Category: Germania

MY COMICS ART TRAVELS: First Stop-Germany.

Art, Blotting Paper, Comics, Germania November 18, 2019

On my travels, both local and overseas, to comic art and animation events, galleries and museums I have managed to study and collect the creative work of some of my favourite artists, and sometimes have even managed to meet and converse with them. This post starts with an image from an event in Asia but the bulk of this post is set in Europe, in Germany, but it’s a catalyst to this series of blogs, a fun photo to begin with, and suggests the scale of the subject and tone of reportage. In the photo above I am at a huge event at which I made a professional conference presentation. It was called Schools From The World, and part of the Taiwan International Animation Festival, Taipei, Taiwan, May 2004. In this and future posts on this theme I shall feature some of my travels to events such as this, starting in Europe with Germany and followed by France, then moving southward to Japan and Australia and finally across the Pacific to the U.S.A. So, off to Germany to start the journey!

COMIC SALON, ERLANGEN, GERMANY, 2014

Moving forward a decade from my visit to Taiwan I am in Germany in the town of Erlangen where there was a comics festival, the 16th Internationaler Comic-Salon Erlangen in June 2014 that I attended with Louise Graber and some German academic colleagues. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill) The event poster and graphics featured the characters Max und Moritz created by German comics creator Wilhelm Busch whose museum in Hanover I had visited earlier (see below).

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_0481.jpg — The Wilhelm Busch Museum in Hanover, an entire institution named after this pioneer in comics history. I was fortunate to find and purchase this book about him and his work at the museum shop (see below) in addition to viewing examples of his creative work on the gallery walls. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

Street poster for the Comic Salon, the comics festival in Erlangen, Germany. The poster carries the anti-war theme of the festival exhibited in the work of French comics artist Jacques Tardi (in the poster) and Joe Sacco (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

Entrance to the comics festival in Erlangen. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

Inside along a section of the comics festival. There was an accompanying outside section in a large tent, as well. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

In this town of Erlangen, Germany at the comics festival in June 2014, Joe Sacco, creator of the graphic novel *The Great War* staged two exhibitions of his work, one in a hall at the exhibition site and another in the main square in front of the Town Hall, both displaying a continuous single panel spread over 24 pages representing a connected scene from one moment of the war. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

A two panel section of Joe Sacco’s installation of a blow-up of his entire 24 panel section graphic novel *The Great War* across the main square of the town of Erlangen, Germany. It was a new experience for me to literally walk through a comic but that was Sacco’s rule of engagement in this instance. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

Sacco’s graphic novel THE GREAT WAR with its 24 accordion folded pages that represent the solitary panel that constitutes the novel. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

Another major exhibition at the festival was *Landscape of Death,* the anti-war graphic work of French comics artist Jacques Tardi. (Photo-©2014 Dr. Michael Hill)

Launching an issue of my own comic BLOTTING PAPER: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics at the festival in Erlangen with support from my German colleagues (L to R: Louise Graber, Professor Michael Mahlstedt, me, Professor Markus Fischmann, and student Krisi.)

There was also a large section in the exhibition featuring the *FINN FAMILY MOOMINTROLL* graphic work of Tove Jansson. (Photo by Louise Graber)

My TRAVELS posts form part of my graphic based material that includes painting, printmaking, cartooning and scrapbooking including artwork for my comic and graphic novel BLOTTING PAPER.

Some other graphics related posts in this series not dealing with comics production are the following:

THE GRAFIK GUITAR

CARTOON

POSTCARD

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.29

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania, Japanning, printmaking November 7, 2018

It has taken me a little while to finish wrapping up production of this title but things are finally taking shape. The latest development in my comics creation and production scheduling is that two of my titles will now be merged. These two titles are my most recent project working title The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi and my longer, earlier work Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics. The former, that took the form of some kind of sequel to the previous title, now becomes an additional chapter, actually the final chapter of the Blotting Paper graphic novel. My initial thoughts were to make it a stand-alone comic despite it having some connections to the main title by virtue of sharing some of the same characters. However, I have now opted for the overall closure of the long production period of Blotting Paper, the main title, and decided to wrap it all up in one bundle. This means that The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi will cease being a proposed stand alone comic title and instead become a chapter title of the already established comic titled Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics. However, its associated Blog posts, three in total, that were completed with the different title of The Kappabashi Cat Nos. 1, 2 and 3 will remain as existing blog posts, retaining their original title and date and history, and accessibility on this site. I hope that’s clarified matters.

