meanwhile, the winds of change are blowing through banal pig towers (first floor flat) like a man whistling over a ropey 80's ballad.
firstly, i have decided that because banal pig 4 is destined to be the greatest comic ever seen, i am going to take my time to make every detail as perfect as the last, if not more perfect. therefore, i am not going to rush to finish it in time for the bristol expo. dry those tears though, because i have decided to do a FULL COLOUR print edition of the best of the banal pig web funnies, featuring some more guest artists (and probably some new ones too) in time for Bristol. hurray! therefore, make the most of the funnies page as it stands now as i may be removing it from view.
also, i shall be consolidating all my web-based activity in an uber-site, with an online shop and everything, coming very soon (when i work out how the internet works)
'citing!
Showing posts with label banal pig 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label banal pig 4. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
banal pig 4 letter
dear sir or madam
please find attached some pictures from banal pig 4. i hope to get this comic finished by the bristol expo in may, but have unfortunately not finished a page yet. they are plain jane (and her friend whose name is also jane), untitled cat, uncle ken and homeless goose. thanks for your time, and i look forward to hearing from you.
regards
steve tillotson
Monday, January 07, 2008
new untitled cat
here's something new for you pig lovers! i'm doing this for a forthcoming issue of meat magazine which is concentrating on british alternative comics. those of you with eagle's eyes will spot the character "untitled cat" from the web funnies, albeit slightly less ugly, and another character whose name is john. the strip is rather silly, and is also an exercise in fancy hatching.
banal pig 4 is also continuing apace, and i'm going to buy a badgemaker this week. sweet!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Banal Pig's Review of the Year 2007 (Part One)
In the spirit of many a lazy journalist at this time of year, I have decided to take a look back at the last 12 months of banal piggery, perhaps it will teach me some lessons; perhaps it will waste half an hour- we shall see.
January
January found me in chipper mood, sometimes you do get a bit enthusiastic at the promise of a new year, a new start and all that shit, even though time rolls on whatever us humans call it. I made another list of “Reasons to be cheerful” which included:
crispy bacon
Queen
unsolicited praise
rowdy blues music
puns
art that i couldnt do
snow
the smell of a pub as you walk past
aw… I am an optimist you know.
In comics, I was collating the BP Portrait Prize Anthology which was a good experience, I enjoyed the editing side of things and it was nice to put something out fairly quickly and have a mixed selection. Top Shelf’s Brett Warnock described it as “hit and miss”, which I suppose is fair enough, but I think it’s a better quality of Antho than many out there.
Also in the spirit of new opportunities, I was attempting to raise the profile of the Banal Pig brand, and I think I have done to some extent with the Web Funnies and that, but we’ve still not cracked how to engage with punters at comic expos. I think it’s impossible.
February
I did this quite decent banal pig for the web and mini comix thing anthology, but they didn’t use it for some reason. I’m not doing another one.
March
Here’s an exerpt from my report from the Web and Mini Comix thing:
"it was quite a good day, and as the punters there are our specific target market we did probably as well in one day as we usually do over the weekend at the big cons. the new anthology went down quite well and there were quite a few of the contributors there to pick up their issues. i didnt actually buy anything but there was some decent stuff there- The Sound of Drowning, Dan Locke's Green comics, Monkeys Might Puke, Beaver and Steve spring to mind - there was plenty of shite there too. Plenty of fucking awful shite. Gareth managed to get Man Man 3 out too, and we were also selling good old Oli East’s Trains Are Mint which also went down well."
We're doing it again this year, by the way.
Also this selection of Road Jokes, which I feel are worth repeating:
What does a road say when he wishes to thank you?
TAR!
Whats a Road's favourite Grandmaster Flash song?
WHITE LINES!
What does a baby road do before it can walk?
KERB CRAWLING!
But of course, March was most famous for the “Sour Grapes” post, in which I vented my frustrations about the state of british small press comics. This caused a bit of stir, particularly with those people who I (and others) vented about, and I’m not going to repeat any of it here as it is history (although you can read the post and it’s comments if you like). Maybe it was unwise to blog in such a way, but it was only the difference between me thinking it and saying it, and I didn’t think anyone would read it anyway.
April
April marked the end of the financial year, and I was contemplating my accounts thusly:
“Today i am taking stock of my comics business as the financial year is all but wrapped up. i've made a considerable loss and am wondering where my profit margins can be increased. buying a laser printer and doing the job myself is one option, not doing the big conventions, and putting up the price of the comic are all options, none of them easy. hopefully i'll get some tax back again, but i've got to start being a bit more canny, which is not the side of the business i'm interested in. any ideas?”
(Whenever I write “any ideas?” no-one ever responds. I’m the same generally. A covert blog reader but not commenter, and however I try to encourage the comments, it doesn’t make a difference.)
