Clear Ink Comics

Nich Angell – Kickstarter Campaign

Mike Yeoman — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:47:31 +0000

Nich Angell, writer and illustrator of awesome daily written Cat and Meringue and the graphic novel 7String is looking for help producing Volume 2 of 7String. Probably the first of many aspiring creators he is applying for funding through Kickstarter. If you want to help click the link here

Test 3

Sean M Smith — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 11:23:12 +0000

This is a test caption

Test 2

Sean M Smith — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 11:02:27 +0000

Test Comic

admin — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 10:56:02 +0000

Michael Lomon: Ain’t It Dead Yet?

Clear Ink Comics — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Well, half a year goes by and here we are again, just as a bi-monthly momentum had begun to set in. Oy Vey….

Much has taken place in the land of me and my magical picture books. Metal Between Two Faces #2 is very, very close to inking completion and in general, I’m pleased with the improvements in clarity, character consistency and increased world building ambitions. There are a couple of pages where concept perhaps outweighed execution, but hey, far be it for me to point out where.

Before we go much further, here’s an example of an autopsy page. Hopefully, the consistency of the hatching makes for a more streamlined read-through.

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ELCAF

Virgil — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:21:00 +0000

You know the old proverb about buses. Well I have a feeling that even that is not relevent to the comic scene so far this year. We here at ClearInk have already mentioned conventions going on in the London area (Kapow / BD Comics Passion / Camden Crawl / Comica) over the last few months. So what does the comic scene need? You guessed it. Another Comic Convention.

This Sunday (17th June) is going to be the first East London Comics and Arts Festival (ELCAF). Its in Shoreditch and aims to “showcase the plethora of youthful talent in the comics and graphic art scene in London and the UK and also to bring something fresh to our locals by drawing talent from abroad to take part in the event”.

Events include a “Drawing Relay Race” and a ”Conversation with Paul Gravett”.

So if your thirst has not been quenched by the sea of conventions flowing through this city, head over to east London.

Ill be there. If you go, let us know what you think!

Getting into the Scene – Independent Comics

Mike Yeoman — Mon, 28 May 2012 09:22:00 +0000

Was Comiket already a month ago? It only seems like days ago that James was bemoaning the fact that seeing so many awesome comics in one day can lead to severe wallet drainage. But was that really a month ago? That’s almost ancient history if one considers it in Twitter time (where 5 seconds is like, totally ages ago)

So on that basis the notes I have found in my hard drive must be considered as relics of a bygone era. Yet these notes of far April contain resonance with today’s age – the modern age of May. There is much that may be learnt by the antiquated scroll called ‘Getting into Comics (Learnings From Comiket)’

Saturday of April in the 21^st day 2012

It has to be said that we were overcome with the warmth of our fellow creators in Comiket. We had hoped this would be the case, that they would be good people through and through. Both my fellow traveller James and I had a comic in hand and wanted to know – how can we join this party, how can we be part of this scene? We were told, and I have recorded below for posterity’s sake.

1) Get that comic down

No, please don’t walk away. I know that you know this is obvious. But it’s often the first hurdle that people stumble on. So let me re-assure you that most of the people we spoke to in Comica had some sort of 9 to 5 action going on and this meant on average that a comic would take between 6 months to a year to produce. I know I found this very reassuring.

2) Have a stall at a comic event

We would recommend either Comica or the Alternate Press Fairin London. But this is only through our experience of talking to the people there. I’m sure the other festivals & fairs are just as brilliant.

As comic enthusiasts we at ClearInkComics had an awesome time and talking to the people at Comica 2012 a lot of the stall holders were telling us how they got much more involved after getting a stall. However, having a stall is nothing if you don’t follow the next step…

3) Be sociable…

If you have a stall then engage with the people around you and the people walking around. My partner runs a craft fair stall and we’ve been in situations where we’ve been next to some really friendly people who engage with everyone around them and then some people who seemed to think that a stall was just a good place to hide behind with an ipad. It’s kind of obvious who gets the best out of the day.

