Pre-order In The Frame from Solipsistic Pop Books

Discover the origins of the creatures known only as the Some Say, the terrifying capabilities of the DeHobo 5000, how a zombie handles the Department for Work and Pensions, and what unwanted punctuation does with its free time.

Welcome to In the Frame.

Starting in late 2012, halfway through the coalition Government’s term of office, Tom Humberstone’s weekly comic has been bringing a refreshing new form of political cartooning to the New Statesman.

This book collects every In the Frame comic from the past two years in 90 full colour pages. With an introduction by Dan Hancox.

In the Frame has been nominated for an award by the Society of Illustrators, and was recently shortlisted in the Best Comic category for the British Comic Awards. The winner will be announced on November 15 2014.

“Taken together, these comics provide a gourmet banquet of the scathing cynicism that a glib, dunderheaded 24-hour news culture deserves, with its twitter storms, its dead air, its mythical public, its phoney balance and its factory-farmed politicians – but in spite of everything, Tom never lets snark or sheer exasperation win the day, and reporting from the front line of austerity Britain, the voices of ordinary people fighting cuts to libraries and demanding tax justice sing out from the panels.” – Dan Hancox, from his introduction.

“The first thing to say about Tom Humberstone’s collection is that is is really funny, inventive and silly. Add to that his incisive and righteous take on contemporary politics and it becomes an essential primer, a brilliant record of the last two years. Then on top of it all is his sumptuous graphic style. He’s a triple threat. This is a fantastic body of work.” – Josie Long.

RELEASE DATE 17/11/14.

LIMITED PRINT-RUN.

Pre-order available 10/11/14 from http://solipsisticpop.bigcartel.com/product/in-the-frame-2012-2014. Books will be shipped on 17/11/14.

The book will also be available at the Thought Bubble Comic Festival on 14/11/14 for a special convention price of £10.

Pre-order Ellipsis from Solipsistic Pop Books

Solipsistic Pop editor Tom Humberstone has finished the first chapter of his six part comic series Ellipsis…

El•lip•sis (noun). From Ancient Greek (elleipsis) to leave out, fall short.

1. a mark or series of marks used to indicate an intentional omission, unfinished thought or a trailing off into silence. The ellipsis can also inspire a feeling of melancholy or longing.
2. a sudden leap from one topic to another.
3. a comic composed of six standalone but interconnected short stories by Tom Humberstone.

Issue One: Pregnant Pause. A young woman contemplates the transient and incongruous nature of airports as she begins a new chapter of her life.

“A wry yet heartfelt examination of the subtext whenever anyone says ‘the journey’s more important than the destination’” – Kieron Gillen (Phonogram, Journey into Mystery)

ISBN 978-0-9570519-1-1 / £5.00 / Published by Solipsistic Pop Books / 24 pages

A three page PDF preview can be downloaded here.

A press release for the book can be downloaded here. If you would like to receive a review copy of the book as a physical or digital edition please contact solipsisticpop*at*gmail*dot*com.

The book will have a launch party at Gosh! Comics in London on Friday 27th July followed by an official release on Monday 30th July. A digital edition will also be available to download on the Monday. Those who attend the Gosh event will be able to have their copies signed and will also receive an A5 signed & numbered colour print incentive.

You can pre-order your copy of the book here. The first 100 pre-orders will also receive the A5 signed & numbered print incentive. All pre-orders will be dispatched so they arrive on July 27th to conincide with the Gosh event.

An Ellipsis subscription is also available for those who would like pre-order all 6 issues of the book and a collected edition when it is complete. Subscribers will receive copies signed & sketched, plus incentive prints, plus a chance to buy or win original artwork from the series. For more details please go here.

Solipsistic Pop FCBD

To celebrate Free Comic Book Day this Saturday, Solipsistic Pop will be sending editor Tom Humberstone to Gosh! Comics in London to contribute to the ambitious Gosh! window mural and take part in the informal comic workshops they have planned all day (more details can be found here).

There will also be extremely limited free copies of the Solipsistic Pop Funnies newspaper section that came with Solipsistic Pop 2. If you never had the chance to grab hold of that volume, this is your opportunity to get a piece of that sold out edition!

Featuring work from
Stephen Collins, Joe Decie, Marc Ellerby, Tom Humberstone, Mark Oliver, Matilda Tristram, Anne Holiday, Anna Saunders, Julia Scheele, Lizz Lunney and Matthew Sheret.

This is exclusive to Gosh! Comics so be sure to get down there early…

The Making Of Solipsistic Pop 4

There is a small exhibition of original artwork up at Orbital Comics from December 9 to January 15 which includes an extensive look at John Mier’s creative process in developing the folder design for the book (part of which is featured in the above flyer).