In relation to the above, I didn’t really make any changes, but on balance this year’s Birmingham Con was too expensive (we shouldn’t have even got out of bed on the Sunday), and I don’t think we’ll bother this year. I do feel a bit ambivalent towards money making, I am in no way a ruthless business man- I always want to give the reader value for money. This doesn’t really make my business very lucrative, but value for money is my core business plan, and it has led to repeat purchases and word of mouth and all that, and hopefully that will continue to grow.
The rest of April was Ethel Sparrowhawk previews, more of which presently.
May
Of course, May was the highlight of the comics year, the Bristol Comics Expo, the reason I busted my balls to get Ethel Sparrowhawk finished (I actually took a week off work- dedication eh?). The reason it’s my highlight is because its ten minutes down the road from my house, so there’s no extra costs and there’s plenty of people I know. Ethel went down (sold) well, and we got some nice big ups from (small press stalwart) Paul Rainey and (V for Vendetta artist) David Lloyd, and I think it was a good choice to do a change of direction at this stage, and it was a different way of working, collaborating with the lovely Jemima Von Schindelberg, to make something I certainly couldn’t have come up with on my own.
I was also contemplating a small press community website thing, where it would be easy to sell and give recommendations and that sort of thing, but to be honest I haven’t given it a second thought since then.
One thing I have learned this year is that you really have to plough your own field, do your best, work hard, etc and this brings its own rewards. No-one else is going to do it for you (me). Although I haven’t seen any tangible rewards yet, I am confident they will appear.
June
Very exciting things happened in June, yes that’s right, I won £54 on a scratchcard! Happy times.
Gareth’s website, Appalling Nonsense was created too, and I laid out my hopes and dreams for BP4:
“anyway, i was also thinking about making longer comics, and i really want to step it up a notch with banal pig 4. my current vision (sounds a bit pretentious doesnt it?) involves 2 levels of comics- i.e. a main strip and a sub-strip running alongside/under/against it, and i want to continue to develop the banal pig "universe" (again this sounds a bit poncy, but it is fairly common comic speak i think) and feature more of the peripheral characters and make the general look a bit more dense, or at least vary the layouts a bit more. this means that it wont be ready for birmingham, but i'll have JBFCSS2 and maybe another minicomic, and i've got my fingers in a few other pies.”
One thing that I always do is underestimate the time it takes to do anything. Jolly Bear 2 was just about ready for Birmingham, and I have decided to really take my time with BP4 and have it out for Bristol in May ’08, but it will be worth it- having started drawing it, it is actually still quite similar to this, but there wont be as many sub strips. I cant remember what other pies they were.
I was moaning because of my shit job, as is my wont from time to time, and I started doing the ROK comics thing, in the hope of winning $10,000 (ha!). I think all competitions are flawed, in as much as I never win them.
So that’s it for part one, the first six months, but I’ll be back soon with part two probably….
January
January found me in chipper mood, sometimes you do get a bit enthusiastic at the promise of a new year, a new start and all that shit, even though time rolls on whatever us humans call it. I made another list of “Reasons to be cheerful” which included:
crispy bacon
Queen
unsolicited praise
rowdy blues music
puns
art that i couldnt do
snow
the smell of a pub as you walk past
aw… I am an optimist you know.
In comics, I was collating the BP Portrait Prize Anthology which was a good experience, I enjoyed the editing side of things and it was nice to put something out fairly quickly and have a mixed selection. Top Shelf’s Brett Warnock described it as “hit and miss”, which I suppose is fair enough, but I think it’s a better quality of Antho than many out there.
Also in the spirit of new opportunities, I was attempting to raise the profile of the Banal Pig brand, and I think I have done to some extent with the Web Funnies and that, but we’ve still not cracked how to engage with punters at comic expos. I think it’s impossible.
February
I did this quite decent banal pig for the web and mini comix thing anthology, but they didn’t use it for some reason. I’m not doing another one.
March
Here’s an exerpt from my report from the Web and Mini Comix thing:
"it was quite a good day, and as the punters there are our specific target market we did probably as well in one day as we usually do over the weekend at the big cons. the new anthology went down quite well and there were quite a few of the contributors there to pick up their issues. i didnt actually buy anything but there was some decent stuff there- The Sound of Drowning, Dan Locke's Green comics, Monkeys Might Puke, Beaver and Steve spring to mind - there was plenty of shite there too. Plenty of fucking awful shite. Gareth managed to get Man Man 3 out too, and we were also selling good old Oli East’s Trains Are Mint which also went down well."
We're doing it again this year, by the way.
Also this selection of Road Jokes, which I feel are worth repeating:
What does a road say when he wishes to thank you?
