This September the humble yorkshire town of Leeds played host to The Comic Award Non-Comic Related Event Of The Year, Hosted By Cartoonists for Cartoonists, The 15th Annual Thought Bubble Official Unofficial Taste Test Challenge.
This year our panel of judges were given a selection of non-milk-milk alternative-milk-like beverages. They’re like milk but not from an animal. And there’s lots of them to choose from. Especially if you live in Brighton. And I do live in Brighton. The shop I visited had well over a hundred varieties to choose from, so I just grabbed as many as I could carry. And then I paid and left.
They were:
Rude Health Brown Rice, Oatly Oat Drink, Provamel Organic Soya, Koko Dairy Free Coconut Milk, Good Hemp Simply Delicious.
The Results:
Well, they were mostly quite horrible actually. Good Hemp Simply Delicious wasn’t delicious at all, it was yucky. Oatly Oat Drink drink tasted like the leftover milk you’d find in your bowl after eating some really bland cereal, but not as fun. Koko Dairy Free Coconut Milk was quite nice, but nothing like milk. It was more like coconut milk, all coconutty. Provamel Organic Soya coated your mouth in this odd kind of soya taste which wasn’t all that pleasant. Rude Health Brown Rice, which I chose assuming it would be revolting, was not revolting, it was actually very nice. All the judges agreed you could just drink it as a drink. Quite sweet though, so I wouldn’t put it in your tea, unless you like sweet tea. But anyway, best by far it was the winner. I’m sure they’d all have tasted better had they been chilled rather than served in a warm tent. So don’t take our word for it, go out and try some fake milks of your own. Rice milk, almond milk, we completely forgot those. Next year, maybe.
Oh hi there. I drew some board graphics, and I wanted to tell you about it. A while ago the good people of Welcome (a brilliant skater owned store in Leeds UK) got in touch with me about doing a board to celebrate the birthday of OK Comics (a brilliant comic shop in Leeds UK) They’re neighbors see, the shops are opposite. So, coinciding with this years Thought Bubble festival, we launched this. It turned out nice.
I toyed with the idea of drawing a comic strip, but comics are difficult, so I just went for a bunch of stuff instead, I’m quite good at drawing stuff. But I didn’t really know where to start, so I first made some mock ups, which I could then draw from, like doing a still life. I’m not sure why I did that, seemed like a good idea at the time.
I had fun with it, and put in lots of little jokes that only I would get. Like for instance Grim Tuna was a zine that my big brother made (it got reviewed in RAD magazine) but he only produced one issue, so I thought I’d give him a second. The Wee Joe and Greasy Decie bottle caps are reference to nicknames I had in the years I lived in Leeds (there were others too, hurtful and mean ones) I called the comic Zombie Skate Dads as a big thumbs up to all my mum and dad friends who are still skating despite onset of middle age. I put a lego brick on there coz you find that stuff everywhere, try not to step on it.
Anyway, you can buy the boards here for £40. They ship worldwide. Ride it, put it on your wall, burn it for fuel in the winter months.
Pots of pens - I
live in constant fear that my favourite tools will be discontinued. I stockpile
for the winter.
Mechanical
pencils - nobody needs this many pencils, I just like em. Some people buy nice
new shoes, or pay for haircuts… I buy pencils instead.
Leads
- I have more chargers than I have electrical items.
Paperwork
- I keep paperwork loose on my desk, less important items get filed to the back
until they eventually fall off and get lost for ever.
Notes
- Bits and pieces get clipped up on a string. Size guides for various projects,
drawings by my boy. Gathering dust.
Drawers
- I just cram everything in. I dream of having muji level organisation, but I’m
just too messy.
Notebooks
- I buy the cheap pocket ones. I draw in them and take notes, also shopping
lists, I’m not precious. I usually have a few on the go at a time.
Desk
- I don’t know why there’s a nit comb there, we’re a nit free household.
Collecting Sticks by Joe Decie is published by Jonathan Cape on 13th April.
In a couple of weeks we publish Collecting Sticks by Joe Decie. As someone who spent many family holidays sitting in a tent in Wales while it rained outside, it rang verrrrry true. And it’s also brilliant about parenthood, and all the best, little, quiet things in life. Joe answered our Q&A…
What
was the first comic you wrote?
I
discovered indie comics by accident through trading zines. 92 or 93? something
like that. There wasn’t really an internet back then, so it was just by chance
I stumbled on a copy of Delaine Derry Green’s seminal Not My Small Diary. And
enjoying what I read I sent her a contribution in the hope that she’d send me a
free copy of the next issue. I was very interested in the subtle differences
between UK and US culture and life, and an anthology of diary comics was a
wonderful insight into these differences. We’re probably more homogenised these
days, back then it took postal workers, paper and stamps to communicate.
Who
are your comic heroes and influences?
Influences
are far and wide. I’ll just name a few people I admire, the top of my
head… David Mckee, Marcel Duchamp, Chris Morris, Alexei Sayle, Kate
Beaton, Ronald Searle, Todd James, Janet Ahlberg, Pattie Smith,Mike
Leigh, George Maciunas, Yoko Ono, Tove Jansson, Joann Sfar, Annie
Koyama, MF DOOM, Emily Carroll, Brandon Graham, Nigel Slater, Roman Muradov,
Philippa Rice… Just a list of names really. I wouldn’t say any of those
people directly influenced me, but I’m sure they’ve all inspired me to work.
What was the last comic you read?
Megahex
by Simon Hanselmann… sad, depressing AND funny. Stoner tales. It’s very
good. One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry. Also sad, depressing AND
funny. It must be the genre I like.
What’s your favourite comic or
graphic novel?
I really like the Donjon series. It covers the length
and breadth of french artists and is a great fun take on Dungeons and Dragons
tropes.
What helps you write?
A
walk to the supermarket.
What’s the best holiday you’ve ever
been on? And what was the worst?
Had
some pretty miserable holidays as a child in a caravan up a hill in Wales. Had
some pretty wonderful ones too, though.
Hello friends! Come and raise a glass to celebrate the publication of the excellent Collecting Sticks by Joe Decie at Gosh! Comics on 13th April. There will be sticks and books. Lots of sticks. And lots of books.