There won’t be a private view due to an extremely busy December for both Orbital and the contributors of Solipsistic Pop but there may well be a “closing night” event on January 15 – watch this space…

Solipsistic Pop 4 On Sale Now

After a successful launch at Concrete, the Comica Comiket and Thought Bubble – Solipsistic Pop 4 is now available to order online here.

“The wake up call I needed to remind me of the wealth of top quality British comics available” (9/10)
– Comics Anonymous

“An exceptionally creative set of stories”
– Tim Noakes, Dazed & Confused

“[One of] 2011’s Best Graphic Novels”
– Tom Gatti, The Times

“Flying the flag for print, journeying and the finest in alternative comic talent”
– Emily Gosling, Design Week

“The epitome of “lovingly hand-crafted”, this is the finest British comics anthology I can ever recall with the most luxurious production values which speak of a true love of comics”
– Stephen Holland, Page 45

Any orders between December 2nd and December 19th will also receive an exclusive comics-themed Christmas postcard by editor Tom Humberstone:

A set of 10 is available to purchase here.

Solipsistic Pop 4 is also stocked at Orbital Comics, Gosh!, Page 45, OK Comics, and Travelling Man.

If you would like your local comic shop, book store, library, school or university to stock Solipsistic Pop – please quote the ISBN number: 978-0-9570519-0-4.

Mapping Velocity

“Velocity, depth, breadth. These are the dimensions we can add to books, that are the gifts of a digital age, not gimmicks, glossy presentation and media-catching stunts” – James Bridle

About this time two years ago I wrote about the reasons Solipsistic Pop existed in print and my thoughts on the digital age of publishing. A lot has happened in those two years… The iPad has successfully been launched, Amazon have announced the Kindle Fire, Comixology and Graphicly are fast becoming the go-to applications for comics on smart-phones and e-readers, and most of the big comic companies are subscribing to day-and-date digital/print releases. Opinions on whether the comic industry (be they creators, publishers or retailers) are meeting the challenges and opportunities of this digital age with the correct speed and attitude are mixed – but one thing is clear, things are changing.

Digital comics aren’t going away. But neither are printed comics. As I mentioned in my post two years ago, it just means we – as creators and publishers – have to be clear about why something needs to exist in print and rise to the challenge that digital comics can present. Because digital comics are a good thing. The more ways people can read comics and the easier they are to get hold of – the more people there are reading them.

There needs to be a reason for comics to exist in print. Which, in a roundabout way, brings me to maps…

Maps share a lot of qualities with comics. They are words and pictures. Working side by side to tell a story and convey information in a succinct and accessible way. They deal with time and space while being two dimensional and static. And their scope can be as grand or as small as you wish.

This was the idea behind Solipsistic Pop 4. To create a book that enthusiastically embraced the idea of cartography and infuse the anthology with depth, breadth and scope large enough that the idea of reading it on a computer screen would be unimaginable. These comics have been created to be re-read, the piece before last adding context to the next. Reading this comic panel by panel or zooming into sections of the screen would not do these comics justice – these comics must be absorbed. The bigger picture observed.

The additional material for this volume was also crucial to this idea. Keeping with the theme of maps, there are three postcard sized comics which encourage the reader to travel. One postcard is printed with glow-in-the-dark ink – giving the comic a new, unexpected context when you find a dark place to read it in. One postcard is printed on seeded paper, encouraging the reader to find an ideal place to plant it once it has been read. The final postcard is a bingo checklist of specific things to find in your area – again, encouraging an interaction with your environment that feels appropriate to the theme of the comic and the tactile nature of print.

The entire package comes in a folder with a blueprint, diagram-based design and accompanying key – that add extra depth and understanding to an interior piece in the book. It’s also intent on giving the volume a quality that reminds me of geography lessons at school. Folders are extremely satisfying and useful objects.

Katie Green has designed a Solipsistic Pop 4 stamp that will accompany every copy of the book when it is sent out. Every effort being taken to ensure that the journey of this anthology is carefully considered.

Additionally, Katie Green has also provided a dustjacket to the book that folds out into a large poster. One final element that once more encourages the reader to appreciate and view the comic in a different context. This comic can be used as decoration. It would look and read best adorned on a wall. It can be personalised. When digital delivery systems head towards universal, standardised designs – this comic actively embraces a bit of chaos and randomness in the way in which it is consumed.

It wants you to dog-ear a corner, make notes in the margin and tear a page out.

It wants you to make it yours.

Click here to pre-order Solipsistic Pop 4.

Details for the launch party are here.

