Heyhey my friends and comrades,

I guess this is my life now: an endless barrage of activity and excitement that stops me from making regular newsletter updates - which IS a good thing. Except the part when I am no longer a sprightly 20-something spring chicken! And the part where every time I send out a newsletter digest, it's HUGE!! (Note: I have total faith that all of my followers are receptive to Reading Blocks of Text aka my Word Vomit, so hopefully that describes you!)

Here's all the stuff with me that happened in September, and what will happen in October.

The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya Book 2 is completed

(Read Book 2)

(Download eBook)

The 10th Anniversary just completed its rerun of Book 2. Now's the time to catch up if you are interested, before the rerun resumes for Book 3 in November.

For those who aren't aware of this webcomic, here's the scoop:

The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya is an Eisner-nominated completed webcomic set in 17th century Turkiye and 18th century England. Zeynel, a former scholar turned carpet merchant, goes away on a business trip and is murdered by a suspicious traveller. He awakens to discover he has transformed into a vampire, just like his killer. Desperate to cling onto what remains of his humanity, Zeynel returns home to his wife Ayşe. It is their shared love and faith that gives Zeynel the strength to endure and to one day save the soul of the one who killed him.

Book One is a romantic story about how Zeynel and Ayşe met as adolescents, and the 25 years of marriage they lived through together.

Book Two details the aftermath of Zeynel's death and return as a blood-sucking djinn (in other words, a vampire): his struggle to reconcile his faith and his condition, both his and Ayse's desperation to stay with each other, and their inevitable separation.

MAKE Comics Festival Madness

(Check out MAKE)

It's is the dawn of the final day, till I fulfill one of my biggest items in the 10 Year Bucket List, which is to start and run a comics festival.

This festival is the reason I disappeared for a few years and did my Masters. Like, not this festival specifically, but the idea of it. I've always had a life-long passion to building up public reception to the art form and the comics scenes I am resident to (Southeast Asia and Oceania), and that has manifested in creating resources like UNNAMED, the Comics Devices Library, Melbourne Comics Art Jam and Cartoonists United.

But the dream for me is to create something impactful in-person! Not to say my virtual resources have no impact; I meant that I wanted to physically get a group of people equally passionate about comics together and produce an infrastructural hub that we can all be proud of, where we can fully embrace kooky artistry of our medium. The in-person camaraderie aspect is a missing element that I have been craving for for a long time, and I am honoured I get to finally achieve one of my life's biggest highlights with the debut of MAKE.

I am so privileged to be organising the festival alongside the best gaggle of work-proud, dedicated and resourceful comics people anyone could ask for, thanks hugely to Bruce Mutard's head-hunting talent and direction. And to have our debut christened by such a stacked list of friends, peers and idols whose generosity and belief in our mission definitely affirmed and encouraged us! MAKE is so much bigger and cooler than even pragmatic, half-glass-empty me could expect given our scant resources and little funding.

My team and I will do our best to pull our crazy festival off. After this weekend is over, we are hyped to make MAKE even better and cooler for its second edition - fingers crossed for a second edition!

Anyway, if you happen to be in Melbourne, Australia this weekend, I will be at all 3 days of MAKE. I will be tabling as well on Market Day with my usual ware of books and things, and promoting both the Comics Art Jam and the Comics Devices Library. 😀

Australian Springtime

I'm so happy to be finally coming out of my Seasonal Affective Disorder now that the daylight hours and temperatures are at their most correct measurements. It doesn't really help much with the "I am juggling way too many things with my limited physical energy and time" problem that I seem to be doomed to for the rest of the year. But oh well! One must keep pressing on.

PCAF Outfits

Here's a little "Outfit of the Day" recording of my wardrobe for Perth Comic Arts Festival. I always make it a point to be stylish for each PCAF I go to and this year is no different!! The cardigan turned out to be quite popular, which surprised me cos I thought I had worn it before to a previous PCAF, but apparently not?

Pet Portrait Commission Bookings Opening Soon (Christmas Sale)

After a brief break, I will be returning to pet portrait commissions in time for the holidays.

Bookings are open until December 10 Email me ([email protected]) for a quote! Details on commissions can be found below.

(Commission info)

(Pet Portraits Portfolio)

The Bloggening

The blog has been quite happening these two months!

• How Comics Festivals Boost Their Art Form and Their Hosts
• Legitimising Comics in France and Australia: a brief history and contrast
• Australia needs a vibrant comic book sector but the comics community needs greater policy support and coordination from the Australian government.

In the Realm of Comics

✨Support Me On Buttondown✨

Reminder again that I've set up a paid subscription/patreon model for this newsletter. If you'd like to support me with $3/$5/$10 a month, or pay as you want, please head on over to my Buttondown to upgrade your subscription.

Your financial support will help me to continue making webcomics outside of the traditional publishing structure, particularly Alexander Comic and The World in Deeper Inspection, and facilitate ongoing scholarship and maintenance on the Comics Devices Library.

Till very soon,

.