The above photograph shows a rough draft mock-up of the working title and cover design of the former proposed comic The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi that is now being merged(see explanatory first paragraph above) with Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics as Chapter 6, the final chapter of the intended 300 page graphic novel. Although the Doctor Comics character does not appear in this chapter one of his cats, Cohl, does. Living in the Kappabashi area of Tokyo Cohl learns the Japanese form of woodblock printmaking called sosaku hanga, the same method that Doc had employed and demonstrated to his cats at their home in Sydney whilst making a series of creative prints. This edit wraps things up in terms of the story. In this final chapter of Blotting Paper Cohl becomes, as the title of that chapter infers, The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi. Wherever he was at this time, I am certain the Doc would have been impressed. (Art and Photo-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill)

A page from The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi , now Chapter 6 of the graphic novel Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics. (Art and Photo-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill)

Above, another page from Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics showing Doc at work making woodblock prints, an act that Cohl would have observed on several occasions back in Sydney when Doc and the cats lived together, and that would have possibly inspired Cohl to take up woodblock printmaking once he arrived in Japan. (Art and Photo-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill)

Another page from Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics showing Cohl being impressed by examples of the the art of celebrated Japanese printmaker Shiko Munakatta that Cohl’s new Japanese friend Moto takes him to see…and below, another page from the same title showing Cohl’s visit to an art supply shop in the Asakusa area of Tokyo to purchase woodblock printmaking tools, again thanks to his knowledgeable art school friend Moto. (Art and Photo-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill)

Yet another page from The Cat Cooking Comics In Kappabashi , now Chapter 6 of Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions of Doctor Comics, showing Cohl’s artistic development with his printmaking and his creative juxtapositioning and merging of his prints with panels and pages from randomly found manga during his travels in Tokyo. (Art and Photo-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill)

I hope these alterations and edits of the original plan will bring these separate units harmoniously together under the one title of Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. It seems the best solution at the moment

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.26

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania, Japanning February 28, 2016

I am happy to announce completion of production and commencement of publishing stage of the fifth and final issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. The pages are being printed, collated, trimmed, bound and covered and copies will soon be mailed to my personal readers. Each copy will have an original postcard size print on the cover.

Original print on cover of new issue-© 2013 Michael Hill

Four years since the publication of the first issue that I launched at Hondarake-Full of Books in Sydney in February 2012 a total of five issues have been produced and published in serial form and I am now considering collecting these in graphic novel form. This will provide me with the opportunity to make some revisions to the story and artwork. The five issues have generated 200 pages of material and I imagine there would be an additional 20 to 30 new pages to develop aspects of the existing material. And then again, there remains the possibility of yet a further new chapter. We’ll see.

Woodblock ink print and painting-© 2014 Michael Hill

Location photograph, Germany-© 2014 Michael Hill

Rough scan of artwork, Germany-© 2016 Michael Hill

Rough scan of artwork, woodblock prints, handwriting, cartooning Tokyo-© 2016 Michael Hill

Rough scan of artwork, illustration, sketching, cartooning, Tokyo-© 2016 Michael Hill

Rough scan of artwork, Photography, character design, Tokyo-© 2016 Michael Hill

Rough scan of artwork of a cat scanning artwork, Germany-© 2015 Michael Hill

For details of the production of all five issues of this artist book/comic and a continuing visual history record and time-line overview of the project read the related reports below.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.25

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania, Japanning October 3, 2015

This is another report documenting production of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. Creation and production of the forthcoming issue 2 Tickets to Tokyo Bay has begun and deals with the continued adventures of the cats Busch and Cohl and their canine acquaintance Barks. Set mostly in Japan but with some scenes in Germany it follows these characters in funny animal style and includes further recollections from the archives of my alias, Doctor Comics, including his visits to Japan and research into manga.

