Paper Jam's Spring Plans

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

The Paper Jam Comic Collective is ten years old.

Our new anthology - the Amazing Adventure Comics Machine - which will be A4 and in full COLOUR (a first for our anthologies) is almost ready. More info soon.

Paper Jam will be at:

Biblio-Con. Gateshead Central Library, 4th February, 2-7pm.

Dunfermline Comic Con. 11th March, Pittencreiff Park.

Canny Comic Con, 18th March, Newcastle City Library, 10.30am.-3.30pm.

Less But More Paper Jamming: PJCC is going monthly from April 2015

Paper Jam's spiritual home, the basement of Travelling Man Newcastle, is now a fab multi-purpose art/music venue known as Nerd Hutch. Also: a couple of weeks isn't a lot of time to get much comic-making done. Result: PJCC's 2nd and 4th Thursday meeting were getting difficult to timetable amongst gigs and were hard for jammers to commit to attending consistently.

SOLUTION:
Starting in April, the Paper Jam Comics Collective will meet monthly on the 2nd Thursday of each month - still at 6.30pm and still at the Nerd Hutch at Travelling Man.

The March meetings are just a bit of shuffling around until we get to that point:

March 12th: there's a gig in Nerd Hutch, so as a one-off Paper Jam will meet across the road at Geek Retreat (then maybe even go to the gig).

March 26th: meeting as normal (except this is the last 'official' fourth Thursday of a month).

THEN, for the rest of 2015:

9th April / 14th May / 11th June / 9th July / 13th August /
10th September / 8th October / 12th November / 10th December

all 6.30pm, at Travelling Man

And yeah, occasionally there may be other events or fourth Thursday drink-n-draws, or whatever, but those are the core dates, those are dates when maybe stuff will get done, you can get a good chat, do a 24-minute comic, show off your latest publication, talk about upcoming events, etcetera. That's the plan, anyway.

Art...And That (special anthology brief)

Attention all Paper Jammers - the PJCC is collaborating with Empty Shop and the DLI gallery in Durham for their forthcoming hosting of the "What Are You Like?" exhibition in July. The exhibition contains work from an impressive array of artists and illustrators, including David Shrigley, Eric Carle, Jan Pienkowski and Quentin Blake.

As part of Empty Shop's involvement, they are providing complete funding for a brand spanking new ...And That anthology to be sold at the DLI and any additional events. I shouldn't need to hammer home how good an opportunity this is to get involved in the larger North East artistic community and spread the good name of Paper Jam to a new audience.

So, without further ado, the brief for the next anthology is...

ART...AND THAT

It's quite simple. Pick your favourite artist, artistic movement or piece of art and do a comic about it. This can include anything from paintings, to photography, to sculpture and be about classical or modern art (and everything in between). Go as wild as you like with it. However, bare in mind that this is being specifically produced for a mainstream art crowd. So...

1) Keep it clean. No swearing or sex. If you're doing a piece about Botticelli's Venus, then it's understood that there'd be a nude lady in there. Just keep it tasteful.

2) Keep it accessible. I know we're all comic fans, but let's not have an anthology full of comics about Jack Kirby or Chris Ware, please. It's going in a mainstream gallery and hoping to appeal to a mainstream audience, so let's look to classical or modern art first before dipping into back issues of Fantasic Four for inspiration. I know this will wind up a few people and likely kick off a "comics as acceptable art" debate, but tough. We can do a "comics as acceptable art" themed anthology some other time.

Other than those restrictions, your submission can be as irreverent and off-the-wall as you like.

There's only ONE PAGE per member this time, instead of two, but as usual you can collaborate with others to raise your page count if you wish. The whole thing will be A4 and B&W, with the aim to have a colour cover. The funding is limited, so we're trying to do as much with it as possible (hence the limited page allocation).

This anthology brief will be verbally announced at the next meeting on Thursday 3rd June and the deadline for submissions will be at the following meeting on Thursday 17th June. There is a tight schedule on this one, so there will be none of the late allowances given on History...And That. We're giving you a week's bonus time right now, so that's three weeks to do one page.

Could you also submit the credits for the piece, along with a web/e-mail address (at your discretion) for inclusion along the bottom of your piece? Ta, muchly.

Andy Waugh is the go-to guy on this project, so if you could e-mail any submissions to him here, that would be most helpful.

When you know what your subject is, please post it as a comment below, so we can see how things are shaping up on the project. Now...LET'S GET CRACKING!

UPDATE: Carlo at Empty Shop has suggested that if anyone is stuck for inspiration, then it might be an idea to check out the famous artists/designers/illustrators/photographers who are taking part in the exhibition and do a strip about one of them. Some of them are on the site here, if you want a look.

Next Anthology : History ... and that

Our next anthology is 'History... And That'.

