minicomics market at the conference.
This conference about MINICOMICS as a form of sequential art was a sequel to the first comics conference in 2002…the first comics conference held in Australia I think! Did you attend? If so would you like to add a comment about the proceedings? Please do! I would love to hear, Michael.
This is the tenth in a series of posts called Archives of Australian Comics History. These document moments in the recent history of Australian comics, particularly alternative comics and the Australian Small Press. I started researching this subject in the late 1990s and it eventually led to my PhD thesis. That degree was awarded to me as follows: Ph.D. Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy…A Study Of Contemporary Australian Alternative Comics 1992-2000 With Particular Reference To The Work Of Naylor, Smith, Danko And Ord, 2003.
Continuing my series of reports documenting the production of my comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics…this post illustrates the use of the note books, sketch books and design processes involved.
The larger notebook (above) is primarily used for making notes and writing drafts. It has information about the characters and the environment in which they live…plus ideas about the narrative and its construction. The smaller note books (below) contain rough sketches that were used to develop ideas from the main note book.
The design is a little on the rough and sketchy side! It does, however, show an outline of the character design and story sequencing. How did you find it? Let me know. I would love to read your responses to my posts, Michael.
This post continues reportage of the production of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. It describes the use of printmaking in the image-making process, including the creation of landscapes of subconscious terrain.
Doctor Comics finds himself in a shadowy landscape during an intense dream experience. I have tried to express the inky and murky feel of this etheric place he traverses. To achieve this I made a series of monochromatic monoprints.
This landscape can be seen more clearly as more light is added to each successive image. Despite the extra light he still finds it hard to trace his way through.
These prints were made using an etching process. It was a novel method of printmaking that involved exposure of the design to a light sensitive plate. This process marked the lines on a gelatin coated metal plate. The plate was then rubbed with a stiff brush under running water to carve the lines. This process is known as solar plate etching.
A deliberate ‘blotting’ effect was obtained from pressing a saturated inked block onto highly absorbent blank paper. This was for a scene from the second issue. After printing, the paper was peeled off the block carefully to avoid tearing. This was due to the combination of the wet inked areas and the paper’s soft, tissue texture.
Tails and fins of a cooked fish were inked and printed for some of the images used in Chapter 1. This approach was inspired by the Japanese sosaku hanga printmaking method. That involves inkable flat objects employed as ‘blocks’ as an alternative to woodblocks. The resultant graphic effect is shown in the print above. Photos of the image-making process involved in making that print are below.
Another unused print, above, from the first issue is a possible inclusion as a postcard insert in this issue. It was constructed from a combination of woodblock and object prints. I know I seem to be pushing the printmaking cart here but it has really got me going. I would love to hear of your experiences of printmaking, if you have done that, Michael.
Underground comics are the subject of this post…in particular Australian alternative comics. I start with a review of an exhibition that Glenn Smith curated at the Orange Regional Gallery, in N.S.W. in 2005. The exhibition was titled The Ink Runs Deep Down, Down Underground. I wrote an essay titled “Art From The Inkubator” for inclusion in the exhibition catalogue.
The Ink Runs Deep...exhibition catalogue. (Art & Design by Glenn Smith)
The successive waves of Australian alternative comics produced since the 1980s often feature a raw, spontaneous graphic style. This is accompanied by an irreverent attitude and a D.I.Y. Punk influenced approach to production. It is notably different from mainstream approaches to comics production. These alternative comics can be pluralistic, wide-ranging, antagonistic, mocking and containing taboo themes. The exhibition in Orange celebrated the creative expression behind these comics. Comics art…this much maligned art form…usually consigned to the pop culture trash bin…was hung for exhibition on the gallery wall.
Back cover of the exhibition catalogue. (Design by Glenn Smith)
Creators featured in the exhibition, all 27 of them, are listed on the back cover of the exhibition catalogue, above. They exhibited applications of comics art in a range of mediums from pen and ink to digital imaging. These were applied in animation, painting, posters, book covers and skate boards.
Exhibit of Cruel World minicomics by Anton Emdin.
Exhibit of Black Light Angels minicomics by Louise Graber.
Noting the emergence of underground comix in Australia in his book Panel By Panel…John Ryan pointed to the social context of the 1970’s. This was a period in which a sense of national pride emerged. This led to a consequent interest in locally made art. That first wave of Australian alternative comics also seems to have been influenced by the North American Underground Comix movement. As in the Abstract Expressionist art movement of the 1950s, Australia seemed to have imported rather than grown, the art. Initially appearing somewhat derivative an Australian style later developed .
Louise Graber with her painting of a panel from her comic Black Light Angels from the exhibition.
I had attended the Underground(s) conference on Comics and Graphic Novels at the University of Florida in 2003. It was organised by Donald Ault. At that conference I presented a research paper…titled “Down Under Ground: Emotional and Oppositional Outpourings from Sydney’s Subculture in the Comics of Glenn Smith”. Smith’s comics seemed to be an echo of the Underground comix of the late 1960s that began in San Francisco. They were different in style and content to the mainstream North American super-hero themed comics. They opened up the way for autobiographical and artform approaches. At that conference I heard from some of the creative figures from the original Underground(see back cover of program below). It was pleasing to describe Glenno’s work, and argue that it had some resonance with what they had done.
Front cover of Underground(s) conference program. (Design by William S. Kartalopoulos)
Back cover of Underground(s) conference program. (Design by William S. Kartalopoulos)
Underground(s) conference poster (detail).
Have you read any Underground comics? I’d love to hear your thoughts about them as well as reactions to this post.
This is the twelth in a series of posts titled Archives of Australian Comics History. They document moments in the recent history of Australian comics, particularly alternative comics and the Australian Small Press. I started researching this subject in the late 1990s. It eventually led to the writing of my doctoral thesis. Details: Ph.D., Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, for the thesis…A Study Of Contemporary Australian Alternative Comics 1992-2000…With Particular Reference To The Work Of Naylor, Smith, Danko And Ord, 2003. On completion of the research I donated the large number of comics I had collected…to the National Library of Australia: Michael Hill Collection of Australian Comics.
This is a further report on the production of my graphic novel Blotting Paper. This post focuses on print layers used to create the cover design. Planned for the first issue but not used until the second here are some images of the printmaking procedure.
Working in a small studio I had no bench space for drying. Letting the prints dry outside on the ground in the Spring sunshine proved a fast way to obtain the dryness. The prints were vulnerable to a breeze and were blown into the grass and garden.
The final stage involved printing the type over the blue overlay and brown background.
A bowl of sumi ink, a brush and a bamboo baren. (Photo by Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)
Following the Japanese creative print approach of using sumi ink enabled me to obtain solid blacks. The ink was brushed onto the block. Then the paper was placed face-down onto this and rubbed with a bamboo baren to make firm contact.
Bench hook, roller, rag and bucket on studio bench. (Photo by Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)
Materials used included ink, rags, cloth, plus water for washing the blocks, brushes and hands.
Water, cloths, sink and lino block. (Photo by Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)
Despite the implied reference to woodblocks in Japanese print techniques the wood may be replaced by other materials. These include vegetables, fruit, leaves, rubber and other objects that are sufficiently flat to be inked and pressed onto paper. The creative print (sosaku hanga) approach places the emphasis on the act of making the print. It’s a joy! Please let me know if you share the joy of printmaking…or wish to make any comments about this post and blog, Michael.
Ink-stained printmaking attire. (Photo by Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)
Doctor Comics 