News Bulletins

From: John Weeks
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000

From the other side of the 'digital divide', it's Weeksy's sporadic travel newsletter! Been living in Cambodia for the last few months. Phnom Penh's cool, it's got a small town feel even though there are millions here. Dodging a monsoon at the moment in a cybercafe with cockroaches skittering around my feet.

LARK PIEN and pal Dave have been traveling around and thanks to email we were able to meet up for a few days in Phnom Penh. They've been traveling since early this year and show no signs of losing momentum yet.
We hit a few temples, some of the local markets and sights. Managed to get a peek at Lark's big sketchbook with lots of art from her journeying. The two travelers survived hostel thievery, stomach bugs and an obsessive cyclo driver, and have since moved on to dodge occasional bombings in Laos and Pakistan - but not before leaving me with a cool cartoon. Here's hoping you'll publish some of your trip sketches, Lark!
Lark designed the logo at http://skip.to/experientialdance and just made up t-shirts.

As for further guests here, Kylie Purr has mooted a November appearance. And Barbara Kerr's booked a flight for January.

The comics here? There's a fair bit of translated Thai stuff, but there's plenty of original material too- some in English. And there's heaps of interesting visual culture, like the shadow puppet show I checked out last week. But I really oughta finish my Indonesia notes before I get sucked into the local stuff.

Site update: I've made a few tweaks here and there, including automatic translation via Altavista's Babelfish. Too bad they don't have Chinese or Indonesian. http://freespeech.org/qd/

I've just finished transcribing an interview with Yogyakarta Komik collective Apotik Komik (Healthy Comic) for Dutch magazine Stripschrift. Now I've gotta find a way to scan art here that won't cost an arm and a leg. More Indonesian resources at:
http://freespeech.org/qd/list5komikus.htm

And on a sadder note, the UN has pulled out of West Timor - nearly a year after the crisis there. Your local representative could do with a note. http://www.look.at/easttimorfunnies

The Goss: KIERAN MANGAN wants you to look at his swell site.

ATHONK and Lane Berman (sorry Lane, you don't get all capital letters until you do your own comic) are moving to Hawaii where the esteemed Dr. Berman will head up Indonesian Studies. Way to go! (Hmm, maybe Athonk can attend Small Press eXpo next year?)

AMBER CARVAN has moved, to the biggest of Big Smokes, Sydney. Don't forget to check out her site at:

Q-RAY is organizing the Australian leg of the Impulse Freak jam strip. He's been interviewed by SBC and Clint's also sold one of his cartoons to an unknown purchaser - Kerry Packer, perhaps? More at http://www.fatkid.com.au

NORTHBORNE AND GLORY BOUND is a new anthology of Canberra creators, featuring folks like Mandy Ord, Kirrily Schell, and Anna Simic.

MICHAEL PEE FIKARIS now has his very own email. frothindustriesSTOP-@-SPAMhotmail.com

"RIVA from Electrocution Distribution is looking for lots more comix to add to her distribution catalogue. I been supplying her with stuff for a while now, and her distribution is the best un I've tried yet... Write to her at PO Box 716, Fortitude Valley, QLD, 4006 Or email her at electroidrivaSTOP-@-SPAMhotmail.com " - writes BEN HUTCHINGS.

RICK BRADFORD's POOPSHEET is looking for blurbs from authors for the following comics that will be featured in an upcoming issue: STRIGIFORMES BUBO VIRGINIANUS - Che Gilson ANGELUS #1 - Peter Savieri BAD TIMES STORY - Athonk THE BIBLE - Jesse Reklaw BITS �n PIECES #1 - Neale Blanden DRAGON HURTOR #3 - Ben Hutchings GOOEY - Buttwig THE HIP BOOK OF FUN STUFF #2 - Che Gilson KRONIKLE KOMIX #6 - Jenny Gonzalez NEURONN - Adam Ford OOPS - Aaron O'Donnell POP CULTURE & 2 MINUTE NOODLES #3 - Dillon Naylor QUEER EXOTIC PISS - Jesse Reklaw SLURPY SWEET #1 - Ken Grobe A SPOT OF MUD - Dean Westerfield UNTITLED #2 - Sean Bieri URGH #6 - Kieran Mangan VELVET ARTICHOKE THEATRE #1 - Che Gilson I just wrote: "QuickDraw is the best comic in the world." Well, if you leave it up to the creator... ;]
Contact Ricko at rickbradfordSTOP-@-SPAMearthlink.net
Site at http://pub8.ezboard.com/blancelotlinksloveshack.html.

THROWN TO THE WOLVES at The Comics Journal is still frozen in time. Get on the stick, guys.