We intend to detail (in chronological order) the most noteable moments in history, from the Big Bang to the End Of The World (which is in a couple of years if you believe the Mayans). You can choose any time period you like, whether that be Ancient Greece, or the lesson you once had on Ancient Greece at school. Be as frivolous with the facts as you like - this isn't a textbook. Your task is to (as Jack has previously noted) take the theme and milk its deliciously open-ended teets like a true time-travelling farmer!

Just let us know (in the comments or by email) which period of history you'll be going for, as we'd like to avoid too much duplication.

The deadline for submissions is 6:30 on Thursday 6th May, bring your work to our regular meeting in Travelling Man Newcastle on Grainger street, drop it off in the shop before then or email it to: tmne_smallpress@yahoo.co.uk

This one will be A4 and black and white, and the usual rules apply - two pages per person (so a writer/artist team could have 4 pages in total). Leave a minimum of a 1cm border to allow for possible cropping when we get this to print.

Have fun!

Hi-Ex 2010

The Paper Jam Comics Collective will be on site at the Hi-Ex Comics Festival in Inverness on 27th and 28th of March.

Manning the stall: Paul Thompson and Oscillating Brow. As well as those fellas, we'll have comics for sale from Gary Bainbridge, Andy Waugh, Jack Fallows, and Martin Newman (whose tireless efforts at the P.R.E.S.S. 24 Hour Comic took sleep deprivation by storm).

Hi-Ex will be awesome! Take a look at the Guest List and Charity Auction.

A Message from P.J.C.C.

Okay, everyone sitting at home wondering how they can get involved in the creativity, here are some important dates for your calendar:

Thursday 11th March 6:30pm onwards at Travelling Man
A Comics Evening there will be, but we're also asking everyone to have a go at sketching out a logo for the collective which should read "Paper Jam Comics Collective" and a logo to use on the front of all of our anthologies which should read "...and that" (drawing skills not required!) We've been in need of both of these for a long time, so it's time to get one sorted and start getting some propaganda on the go!

Thursday 25th March 6:30pm onwards at Travelling Man
Again, a Comics Evening shall be in progress, but this will also be mini-deadline number one for our music themed anthology. If you want to submit a strip, please approach an unsigned band (local or otherwise) and ask if you can use one of their songs as a template/stimulus/inspiration/theme for your comic and if they would be willing to submit the track to a mix CD that we would attach to the comic. As well this, could you also ask if they would be willing to play a short set at an event in the summer for its launch, which isn't necessary but would be awesome. There are a few fiddly bits that they need to know, which shouldn't really be of any concern, but just to avoid any problems, please include this (or your own version of) when asking bands:

"The Paper Jam Comics Collective is a non-profit creative community, so all money made from the anthology and launch event will be put into our next project. For that reason, we can't offer bands any money for the use of their music, or for their live performances. However, the collective will cover the cost of equipment hire and of course the cost of printing the comic and burning the CDs. We're hoping this will be a mutually-beneficial endeavour, and it will generate a lot of exposure for the bands involved as well as the comic book artists. Please verify that you understand and agree with these terms so that everyone is on the same page."

If everyone could have a band on board by this meeting that would be awesome, and don't forget that there are bands within the collective (who probably won't be approaching themselves!), if you're struggling to think of anyone. If you feel like you want to get involved but finding a band is too much hassle, I'll find one for you! One you'll like as well!

The first deadline for our NEW ANTHOLOGY will be announced at this meeting too, here are some details on that:

History... and that
This anthology does exactly what it says on the tin. The theme is history. Any point of it you choose, whether that be Ancient Greece, or the lesson you once had on Ancient Greece at school. Your task is to take that theme and milk its deliciously open-ended teets like a true time-travelling farmer! Y'hear?! The launch event will be awesome, and there's already been talk (amongst me and myself) of a history-themed fancy dress competition. Watch this space!

Mini-Biographies
For the purpose of press releases and for mini-featurettes that we hope to post weekly on the blog, please could anyone willing submit a short biography about yourself, your accomplishments, the things you've had published, self-published or reviewed. The most important nuggets about who you are and why you come down to our meetings, are on the mailing list and/or read this blog basically! Send them through anytime to tmne_smallpress@yahoo.co.uk but please don't exceed 500 words, and if possible try to make it more like 200-300! Talk about blowing your own horn...geez.

And that will be all for now,
-Jack

SUPER-AWESOME COMIC PARTY!

THE PAPER JAM COMICS COLLECTIVE IS (roughly) THREE YEARS OLD!

And to celebrate we're going to have a right old knees up round the Old Joanna round at The Telegraph on Thursday 18th February from 7:30pm onwards.

Entry fee of £3 will get you:

- Fantastic live music from the likes of The Stillwells, Squares, Sleepwalk and assorted other local folks, including a potential comics-creator supergroup that could make all other comics-creator supergroups look MERELY ADEQUATE!

