Wednesday, 31 August 2016

The All Time Top Ten

Yep, these are the all time top ten countries from which CBO gets the most views:
Graph of most popular countries among blog viewers
EntryPageviews
China
1,128,636
United States
472,421
United Kingdom
118,984
France
82,838
Russia
72,854
Ukraine
64,506
Germany
57,121
Bulgaria
17890
Romania
12,661
Netherlands
9,938



Russia, Ukraine are always in the top ten somewhere . Netherlands, Germany and France are, of course, the main European comic countries. The United States...are people there interested in comics? No one is going to beat China with figures like that look at the map -come on, USA: challenge!

But look -Romania and Bulgaria who are never ever mentioned regarding comics.  I can see I need to do far more digging to find out about comics there.

What makes me depressed is that all those countries and my books aren't selling but CBO obviously has something people like!

Let's Have A Smile! #3

Ahhh. We've all had one of those nights. Gents....Ladies...
My personal favourite so there!

Let's Have A Smile! #2

You. You know what you did. You dirty, dirty human!

2016 Helsinki Comix Festival

I just checked and the 2016 Helsinki Comic Festival is this week.

Helsingin 30. sarjakuvafestivaalit // 30th Helsinki Comics Festival

Don't panic! Some people do speak English in this one!  Really want to get to a Finnish convention one year if only to find out if what people keep  telling me is true: "Them Finns be like crazy!"  Lena Aske from Norway is in this and I've wanted to get some of her work.  Sage words from her that you don't earn enough money from comics to work on them full time!



I think the 2016 event is this weekend?  Maybe I'll get invited one day. Or maybe just turn up and shout: "LET ME IN!!"  There are a lot of very good Finnish artists!

Leeds Zine Fair Lines Up Dimitri Pieri and Paul Ashley Brown

But they failed to secure the real star.  Me.


Not that long to go til this event and there are two names that stand out: Bristol's own Paul Ashley Brown and Dimitri Pieri (the singing rebel once known as Jimmy Gherkin).

If Mr Brown has any stock left (I am depleting what stock he has already because I invest wisely in comics) check his table out.  Also, of course, Dimitri.

Until last week I had no idea this event was even on -but who tells old men stuff, right? So you can guess I won't be there.  You know, this is why I'm trying to organise an event because the Small Press has taken and taken over the years but an invite to an event?

Now, now, must not get bitter.

But check it out -free entry.  Are you going to argue about free entry to an event???

Leeds Zine Fair 2016 poster

 Saturday 10th September 2016

Left Bank, Cardigan Road, LS6 1LJ

11am - 6pm

Free Entry


We are now at capacity for stallholders at Leeds Zine Fair 2016

You can still bring your zines along and sell them at the communal stall if you would like, we just ask that you staff the stall at some point during the day. If you would like to facilitate a workshop or anything else that might add to the event, drop us an email to footprint@footprinters.co.uk



penfightfb
pen fight is a little zine & DIY art distro based in Manchester. Publishing and distributing feminist zines, art zines, perzines & more

big brown eyes
Big Brown Eyes is a collective of three sisters: Emily, Karis and Freya Lambert.
They combine their talents to produce themed illustrative zines, as well as individual comics, handmade products and prints - showcasing their personal interests and styles.
Individually, their work can be found in various anthologies such as Dirty Rotten Comics, Radio On and Thought Bubble and in comic shops around the country. 
Following their debut on the small press scene at last years BCZF, they have been featured and reviewed by Broken Frontier.com and Emily has also been named as one of Broken Frontier's 'Six Small Press Creators to Watch in 2016'.

blp
Black Lodge Press is a DIY publishing print specializing  in small press comics, zines and merchandise with a DIY punk ethos. We support and involve inclusive communities of creative people, publishing work that celebrates feminism and queer culture!

threepawpress
Two humans, three cats and a printer cohabiting and publishing zines which touch on our regular pursuits - illustration, teen films, cans of pop, self analysis, art and nature.

andrew morrice 1We are freelance artists and we sometimes self-publish our own books/posters/badges etc of our own comics and attempt to sell them. We have 3 volumes of 'Blonge!'* made so far and one choose-your-own-adventure type gamebook. Our stuff's basically self-aware silly old-school style comedy comics with a traditional flavour and terrible puns.
*Our answer to old school comics with daft names like Topper, Beezer and Whizzer and Chips etc.

tallulah
Tallulah Magoo is an illustrator and printmaker based in Leeds. When she's not busy getting paint under her fingernails in the print studio, she can be found holed up in her room drinking tea and obsessively doodling, handbinding zines and generally making things out of stuff. Common themes include silly looking animals, The Beatles, isolation, mexican wrestlers, trees and Billy Childish's face.


