I'm not actually here today. Where I am is a story for another day. In my absence, here are some much cooler things to read...
Ed is another engaging comic from Sean Azzopardi who's rapidly becoming one of my favourite creators. It involves the life and loves of the titular Ed, a comic book artist and part-time slacker who's just as confused about life as the rest of us. It's a gentle read that hits a number of observational "ah yes!" moments along the way. Azzopardi has chosen a slightly more European / cartoony art style (for the Ed character at least) than other work I've seen from him, but it works well and carries a lot of emotion. I always come away from reading Sean's books with a warm, bittersweet feeling. You want to give his characters a big hug (and I never want to give anyone a hug), even when they fumble their way to a happy ending.
You can order ED (along with many of his other fine comics) from Sean's shop.
My old pal and longtime collaborator Nige Lowrey has put out another Odds And Ends collection of illustration, cartoons, caricatures and one new strip. Every time Nige puts out a book like this, I find myself scratching my head and asking why he's not in professional employment as a comic book artist - especially when there are far less talented artists earning big bucks... but that's just the way of the world. I firmly believe that Nige's big break could still be just round the corner... in the meantime, this gorgeous collection will just have to tide us over. I know he was selling copies at a recent con but I don't know how many he has left. If you want one, pop over to his blog and ask the question...
My newest small press discovery is Robert Wells. You may know him from his Comics On The Ration blog which I've mentioned here before as I'm an occasional contributor (when I have the time)... but until recently I had no idea just what an accomplished writer and artist Rob is. Curiously, we both started in the small press scene in the early 90s, yet I had no idea what Rob was up to, so I've had great fun catching up with some of his older work (you can read the majority of it online here). I especially recommend Gig Guide which reads like a companion piece to my own Top Ten of Bad Gig Behaviour.
The good news is that after a few years away from the scene, Rob has started writing and drawing his own strips again... and hopefully we'll be working together on something for a future PJANG / my new top secret comic project too. Pop along to Rob's new blog for weekly strips like the Jack Bauer piss-take above and news about what else Rob's getting up to. Add it to your blog list!