TAR!
Whats a Road's favourite Grandmaster Flash song?
WHITE LINES!
What does a baby road do before it can walk?
KERB CRAWLING!
But of course, March was most famous for the “Sour Grapes” post, in which I vented my frustrations about the state of british small press comics. This caused a bit of stir, particularly with those people who I (and others) vented about, and I’m not going to repeat any of it here as it is history (although you can read the post and it’s comments if you like). Maybe it was unwise to blog in such a way, but it was only the difference between me thinking it and saying it, and I didn’t think anyone would read it anyway.
April
April marked the end of the financial year, and I was contemplating my accounts thusly:
“Today i am taking stock of my comics business as the financial year is all but wrapped up. i've made a considerable loss and am wondering where my profit margins can be increased. buying a laser printer and doing the job myself is one option, not doing the big conventions, and putting up the price of the comic are all options, none of them easy. hopefully i'll get some tax back again, but i've got to start being a bit more canny, which is not the side of the business i'm interested in. any ideas?”
(Whenever I write “any ideas?” no-one ever responds. I’m the same generally. A covert blog reader but not commenter, and however I try to encourage the comments, it doesn’t make a difference.)
In relation to the above, I didn’t really make any changes, but on balance this year’s Birmingham Con was too expensive (we shouldn’t have even got out of bed on the Sunday), and I don’t think we’ll bother this year. I do feel a bit ambivalent towards money making, I am in no way a ruthless business man- I always want to give the reader value for money. This doesn’t really make my business very lucrative, but value for money is my core business plan, and it has led to repeat purchases and word of mouth and all that, and hopefully that will continue to grow.
The rest of April was Ethel Sparrowhawk previews, more of which presently.
May
Of course, May was the highlight of the comics year, the Bristol Comics Expo, the reason I busted my balls to get Ethel Sparrowhawk finished (I actually took a week off work- dedication eh?). The reason it’s my highlight is because its ten minutes down the road from my house, so there’s no extra costs and there’s plenty of people I know. Ethel went down (sold) well, and we got some nice big ups from (small press stalwart) Paul Rainey and (V for Vendetta artist) David Lloyd, and I think it was a good choice to do a change of direction at this stage, and it was a different way of working, collaborating with the lovely Jemima Von Schindelberg, to make something I certainly couldn’t have come up with on my own.
I was also contemplating a small press community website thing, where it would be easy to sell and give recommendations and that sort of thing, but to be honest I haven’t given it a second thought since then.
One thing I have learned this year is that you really have to plough your own field, do your best, work hard, etc and this brings its own rewards. No-one else is going to do it for you (me). Although I haven’t seen any tangible rewards yet, I am confident they will appear.
June
Very exciting things happened in June, yes that’s right, I won £54 on a scratchcard! Happy times.
Gareth’s website, Appalling Nonsense was created too, and I laid out my hopes and dreams for BP4:
“anyway, i was also thinking about making longer comics, and i really want to step it up a notch with banal pig 4. my current vision (sounds a bit pretentious doesnt it?) involves 2 levels of comics- i.e. a main strip and a sub-strip running alongside/under/against it, and i want to continue to develop the banal pig "universe" (again this sounds a bit poncy, but it is fairly common comic speak i think) and feature more of the peripheral characters and make the general look a bit more dense, or at least vary the layouts a bit more. this means that it wont be ready for birmingham, but i'll have JBFCSS2 and maybe another minicomic, and i've got my fingers in a few other pies.”
One thing that I always do is underestimate the time it takes to do anything. Jolly Bear 2 was just about ready for Birmingham, and I have decided to really take my time with BP4 and have it out for Bristol in May ’08, but it will be worth it- having started drawing it, it is actually still quite similar to this, but there wont be as many sub strips. I cant remember what other pies they were.
I was moaning because of my shit job, as is my wont from time to time, and I started doing the ROK comics thing, in the hope of winning $10,000 (ha!). I think all competitions are flawed, in as much as I never win them.
So that’s it for part one, the first six months, but I’ll be back soon with part two probably….