4) …And then meet up as often as you can

The other thing about being sociable is getting involved in some of the social clubs set up for comics. There’s the Comica Social Club and there is also the Graphic Novel: Critiques and Collaboration meetup group. (btw, if you know any more groups do let us know!) Not only will you meet some great people you’ll also start getting involved in anthologies and probably many other projects that you didn’t expect.

5) Don’t buy a Rolls Royce on credit

If there was any real justice in the world then the people at these comic events would be making (at the very least) a comfortable living out of it. As it is the general message we got was ‘Doing this is awesome. When it comes to money we don’t make any money – and we don’t lose any money either.’ So yeah, just to confirm what you probably already know and should feel in your heart of hearts – you want to do this because you love it – because you love comics.

Strip Magazine….comic!

Virgil — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:27:00 +0000

Strip Magazine as it is known in print (but you’d be advised to search its internet pseudonym Strip Comic Magazine if you want to avoid dancing girls) came onto the scene in October 2011. It’s an anthology series much in the same vein as 2000AD and is produced by Print Media Productions, a new Lancasterbased publisher with strong links to the Bosnian and Croatian comic scene thanks to the founder Ivo Milicevic.

It’s had contributions from the likes of PJ Holden (Judge Dredd), John McCrea (The Boys), and John Ridgway (Commando and many more). At 68 pages it has enough room to offer up a pretty mixed bag of comic feed whether it’s old, new, funny or action packed. It has regular stories such as; the more nostalgic fantasy offerings of Age of Heroes (James Hudnall and John Ridgeway), Black Ops Extreme, which is very much in the vein of the older Commando comics along side regular one page slapstick jabs at superhero comics, Cosmic Patrol.

So far I have only seen four issues but some things have stood out for me. I am quite a fan of Warpaint. The story, by Phil Hester, of a modern day urchin chased by age old myths and monsters combined with some very slick art from John McCrea is a wonderful combo, which is bringing out a more aboriginal slant on a classic theme.

I quite enjoyed the short Cold Hard Facts (Matt Cossin and R A Jones) where (SPOILER ALERT) the cryogenically frozen body of Walt Disney is revived in a dystopian future, but then I am a sucker for a futureshock style story.

The regular feature Devil’s Heritage (Jerome Felix, Paul Gastine) with its relic hunting and Nazi thriller theme is intriguing in story and style. Its European feel really reminded me of younger days playing the Brokensword games. In my ignorance this is understandable considering the work is taken from the creator’s French published graphic novel series of the same name, just in French, of course.

In addition to these regular stories there are regular spotlights on UK based comic shops, interviews with artists and a few condensed histories and traditions of the UK comic industry.

True to the spirit of their accounts of the small press scene and the inception of certain home grown comic flagships it is not just established names getting into Strip Magazine. The Strip Challenge invites 6 page submissions to be featured as one offs or part of long running stories, if they like it they might print the rest. So far I found Abraham Martinez and Hugo Abramburo’s story of warring gods in south America an enjoyable addition I may not have seen otherwise. I look forward to more eye openers and names to remember.

The worst thing I could probably say about Strip Magazine is that most of us probably aren’t going to be engaged by everything in it. Not because of the quality but because there is a broad spectrum of art, story styles and genres. But I make you a promise there will be at least one piece if not many more within Strip Magazine that you will find of interest.

Kapow Comic Convention

James Evans — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:04:00 +0000

Yes, it’s true. I have seen it with my own eyes. There is a thing called a “Sun” and the UK is basking within its warm glow. But people of a comic loving nature may need a little more to fully warm those cockles… Well how about a(nother) Comic Convention?

This years Kapow Comic Convention is being held on the 19th & 20th May at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. Last years event was epic and it seems that 2012 is also going to be a memorable occasion, with Warren Ellis, Joe Quesada, Frank Quietly and many many more attending.

Tickets for the event are still available at £35 for the whole weekend or £20 for a single day.

Accent UK: Mocca 2012

Clear Ink Comics — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:01:00 +0000

We really enjoyed last year’s Mocca Fest, and did so well that we booked a table for this years event there and then. Of course, there’s always a worry when you do really well at a Convention that it might have been a ‘one off’, and that a return to the same event might not be anywhere near as successful, but we’d decided to just go for it and see what happens.

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