- Free copy of the latest all-killer-no-filler anthology from the Paper Jam Comics Collective, SPACE MONKEY... AND THAT. Our latest venture is all ages big format full colour cover fun with a capital F! We didn't quite get to have a proper launch for this one, so let's celebrate it with some vigour!

- The regular cakes and sweets, available to all who attend, free of charge! Some home baked if you're lucky. If you'd like to bring your own baking, feel free!

- Small press from local creators available on the night, comics of all kinds available! Why not interrogate the creators themselves about where they get their crazy ideas from?

Anyway...
Here's hoping you can come along, it'll be great to see faces old and new and have a right old fun time.

Thanks! PJCC

Thought Bubble 2009

The PJC collective will be out in force at the Leeds Thought Bubble convention on Saturday 21st October. Manning the stall and selling their goods will be Andy Waugh, Gary Bainbridge and Paul Thompson, with support/derision from Jack Fallows (who'll be manning his own table) and Mike (who'll be running the Travelling Man table). Collective member Terry Wiley will also have a table somewhere in the area, adding to an already formidable North East contingency.

This will be the convention debut of our newest anthology Space Monkey and will also be a chance for people outside of the North East to pick up copies of our previous titles (providing stocks last). In edition to these, there are exciting individual titles to pick up. Jack and Gary are both launching new works - the first part of Jack's new series The Big Bang and Gary's new tome Grainger Street. Meanwhile, Andy has two new comics - including the TB exclusive Blether - and a painting (or two) to sell. All this, plus the usual titles from the collective and friends.

If you're coming along, please stop by and say "hi" to the guys (or "hello" if you're that way inclined) and show your support. Mexican waves are always encouraged.

KIDS Anthology

Hello Everyone,

We are putting together our new anthology very soon. The idea is as loose as ever - Kid Friendly. There aren't very strict rules in terms of theme, but for content we need to make sure there are no swear words, no scenes of a violent or explicit nature (to the degree that isn't suitable for kids, - i.e. a spaceman shooting an alien's head off might be okay, but the spaceman proceeding to have full naked sex with the Star Princess afterwards might be a step too far). By the same token, try not to patronise or dumb anything down either, think about what you loved as a kid and bear the themes/content of that stuff in mind when you're creating.

The deadline for submissions will be Thursday 24th September and the finished product will be A4 size (A3 sheets folded in half). It will have a full-colour cover and black and white interiors. Each contributor has two pages to play with, so if you're writing and drawing your own story it can be either one or two pages long, or if you're working with somebody else it can be one to four pages long and so on. We have some space for colour submissions, but not much, so if this is something that would interest you drop me a line ASAP (tmne_smallpress@yahoo.co.uk) and we'll figure something out from there. Please don't create something in full colour until you've dropped me a line as we might not be able to use it!

As for submitting work, you can bring your original artwork (A3 or A4 only) in to the shop or to one of the meetings as long as it's in a folder or plastic sleeve or anything else that will prevent it from getting damaged in somebody's bag. Alternatively you can scan it in and send it as a 300dpi JPEG to the above e-mail address. Be sure to leave a blank border around your pages so that nothing gets cut off during printing and make sure your text is legible, not least of all because children will be reading it, but also because it will shrink if you're working on A3 and it might disappear during printing if your lines are really fine.

The last Comics Evening before the deadline is this coming Thursday 10th September from 6:30pm onwards at Travelling Man Newcastle, and we'll be using the opportunity to share our ideas with the group before the big day, so bring any and all scraps of paper or abstract notions you might have!

See you there.
-Jack

Small Press Big Mouth + Calendar

So you all know who Stacey Whittle is, right? She's the local writer and small press appreciator who has an impressive number of writing gigs and geeky affiliates under her belt, and is an asset to our own humble collective. Not only does she HAND BAKE cakes every time we have a launch party, but also collects the anthologies and the work of our individual members. This means she's either A) A really swell person, B) Genuinely impressed with the local small press scene or C) both of the above. And let me tell ya, if you want to go home with the car, the home media station and the fabulous assistant I'd get those fingers on the buzzers for C. Anyway, my excuse for this plug is because she gave the Robots anthology a mention on her brand-spanking-new podcast Small Press Big Mouth, go there and have a listen, it's jolly good fun.

