Thought Bubble You Rock

This weekend we attended the Thought Bubble Festival, we also did our talk at the Comics Forum. Editors Lydia Wysocki and Michael Thompson presented our talk to Comics Forum entitled Epic themes in awesome ways, or how we made Asteroid Belter: The Newcastle Science Comic. It seemed to go rather well, if anybody happened to record any of it we'd love to see/hear it.

Excellent science comics from @NCLScienceComic #comicsforum13 pic.twitter.com/mes2HkJAew
— Damon Herd (@tickingboy) November 22, 2013

Jess Bradley's poo comic was a favourite among the Thought Bubble gang. I have a poo sticker and badge now, which is grand.

Sarah McIntyre took a great photo of the Science Comic team for her blog, thanks Sarah. We hope you enjoy the comic.

The @nclsciencecomic being judged. Guilty of all charges #awesome #science #comics pic.twitter.com/AdHDc8rUFm
— Paul Thompson (@Paulxthompson) November 24, 2013

We have been judged and found guilty of comics. Oh no.
Paul Thompson took the fall while another culprit fled the scene.

If you visited us on Sunday it's very possible that you witnessed Lydia's mad knitting skills. She was making gloves, I've never really got to grips with knitting but it is certainly very scientific and involves a lot of counting. It looks a lot like being a human printer. 

Massive thanks to Thought Bubble, we gave out over 600 comics and we hope you all enjoy them. Yes, even you. Leeds, you were grand. Now we shall rest a bit.

Science Comic : Artists, Writers and Scientists

This page used to contain a list of our contributors while the Science Comic was in production - we now have a complete list of all the Newcastle Science Comic Artists, Writers and Scientists.

Introducing John Miers

We've got another profile for you today, it's John Miers. John has created a fantastic comic for us which allows you to programme a robot, allowing it to navigate a maze. This is no easy task but is certainly great fun. John's work is based on the science of John Hedley.

Who are you? 
John Miers

What have you done / what are you doing?
I'm a cartoonist, teacher, and researcher, currently working on a practice-based PhD exploring the use of metaphor in comics. I've done a lot of work in the UK indie / underground comics scene, and illustration for books and magazines. One of my favourite recent projects was collaborating with some of Britain's best cartoonists on a billboard-sized comic for Foyles bookstore, which is still on display outside their flagship store on Charing Cross Road, London. I'm frothing with excitement about my work being used in an upcoming book about comics from Tate publishing, the first survey of the artform they have ever conducted.

What excites you about comics?
How long have you got? They're a unique artform that combines the immediacy of imagery with the specificity and detail of writing. Comics can present the reader with fantastic worlds and sprawling, epic narratives, while retaining the intimacy of handwriting. What's really exciting about being involved in comics right now is the explosion in the styles and subject matter being used by cartoonists, and the different uses to which comics are being put. The Newcastle Science Comic is a great example of this!

What excites you about science?
I can't help but be attracted by the mind-bending theories proposed to explain some of the more outlandish phenomena that have been observed in the recent history of science, such as the use of parallel universes as an interpretation of quantum mechanics, or the idea derived from the study of black holes that we might all be living in a hologram. More generally, the scientific method, rooted in scepticism and evidence-based knowledge, is one of the greatest gifts to thought humanity has ever given itself.

Contact/Links
Website: www.johnmiers.com
Email: info@johnmiers.com

A Preview

We ordered our second proof last weekend. It should arrive some time today. Here's a quick glimpse of the comics that are mostly finished, certainly not all of our comics. There's more surprises yet to come.

The deadline for our schools pack is upon us. If you're a teacher or a parent/kid who can bother a teacher then do! You've only got a few more days to invent something amazing and send it to us, the best inventions will be included in the comic AND be on the wall during our exhibition! Wow! Where can you get your hands on the worksheets for this competition? Right here dear reader, right here: British Science Festival School Packs: Science FACT-ion.

We've had some wonderful entries so far and can't wait to see even more amazing, astounding, life changing inventions from the scientists of tomorrow.

