Sept - Dec '23 NEWSLETTER masoncomics.com.au |
|
|
#22. (I don't even know if I've been getting these numbers right...?) Welcome those interested in my comic book work and stuff. Hope you're well. A bit to catch up on some news of things recent, and coming up, some free sneak peaks at stuff, and thank you for following along. |
|
|
Recent news: Opening of THE PHANTOM: OFF THE DRAWING BOARD in Bundaberg A big thank you to Bundaberg Regional Galleries for the invitation to the opening weekend of this awesome exhibit. For fans of the Phantom, comic book art, and getting a glimpse behind what goes into a comic (by way of the focus of the exhibit: Bundaberg local, and Frew cartoonist Shane Foley's Phantom work ), it's worth checking out.
The show, being Bundaberg focussed, is not slated to exhibit anywhere else, but to get a bit of a look at it, I recommend a few links: | | |
|
|
KID PHANTOM in BUNDABERG! I feel very fortunate to have been invited in The Phantom exhibition, by way of the Kid Phantom interactive exhibition.
I'm looking forward to seeing what they have planned in the space, but I know it's to include character art from the comic book series, and screenings of the Kid Phantom short film written by Kid Phantom writer Andrew Constant and I, and animated by GFS animation students in 2017.
"Celebrating the work of Queensland illustrator, Paul Mason, the Kid Phantom exhibition takes over Imaginarts for the summer!
Imaginarts | 18 November 2023 to 4 February 2024
Opening event: Friday 17 November, 5.30 pm Introducing ‘The Ghost Who Walks’ to a whole new generation of readers, the Kid Phantom comic was released by Frew Publications in 2017. It had a fresh new look and told the story of Kit and his lifelong friend, Guran, as they left their Skull Cave home and the jungles of the Deep Woods, to sail to America for Kit’s education.
In this interactive exhibition, explore the story behind Kid Phantom and design your own plot twists and storylines to add to the adventure."
More via below:
| | |
|
|
Bundaberg Now Kid Phantom Article A brief chat with local Bundaberg press re: Kid Phantom and the Bundaberg Kid Phantom exhibit. Our bird Cheesel is (in)famous hahaha. | | |
|
|
FEBRUARY 2024: I'm heading to GENRE CON to talk Comics A big thanks to the Queensland Writers centre for inviting me to attend next year's GenreCon 2024 on February 24 - 25th at the State Library of Queensland.
The lineup for GenreCon can be found here: https://www.genrecon.com.au/presenters-2024
If you're an inspiring writer or a fan of the work, I highly recommend checking out the panels below. It's nice too to have a little comic book representation too: I will be chatting about Graphic Novels alongside Author and comic book writer C.S Pacat on Sunday afternoon, 3:20pm
Details of the panel and conference can be found via the link below: | | |
|
|
Stanleys 2023 - ACA conference I recently had the opportunity to attend the Australian Cartoonists Association Stanley Awards along with one of my great friends and wizard cartoonist Dean Rankine. While there, got to catch up with friends like Judy Nadin and her partner Melinda, Steve Panozzo, David Blumenstein, Edmund Iffland, Adele K Thomas, John Shakespeare, and catch up with a cartooning hero of mine, Gary Chaloner. Gary took out the 2023 Comic Artist of the Year award. Congratulations Gary!! I also met the fantastic Paul Peart-Smith (Here's Gary, Paul and I in a terrible selfie).
We had a good chat talking comics, projects and what not. A good night with other great cartoonists of different walks of life, thanks everyone. A shotgun trip with little wiggle room, I was glad to briefly see Duncan Munro, "The Boss" Glenn Ford, Grange Wallis, Brendan Halliday, and Phantom reader Trevor Clark. Thanks Gents. |
|
|
Sneak peak: The Phantom: Fury part 2 Completed in August but sitting in the hanger waiting for deployment is part 2 of our 'Old Julie Walker story'; The Phantom: Fury. This follows an old Julie Walker, in her mid-late 60s, in the Australian outback hunting on-the-run Singh pirates.
Part 1 was released in issue 1947 June 2023, with part 2 in the can and part 3 about to commence. It's in colour, so I imagine it will be a while before it hits Frew's printing schedule, but in the meantime here's a sneak peek (right, and below).
If you're new to the Phantom, I highly recommend tracking down Frew's 2017 Phantom Annual (the 'Girl Phantom' special: here), which is a special edition devoted to Julie's origins and best stories. For those that came in late, she's the twin sister of the 17th Phantom (late 1800s period in history) and donned the Phantom persona when her brother was sick, missing or indisposed. A rad character that Amanda and I have enjoyed working with so far, with Amanda's take on her being in her older period of her life, coping with grief, trauma, and the patriarchy, while hunting down the pirate gang responsible for the death of her father, her brother, and her nephew.
Will keep you updated when part 2 is released. | | |
|
|
FREW goes digital! The gents at ChronicleChamber.com recently reported that Frew Publications (home of the Phantom comics in Australia) have recently revived their digital comics range. After Comixology was bought and nuked by Amazon a few years ago, the ability to get digital copies of the comic books has been impossible. Thankfully though, they have started to offer both paper or digital copies of their books, starting with comics from 2022. So, if you're keen, head to the link below to see the digital books available.