Next on the agenda is to post a wee calendar so people know when we're meeting. All Comics Evenings are free and happen at 6:30pm on alternate Thursday nights at the Travelling Man comic shop on Grainger Street in Newcastle. You need to be 18+ to attend and you don't need to be a massive comic fan either. It's very rare that any of that isn't the case, but if it isn't I'll be sure to let you know. Anyway, the events this coming month are:

Thursday 2nd July, Travelling Man @ 6:30pm
Thursday 16th July, Travelling Man @ 6:30pm
Thursday 30th July, Travelling Man @ 6:30pm

Hopefully see you all there!
-Jack

Robots Launch

Might I be the first to suggest a roaring round of applause to all people involved with the Robots... and that launch party last Friday, which was an unfathomable success. We got tons of people down, all of which seemed to have a ruddy good time. The antho was (and IS!) awesome, bands and films were awesome and the cakes were yummy. We'll soon be posting our first ever anthology as a free downloadable PDF from this 'ere site, and we'll also be re-printing the others long passed and setting up little PayPal buttons so people from the far reaches of planet earth can check out our back catalogue. Watch this space!

In other news PJCC member and Squares frontman Daniel Clifford just scored himself a feature on the Shields Gazette website and bigged us up like a true gentleman. You'll also see pictures of the man himself in a fashionable spangly space suit if you check out the new photo slideshow I've posted as a testament to our grand accomplishments... just over there >>>
(photographs by Yvette Bessels and Andy Waugh)

That's all for news, but while I'm here dear reader, why not come down to one of our Comics Evenings and get involved with all of this malarky? They're every two weeks on Thursday nights at the Travelling Man comic shop (on Grainger Street in Newcastle), and begin at 6:30pm. You must be 18 or over, but it's free and there are cakes... Our next event is tomorrow (Thusday 4th June), meaning the next one after that will be Thursday 18th, and so on etc.

See you soon!

LAUNCH EVENT

Right then,

The launch event for the 5th Paper Jam Comics Collective anthology Robots... And That will be hosted at the fabulous Star & Shadow Cinema in Newcastle, and festivities will commence at 7:30pm. Watch this space for updates on a possible all-day faire too. It will cost the general public £3 if they're a member of the cinema, or an extra £1 membership fee if not. There will be live music, films on show, comic stalls, cakes, sweets and of course the fabled item for everyone's enjoyment. The date to put into your calendar is: 29th May. Tell everyone you know, we're a little further afield this time, so good promo will be essential! But rest assured, this will be our best anthology, and indeed best launch event yet.

That's how for now.

-Jack

Robots ...And That (submissions outline)

The collective are planning their fifth comics anthology, set to be released in May, and we want everyone to get involved! As we are growing day by day, we thought it might be useful to have a submission outline on the blog for people to have a look at from the comfort of their own homes. Gary Bainbridge took the liberty of putting this into words for us:

OUR THEME:

Robots... And That
Think Science-fiction, science, fiction, science versus fiction, robots, androids, cyborgs, the final frontier, the impossible made possible, nanotechnology, contradictions of the laws of physics, The Time Machine, holograms, Battlestar Galactica, Back to the Future, space travel, time travel, Flash Gordon, Buck Rodgers, Brave New World, Space, Star prefixes, Nineteen Eighty Four, Logan’s Run, aliens, humans, other, artificial intelligence, artificial stupidity, the living dead, Tron, cryogenics, Ghost in the Shell, The Tempest, alternative timelines, parallel universes, Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, future technologies, yellow writing in space, faster than light, obscenely complicated techno-babble followed up with a simple metaphor to explain it, telepathy, discovery, utopias, dystopias, the human condition, the alien condition, or just really tenuously feature something that vaguely resembles any of the above in a completely different kind of story.

GUIDELINES, RULES AND ADVICE:



We’re going to be having a new format for the anthology this time around, so listen up. Work on A4, but draw a horizontal line 2 ½ inches (63mm) from the bottom of the page, and imagine that line is where the page ends. So, you’ll be working in a 210x234mm rectangle. Leave a 10mm margin so none of your lovely drawings get cropped in the printing!


The rule of thumb is Two-Pages-Per-Head, which means if you're working alone, you have 1-2 pages to work with. If you're collaborating with one other person, you have 1-4 pages to work with, another two and you have 1-6, you get the idea!

Please let us know as soon as possible how many pages you will be submitting, so we can get a total page count.

When you’re done, either a bring your originals (in a plastic wallet or folder) down to a Comics Evening, hand it over to Jack or Mike during shop hours, or if you're equipped with some fancy technology, scan it in yourself, save it as a 300dpi PDF file and e-mail it to tmne_smallpress@yahoo.co.uk

If you are handing an original over, ensure that you work in black ink on white paper, and that all text is clear and readable, even if it’s reduced to half size. No one has the time to sort this out for you!

Make sure you include any information about yourself that you want people to know - i.e. the title of your strip, your name, website etc. You can do this either on the comic itself or write it down on a piece of paper and include it with your submission/e-mail it.

We're planning a colour cover this time, who draws it (if not all of us!) will be decided at the meetings, so bring down any and all ideas you might have and share them with the group!

DEADLINE:

Thursday 30th April 2009 (there will be a launch event in May, with bands, sweets, comics and tons of other genres of fun)

Good Luck

-PJC