Introducing Martin Kirby

Who are you?
My name is Martin Kirby and I'm a freelance artist and cartoonist living in Newcastle.

What have you done / what are you doing?
Currently I have mostly done freelance work spanning a pretty large range, from personal commissions to portraits to small book runs and company advertisements. Currently, however, I'm working on my long term goal of producing my own graphic novel, Freelancers, due out this summer! Check out http://www.freelancerscomic.com for more information and to see the comic!

What excites you about comics?
I think that the accessibility of comics is what excites me most. Practically everyone, at some point in their life, has read or drawn comics. Even if they were just small ones when you were a kid, it's a medium that we've all cherished at one point in our life or another and I think that makes them inherently appealing to a huge audience. And comics are really hitting a boom at the moment, both with works from recognised publishers and creator owned comics alike. Nothing excites me more than seeing so many amazing stories and styles coming out from across the world on literally a daily basis!

What excites you about science?
The thing I've always loved about science is that is makes the mundane seem incredible. I remember going through physics lessons and finding out exactly how much is involved in simply throwing a ball, or making a loud noise, that it blew my small, impressionable mind at the time! It still fascinates me when I hear new bits of news about scientists figuring out a little bit more about how the universe works. Its exciting stuff!

Also, robots are neat and science helps make them happen.

Contacts/Links
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kirbishart
Twitter: @KirbishArt
Website: http://www.freelancerscomic.com

Introducing Owen D. Pomery

Owen D. Pomery has made us a comic entitled Moon Beach, it's rather fine. Fine in the amazingly good looking sense of the word, rather than the okay sense. You can catch a peek of it on Paul Thompson's Vine of our printed proof. Oh yes, we got our proof in the post today. It looks mint. The guys and girls at Newspaper Club do not disappoint. 

Who are you?

I am an illustrator working in the three main areas of architecture, editorial and comics.

What have you done / what are you doing?

My educational and professional background is in architecture. In recent years I have become an illustrator working on a whole range of projects and featured in books, magazines and on websites. I create the graphic miniseries Between the Billboards as well as contributing to several comics anthologies. My next project is The Megatherium Club published by Avery Hill, is about a real life group of eccentric 19th century scientists and due out in July 2013.

What excites you about comics?

Despite being around in some form for many years, it still feels like it is an emerging culture and as such, there are new an exciting ways of telling a story being produced all the time. It's the freedom, diversity and lack of 'rules' that I really enjoy and I love the fact there is no medium quite like it. 

What excites you about science?

It's a cliche, but it is literally everywhere and everyone can engage with whatever part of it that interests them at whatever level. I get excited by seeing simple, mechanical science in action, basic stuff like The Falkirk Wheel still blows my mind.

Contact/Links

www.owenpomery.com

@ODPomery

Introducing Marvin Harding

We've got another fabulous artist to introduce today. Marvin Harding is helping us explain the ups and downs of the North Sea. It's a fish eat fish world out there. Marvin is working with writer Georgia Litherland, their work is based on the science of Johanna Forster. 

Who are you? 

Marvin Harding

•Studied graphic design at Kedleston Road Derby College of Art

•Got first job in advertising back in 1970

•Currently proprietor of Harding Design. Business is almost in its 20th year.

What have you done / what are you doing?

Always been interested in cartoon work.

Have produced educational comics for over 5 years now with publishers inHeritage. Comics provide not only a window to the past and future but enables the kids of all ages and competence to participate with the adventures and learn something in the process.

What excites you about comics?

Comics are a superb way of presenting difficult subjects to children 8 to 11 years. I always get a kick out of the kid's responses to our comic work.

What excites you about science?

Science has always excited me since my fascination with subjects dealt by The Eagle, Look and Learn and Knowledge, all ground breaking publications from the early '50s and '60s. At that time 'outer space; was such

a major topic, not only in scientific journals of the time but comics too.