You might be keen on reading the 60 page full colour issue #1925, which was my Boxing sequel to the 1948 "Masked Marvel"?
| | |
|
|
BEST OF FREW 2023 survey closes January 5th 2024 You'd be forgiven to think that this is now a ChronicleChamber.com newsletter :P It's just that the last few months have been very Phantom-centric in whatever comics I'm tied up in, and if it weren't for fan (Phan) documentation of Australian comic happenings, this stuff dissolves into the abyss very quickly. So, thank you to CC for their efforts in following the happenings of Frew and The Phantom both here and overseas. Part of these efforts are these fun recaps of the year where readers can vote on their favourite stories, covers, comic books etc. out from the year of Frew.
My assistant editor and Fury collaborator Amanda and I were pleased to have had 5 stories see print: From the ongoing Vietnam series #1940 ("Said the Joker to the Thief"), 1942 ("Paint it Black"), 1943 ("We Gotta Get Out of This Place"), and two in colour: 1947 ("The Phantom: Fury pt 1") and 1952 ("...And Our Friends Are All Aboard"), and it's always fun to see the spread of what Frew Publications have been doing, especially from buddies Andrew, Dean, Shane, Jason Franks, and the great stable of cover artists here and abroad. Especially on their 75th year of continuous Phantom comic production in Australia. Here's to 75 more.
Click the link below to vote on your favourite Phantom stories via Chronicle Chamber :D
| | |
|
|
All the best to the Class of 2023 GFS Animation Congratulations to the graduating students of 2023 Griffith Film School Animation. A successful year and a great collection of films. Again I had the pleasure of working with the 3rd year students thru pitching, pre-production and this year supervised 5 of the films that screened recently at the End-of-Year showcase. A great collection of both 2D and 3D films that my colleagues and I helped thru the rough and tough process of animated film making, that we hope will be out and about at animation festivals here and abroad next year. I wish all of the talented, highly skilled and hardworking students all the very best in their travels and future endeavours :D For a list of this year's productions, check out the link. I'll get back to sharing my favourites here occasionally from the past selection of films in upcoming newsletters in 2024 for those that dig short Australian cartoons :D | | |
|
|
After a tough year, this made my day. Thanks gang. |
|
|
Above: One of those "#ArtvsArtist2023" things you see on social media this time of year. Some things here that have seen the light of day, and some to hopefully come in 2024. Thank you for being here checking out my comic stuff, and hopefully you're digging the drawings and stories. |
|
|
Final words, thought-streams and jibber jabber for 2023: Hello to the O.G subscribers, and hello to the new subscribers, and welcome too if you got here from the masoncomics website direct, or any friends and family still hanging with me here, following my stuff.
IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR, Thank you. I know this time of year is hectic, bitter-sweet, traumatic for some, relaxing for others. But above all, I just hope you're all doing your best, and if my words and scribbles provide a few minutes of distraction, then "mission accomplished".
A bit of radio silence, the last few months have been busy and tough on everyone here, but we're doing our best. We hope that 2024 brings a fresh start and positive waves for all.
2023- 2024 comics: If you've picked up any of the Phantom comics I contributed to this year (#1940, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1952) or previous years, or any of my books from Gestalt Comics, many thanks! The floor of Australian comics is slippery and unstable, and so for today at least, I'm thankful to still have projects on the go that can help with the bills going into 2024. Flock 2 is still slowly treading forward, and a proposition re: an old indie character of mine might formulate into an interesting exercise where I completely redraw a few old issues, and get around to finishing the last one. All in time. Right now, I have to strike while the iron is still hot in relation to The Phantom and another Frew character Amanda and I have in the works. The next month, commissions? Patreon?: I'm current buried in a tight deadline to finish a 5000 word academic book chapter related to Australian comics. So if you've emailed me recently, I'm sorry, I'll try to get to it soon. Or try again in February. It's probably lost in a sea of assessment feedback enquiries, bills, Black Friday/Boxing Day sale spam and unread Schwarzenegger pump club newsletters. I have a couple of patient commissions to finish in January, after which, if my recent work changes are cemented for 2024, I may be opening up the Phantom (and handful of Flock) sketch cover commission list, maybe even Patreon as an option for those that want to follow along with the comic projects and see it all as it grows. Still in early days of my thoughts. Stay tuned. Opinions welcome!
Buried in Marking: I'm also still in the throws of some end of year paperwork, and marking assignments after just teaching an intensive uni course for December, with final assessments next week. 2104GFS Comics and Sequential Storytelling is a fun but full-on class, where I get to see comics from the next generation of young people come together. Though I pull no punches in my summarising of the state of corporate comics work environments in different regions, I hope that there is drive to still create and tell stories with this unique medium, with the encouragement to find and develop a niche that allows them to find their people, find their creativity, find their voice, and hopefully find some sort of renumeration too. Some great stories and makers that I hope to see kick on after the course in whatever creative pursuit they can carve out for themselves. I sincerely hope you and your family are safe and well wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Thanks for your ongoing support, and appreciation for the comics and drawings. Share the website address for newsletter sign ons if you think you might know someone who would be keen to see this stuff or catch some news and comic info.
Maybe I'll see you at maybe an event or two I might be at in 2024?
Warm regards, and all the best for 2024. Paul.
pmason83@gmail.com P.S: This month's sneak peek comic drawing is the inks of the next Phantom: 'Nam story I handed in recently. It marks what I estimate to be about the halfway mark of stories in the series. Cover of the next story is done and interiors are in progress. Will keep you posed when the next chapter drops in 2024. |
|
|
|
|