Dirty laundry hung out to dry, ink painting-© 2015 Michael Hill

A seasick cat at sea, ink sketch-© 2015 Michael Hill

The characters Barks and Busch travel from Germany to Japan by sea, arriving in Tokyo Bay. Whilst their passage on a container ship is cheaper than flight it is not without some difficulty and discomfort.

Choreographing a cosplay routine, pencil sketch-© 2014 Michael Hill

Cosplay costume design, ink and pencil sketch-© 2013 Michael Hill

Being back on land in Tokyo is more conducive to fun and frolicking and access to a bigger range of food. They visit a manga fair and then Kitchen Town where they eat cake.

A Munchianesque Halloween cake design in Kappabashi, Tokyo, photo-© 2009 Michael Hill

Barks and Busch are on their way to Tokyo Bay-© 2015 Michael Hill

The view at sea, print-© 2015 Michael Hill

Printmaking is again involved in the design of this issue with woodblock, linocut, rubber, bakelite and wooden stamps along with drawing, collage, calligraphy and handwriting plus a continued move into cartooning. The intention is to produce the comic in an artist book type format and to have it more or less ready for self-publication around the end of the year.

Japan, fish island, collage-© 2015 Michael Hill

And home of Otafuku, ink painting-© 2015 Michael Hill

UPDATE: 2 November 2015

This is the third report documenting production of the fifth and concluding chapter of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. Production of the new issue 2 Tickets to Tokyo Bay is continuing with images currently being created along with some previously made works recorded during my travels in Japan and Germany. The script has first been developed in word form and accompanied by some conceptual colour coding. This was followed by a second draft consisting of roughly sketched visuals of the script with coloured pencils and associated descriptive comments or dialogue. There are examples of both of these development stages, below.

Developing a first draft script design-© 2015 Michael Hill

Visual roughing out of the script-© 2015 Michael Hill

One scene in the script is a graphical recollection of my Doctor Comics alias. It reveals the design of one of his logo stamps/seals or chops that was roughed out on a paper napkin in a Sydney restaurant with guidance from a member of the Japanese Consulate. Here is a scan of that design development along with attachments including a photo and a Japanese photo booth print sticker.

Developing a seal design, collage-© 2008 Michael Hill

Another sequence involves Japanese sea monsters.

Seeing strange things at sea, ink and pencil sketch-© 2008 Michael Hill

Possible print for the cover-© 2009 Michael Hill.

POSTCARD ART

Art, Comics, Germania, Japanning August 5, 2015

This post begins a profile of another artistic activity that I have been active in for a few years now, namely the design and printing of limited run art postcards. These are some of the early cards. More will be added in subsequent posts to this one e.g POSTCARD 2, 3 etcetera. I hand-printed these postcards that were created from a combination of drawing and printmaking. I would make random, numbered editions of say 8, 19 or 33. A print run greater than 50 was rare. The total would be determined by the amount of blank cards I had and the available time for production. Once I finished a session that meant the end of that particular batch as I would not repeat the design. Cards in an edition are all original prints, or monoprints, so-called by being similar in design but with no exact duplicates.

First postcard in my Abstract series-© 2006 Michael Hill

The following three postcards show variations produced in one edition: (1) the overlaid pink patch is in a different position on each card and its shape and strength of colour vary; (2) the dragon stamp(the small curvy line) is in almost the same position on two cards but not the third and its legs seem absent in two impressions; (3) the large black and yellow mass varies in colour and texture from card to card; (4) the Post Office marking is at the top, bottom or missing; (5) my MH signature seal, whilst generally in the same position, is actually upside down on two of the cards…a creative accident!

