SILENCE! #295

June 13th, 2021

YOU’RE JUST TOO TOO OBSCURE FOR ME, YOU DON’T REALLY GET THROUGH TO ME

OVER HERE!  MAN ON!  IN THE BOX!  CROSS IT  ONTO MY HEAD MY OLD SUNSHINE! WHAT WAS THAT?!  WHERE ARE YOUR SPECS, REF?!

Ah, Footblurb.  The beautiful game.

<ITEM>WELL, THIS WAS A MASSIVE PAIN IN THE ARSE TO EDIT!

<ITEM>Having said that, it was a delight for The Beast Must Die and Gary Lactus to welcome Dan Cox and John Riordon for a reasonably informal wag of chins.

<ITEM>But it’s not entirely informal, as Danny and Johnny, the Hitsville Brothers tell us tales of their experiences of running the Hitsville UK Kickstarter.  

<ITEM>Inevitably, everything falls apart as the SILENCE!#295 experience becomes one of listening in to the rambling chat of the four men on the table next to yours.  What kind of men are these?  What drives them?  What interests them?  Well, in short:  Jeff Bezos, their children’s relationships with super heroes, cosplay families, their dream Strontium Dog TV show and the music documentaries King Rocker, The Chills: The Triumph And Tragedy Of Martin Phillips and the Tina Turner doc, Tina.  Oh, and Timmy Capello.

<ITEM>Anyone read any comics?  Well sort of.  There’s talk of Danny Hitsville’s Chris Claremont Completion Crusade, Paul Jon Milne’s Grave Horticulture, the forthcoming Pocket Chiller Speckle and Ash, Gareth Brookes’ The Dancing Plague, Gareth HopkinsGhosts In Things, LDN by Ramzee, Jim Woodring’s Jabba The Hutt and Thriller.

<ITEM>Finally there’s some reckymends, namely List Off, Three Bean Salad, The Office US, Laser Fart and, (as usual) Chart Music.

<ITEM> In long:

@frasergeesin

@thebeastmustdie

[email protected]

You can support us using Patreon if you like.

This edition of SILENCE! is proudly sponsored by the greatest comics shop on the planet, DAVE’S COMICS of Brighton. It’s also sponsored the greatest comics shop on the planet GOSH! Comics of London.

 

We have lied to you, dear Thought Bubble patron. You clicked on this link expecting more pictures of a man with an abstract face.  A beautiful man, no doubt, but a man who has concepts for cheekbones and a half-remembered memory where the hair should be.  Instead, we present to you… this lovely, normal looking art bloke:

 

Enough of our waffle though.  Let’s hear from the man himself… 

I’m Gareth A Hopkins and I’m an artist and comic creator based in Essex. I’m most well known for my Abstract Comics work, most notably my autobiographical graphic novel ‘Petrichor’ and my ongoing project ‘The Intercorstal’.

As well as my published and self-published solo work, I’ve had comics featured in the award-winning anthology ‘Jazz Creepers’, ‘Sliced Quarterly’, ‘Komisk’ and the record breaking ‘Tales From The Quarantine’.

My current project ‘Explosive Sweet Freezer Razors’ is a collection of short stories, told as abstract comics, and cover themes such as ageing, family dynamics, the paranormal and the magical aspects of empty car parks.

I’m perpetually tired, listen to music that my wife and children hate, and don’t watch a lot of television.

(Click on the above images to see them in all of their glory!)

My website is at www.grthink.com, my Twitter and Instagram accounts are @grthink and my online store is grthink.bigcartel.com

NOBODY TELLS ME WHAT TO DO, NO NOT ME

Well, this was a lot of fun. On May 11th 2017, Gary Lactus, The Beast Must Die and Lord Nuneaton Savage sat atop the Bishop’s Finger with a the finest fellows a bunch of pod bods could ever hope for.

Small Press was the theme of the evening but first we started off with Tam Laniado leading a tribute to the recently rest-in-peaced Leo Baxendale.

Proceedings proceeded with some rambling chat which covered such small press obscurities as Bum Child by Tim Leopard, OHM by an odd chap that John Bishop met at a convention many years ago, Fast Fiction, Meow by Cyriak and L.I.F.E. Brigade by the delusional genius C. A. Stormon. There was also talk of Viz and the indestructible Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

After a pleasant refill we decided it would be sensible to talk to the creators present. This meant John Riordan going on about Hitsville UK, Douglas Noble waffling on about Strip For Me and Gareth Hopkins guffing about Intercorstal. Luckily there’s some top top chat about daytime TV wine experts to liven things up.

After a lovely singalong we turned off the recording devices and indulged in social activities which shall go unrecorded and spoken of in hushed tones as the years passed thus turning all present for this wonderful evening into legends.

LEARN MORE!
John Riordan
Nick Bryan
Steve Lacey
Anton and Amy
Gareth Hopkins
Douglas Noble
Two Headed Thingies

CLICK HERE FOR A GALLERY OF STARS AND SUPPLEMENTARY IMAGES