The June 2007 issue of Mania, #73 is out now, with Moth & Tanuki into their eighth colour adventure.

I'm completely happy with the way the story in this one worked out - good characters, a nice plot that includes a crime, some comic action and a decent gag to finish with. I don't ever want to get into formulaic work but, if I did, this could be a good episode to model on. There's no superheroey stuff this time though. There is one mistake (I'm including one each episode to check if you're awake :)) - they're only ever visible in print!



Relating to yesterday's post, Busker Jim and his dog put in a minor guest appearance - it seemed natural to include them, given the Dog Training School context. I don't consider any of my past characters completely done with - they're still around, just not currently being actively cast in things. This is the second time I've referenced an old strip in Moth & Tanuki - the earlier one was a Maelstrom reference (as seen in my Illustration Friday Invention pic.

Labels: Busker Jim, Mania, Moth and Tanuki

Something from the vaults (and also the source of my Avatar). I post this for a reason that I'll make clear in a day or two :). Busker Jim was a comic strip I did for a few years (1984-1985) in a Melbourne newspaper called The City Extra - these are a few random samples. It was a different era, and I think humour (along with a lot else) has changed dramatically since then. I used to play alto and tenor saxophone (and keyboards) back then, but I've given up music for drawing... at least for now.

Labels: Busker Jim, City Extra

This old Busker Jim sprang to mind for the topic. I was going to scan just the second panel as that could stand alone, but the whole strip makes it clearer. The Busker strip appeared in a Melbourne newspaper, City Extra through 1984 and 1985, so this strip dates from just before I gave up drawing (for 15 or so years).

Probably the strongest element in the strip was the dog character (who I'd had for quite a while before), though all the busking musician characters grew as individuals as it went along. It's all really dated now, but I like the sense of early '80s Melbourne that comes through in this series.

Jill's amused by the way I'm eating my back-catalogue for IF (I didn't think I was using old stuff that often :)).

Labels: Busker Jim, Illustration Friday