Saturday, December 08, 2007
not christmas yet
hello.
although its a bit pointless to blog about the fact that i'm not really doing anything newsworthy at the moment, here it is anyway. i've bought an A3 scanner which i can't make work, i'm really gay for scrabulous on facebook (feel free to challenge me to a game), and i'm working on banal pig IV- citizens on patrol, which i'm working hard on (hee hee, hard on!) so it's amazing.
thanks for the fan club suggestions, i will sort that out soon- i'm gonna invest in a badge maker.
dont forget, banal pig artwork for sale- the ideal christmas and other religious festivals present, but why need an excuse?- go on treat yourself- limited stocks remaining!*
*only one of each left, except the one that i've sold, and the one i gave away.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
portrait corner number 1
here's a little thing i did ages ago which made myself laugh upon looking at it again.
meanwhile, i am roughing out banal pig 4 which is looking pretty good already i reckons. pig lovers can look forward to fez man dying in every panel, a 6 page cat dad story, 2 uncle ken stories and etceteras.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Post 97- Chatterings
Yes friends it's very nearly the anniversary of this blog, and its also nearly the 100th post. so what have we learned? that i write down things that i am planning to do and then a bit later i either do them or dont bother. sometimes i cause controversy and sometimes i make up puns, and reprint stories that i have written.
by the way, when i lived in london and only used to work 4 days a week (those were the days lol! ha ha!) i started to write some novels. the first one was about a mysterious event which wiped out all but about 100 people, basically your last man on earth fantasy, but with the idea that the few remaining survivors were all bastards, like being on big brother or something. i got to about chapter three and got cold feet. the second one i though had a bit more potential. i stole the premise from an obnoxious african woman who gareth went to a creative writing course with, and the name of her novel was "fourteen intelligent men build a castle". i dont know what her story was actually about or anything and dont care, but mine was an (attempted) victorian h.g wells pastiche about this group of gents who are brought together to a remote scottish isle/loch/ whatever to build a castle for a mysterious genius recluse (you know the type), and certain members of the party start dying, you know, mysterious. anyway, maybe i'm writing this so i dont forget it forever, but if there's anyone who'd like to read either of these books, send me a cheque for £15,000 and i'll send you the manuscript, and we'll split the profits 50:50.
anyway, i was also thinking about making longer comics, and i really want to step it up a notch with banal pig 4. my current vision (sounds a bit pretentious doesnt it?) involves 2 levels of comics- i.e. a main strip and a sub-strip running alongside/under/against it, and i want to continue to develop the banal pig "universe" (againy this sounds a bit poncy, but it is fairly common comic speak i think) and feature more of the peripheral characters and make the general look a bit more dense, or at least vary the layouts a bit more. this means that it wont be ready for birmingham, but i'll have JBFCSS2 and maybe another minicomic, and i've got my fingers in a few other pies.
there's exciting things going on over at Man Man's house too. Gareth's decided that he's gonna take on a few more challenging projects, including a development of the bastard teachers thing from the portrait anthology, and an adaption of his own short story about a young boy who decides to make himself some sex dolls, with varying successes.
there's also a reasonable (unsolicited) review in the new Comics International no 202, of Man Man 1 & 2, which says it's funny and good value for money, and then gives it a lukewarm 6 out of 10.
anyway, i'm off on me holidays now, laters!
by the way, when i lived in london and only used to work 4 days a week (those were the days lol! ha ha!) i started to write some novels. the first one was about a mysterious event which wiped out all but about 100 people, basically your last man on earth fantasy, but with the idea that the few remaining survivors were all bastards, like being on big brother or something. i got to about chapter three and got cold feet. the second one i though had a bit more potential. i stole the premise from an obnoxious african woman who gareth went to a creative writing course with, and the name of her novel was "fourteen intelligent men build a castle". i dont know what her story was actually about or anything and dont care, but mine was an (attempted) victorian h.g wells pastiche about this group of gents who are brought together to a remote scottish isle/loch/ whatever to build a castle for a mysterious genius recluse (you know the type), and certain members of the party start dying, you know, mysterious. anyway, maybe i'm writing this so i dont forget it forever, but if there's anyone who'd like to read either of these books, send me a cheque for £15,000 and i'll send you the manuscript, and we'll split the profits 50:50.
anyway, i was also thinking about making longer comics, and i really want to step it up a notch with banal pig 4. my current vision (sounds a bit pretentious doesnt it?) involves 2 levels of comics- i.e. a main strip and a sub-strip running alongside/under/against it, and i want to continue to develop the banal pig "universe" (againy this sounds a bit poncy, but it is fairly common comic speak i think) and feature more of the peripheral characters and make the general look a bit more dense, or at least vary the layouts a bit more. this means that it wont be ready for birmingham, but i'll have JBFCSS2 and maybe another minicomic, and i've got my fingers in a few other pies.
there's exciting things going on over at Man Man's house too. Gareth's decided that he's gonna take on a few more challenging projects, including a development of the bastard teachers thing from the portrait anthology, and an adaption of his own short story about a young boy who decides to make himself some sex dolls, with varying successes.
there's also a reasonable (unsolicited) review in the new Comics International no 202, of Man Man 1 & 2, which says it's funny and good value for money, and then gives it a lukewarm 6 out of 10.
anyway, i'm off on me holidays now, laters!
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