Surprise (BETON #7)

"That's pretty cute actually, he just wanted to give you a present, didn't he?" "I don't give a crap, it was disgusting!!"

Issue #7 of the Franco-German comics zine BETON is out! This is the entry I contributed following the theme of "Fressen/Bouffer" (which is a particularly complex set of words to translate into English; in this case it pertains to when animals eat).

***

In other news, I am off to Stockholm this weekend! It has been too long.

Friday Sketchpost: salt + sass #5

Last week saw the first anniversary edition of Salt + Sass, connecting and celebrating women working in Berlin's music industry, this time through an excellent conversation with Sasha Perera and Jen Ferrer of Friends of Friends. Here is to many, many more editions of Salt + Sass.

Augmented Reality

I have not played Pokemon GO yet, but the excitement has been omnipresent contagious.

***

It's mid-July once again, and that means there is a new issue of BETON coming out this Friday! Come on down to Neukölln's Raum B and have a drink with us to celebrate and pick up your copy, featuring a brand-new two page story of mine (and the short story debut of a character I have drawn many, many times over the past several years)!

It also means I am returning to my dearly beloved Stockholm two weeks from now for a weeklong visit! To offset the cost of traveling (as well as those of traveling to Thought Bubble in November), I have reopened the Traveling Tip Jar page, accepting donations either in exchange for personal art or simply via PayPal or Patreon.

[ CHVRCHES - Bury It (feat. Hayley Williams) ]

Comic-Con

3G issues notwithstanding, I had a fun time at Comic-Con Germany! I am now back in Berlin for a couple weeks before taking off to Stockholm for a week.

Speechless

***

Will you be at Comic-Con Germany in Stuttgart this weekend? I will! In the Comic Zone, table 127, to be precise. I have never been to Stuttgart and am looking forward to visiting. Please do come say hi!

Le foot

Another even-numbered year, another international championship! Or as I like to call it, another opportunity to work out whether to call it "football", "soccer", "socc-ball" or just "le foot" when discussing it in English.

***

My Patreon campaign is now a monthly campaign! The rewards have remained the same, but the pledge levels have changed: anyone pledging $3 per month or more has access to personal updates and works in progress, while $15 a month gives you a monthly postcard, $25 unlocks access to my monthly digital sketchbook, and $40 a month get you all three!

If you like my comics and would like to help me keep making more of them, pledging even $1 a month is a great way to make that happen. You can find more information on the campaign right here.

[ Tegan and Sara - Faint of Heart ]

Procrastinating

In the defense of Berlin-based procrastinators, lately the weather has felt like the gross soul-draining version of a sauna, so.

***

Two pieces of big news from Clairikine HQ!

First off - I illustrated a guide to post-clubbing activities for Electronic Beats, which will be of interest for anyone in severe need of readjusting to the world after a night in the club!

Also, changes are afoot over at my Patreon campaign! Next month I will be switching over to a monthly donation model instead of the per-comic model I've had in place for the past two years. Folks will be able to pledge at $1 or more per month, with rewards beginning at $3 per month* - these include, as before, access to personal updates, works-in-progress, plus monthly postcards and a monthly digital copy of my sketchbook at the highest tiers, with a couple other reward ideas in the works for the coming months.

If you like what I do, and you would like to see more of it, please consider making a small donation when the change is live (TBA)! It would mean the world to me, and the more donations I receive through Patreon, the more I can focus on writing and drawing my own autobio and fictional comics.

If you would prefer to support me through a one-time purchase of customized art or original comic pages, or even just a one-time donation, I am also planning a fundraiser to help pay for travel costs to Stockholm this summer and Leeds (Thought Bubble) this winter. Watch this space! You can also let me know in the comments below if and what you would be interested in obtaining during this fundraiser.

* I would have it lower, but I live in the Euro Zone and must account for the current not-awesome exchange rate with the dollar.

Summer Wardrobe

Summer! Along with winter, one of basically two seasons in Berlin. The other seasons get about three weeks, tops.

[ Tegan and Sara - Stop Desire (live) ]

Surrealism

In case you missed it on Twitter. (Also, not the first time television and the current French PM have crossed paths on this blog!).

[ Arctic Monkeys - The Jeweller's Hands ]

Friday Sketchpost: #rpTEN Sketchnotes

Last week I had the great joy of attending this year's edition of re:publica, a Berlin-based conference on tech and culture. As every year, it was both informative and entertaining, and I sketched some of the talks I attended, in addition to doing a sketch note recap of every day.

If you're near Dublin, the next re:publica will take place there in October as part of a partnership with the Digital Biscuit festival! Otherwise, I recommend keeping your eyes figuratively peeled for Early Bird tickets to the next Berlin edition come November.