A postcard from my Abstract No.2 series-© 2006 Michael Hill

Another postcard from my Abstract No.2 series-© 2006 Michael Hill

A third postcard from my Abstract No.2 series-© 2006 Michael Hill

Reverse side of postcard from Abstract No.2 series-© 2006 Michael Hill

A postcard from my Abstract No.3 series-© 2006 Michael Hill

A postcard from my Abstract No.4 series-© 2006 Michael Hill

A postcard from my Abstract No.5 series-© 2006 Michael Hill

Beer drinking, on most occasions a bottle of stout, marked the end of an edition to celebrate completion. This was usually late in the afternoon as I never seemed to print in the mornings. After a few years I supplemented this hand-made approach with digital printing, making copies from the scanned original. But then I eventually abandoned that and returned to the hand-made process.

UPDATE OCTOBER 12, 2015: A selection of these art postcards have been displayed in exhibitions over the past few years, the first in 2007 titled Abstract Nos. 1-11 at the DAB LAB Gallery in the courtyard of the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building of the University of Technology, Sydney.

Pop-Up Postcard Exhibition: Abstract Nos.1-11, DAB LAB Gallery, UTS, 2007

Pop-Up Postcard Exhibition by Dr. Michael Hill: Abstract Nos.1-11, DAB LAB Gallery, UTS, 2007.

Detail: Pop-Up Postcard Exhibition: Abstract Nos.1-11, DAB LAB Gallery, UTS, 2007

Detail: Pop-Up Postcard Exhibition by Dr. Michael Hill: Abstract Nos.1-11, DAB LAB Gallery, UTS, 2007.

Exhibition flyer designed by Michael Hill

Exhibition flyer designed by Dr. Michael Hill.

Reverse of ABSTRACT exhibition flyer designed by Dr. Michael Hill.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 6, 2015: At Hondarake Full of Books in 2012 the launch of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper was accompanied by a mini exhibition of 33 0f my art postcards from the Abstract, Landscape and Seasons series.

An exhibition of postcards accompanying the launch of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper at Hondarake Bookshop, February 2012 (Photo by Louise Graber)

An exhibition of handmade art postcards accompanying the launch of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper at Hondarake Bookshop, February 2012 (Photo by Louise Graber).

Fukushima Kids 2013 Auction, Japan: 10 postcards, made in small sets of 5-30, each print a monoprint, unique. Reverse side is signed and dated plus has artist’s stamp. Cards can be kept or mailed. These postcards were made on machine made cardboard following the Japanese sosaku hanga method of printmaking.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.24

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania, Japanning May 8, 2015

And still not there but very nearly done! Completion of the art and text on all pages of the fourth issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics has nearly reached the finishing line. After that all that will remain is the publishing production process of those pages. This includes the sequential stages of the pages being printed, collated, trimmed, covered and bound. Similar to the preceding three issues the present one has a total of 40 pages plus endpapers and covers. For this issue these covers will feature a wraparound print that includes the title. And being an artist book there will be a limited number of books published, in this case 30. Each book in this first edition will be numbered and signed by the artist.

Planned wraparound cover for Issue #4 (Monoprint-© 2011 Michael Hill)

With some spot colour still to be added plus a few paragraphs of handwriting, a bit of toning touch-up here and there and a little overprinting that might get overlaid I have spread out the pages in a probable sequence on the floor of the studio to get some sense of how the story flows and whether the juxtaposition of the page-spreads works throughout the issue. So there may still be some alterations to the sequencing in the final edit. I try to see a sense of rhythm in the overall progression of pages.

Pages from Issue 4 in layout spread-© 2015 Michael Hill

UPDATE 6 JULY 2015: COMPLETION OF ISSUE #4! It took a little longer than expected but now it is done! At last I have crossed the finishing line with completion of production of the fourth issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. The pages have been printed, collated, trimmed, bound and covered with title labels. Copies have been mailed to my personal readers. A possible launch is being looked at in Tokyo in October.