KELVIN LEE writes: "Hello music and comix lovers! Issue #07 of Forbidden Galaxy awaits you. Shockwave as well as small dogs required as this month features the work of Glenn Smith."

SMITTEN KITTEN also has a swingin' new site.

And on the distro front, CHE GILSON has gone to San Diego - apparently no table this year though. She's got a new email: plasticplanetSTOP-@-SPAMearthlink.net" Still suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, unfortunately. She's also just been interviewed by Girlace magazine. All conveniently linked on the Plastic Planet Page: http://freespeech.org/qd/distro/plasticplanet.htm

And also recently concluded was the Santa Barbara Zine Fest. http://www.javaturtle.com Don't leave me hangin', now...

TIM DANKO is doing a heaping swag of classes and is busy as hell. Similarly, SHAGS is doing Electronic Design and Digital Imaging at school. She's packing 12 months of study into six.

JAMES KOCHALKA now has his tunes online:
http://www.mp3.com/jks
http://www.rockparty.com/karaart/james_kochalka.html

BEN KATCHOR wins Macarthur 'Genius' grant: if you don't know who Mr. Katchor is, learn.

A bit of a non-event: after much talk and interest, no one seems to be writing the Oz scene report that The Comics Journal was interested in. Maybe I'm just out of touch, though.

And M/C Reviews' Comics Issue is gestating...wonder how much will be on small press?

National Young Writers' Festival is shaping up; so far confirmed from comix land are: SUSAN BUTCHER, CAROL WOOD, GLENN SMITH, LOUISE GRABER, STRATU, BEN HUTCHINGS, and ANNA BROWN.

KEROSENE CALLING: "Kerosene is a small indipendent comics anthology from Rome, Italy, and We are searching new authors for our new issue, N*6. It will be focused on the theme "Pornographic women & men in love", which is a tentative to subvert one of the most rooted cliches, at least in Italy - that women can't or are not willing to speak/write about sex and that men aren't able to write/draw comix about falling/being in love. So we're searching for short comic stories (max 7/8 pages), in black and white to publish. In our past issues we have published many italian authors as well as Debbie Drechsler, Jessica Abel, Aleksandar Zograf, Maria Bjorklund, Maaike Hartjes, Wendy Van Hove...so you have an idea of what kind of stories we like... If your intersted please send a sample of your cmx/illustrations, in good xerox copies, to: alessandro onori via veio 64 04100 latina italy or get in touch with us via e-mail: alessandro.oSTOP-@-SPAMlibero.itDeadline is set for the first of September. Thanks to everyone in advance! alessandro onori, editor PS: we are costantly searching for new good authors and for trades with Cmx from other countries, so just write a nice e-mail and get in touch!!"

NETIMAGE: creative and innovative images on media, arts and communication 1ST INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL DATES: 23rd November-3rd December Bologna, Italy
Netmage was developed by the LINK PROJECT in Bologna, an independant organisation created in 1994 that has the aim of developing, in Italy, a network of productive exchanges in different fields that belong to cultural experimentation such as music, performings arts, visual film and electronic art and comunication. Up to now, the LINK has developed and has helped the growth of centers for international cultural experimentation in Italy. Netmage, first Italian international festival dedicated to creations connected to new technologies proposes an international competition. The aim of the competition is to gather works belonging to differents fields, and different nature, for instance film production, work and video and television formats, multimedia products, web projects, installations and live performances, mixed-media, all in order to reconstruct a panorama of international new production.
INFO: Adelaide Ronchi EMAIL: netmageSTOP-@-SPAMlinkproject.org

INTERNATIONAL MULTIMEDIA URBAN ARTS FESTIVAL: Call for Projects THEME: Interferences: Interstices, collisions, fusions DATES: 14th-23rd December The CICV Pierre Schaeffer is launching a Worldwide Call for Projects for the International Multimedia Urban Arts Festival which will take place from December 14 to 23, 2000 at Belfort in France. 50 artistic projects will be selected and three prizes of 100,000 French Francs will be awarded by an international jury.
INFO: Anne Roquigny, Artistic Co-ordination
EMAIL: arSTOP-@-SPAMcicv.fr
INFO: Eric Prigent, Communication/Press Accreditation
EMAIL: ericSTOP-@-SPAMcicv.fr
ONLINE: http://www.cicv.fr
ONLINE: http://www.nuits-savoureuses.net

And finally, the first site devoted wholly to Comics Lifestyle. Try http://stoli.one.net.au/smallpress/lifestyle.html

If you have a comment or question about Small Press then feel free to contact me