Paper Trail

Been trying to get back in the habit of doing regular Paper Trail columns. It's hard to find time to do things you know? But here is something. Maybe I can pull together smaller columns throughout the rest of the month. Perhaps maybe.

A new Silent Army Storeroom opens in August. FB event page.

Kelly Sheehan interviews Rosetta Phone creators writer Mary Tamblyn and artist Bethany Hughston - Part one - Part two - Part three.

Comicsmas in July: Comics launch in Melbourne this weekend at All Star Comics. FB event page.

Dylan Horrocks Apologises at Chromacon 2015

Indira Neville comics essay Competent Boy Comics - An Explanation and follow up essay
New Zealand Comics are Not Competent Boy Comics. Indira's second essay includes a table of New Zealand Comics events and publications, the dismal amount of NZ women cartoonists featured in them, and possible rationale behind this. I couldn't disagree with 80% of the points Indira makes and don't feel intelligent enough to debate the other 20% but I am very grateful that Indira and other guest bloggers have been writing essays for the Square Planet Comics Blog on important issues in comics rather than the 'Simple Team Comics Boosterism' that seems to plague a lot of comics journalism.

Fred Atkins interviews Frank Candiloro

Simon Hanselmann has a new book out in November from Fantagraphics. Megahex is in it's third printing! Sweet.

This column is bought to you by the Barry Linton Kickstarter, c'mon get onboard! Finely crafted comics and prints by Barry delivered through the mail system into your sweet sweet hands.

Paper Trail masthead courtesy of Toby Morris.

Barry Linton Kickstarter

Big thanks to everyone who has supported our Kickstarter for Barry Linton's Aki in Tiko. We'll be announcing a few extra rewards this week and a stretch goal or two. Please share with your friends! All further support is welcomed in helping get Barry's work into print.

If you havn't already had a look, checkout Barry Linton's Aki in Tiko Kickstarter.

If you've only just heard of the Kickstarter, here's a quick intro:

Pre-order Barry Linton's new comic Aki in Tiko, a chronicle of teenage explorer Lucky Aki's further adventures through the islands and cultures of a re-imagined past. Aki in Tiko features the finely delineated black and white line work of one of New Zealand's most dedicated cartoonists, having honed his skills over forty years of making comics.

Barry Linton on Lucky Aki:

"What if there was a time, now out of mind, when there were many more islands of all sizes, and few or no continents, with busy island groups, trading, fishing, herding, farming and lots of seasonal voyaging, eh?"

"A youth might dream of a life sailing the myriad island trade ways, exploring the unknown fertile shores, and a youth might get lucky, then as now."

Barry Linton Biography by Dylan Horrocks

Barry Linton has been a key figure in New Zealand comics since days of the underground press in the early 1970s. His stories and art have appeared in many books, magazines and newspapers, including Strips, the Ponsonby Rag, Razor, Landfall, Pavement, White Fungus and the New Zealand Listener. He has created iconic posters and album covers for Red Mole and Herbs, among others. His comics have explored Auckland street life, music, sex and politics; relationships and parenthood; ancient history, UFOs and the future of humanity. One of his most ambitious projects to date is the adventures of Aki, a series of comics set in a carefully researched, lovingly reimagined neolithic Oceania.

To The I-Land - The Comics of Barry Linton by Dylan Horrocks

Preview pages from Aki in Tiko

Lucky Aki in the New Stone Age

20th Century BC

Instant Distance A3 Prints

At Craig Bay Gallery - Illustrations by Conrad Frieboe

As the President of the Conrad Freiboe Appreciation Club, I'm still pleasantly surprised to discover new illustration work by him, above excerpted from a children's reader.  I still know virtually nothing about Freiboe other than he was active as an illustrator for the New Zealand Ministry of Education during the 1940's -1960's as well as contributions to various magazines during these decades.

Other work by Conrad Freiboe:

Conrad Freiboe - The World of Tomorrow

Conrad Freiboe - Nick Westerman one

Conrad Freiboe - Nick Westerman two

Hal Eyre 1920's-1930's Original Cartoons

Hal Eyre photo taken by Noel Maitland from State Library of Queensland.

A selection of original cartoons by Australian cartoonist Hal Eyre (born 1875 -?).  Eyre commented in early twentieth century Australian magazine Lone Hand about his ambitions as a cartoonist:

"I wanted badly to become a cartoonist on a daily paper, and applied to the Observer , which I think was the first Australian daily to print cartoons regularly. The Observer , which belongs to the Courier Co., had unfortunately run into a libel action over a cartoon not long before, and had dropped that feature, so the prospect was not encouraging. My proposal was turned down, but I told the managing Director that I would be their cartoonist eventually. Later on I tried again and was appointed, and drew for that paper for a number of years. About 1908 I came to Sydney and took up my present position at the Daily Telegraph."