Mermaid Treasures 21

Received this delightful mermaid Christmas ornament from my sister. Tanya had spotted this green haired beauty in New Orleans during a holiday in the USA last year. This green haired, green tailed mermaid treasure is hanging on the Christmas tree in the photo but now she's permanently installed in my office.

"Women in Comics" Radio Interview [UPDATED LINKS: 01/02/2012]

Producer and presenter Sonja Souter from Radio Joy 94.9 in Melbourne interviewed BMP Director Julie Ditrich for a "Women in Comics" segment on the "Sci Fi and Squeam" show. The show airs tomorrow – Tuesday 24 January 2012 – at 10:00pm. If you want to listen to the extended podcast, then CLICK HERE. If you want to read more about the program, check out the BLOG here. The segments also features Australian comics creators Mandy Ord and Mirranda Burton.

Oz Comic-Con Controversy Reigns Supreme

Big debate raging on the brand confusion over the inaugural Oz Comic-Con to be held in Adelaide in March 2012 and its relationship to the San Diego Comic-Con. There apparently is none and it was never promoted as such but people are making the assumption that the US mob is also organising the local one. The answer is a big fat no. Having said that, we confess to having believed this to be true based on some articles we read until we corrected this misconception after reading a statement to the contrary on the Oz Comic-Con FaceBook page. In the meantime some commentators are not prepared to let this go and are weighing in heavily with their points-of-view in an online exposé. We're not going to quote from it and we have no position on it as we don't know all the facts. But we think it's important enough to flag and leave you to make up your own minds. Check out the full story on the Gizmodo Australia website. The comments are interesting as well.

Downton Abbey Mermaid

Loved this Downton Abbey parody when I watched it on YouTube last night but didn't expect to encounter a mermaid ... watch carefully and you'll spot her about half to two thirds of the way through during the greeting the "maid" scene. Great cast – Kim Cattrall, Simon Callow, Jennifer Saunders...

 

New Birthday Black Mermaid™ Range Launched

We've answered your call and have just launched the first EVER design in our new Birthday Black Mermaid™ range of clothing and collectibles. Like the other celebration lines, we'll be launching one design in this series a year. We know we're releasing it close after the new Valentine "Ace of Hearts" design, however, we didn't want anybody with a birthday in January to miss out! We've got the same product line as the other ranges but we suspect it will be the greeting cards – which can double up as birthday cards – that will be the most popular. Jozef did an alternate take on the customary birthday cake and presents (that may come next year!) and decided to bring you a big fat orange balloon instead. The design is called "Balloon Day" and she can be found at the Black Mermaid™ Boutique.

Colleen Doran and the Black Mermaids at Comics Masterclass

Received the full Comics Masterclass pic disk from the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) a couple of days ago and we've been troweling through all the photos to find new ones to put online on the Comics Masterclass FaceBook page and onto the Comics Masterclass Spotlight ezine (you can SUBSCRIBE HERE if you want to start receiving it). We did a Comics Masterclass wrap up post last month but LOVED this pic of Colleen Doran and us (Jozef Szekeres and Julie Ditrich) at a morning tea break on the first day on the balcony which served as the green room. Outside of our official Black Mermaid™ logo character, we are also known as the Black Mermaids in the trade, hence the title of this post. BTW, the morning tea was scrumptious! [Photo credit: Ali Hand]

Valentine Black Mermaid™ (Ace of Hearts) Launched

You may have noticed our new Valentine Black Mermaid™ design in the right hand column of this blog, as well as on our Black Mermaid FaceBook page profile pic for the last few days. She's not the Queen of Hearts as one would expect but the "Ace of Hearts" – top of the playing card totem pole, top of the hierarchy – and she beats the Queen hands down in the love stakes. If you want to check out our latest offerings with this design then go to the Black Mermaid™ Boutique. On another note, for the collectors out there who regularly buy product from the shop, we're letting you know that we will be deleting the apron range in the next week and adding a new suede cushion, which will feature alongside the twill and canvas throw pillow. We recently bought the new suede cushion with some other branding on it and absolutely LOVED it. Feels great and looks great!

WaveDancers Flashback!

