The online home of Adventure Cartoonist Lucy Bellwood
In honor of Mr. Tambourine Man making the official selection for Rock Ink Roll’s anthology (out in November from Altered Aesthetics!), I’ve decided to release the comic online for all to read and enjoy. It was great working with writer Shannon Campbell again, and I’m looking forward to the other projects we have planned for the near future. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, HAVE SOME FREE COMICS!
Joy of joys! My copies of Cartozia #1 arrived over the weekend and HOLY COW they are bee-yoo-tiful. Isaac did a stellar job with the print quality and paper stock, and the stories all look gorgeous. I just can’t stop touching them.
We’ll be running a Kickstarter for the full year’s worth of issues later this month, but I encourage all of you to order or subscribe NOW, as the price will go up to account for Kickstarter fees and other sundry costs. The more subscribers we get now, the lower our target goal will be and the higher our chances of succeeding. Plus, this is a beautiful and innovative comic, and I’m excited to get it into as many hands as possible.
If you’re allergic to ordering things on the Internet, I’ll also have these first issues for sale in person at Rose City Comic Con next month. No excuses!
Oh hey, Party on Paper also updated this week! For those who missed it the first time around, Party on Paper is a collaborative conversation comic between Bridget Underwood, Carolyn C. Nowak, and yours truly. Click here to read the whole update on Tumblr!
So I just got word from our fearless editor Isaac Cates that Cartozia Tales #1 is hot off the press and headed out TODAY! Here’s a couple phone-quality photos of the first issue:
You can still snag a copy for the pre-order sale price ($5!) until Isaac starts shipping orders in earnest, so be sure to grab one THIS VERY SECOND! Seriously, initial support is crucial to the continuation of this series, which will run for a whole year (and possibly more), so the more the merrier at this point. Plus, I’m super proud of all the work that went into this and I think the contributors are all a buncha badasses, so, y’know. There’s that.
We’ll also be launching a Kickstarter later this month, but subscriptions and single issues are cheaper if you order straight through the store right now, so get to it!
And since we just can’t stop, here’s a couple panels from my story for the second issue, which I just wrapped up earlier this week:
Want to know more about Reshii and his quest? You can catch the first part of his story, illustrated by Sarah Becan, in Issue 1. My piece for Issue 2 explores the mysteries of the China Labyrinth, which was one of my absolute favorite places to design. I’m hoping to do a little “Learn More” featurette about its unique ecosystem somewhere in Issue 2. Keep your eyes peeled.
Cartozia Forever!
YOU GUYS LIKE PAPER DOLLS? I DO.
These are some fancy postcards that will come bundled with the second issue of Cartozia Tales. They’ll be fully sendable, so you can either cut ‘em out or mail ‘em to friends. The paper will be nice and sturdy, and the figures each have outfits that you can color and cut out yourself from the centerfold of the second issue. If you don’t want to cut up your precious comic, we’ll even offer PDFs of the outfits so you can make as many as you like!
Sarah Becan created Reshii (who’s one of the characters I’ll be working with in Issue 2), and Jen Vaughn is responsible for Sylvia.
In the meantime, as I mentioned yesterday, Issue 1 is available for pre-order at a dollar off the regular price until it starts shipping on August 1st!
SO MUCH EXCITING CARTOZIA NEWS!
Oh gosh you guys. It’s happening!
Issue 1 of Cartozia Tales went off to the printer’s yesterday and should start shipping on August 1st. Can you believe this incredible cover by Leah Palmer Preiss? Such beautiful work.
The issue will contain 44 sturdy pages of adventurous comics, interactive features, and other surprises. We’ve had a great time putting together this first issue, and #2 is already coming together nicely.
You can pre-order a copy for yourself or a voracious young comic reader in your life here or get a subscription to the whole series here. Issue 1 is also discounted until the comic comes in from the printers, so you get can your copy for a dollar off the cover price if you order now!
VIVA CARTOZIA!
After ten days of non-stop insanity, Mr. Tambourine Man is FINISHED. I’ll be submitting the story to Rock Ink Roll tomorrow morning after a few final tone tweaks. I’m so pleased with how this thing came out, and I’m thrilled to be working with Shannon Campbell again. (We’ve got another project in the works for August, so keep your eyes peeled for that.)
I did let myself celebrate by sleeping in until the ungodly hour of 10:30 this morning, so with that R&R under my belt it’s time to hit the drawing board again for square one of the next project. Wish me luck!
Still cranking hard on my story for Rock Ink Roll with Shannon Campbell. Inked three pages yesterday, wrapping the other three by tonight. Off to tones and color tomorrow. Deadline: Monday.
So excited to submit this.
Hey Gang! Sorry things have been a bit quiet over here. I’m currently deep in a Three-Project Wormhole thanks to some foolish treble-booking on my part, but NEVER FEAR. I am kicking ass and taking names in my usual style.
The good news is this means lots of new stuff for you to look at in the coming weeks. Read on for the whole rundown.
First up, I’ll have another story done for Cartozia by the end of the month. Tom Motley designed the awesome promo postcard pictured above, and you can even read a couple stories from the first issue of the series on the Cartozia site! The more I work on this project the more excited I become. It’s wonderful to be collaborating with so many enthusiastic creators. I also get to incorporate some super cool characters and environments into this next tale. Should be a grand old time.
Second, I’ve been collaborating once more with the great Shannon Campbell (the writer behind Navy Ink) on a submission for Rock Ink Roll — a totally rad music/comics anthology involving some of my favorite people: fellow boat-lover Kevin Cannon, fellow Lady Cartoonist Brittney Sabo, and fellow Cartozian Lupi McGinty. Shannon busted out a story in no time flat, with a pitch so delightful I couldn’t wait to get started. I think this one’s going to be a lot of fun.
Finally, I’m illustrating a secret project that I can’t say much about. It should be finished by September, at which point I’ll be able to share more information, but in the meantime this elusive coon in the only hint I can give.
That’s all from me for now! Back to the drawing board.
Many, many moons ago I was lamenting the fact that I am peripheral friends with a lot of incredible lady cartoonists, but haven’t had the chance to hang out with them as much as I’d like. Scanning my bookshelf in a sulk, I happened upon my copy of Drawn To You, a charming conversation comic project put together by Erika Moen and Lucy Knisley. Inspired by their model of passing a comic back and forth, trading panels and getting themselves into artistic scrapes, I broached the idea to Bridget Underwood and Carolyn Nowak.
Since then, we’ve been swapping a Photoshop document around as and when we’re able, which has led to the start of a great side project. (Carolyn and Bridget are also both super-pro digital creators, so it’s been a perfect challenge to work digital from start to finish.)
Last night the official Party on Paper blog came into the world, so now we have a place to post all our latest panels and collaborations.
Won’t you follow us?