Get well soon...

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527532.500-a-killer-in-the-bat-cave.html

Break A Leg, Bruce...

This one's for you comic fans...

A frequent collaborator and friend Garry Brown asked me recently to put together a treatment for a five page Batman story, for an assignment he was working on for the Joe Kubert School or Cartoon and Graphic Art. He tells me the pages went down a treat in the Marvel editors portfolio session...which sounds like justice because these pages are unbelievably good.
I really hope I can put these up- which are the pencils of his work- without someone suing the hell out of me or something. All characters are copyright DC Comics....just in case. All art is copyright by Garry Brown who is the best comic artist about to break into the industry. Trust me, you'll be hearing a lot more about this guy. www.garrybrownart.com

Aaaaand back to work...

My flu morphed like an angry pokemon into tonsillitis this week, so I remained bed-bound a few days longer than expected...which was annoying.
Now that the tonsillitis has released me from its sticky clutches i can post some photos of the installation back at the start of March.

These were taken by photography student Matt Golowczynski, who i met at the event and proved to be good company over the three days, talking about records and comics and photography. Hope to see more of his photos popping up in the future. Matt can be found here:- http://www.flickr.com/photos/golawola


I'll post the photos I took of the event soon.

Old School

Was trawling through my web-history and found some ancient links and reviews lost in the internet labyrinth.

This is me interviewed for Cumbrian newspaper the News and Star way back in 2006. My lack of hair I find disconcerting, and they spelled my name wrong (don't they always), but it was my first media mention so it's worth posting.

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/writer_to_teach_kids_his_skills_1_292751?referrerPath=home/news_star_search_results_page_2_1962

A review of Robots from the guys at Newsrama.com in April last year. They mention my and Garry's contribution, which is nice.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/040920-Best-Shots.html

Finally, Garry's artwork also gets a mention at Whatever comics, where they review all of the then-released Accent UK books.

http://www.whatevercomics.com/#/accent-uk-reviews/4528989339

Flu and Podcasts

I am currently holed up in bed with the flu, my only life-raft being a battered copy of Michael Moorcock and terrible inspirational sports-comedy The Mighty Ducks (it's a very guilty pleasure). I had planned to finished various writings these last two days, but it looks like that is not going to happen. I regret to confess to feeling grumpy and sorry for myself.

Before regular blogging resumes, here is an interview with Matt Boothman for his london theatre podcast.

http://www.londontheatreblog.co.uk/home/

Matt came along to the 'Home' event and although I sound very quiet and nervous in the podcast, he was a great interviewer and it was nice to see him supporting the event. His website can be found here:- http://www.mattboothman.com/

Watch this space for photographs of the event (i'm still stuck in the 20th century with my traditional camera), and more news about the writing gigs I am involved in.

March: The month of biting off more than you can chew

,Just finished an exhausting but very enjoyable art installation in London (photos to follow in a later blog once I get them developed).
Met some old faces and some new ones, and it was great to see them all. Lara Stavrinou's new play Derelict was particularly good, and I look forward to seeing more of it.
I was happy to see lots of friends support me and the event in general, writers Max Deacon and Louise Richardson, historian and general gentleman of taste and distinction Jack Firth, biologist Efthymios Stamos. They're all my buddies, and it meant a lot that they were there at an event I was anxious about. Writing is something i'm comfortable with, locked away in my room away from the judgement of strangers. My artwork is a different matter entirely.

March is proving to be a penniless month. Which means eating beans and scratching away at various side-projects that are looming...

I am hard at work on the final stages of a comic book project for the guys at Accent UK, so more on that once it gets rolling. They are a great new comic book company and really gave me a chance starting out in comics when few others would. For more information about them and my previous work with them, visit www.accentukcomics.com

I have begun to teach myself animation for a documentary with young film-maker Somayeh Jafari...which is exciting because I've never done animation before. More on that in future.

Finally, and most hazy, is the germ of a collaboration with obsenely multi-talented poet and photographer Kate Vanhinsbergh. We've talked briefly about creating a photography and writing (and perhaps even illustration) project, but whether that shall be book, magazine or simply an experiment that will never see the light of day, i am not sure. Kate can be found here http://katevanhinsbergh.blogspot.com/

I also have a horribly precarious pile of books to get through. Gulp.

Mr First Art Installation- by Owen Johnson (Aged 22 and a third)

I hope it won't be my last.

'Enter The Home' is a theatre and arts showcase mounted by SJC Productions that will be taking place in a gorgeous old colonial house at Crofton Lodge in Sydenham, London, between the 5th-7th March.

I have been designing and painting a mixed media art installation for the event for the last few weeks. It's all very new and exciting and terrifying at the same time.

Tickets are available here if anyone is interested in theatre, graphic art or installations in general:- http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user?query=search®ion=xxx&category=misc&search=home+project

And I will be posting some process photos later in the week.

Brave New Words

This is an old project from last year that I think would be fun to unearth and work on again some day.

http://guerillapoets.wordpress.com/

Myself and some fellow writers began an experiment to create a modern writing magazine featuring stories written by Victorian characters of our own creation. It was fun to create these personas (we remained anonymous throughout the project) and I hope very much to meet Charles Fall, Lady October and the rest at some point in the future.
My part in the magazines production was designing the look of it (it has a homemade, ramshackle energy that I love in retrospect), and making sure it was printed with the right pages in the right order. This is more difficult that it sounds when you're wrestling a pile of lurid 19th century fiction, while being gawked at by everyone in the printing shop as they staple together their weekly church pamphlets.
I digress. It was a fun little summer project that I did with my friends. Maybe you'll think it's cool, maybe not.

The New Kid

Hello World,
My name is Owen Johnson (pictured)
I began this blog so the people closest to me know what I'm up to creatively, through my artwork, writing or anything else I find myself doing. I'm also here to follow those creators working in comics, fiction or art that I really get a kick out of. There are a lot of really talented folks out there, and I intend to find them!
I've always been afraid of the internet as far as my work goes, it seems like some huge ocean I'm going to drown in, never to be saved. But despite the risk, here I am, trying to create a better web presence.

I thought it about time to strap on the air-tanks and dive in...