If you've been reading this blog lately you'd know that Jozef recently had his first solo art exhibition in Sydney. This was also the first time Jozef released his comics art for sale – including his ElfQuest: WaveDancers art – which included several original painted covers from the six part series. US collector, Corey Dalton, scooped up one of the covers prior to the launch of the exhibition. After everything was packed up and sent off, Jozef – being the curious creature that he is – asked Corey why he had chosen that particular piece. This is what Corey had to say:

I chose to buy the original cover art for WaveDancers issue six for a couple of reasons. First off, all of the cover images for the WaveDancers series are burned into my brain because I was an impressionable kid when the series was originally published. I remember snapping up each new issue on the day of its release and then rushing home to read (and re-read) it. Of the covers, I was always particularly fond of the Winnowill one because it was so intriguing—was she being pushed over the cliff or being pulled away from the edge? The cover tells an entire story in one image! People who see the cover on my wall but have no idea what the comic book was about will still get a little narrative on top of the gorgeous art.

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 22

We previewed two painted pages in progress from the last half of the first issue of Elf~Fin: Hyfus & Tilaweed in Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 21 (phew... that's a mouthful!). The first two issues in the series will be released officially later on this year. Jozef's just finished one of the pages so we thought we might show you two of the painted panels sans lettering (no dialogue leaks... you'll have to read the full issue to find out what's happening, although readers in possession of the Limited Edition Preview will have a PRETTY good idea about what's going on. More snapshots coming soon!

Bette Midler's Mermaid Quote of the Year

Yesterday's Sun Herald Celebrity column ran a story called "Stars who said too much" by Lenny Ann Low. Thought you might want to check out the deconstructed famous 2012 Bette Midler mermaid quote, which gave us a laugh.

"I've been doing singing mermaid in a wheelchair since 1980. You can keep the meat dress and the firecracker tits – mermaid's mine." BETTE MIDLER, on Twitter, telling Lady Gaga that her performance in a Sydney nightclub was not so original.

Translation "I was a loopily dressed, outrageous singing diva way before you, sunshine." 

The fallout Gaga said she had no idea Midler had created a mermaid in a wheelchair act previously. "I couldn't hop around in that tail so I just stuck myself in a wheelchair," she said. 

Midler added that she wasn't irked by Gaga's performance: "[L]et's drink this over at the Emmys in September," she tweeted. "Fabulous mermaids can coexist!"

We learnt Loopily dressed outrageous singing divas share a spooky artistic synchronicity. We eagerly await Gaga stradding a naval cannon – a la Cher – or balletically flinging herseld around the misty British countryside in homage to Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights video.

Want to check out the original singing landlubber mermaid diva herself, then watch this video (Julie saw The Divine Miss M in concert in Australia many years ago and also has many of her original records in her music collection!) As far as we're concerned, Bette Midler was the original and best singing mermaid stage superstar!

Aussie Comic Convention Circuit 2012 [UPDATED 22/03/12]

As per our usual New Year's Day practice, our first blog post of the year seeks to help Aussie comikers plan their annual convention circuit. So here's a summary of the 2012 Australian Comics Convention Circuit (including several important international ones) for your diaries:


The Home Cooked Comics Festival (Northcote, Melbourne): 28 January 2012 (Batman Park)

Oz ComicCon (Adelaide): 29 March-1 April 2012 (Goyder Pavillion) 

Supanova (Melbourne): 13-15 April 2012 (Melbourne Showgrounds)

Supanova (Gold Coast): 20-22 April 2012 (Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre)
Free Comic Book Day (Australia wide): 5 May 2012 (check with your nearest comic book shop)

Supanova (Sydney): 15-17 June 2012 (The Dome, Olympic Park)

Supanova (Perth): 22-24 June 2012 (Claremont Showgrounds)
Oz ComicCon (Melbourne): 30 June-1 July 2012 (Melbourne Exhibition Centre) 

SMASH (Sydney): 14 July 2012 (Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre)

San Diego ComicCon (USA): 12-15 July 2012 (San Diego Convention Center, California)
SPX [Small Press Expo] (USA): 15-16 September 2012 (Bethesda North Marriot Hotel and Conference Center Maryland)

New York ComicCon (USA): 11-14 October 2012 (Jacob J Javits Center, New York City)

Armageddon (Melbourne): 13-14 October 2012 (Melbourne Exhibition Centre)

Australian Cartoonists' Association (ACA) Stanley Awards and Conference (Newcastle): October 2012 Dates TBA (Venue TBA)

Supanova (Brisbane): 9-11 November 2012 (RNA Showgrounds)

GRAPHIC (Sydney): 9-11 November 2012 (Sydney Opera House)
Supanova (Adelaide): 16-18 November 2012 (Adelaide Showgrounds)


Central Coast POPCON (NSW Central Coast): Dates TBA (Venue TBA)


This post will be updated with new information as it emerges. Please note that some of the website  links have yet to post information on their 2012 events.