Issue 4 copies ready for distribution-photo © 2015 Michael Hill

Leftover pages and bits, photo-© 2015 Michael Hill

After running past the planned deadline and a bit over budget I decided to finish up in a D.I.Y mode. This resulted in a somewhat hand-crafted look.

Tabletop work-space pages and tools-photo © 2015 Michael Hill

Work clothes hung out to dry-photo © 2015 Michael Hill

Now it’s on to the next and likely final new issue although reprints of previously published chapters remain a possibility. Tentatively titled 2 Tickets to Tokyo Bay Chapter 5 will be set in both Germany and Japan and follow the continued activities of Doctor Comics’ cats and their new canine companion Barks in funny animal style. It will also contain some further comics related recollections from Doctor Comics’ past in particular his dealings with manga and mangaka. Below is the ad for Chapter 5 on the back page of Issue 4.

Teaser for 2 TICKETS TO TOKYO BAY the forthcoming Chapter 5-© 2015 Michael Hill, READING DRINKING -© 2014 Gene Kannenberg, Jr.

Teaser for 2 TICKETS TO TOKYO BAY which is the titles of the forthcoming Chapter 5-©2015 Dr. Michael Hill, here listed with the (insert) READING DRINKING Blotting Paper review of Chapter 2 – ©2013 by my American colleague Gene Kannenberg, Jr.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.23

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania March 1, 2015

Not quite there yet! I might still need another month to finish this issue. So I’ll say again, this time with the added word “hopefully”, that this looks like being the penultimate report documenting production of the fourth issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 4: Beer, Chocolate and Comics before completing the final chapter tentatively titled 2 or 3 Tickets To Tokyo Bay?

Chapter title page, handwriting on painted paper collage-© 2015 Michael Hill

The cats go to Germany with Doctor Comics’s stash of comics related books, mementos and research materials. They meet a canine character who kindly assists them in arranging matters. Beer is drunk, comics are consumed and a plan devised.

Chapter page, collage of painted paper, woodcut print and ink drawings-© 2015 Michael Hill

One of the cats, Cohl, sorts through Doc’s research materials and reflects on some of his deeds including one that involved Belgian comics. Cohl also attempts to emulate Doc’s art practice, making sketches and playing with art materials, more drawing than printmaking. The other cat, Busch, enjoys what Germany has to offer in the way of beer, fish and fun. Both cats and their canine companion enjoy the chocolate.

Chapter page detail, inked calligraphy brush on paper-© 2015 Michael Hill

Chapter page detail, collage of photograph and found graphic packaging-© 2015 Michael Hill

More visual developments and an update on progress will be posted on this blog in around a month’s time as I bring this chapter to completion and start moving towards Japan as the setting of the next chapter.

Promotional chocolate stack, Berlin, photo-© 2014 Michael Hill

Sketch of Doctor Comics character, ink on paper-© 2014 Michael Hill

More visual developments and an update on progress will be posted on this blog in three or four weeks time as I near completion and point towards Japan as the likely setting of the next chapter.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.22

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania January 3, 2015

NOTE: R E- E D I T C U R R E N T L Y I N P R O G R E S S!

Here is the next report documenting production progress of the next issue and chapter of my artist book/comic 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, possibly accompanied by a newly acquired canine friend on another freighter bound for Tokyo Bay, Japan being the setting for the subsequent chapter. This scenario may of course be altered in coming weeks.

The 0909 lines document-ink stamped on paper-© 2015 Michael Hill

I am continuing my graphic experiments with ink and paint on paper, printed, torn and drawn, and sometimes collaged, to create documents, scenes and settings as well as thought and voice balloons for the characters.

Graphic Thought Balloon, ink and paint on paper-© 2014 Michael Hill

Graphic Voice balloon, ink and paint on paper-© 2014 Michael Hill

Set design, painted paper collage-© 2014 Michael Hill

Ink and watercolour drawing of Hamburg-© 2007 Michael Hill

These were quick sketches made on my previous travels in Germany. They were kept in notebooks and forgotten till it seemed they had both relevance and resonance for this project and consequently led to my finding ways of working them into this chapter.