Lindsay Draws
Lindsay Draws is a zinester, potter and newly qualified joiner living in East London. Her zine The Man Called Uncle Tim is an oral history of her uncle who lived in a queer, polyamorous household from 1970 until his death in 1995. It is an exploration into what gets passed down and what gets left out of family history as well as an attempt to redress that imbalance. The fourth and final issue in the series will be available at Leeds Zine Fair, along with other zines and prints.

sarah peploe
queer little tales, feminist fire, and zines about cover versions

owen clements
fanfiction & short stories & the latest issues of a fanzine dedicated to wes anderson: wes anderzine.

dimitri pieri

I think that self publishing is the most accessible media for making art. I have made comix and zines since 2008. Right now I'm making these 4-colour riso collections ofabstract drawings influenced by The Dark Mountain, Derrick Jensen's - Endgame, and thinking generally about the future of the planet, this book is called Optimism: End-Times and I will be selling copies at the Leeds Zine Fair. My zineography is herehttps://illustratedself.com/zineography/
Cheers. DAP X

bethany hall
A zine dedicated to the open minded  that explores sexuality, gender, culture and feminism, in the forms of fiction, non-fiction, illustration and poetry


dzcomix
The last 3 years I am collaborating with several creators mostly from Greece in order to spread around the zine culture. We are creating free street fests and fairs, workshops and activities, we have a small public zine library as well.
The bad economy of Greece made lot of us to leave the country and from that started the idea of an international zine. Now we collaborating with creators from Spain, Chile, Greece, Italy, US, UK and our first issue will be published at 1st of Sept.
Stall: The stall will have screen printed tees, posters, several zines in English and Greek language as well. And of course the international zine that it will be 100 pages long and probably will be Multilanguage.

indestructable energy issue 6

Indestructible Energy is a limited edition, submission based, art zine.

This zine explores the relationship between reproduced and original artwork within the context of the traditional fanzine without being bound by conventional zine publishing practices.
 

Aspects of the zine will change issue to issue. Each issue will have 100 copies, each copy will include both reproduced and original pieces making each copy an individual piece of art.

All issues are open to and thrive on submissions which can be made as 
reproducible (digital or hard copy) or original artwork.
 

Submissions of original work should be submitted in a run of 100.


Nick Taylor1

Nick Taylor is an illustrator and graphic artist based in Nottinghamshire. He combines his love of drawing, collage, mark-making and printing with digital techniques. He makes his own screen prints and zines, taking lots of inspiration from pop culture, musical and cinematic icons and folklore.


turntup 3 promo pic
The turn up is real. 
Getting turnt serious number.
Big hitters inside the place.
So come out the place.

Charlotte niekamp
I write Call my name zine, a perzine series on growing up and growing stronger, feminism, mental health, finding and making good places, queerness, and agriculture. I'll also bring stickers and patches.


sugarpaper
Sugar Paper is a bi-annual craft zine featuring 20 things to make and do from knitting to recipes, cross stitch to paper crafts. Also selling zines about race, class, pop culture and art.


TheScreeverImage
The Screever is a little punk zine based in the West Midlands that features interviews with artists and bands / musicians, as well as reviews, the odd recipe, and a bunch of other stuff. The tenth issue is due out this Summer alongside their third accompanying compilation tape. Lee also writes and illustrates a perzine called 'Larry', a bunch of 24 hour zines, and always brings a few screen-printed totes and patches along.