Solipsistic Pop 4 Launch Party

SOLIPSISTIC POP 4: MAPS

LAUNCH PARTY

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 8

7.30pm – 12

Help us celebrate the launch of the new SOLIPSISTIC POP – the UK’s leading alternative comics anthology. The theme for Book 4 is Maps and includes 80 pages of original comics from 30 of the finest comic artists living and working in the UK.

Be the first to get a copy of the book, have it signed by the artists, and enjoy some live music at:

CONCRETE
56 SHOREDITCH HIGH STREET
LONDON E1 6JJ

LIVE MUSIC FROM
– TIGERCATS
– MOUSTACHE OF INSANITY
– ACE BUSHY STRIPTEASE
– OWL + MOUSE

DJS
– NO PAIN IN POP

HOSTED BY TOM BELL

£5 ENTRY

Or pre-order the book (which will be posted to you before the launch party) and get on the guestlist by visiting: http://www.indiegogo.com/sp4

Facebook event here.

(Flyer images by Luke Pearson and Stephen Collins)

Solipsistic Pop 4 Previews

To pre-order your copy of Solipsistic Pop 4, click here.

Help support Solipsistic Pop

Solipsistic Pop has launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise money for volume four.

Please head over there and donate if you can – or tell your friends. All help and support is greatly appreciated!

Here’s a little info from the campaign page:

What We Need

Due to the more ambitious nature of the fourth volume of Solipsistic Pop, we need help meeting the printing cost of the book and securing the collateral to establish a larger distribution model to the previous three volumes.

The funding target is just over £5,000 which would go a long way to meeting the printing costs and allow for a more sustainable business model for future editions of the book.

What You Get

Depending on your ability to contribute and invest in Solipsistic Pop, there are several exciting incentives available – from signed, exclusive postcards and badges to pre-ordered copies of Solipsistic Pop 4, free tickets to launch events, digital downloads, original artwork, limited edition prints, a credit in the book and even extremely rare printing plates.

Every little helps and whatever you can spare to help support us will be greatly appreciated. Everyone who donates will receive regular updates about Solipsistic Pop 4’s progress before anyone else and will be invited to future Solipsistic Pop events throughout 2012.

And as a little bonus – here’s Katie Green’s Solipsistic Pop 4 stamp design. Yes, this issue has it’s very own stamp…

Poetry & Illustration

Solipsistic Pop are proud to be sponsoring Poet In The City this month with an event in Kings Place, London – exploring the relationship between poetry and illustration.

Philippa Johnson, a regular contributor to Solipsistic Pop, will be creating work in response to the poetry of Colette Bryce live on the night.

Copies of Solipsistic Pop will also be available on the night. Further information is below:

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Poetry & Illustration: 20th June 2011

A special event featuring distinguished poets and illustrators Simon Armitage, Chris Riddell, Philippa Johnson, Heather Phillipson, Colette Bryce and Nick Hayes.

This event will explore the relationship between poetry and illustration and how the two disciplines engage to create fascinating visual and verbal dimensions and reveal ideas in exciting and unexpected ways. This is a rare opportunity to hear how some of our best loved poets think about illustration and what exactly some of our illustrators think of poetry – all while our poets and illustrators create work live in front of us!

Simon Armitage: Author of ten collections of poetry and winner of numerous awards, Simon has become one of Britain’s best loved writers and was awarded
a CBE in 2010 for services to poetry.

Colette Bryce, critically-acclaimed, she has published three collections with Picador, The Heel of Bernadette (2000), The Full Indian Rope Trick (2004) and Self-Portrait in the Dark (2008). She received the Cholmondeley Award in 2010.

Heather Phillipson is a poet and artist. Her poems have appeared widely and she has performed across the UK and in Europe. She is a Faber New Poet and received an Eric Gregory Award in 2008.

Chris Riddell is one of today’s most popular illustrators. He has illustrated over 100 books, won multiple awards and is The Observer’s political cartoonist.

Nick Hayes is an author and illustrator and has won two Guardian Media awards. His first book, The Rime of the Modern Mariner, is a graphic novel and a new poem inspired by Coleridge’s tale. Nick is a political cartoonist for the Guardian and was founding editor of Meat Magazine.

Philippa Johnson, trained in Textile Design and graduated from Chelsea School of Art in 2004. She has since concentrated on texture rather than textile, working in a variety of media as a surface artist/designer and stylist for sets and photography.

This event is sponsored by Popshot and Solipsistic Pop

How to buy tickets

Booking now open online, by phone or in person from the Kings Place box office:
Tickets cost £9.50 if booked online via www.kingsplace.co.uk
Otherwise tickets cost £11.50.
Box Office 020 7520 1490

For enquiries relating to your booking please contact tickets@kingsplace.co.uk.
To check ticket availability please use the online booking service.

For general enquiries or comments, please info@kingsplace.co.uk