Ink and watercolour drawing on paper of design details in Germany-© 2007 Michael Hill

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 below I have now added examples of how I might use the abstract landscapes as backgrounds or graphic expressions:

Using abstract landscape as background-© 2014 Michael Hill

Using abstract landscape as thought balloon-© 2014 Michael Hill

More visual developments and an update on progress will be posted on this blog around the end of the month as I near completion of the comic.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.21

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania December 2, 2014

This is the second in a series of regular reports documenting the production of the fourth issue and chapter of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. These reports are updated approximately on a monthly basis. The new chapter Beer, Chocolate and Comics deals with the cats recovering from the demise of their patron and their travels in Germany and the world of European comics.

Double page handprinted spread from Chapter 3–© 2014 Michael Hill.

Continuing the turnaround of events and forward momentum that the above image from Chapter 3 illustrates the cats begin to get on top of things, take control of their situation and consequently develop and express their characters on their travels abroad.

Beer label collage character from Blotting Paper comic-© 2014 Michael Hill

I have been playing around with a beer label collaging idea, mostly from Belgian and German bottles, and have come up with this character so far but I expect there will be others. With the European theme and setting I am also considering including some bilingual content, preferably English and German and possibly even doing a combined issue #4-5.

Fish woodcut from way back-© 2002 Michael Hill

Fish woodcut with pyschedelic sauce from way back-© 2003 Michael Hill

The subject of fish and the technique of woodblock printmaking also return. And there is cooking too, of both fish and comics!

The Busch approach to managing a comics collection-now available as a postcard-© 2014 Michael Hill

Linocut, type, roller and ink dish after a print session. (Photo-© 2014 Michael Hill).

In addition to collage there were ink and paint printed images of an abstract nature that serve as backgrounds, settings or sometimes even graphic expressions of the characters’ thoughts.

Abstract print image from Blotting Paper comic-© 2014 Michael Hill

The art work also features several words and images made with pen and ink including some quick-sketch location drawings from previous visits to Hamburg and Hanover and more recently to Berlin.

Dip pen with nibs by Gillot and Muller and ink from Lamy.

Quick Ink and watercolour drawing of Hannover-© 2007 Michael Hill

For location drawing I usually carry a small leather bag of art tools…

Packing my art bag for a location drawing session. (Photo-© 2014 Michael Hill).

More visual developments and an update on progress will be posted on this blog in the new year.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.20

Art, Blotting Paper, Cats in Comics, Comics, Germania November 3, 2014

This is the first in a series of regular reports documenting the production of the fourth issue of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. It continues on from those posted on the first chapter/issue The Ingurgitator, the second chapter/issue A Blot On His Escutcheon and the third chapter/issue The Chthonian Turn: The Cats’ Revenge (see links to posts #1-36 below). The new chapter Beer, Chocolate and Comics deals with the cats’ recovery from the demise of their patron, Doctor Comics, their travels in Europe and their contact with the world of European comics. Printmaking is again involved in the design and production of this issue with woodblock, linocut and the use of rubber, bakelite and wooden stamps along with drawing and handwriting plus a bit more of a move into cartooning. The intention is to produce a comic in an artist’s book type format. I hope to have it more or less ready for self-publication in the early months of next year but we’ll have to see about that!

Brush tips dipped in ink and at the ready.

Cartooning the cat character Cohl from Blotting Paper comic-© 2014 Michael Hill

More cat cartooning for the Blotting Paper comic-© 2014 Michael Hill

There will also be the introduction of a new character in this chapter, a dog.

Funny animal character from Blotting Paper comic-© 2014 Michael Hill

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2015: (See ill and comments below.)

Here is how this character finished up looking in Issue #4-© 2015 Michael Hill

This issue has a marked European flavour with much careful research into Belgian and German chocolates, comics and beer having been undertaken by the artist and author.