Doug makes comics based zines, including 'In the Year of the Rabbit', a collection of short comics and blackout poetry, a Jurassic Park fanzine and other works on storytelling and reassurance. More info at:

about a girl
Sam makes 'About a Girl', a zine about a girl coming of age at the turn of the millenium, as well as other zines on subjects such as Pokemon, obnoxious animals and a self-help guide featuring Britney Spears and Jar Jar Binks. More info at

Soofiya Andry
Soofiya - graphic designer, straight edge anarchist and activist makes
zines about (amongst other things) menstruation, feminism, anarchism
and things in life they rate on a scale of 1 to 10.
www.soofiya.com

b k8 cover copy
Graduated from the University of the West of England in 2001 with a BA (Hons) Degree in Illustration. Since 2008 he has been self-publishing the Zine Browner-Knowle, a collection of his short narrative drawings and comic-strips. as well as other one-off titles. His work has featured in publications The Illustrated ApeStrike!The Comix ReaderTheAffordable Amazement CatalogueIndestructible Energy andStripburger . He lives and works in Bristol, England.




Quee Arcana TT CardSquare 01
Zines by Jade Mars and pals. Writings on witchcraft, tarot and astrology; being queer, trans and autistic; mental health & self-care; sex-critical perspectives on non-monogamy, relationships and queer communities; and crushing the kyriarchy.


Steve Larder is an artist, illustrator, and publisher of indie-comics and zines. He has been publishing his auto-biographical illustrated zine, ‘Rum Lad’ since 2006 and is a regular contributor to 'As You Were' - an international punk comic anthology. Steve lives and works in Nottingham, UK.


My work focuses on social injustice, activism, folk lore and human frailty. I explore themes through character design and visual storytelling.



 logo Cemtrala en
We are a publishing house originally based in Poland, specialising in comics since 2007.
Our authors include Chester Brown, Sara Colaone, Howard Cruse, Anke Feuchtenberger, Tom Gauld, Line Hoven, Lucie Lomová, Luke Pearson, Bastien Vives, Jay Wright and Alexandar Zograf.We live in three cities: Poznan, Berlin, and now also London, where we started our publishing activity in March 2014.
For us, comics means beautifully published, well written, and exceptionally drawn literature.
A picture of life in a solid frame.

wur bradford
Wur Bradford is an open, inclusive  arts and social space situated in a stall the city's Kirkgate Market, exploring how we can make change through creativity and collective action. We make zines together and separately, documenting the things we do and the ideas that are important to us.

cubesville zines 2
One Way Ticket to Cubesville is a mid-air collision of anarchy and absurdity, which showers burning debris across a vast plain of DIY music and culture. The smash-hit Vegan's Guides are cynical, sarcastic and offer no discernible solutions - they're just funny if you're veggy. We're also promoting long-running Manchester radio show, Under the Pavement - your fortnightly two-hour voyage of anarchy on the airwaves, which brings the latest in DIY music and grassroots activism.

Sitting somewhere between a conventional comic, a fanzine and an underground artists’ book, The Selfish Dream, written by Om Lekha and illustrated by Blinky 4, explores themes of visual biography, socio-philosophical polemics and ritual magic.
The Selfish Dream is a story in two parts. The first of which depicts the life of evolutionary scientist and public intellectual Richard Dawkins in biological episodes from conception to death, whilst the second depicts an unnamed protagonist orchestrating and executing an atavistic-promethean psychosexual rite.

KBaczynski Stall Photo
Kristyna Baczynski is an illustrator, comic book artist and designer. Freelancing from her studio in Leeds she creates books, comics, zines, posters, apparel, stationery and more for a wide range of clients that has included Chipotle, Anorak, The Royal Shakespeare Company, IBM and Etsy.
As well as creating her own comics (Hand me Down, A Measure Of Space, Vessel, Vantage), Kristyna has worked with publishers at home and internationally such as Fantagraphics, Image and Sequential. Her comics have been nominated for two British Comic Book Awards and an Eisner.

Ana Hine WOM Thumbnail
Artificial Womb is a feminist arts zine & distro, which promotes the work of emerging female creatives within Scotland and their allies. Run by multi-media artist Ana Hine, with support from her fiancĂ© Alfie Pound,  Artificial Womb aims to empower its contributors by paying them for their work and encouraging them in their craft.

paper and ink
Paper and Ink is a literary zine that promotes good writing, presented on paper and printed in ink. Each issue has a different theme and features a wide array of writers and artists from all over the world. More info can be found at: www.paperandinkzine.co.uk

Kim writes zines about S.A.D, introversion, travel, festivals and a few perzines. She also makes screenprinted patches, notebooks and cards with feminist, queer and pop culture themes.

Holly Casio makes queer feminist diy zines and comix about fandoms, dancing, being working class, and burnout.