Salute Salute50!

Ian Knight, Alex Haimann & Me meeting for the first time since 2019!

Wow, that was fun! All that preparation, planning, travelling and then the day itself just speeds by, far too quickly and SALUTE50 was over as quick as it begun!

I was delighted with the response that my new release, ZULU: WATER CART RESCUE received and felt justified in attending the event with the interest and many encouraging comments received. That said, SALUTE is of course a wargaming show with models, figures, paints and the many, many game displays being people's priority, so this remains very much an outreach event for comics and one that I'm willing to invest the time and energy in to see if a successful crossover can be made to justify the expense in attending. 

One thing I may have to do is make the fact that my books are comics more obvious, as despite the various signage and displays, many thought that I was selling Zulu War gaming rules and were interested if any figures were being produced or recommending manufacturers existing sets to suite such a venture! Most saw the funny side and were intrigued enough by the comics concept to give them a try but it is something I need to address in future.

Check out Warspite's video for a great SALUTE50 overview and a wee cameo after 09:30!

The event itself was certainly much busier than the previous covid hit 2021 one and everyone was saying that it was 'back' in terms of attendance and atmosphere so it was nice to fully experience the show that had enticed me previously. Certainly the new organising committee seemed to pull out the stops by adding many features such as panel talks, increased demonstration and participation games to give attendees more to do than just shop, which in turn encouraged them to stay at the show for longer so it didn't markedly drop off early afternoon like before.

With Tim and James of the Die Hards in mufti!

A personal highlight was of course catching up with chums that I'd not seen since my last South African trip in 2019, with historian and author Ian Knight and fellow enthusiast (and exhibition curator) Alex Haimann and Tim Rose and James Dix of the Die Hards - although I'd of course seen Tim at Salute in 2021. Our time was brief together but well spent with updates, ideas and more being discussed and shared ahead of July's very exciting Clash of the Empires exhibition, more to follow!

My handy backing table restock and display items

Being kept busy at the table I didn't really get the chance to look round the show myself but there are already a few videos like the one above on YouTube to give you a feel of the event. Not enough time to see everything was a common theme but I guess the additional venue and related costs may make an extension to two days prohibitive but we'll see.

The only game I did see was the really quite wonderful, Battle of Ntombi River wargame display presented by the Hornchurch Wargames Club from, of course the Zulu War! This was fabulous to see  and discuss with one of the Club members and of course Ian Knight who I had visited the real scene with in 2010 and 2014, a special moment indeed. 

Ian & I at Ntombe in 2014 after wading across the river!

So there you are, over in a flash but a lovely memorable day with a few other highlights and potential contacts made so hopefully worthwhile overall and I do enjoy trying different types of events to spread the word of independent comics so would like to return next time too, fingers-crossed. Thanks to all who stopped and chatted and showed interest in my efforts, very much appreciated and of course sincere congratulations to the South London Warlords on their 50th anniversary, here's to many more. 

But overall just delighted to finally get my ZULU comic out there in the wild, USUTHO!

New Comic Incoming!!!!

Yes, the rumours are true, the new colour edition of my long out of print 'cult comic classic' returns in a swanky new edition in glorious colour from Matt Soffe!

I could and will say more, but its quite a journey and true to the end I'm dashing off for its debut appearance this weekend at the previously mentioned SALUTE wargaming show! So will leave it there for now, but yes I'm totally pleased with it, finally! :)

New Art Prints Incoming!

Ooo these turned out nice, in a very busy delivery day yesterday, received these new art prints too, but why oh why, I wonder?

New Events Incoming!

Aha, as promised, I've updated the 2023 'tour' schedule with a few of the confirmed events for this year, some new and some very, very exciting, including this Saturday's Salute Wargaming show, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary!

This follows my debut there at Salute's previous show, way back in 2021! I really enjoyed the experience, even if they were clearly a little subdued given the covid situation we were all in at the time and indoor events were only really slowly emerging. Sensibly, they opted out of 2022 to allow the new committee time to fully plan their anniversary event so here we are. This year I return to table TE05 and hopefully we'll experience the full Salute in all its glory, if only I'd something new out.........

New Artist's Edition Incoming!!

Well I did say that when things go quiet here, it means I'm busy and so it is! The first fruits of my labours have arrived, a fresh batch of my Moments of Adventure Artist's Pencil Edition (or A.P.E for short!).

These are limited edition collections of the pencil pages that go into many of my historical adventure comics in the Moments series and are hopefully both interesting and perhaps inspiring to those wanting to see more of the process of how comics are created? 

In any case, getting ready for my first event of the year, (yes I need to update my diary list, I have 5 or 6 confirmed now, starting this week!), I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was down to the last few copies of the second (blue logo) printing, so quickly arranged for a third with a nice green logo this time.

They promptly arrived and I'm busy getting them signed and added to those collectors packs I make up with the Moments comics, prints and watercolour sketch which prove popular at the events I do. I best get cracking then as its a big week with a few other deliveries expected.......

Ryuichi Sakamoto R.I.P

Oh gee, just seen sad news that another musical legend has left us, Ryuichi Sakamoto. 

He was a hugely talented composer, musician and humanitarian and I'm sure much will deservedly be written about him in the days and weeks ahead.

I came to his music through the Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence soundtrack back in 1983. Only really coming to that movie through its David Bowie connection, in which both Bowie and Sakamoto acted in pivotal and memorable roles, making a large impression on youthful me.

I was also aware of Sakamoto through his work with the band Japan and particularly it's front man David Sylvian, with whom Sakamoto would sporadically collaborate with over the years, most recently I think with the track, World Citizen.

While I was originally drawn to the bewitching Forbidden Colours track between them from the Mr Lawrence soundtrack, it was really the rest of the album's haunting score which made the lasting impression and one of the few albums that I had on both vinyl and CD back in the day.

Unlike Mr Sylvian, other than the occasional compilation album, I didn't really keep up with Sakamoto's prolific solo work which over the years, balanced experimental work with movie scoring, most notably, that of The Last Emperor, for which he won an Oscar, but I would regularly listen to what music of his that I had.

Fittingly, it was David Sylvian's shared social media post and image above that brought the sad news of Sakamoto's passing to my attention, so I will again turn to his music as I carry on working, noting that one of his favourite quotes was;

"Art is long, life is short"

Look Out?

Look Out indeed as progress continue with a much cherished project! Things are happening and a number of 2023 comic shows and events, including a very unique one are confirmed, but I best get back to work, so thanks again for patience and interest - watch this space!