Contact/Links
www.hardingdesign.co.uk
marvinpaul@w3z.co.uk

Introducing Dave Windett & John Gatehouse

We're excited to introduce our first team of contributors to the Newcastle Science Comic, Dave Windett and John Gatehouse.

Dave Windett is a professional comics artist and illustrator, his work has been published in Britain, Europe and America.

He has drawn comics featuring numerous licensed characters, including Inspector Gadget, Eek the Cat, Ace Ventura, Daffy Duck and Korky the Cat .

For the Scandinavian market he has illustrated educational books, business manuals and comics.

He has also designed original characters for a variety of publications and provided illustrations for everything from magazines and websites to mobile phones, games, and children's shoes.

Samples of his work can be seen at - http://www.davewindett.com/ and on his blog at - http://www.davewindett.com/blog/

John Gatehouse has written over 100 books and annuals, over 300 television shows and thousands of comic strips and short stories for children.

He has produced stories for legendary characters such as Inspector Gadget, Pokemon, Scooby Doo, Garfield, Dracula, Spider-Man, Ace Ventura Pet Detective, The Hurricanes, Digimon, Rugrats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and hundreds of other Intellecutal Properties.


John and Dave are currently working together on two projects.

Monster Hunt, a series of Children's books for Penguin (USA) the first of which should be available this Autumn.

The Kaci Bell Mysteries, a newspaper style adventure strip which he and John plan to publish as both a daily web-comic and printed collection once the story is finished. At the time of writing over 100 episodes have already been drawn.

A collection of the Lazarus Lemming strips (that they created for the weekly DFC comic) is due to be "published" on the digital comics platform Comixology and their kid's book, Trick or Treat is still available from Amazon.


Check out these fantastic roughs they did for us. The final version is looking great but you'll have to wait for the comic to see it all.

Super Mash-Up!

On Wednesday the 16th January Newcastle Science Comic had a Super Mash-Up, the first meeting of artists, writers and scientists interested in contributing to the comic. Science and comics aren't naturally considered a good match but they're both used to explain things. Comics are a fantastically accessible way of telling a story and science is full of fantastic stories that really need to be told, the ideal match!

We kicked off the event with a little activity that will probably look familiar to anybody who's been near the internet in the last year. What do people think you do? It was interesting to see that most people's mothers couldn't really keep track of what they do. It also seems nobody actually does what they think they do.

What people think I do - post it note version - photos by Mike D, drawings by a scientist.

Science, the great employability machine - photos by Mike D, drawings by a scientist.

The words in balloons - photos by Mike D, drawings by a writer.

Born free - photos by Mike D, drawings by an artist.

The event got off to a great start and collaboration was already in the air. Newcastle Science Comic's chief editor Lydia Wysocki made a presentation on comics and their usefulness for communication and explaining. Some examples included Will Eisner's How to Strip your Baby, a page from his M-16 U.S. Army Rifle Maintenance Booklet (commissioned by the U.S. Army) and the safety instructions on the back of an airplane seat.

We also heard from Dr Mike Jeffries, an ecologist who researches pond life; water beetles, dragonflies and the like, how they come and go over the years and in response to changing landscapes. Dr Jeffries uses comics to raise awareness and explore environmental themes related to his research. He also encourages his geography students to make comics to explore their personal worlds, making geography unique and relevant to their lives and surroundings.

Friendships were made, pictionary was played and some of our artists found their scientific soul mates. Not everybody could make it to Newcastle on the day so we had some online portfolios to show off too, technology is a wonderful thing, thank you science. The next few weeks will be all about putting our teams in touch with each other and bouncing even more scientific ideas back and forth.

Artists and scientists playing pictionary - photo by @EngageNE.

Communicating in words and pictures, that's a comic that - photo by @EngageNE.

If you were at the mash-up and drew a thing or took a photo of a thing then please do share it with us, we'd love to show it on our blog. We've got some more "What people think I do" sticky notes to share over the next few days and a fantastic giant collaborative drawing by everybody at the mash-up to try and fit in a scanner.