bookbinding – Doctor Comics

GOING DEEPER INTO PRODUCTION MODE! Progress report on my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 3, The Chthonian Turn. It is subtitled The Cats’ Revenge as it starts heading in the direction of a funny animal comic. I am approaching the mid-way point in completion of the artwork, averaging one page per day. It’s been a struggle maintaining this rate.

Title page for Chapter 3–© 2014 Michael Hill. — _{Chapter title page–© 2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

Serial production offers the opportunity of revisiting the work at some future date with the opportunity to make changes. With hindsight, the possibility of reworking things and adding new material seems appealing. One hopes it would improve the material…as this wouldn’t happen till after I have published a first edition.

Sorting out page numbers and doodling–© 2014 Michael Hill. — _{Sorting out page numbers and doodling–© 2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

About half of this issue is being hand-printed and/or painted. Those are the areas I have spent most of the time working on. The remaining half will be digitally printed. Most of the page numbers are being stamped, some directly onto the page, others scanned then printed.

Sample of hand-printed pages–© 2014 Michael Hill. — _{Sample of hand-printed and painted pages–© 2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

Over the past month I have completed the artwork, printing and the finishing stages of the labelling, stapling and bookbinding. I started out stitching the sections together but found that I lacked the skills to do the job properly. I abandoned this approach and switched back to the simpler form of stapling…however, I shall endeavour to master stitching techniques in future.

Page from Chapter 3–© 2014 Michael Hill. — _{Page from Chapter 3–© 2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

It looks interesting as a volume being half hand-printed and half digitally printed. The varying pages are sometimes shuffled together. In addition to adding pages of colour and print-made texture this method has resulted in a shorter period of production.

Two of the handprinted pages from Chapter 3–© 2014 Michael Hill. — _{Two of the hand-printed pages from Chapter 3–© 2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

The feline characters continue to assert themselves. This altered the generic pattern from auto-bio to funny animal comics with the odd not so humorous scene.

Double page hand printed spread from Chapter 3–© 2014 Michael Hill. — _{Double page hand printed spread from Chapter 3–© 2014 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

Notice of publication should be posted on this Blog around the end of the month. It is intended take place at a comics event in Germany…but we will have to wait and see about that, Michael.

My artist book, The Grafik Guitar, has undergone a marked transformation by being bound and covered by designer Imogen Yang. This has resulted in an elegant and artistic encasing collection of the prints.

The Grafik Guitar artist book, front cover-bookbinding design by Imogen Yang. (Photo-© 2013 Michael Hill). — _{The Grafik Guitar artist book with cover and binding design by Imogen Yang. (Photo-© 2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

The Grafik Guitar artist book, endpapers. (Photo-© 2013 Michael Hill). — _{The Grafik Guitar artist book, endpapers. (Photo-© 2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

The book consists of 38 prints on the theme of deconstructing the elements of the guitar. The images were carved in lino and wood. I followed the Japanese creative print (sosaku hanga) approach using Japanese knives, gouges and chisels. The book was then printed on Chinese 2 ply paper with Dr. Ph. Martin’s water colour ink and some sumi.

The Grafik Guitar artist book, pages. (Photo-© 2013 Michael Hill). — _{Sample spread fromThe Grafik Guitar artist book. (Photo-© 2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

Imogen emboss-printed the guitar strings block onto a strip of kangaroo skin for the front cover. Then she got me add my MH signature chop. Her use of 6 thick binding strings to the front and back cover boards echoes the guitar’s 6 strings. I can’t explain the stitching pattern she has employed to bind the pages together. As an iteration of the cover design she used my separate guitar strings prints for the endpapers.

The Grafik Guitar artist book, cover and stitching, bookbinding design by Imogen Yang. (Photo-© 2013 Michael Hill). — _{The Grafik Guitar artist book, cover and stitching-bookbinding design by Imogen Yang. (Photo-© 2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

The book is currently on display at the Art Gallery of NSW. It is part of the 16th annual exhibition of the Australian Bookbinders. The exhibition runs from 7th November to 14th December in the Research library and archive.

_{The Grafik Guitar artist book on display in the Art Gallery of NSW.} _{(Photo-© 2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

THE MAKING OF The Grafik Guitar ARTIST BOOK This follow-up addition to the above post shows some of the printmaking. I made 38 monoprints on the theme of the deconstruction of some elements of the acoustic guitar. These included the machine head, tuning pegs, fretboard, strings and sound hole. The separate elements were carved in lino or wood then overlaid in various combinations and intensities to form composite monoprints. The Japanese creative print method (sosaku hanga) was employed. This blocks were carved with Japanese knives and chisels. They were printed on Chinese paper with water colour ink, sumi and additional hand colouring.

GrafikGuitar 3-96 — _{Linocut ink composite print layered on block print. (Photo-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

GrafikGuitar 6-96 — _{Linocut ink composite print over block print.(Photo-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

GrafikGuitar 7-96 — _{Linocut ink composite print over block print. (Photo-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

GrafikGuitar 4-96 — _{Linocut ink composite print over block print. (Photo-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

GrafikGuitar 8-96 — _{Linocut ink composite print over block print. (Photo-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

GrafikGuitar 9-96 — _{Linocut ink composite print over block print.(Photo-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

GrafikGuitar 1-96 — _{Single linocut ink print of strings and sound hole over block print. (Photo-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill} _{a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

I incorporated elements of that design in a subsequent project. It involved the design of the cover for publication of the conference proceedings of the international popular music studies conference. Titled CHANGING SOUNDS: New Directions And Configurations In Popular Music in Sydney, IASPM 1999. (Picture below). I also presented a research paper at that conference.