BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.48

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Doctor Comics

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 appearance 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.

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 all of the BLOTTING PAPER production reports on the following posts: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

SCRAPBOOK: More Pages

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Doctor Comics

In this post I am adding more sample pages from my scrapbook, the initial posting of which can be found here. There is only one copy and it contains images of other people’s work that I admire along with assorted memorabilia of my own.

Scrapbook page 1

Above-collage of scenes from Walt Disney studio production, clockwise from top left: me visiting their studio in Burbank(I studied storyboards from their morgue); mixing colour; making synchronised soundtracks; character paint set merchandise.

Scrapbook page 2

Above-Osamu Tezuka at work at Mushi Productions making anime; early Mazzucchelli superhero drawing; spool of recording tape; Tetsujin 28-go manga cover; Klaus Voormann cover design for The Beatles album Revolver.

Scrapbook page 3

Above-mixed bag of Tatsunoko Production studio interior; Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Time Out cover designed by Sadamitsu Fujita; Shigeru Mizuki manga; Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps without their blue caps: one of my signature stamps.

Scrapbook page 4

Above-Kamishibai frame and carry case; plus Yoshihiro Tatsumi gekiga manga panel from GARO magazine.

Scrapbook page 6

Above-Kyoto street and shop scenes; cartoon characterised Kansai airport tax card in Osaka; Mamoru Oshii; Fujii TV outside broadcast van; Tokyo record store receipt; assorted cartoon stickers and stamps including Doraemon and What’s Michael?

Scrapbook page 9

Above- postage stamps; B & W photo of Yayoi Kusama; illustration by Aya Takano; and centrepiece photo of my postcard printmaking production-the black shape on table is studio cat, Tabi, quality controller of production.

Scrapbook page 5

Above- me sketching in the Botanical Garden at U.C.L.A.; and studying the Aztec Sun Stone in Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Hollywood Hills; bookshop postcard, Tokyo.

This book is still under construction but more pages may be posted in the future. Posts of my graphic based material include: THE GRAFIK GUITAR BOOKBINDING THE GRAFIK GUITAR CARTOON MORE CARTOONS POSTCARD POSTCARD-Second Series POSTCARD-Third Series PRINT Fish Tai SCRAPBOOK SCRAPBOOK-More Pages SCRAPBOOK-A Few Pages More and the posts on production of my artist book/comic BLOTTING PAPER: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

CARTOON

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Doctor Comics

This post will feature a collection of my published cartoons of which there are around 30. Beginning with one of those I contributed to U: magazine whilst working at the University of Technology, Sydney. Subsequent cartoon posts will help me to grow online gallery of my single panel satirical work.

Satirical illustration to accompany article on changes in Sedition Law.

The cartoon on the article page.

Cover illustration for Form/Work journal-© 2003 Michael Hill.

This one was put together hurriedly in an afternoon whilst an academic journal on design theory (a special issue on architectural design) was being held up at the printers awaiting a cover illustration. I just grabbed some images from old comics I had in my office, invented some names for theories and collaged the various elements together.

How the cartoon looked on the cover of the journal.

The next one was based on what I saw at an end-of-semester design exhibition student party held on the roof of the Design Faculty building which housed a semi-abstract modernist sculpture that resembled a large scale bottle opener. I watched as this girl wandered up to it with a bottle of beer and proceeded, after a struggle of sorts, to open it, as if it was a functional bottle opener. It worked as she found a chink on the side that fitted her bottle. Then I heard this comment from one of the two onlooking students. No, really!

Form follows function at Design Opening afterparty-© 2003 Michael Hill.

How the cartoon looked in the magazine.

Posts of my graphic based material include: THE GRAFIK GUITAR BOOKBINDING THE GRAFIK GUITAR CARTOON MORE CARTOONS POSTCARD POSTCARD-Second Series POSTCARD-Third Series PRINT Fish Tai SCRAPBOOK SCRAPBOOK-More Pages SCRAPBOOK-A Few Pages More and the posts on production of my artist book/comic BLOTTING PAPER: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.47

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Doctor Comics

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 restaurant. 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.

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.46

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Doctor Comics

This is the second report documenting production of the fifth and concluding chapter of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. Creation and production of the new 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 dealings with 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

BLOTTING PAPER The Comic: Production Report No.45

Posted on September 4, 2015 by Doctor Comics

This is the first report documenting production of the fifth and concluding chapter of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. It continues on from those previously posted on the first chapter/issue The Ingurgitator, the second chapter/issue A Blot On His Escutcheon, the third chapter/issue The Chthonian Turn: The Cats’ Revenge and the fourth chapter/issue Beer, Chocolate and Comics (see links to posts #1-44 below). Creation and production of the new 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 in Germany and Japan it follows these characters in funny animal style and contains more recollections from the archives of my alias, Doctor Comics.

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

For details of the production of all four issues and a continuing visual history record and time-line overview of this project read all of the BLOTTING PAPER production reports on the following posts: Issue #1: No.1 No.2 No.3 No.4 No.5 No.6 No.7 No.8 No.9 No.10 No.11 No.12 No.13 Issue #2: No.14 No.15 No.16 No.17 No.18 No.19 No.20 No.21 No.22 No.23 No.24 No.25 No.26 No.27 No.28 No.29 Issue #3: No.30 No.31 No.32 No.33 No.34 No.35 No.36 Issue #4: No.37 No.38 No.39 No.40 No.41 No.42 No.43 No.44 Issue #5: No.45 No.46 No.47 No.48

POSTCARD

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Doctor Comics

This post begins a profile of an artistic activity that I have been active in for a few years, art postcards. These are some of the early cards. More will be added in subsequent posts to this one over time e.g POSTCARD 2, 3 etcetera. I hand-printed postcards created from a combination of drawing and printmaking. I would make odd 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 was the end of that particular batch and I would not repeat the design. Cards in an edition are all original prints, 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 colour vary; (2) the dragon stamp 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 seal, whilst generally in the same position, is upside down on two cards.

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 marked the end of an edition to celebrate completion, usually late in the afternoon as I never seem to print in the morning. After a few years I supplemented this hand-made approach with digital printing, making copies from the scanned original.

UPDATE 12 OCT 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.

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

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

Exhibition flyer designed by Michael Hill

Reverse of ABSTRACT exhibition flyer.

UPDATE 6 NOV 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)

Fukushima Kids 2013 Auction: 10 postcards, made in small sets of 5-30, each print a monoprint, different and 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.