Blog of the week: Surrealistic etiquette

Elliot Baggot is one half of the editing team (along with fellow cartoonist Mike Medaglia)for the excellent new small press magazine Dot Comics, a glossy well designed publication that explores the links between digital comics and print. The magazine features reprints of a selection of well respected small press webcomics such as Phillipa Rice's My Cardboard Life and David O'Connel's Tozo ,creator interviews, and an insightful article on the future of digits comics from man-in-the-know Paul Gravett.

However Elliot is a talented cartoonist in his own respect and obviously has a flair for design, as the sophisticated yet deliciously simple layout of his blog suggests. His blog caught my eye because it intermingles nicely reflections on his own process of comics and his involvement with the UK small press, amongst reviews and (nicely tying in with my last post) his thoughts on more classical art, fashion, and architecture.

Elliot's writing is articulate and although slightly academic is easy to digest-which is by no means a bad thing, it makes the whole thing a pleasure to read, you can sense his passion and the breath of knowledge for his subject and it tends to rub off on the reader.

Elliot's comic he produced as his entry to the London Print Studio comics internship (sadly now in its last year I believe) is also fantastic, a brilliant example of how malleable comics is as an art form, as here Elliot follows in McCloud's footsteps and combines the academic/cultural/historical with the pictorial, giving a cultural history of the perception of comics.

Well worth a read!

Blog of the week: Paralellograma

This weeks blog of the week has nothing to do with comics, book covers, animation, or graphic design, but don't be disheartened, its still a very good blog! Parrellograma (the blog name being taken from an excellent album by folk singer Linda Perhacs, which happens to be the blogger's favourite) is a fairly neat representation of the interests and talents of one Emma Mould, and if you are into the cult and unusual, or wish to broaden your intellectual palette, this is certainly the place to go. With film and book reviews, snippets of gender and post-colonial theory with one foot firmly in the world of reality and popular(ish) culture, and examples of Emma's excellent creative writing (both published and unpublished) Parrellograma is certainly a 'variety is the spice of life' kind of blog.
I would also highly recommend reading any music related article she has written, as she does so with a love and a knowledge for the subject that far outstrips any hack NME journalist. She tackles bootlegging, confessional singer-songwriters, and writes a really interesting article on the disease that is record collecting that manages to reference Walter Benjamin along the way.

Blog of the week: Avoid The Future

Avoid The Future is an incredibly well designed blog 'based on a secret island fortress somewhere between the UK and France' (taken from the about us section of the site). It's great to see a blog that not only seems to have its finger on the pulse of the international small press scene but it also nice to look at too. The writers at ATF wade through the yards and yards of juvenile crap you often find at a comic convention (big breasted super heroines a go-go) to bring you the tastiest looking treats which tell me I've still got a way to go when it comes to knowing my shit about small press comics. But I'm not proud, I'm glad that ATF are out there to fill in the gaps in my knowledge and introduce me to stuff I may have otherwise never found on my own. They also review and interview indie heavy weights such as James Kochalka and Johnny Ryan as well as industry professionals (they seem to have pretty good links with Toronoto based Koyama Press) and comic book shop owners. Their interviews seem pretty well researched, in-depth, and yet with a touch of playful irreverence. Their latest batch of one question interviews will introduce you to a world of lesser known artists and interesting sounding projects (such as a Tintin sketchbook and probably the only appealing comic from Slave Labour Graphics* that's ever caught my eye-Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer). Check out ATF here.

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*Slave Labour Graphics are notorious for some pretty cringe worthy goth themed comics

Blog of the week: Drawn!

Although the message at the top of the blog claims that the writers have gone on summer holiday, I have seen a sneaky post from the 1st of September, so it may be that they are back. Regardless of whether they are posting at present or not Drawn! is a brilliant blog about cartooning, illustration, comics, and animation, which has postdated countless short but sweet entries linking you to countless hidden gems. With more than a handful of talented contributors (including Jay Stephens whose kid comic Oh, Brother! I will be looking at a later date) and a fairly open submissions policy, Drawn! is well worth your time.

Blog of the week: World Comics India

Not really a blog this time, but a fantastic website. I may sit comfortably in my flat reading comics like Palestine and Persepolis romanticising the struggles of people in oppressive situations and impoverished areas but World Comics India as part of the World Comics Network are actually seeking to use comics as a driving force for social change and to give those communities who could otherwise not articulate their problems a voice. Started in the early nineties when political cartoonist Sharad Sharma was producing posters for a literacy campaign in Rajasthan, after nine years of organising comic making workshops in the communities across India, they decided to go global and registered as an official organisation. World Comics India is a collective of grassroots activists, students, journalists, cartoonists, and artists, using comics as a communicative tool as well as a means of self expression. The groups main aim is to educate communities in creating their own wallposter comics for use in grassroot local campaigns. They provide training to staff and activists for NGOs (non governmental organisations), and have collaborated with Oxfam, Unicef, Pride, World Vision, Save The Children and many more worth while organisations. They publish anthologies on development as well as training and educational manuals in a variety of languages. Their site is pretty comprehensive but upon further investigation there is a blog too, where you can follow the progress of the project regularly. The blog is here and the site is here.

Blog of the week: Fabulas Panicas, the comics of Alejandro Jodorowsky

Check out the weird psychedelic pop art strangeness of these comics by cult director of midnight movie El Topo, Alejandro Jodorowsky at the blog Fabulas Panicas. Each page lenght strip is crude, colourful, and unless you can read Spanish you'll have no idea what is going on (although to be honest I even doubt that being bi-lingual will help all that much). He uses a range of styles and techniques including collage, various geometric shapes and patterns, characters that resemble the shapeless blobs in early animated kids tv, and rounding it all off with a lovely pulp cheap printing quality. Overall the effect seems to be Yellow Submarine meets the Manson family, and a recurring character does appear like some sort of hippy cult leader (although he could just as easily be Jodorowsky's interpretation of God). I even liked this blog so much I had to include two photos of it. Click here to go to the blog.

Blog of the week: Montague Projects Blog

Linked from last weeks blog of the week, the Montague Projects Blog is another non comics blog but fantastic non the less. This blog offers a fantastic array of vintage book design including some great books linking insects and architecture, and some great psychology, philosophy, and science books.

Click on the picture below.

Blog of the week: A Journey Round My Skull

Not really comics, but this fantastic and frequently updated blog offers graphic design, art, and illustration weirdness from all from around the world. From off the wall and quite frightening children's books, to Japanese baseball cards, poster art and beyond, A Journey Round My Skull is the perfect blog for the collector who doesn't want to leave the house. Check it out here.