Last time: The hookball match was becoming more aggressive.

Have you booked your table for the London Small Press Expo? Do it!

The fashion house Hermès are using some gorgeous illustrations by my favourite comic artist Moebius to promote one of their fragrances, and they are available to download. It’s one of those websites with convoluted navigation, I’m afraid (bear with me):

Go here, then click on the little Voyage d’Hermès image (bottom left on my screen). There is a link at the bottom of each image for download. Click on the bottle label to get to the next image (9 in all). Nice hi-res versions with lots of detail to drool over!

Last time: The hookball match was at a stalemate, but the Ombra Society assassins readied themselves for action.

Recommended reading: Eliza Frye, who produced my absolute favourite comic of last year, the Eisner-nominated The Lady’s Murder, has a beautiful new webcomic: The Mermaid Rooms. [Warning: very adult material.]

Last time: Tozo received help from a police sergeant.

Recommended reading: As a slightly haphazard gardener I’ve been enjoying the gardening comics on Jumbly Junkery throughout the summer – do have a look. Probably the most soothing comics around.

Last time: Tozo asked a police sergeant for help in eluding his pursuers.

I was at Caption last weekend as part of a panel on web and digital comics. I think we could have talked for ages on the subject but there was only an hour and it was a bit of a skim. Also on the panel were Sydney Padua, P.J. Holden, Philippa Rice, Lizz Lunney, Timothy Winchester and Howard Hardiman. Lots of good stuff to see at those links.

Speaking of skim, I picked up a copy of the Tamakis’ book of the same name, which I’d never heard of before but was absolutely beautiful. Very much recommended. I also bought one of Jeremy Day‘s gorgeous ‘very small comics’ (literally 5 x 7cm) illustrated with wonderfully expressive inky half-silhouettes.

Caption are looking for volunteers to help organise next year’s convention. It’s an excellent event so if you’d like to help out then do get in touch with them.

Here’s a little sneak-peak of one of the extra pages for the print version of Chapter 4 which I’m attempting to get ready for Thoughtbubble in November:

Last time: Tozo was being pursued through the streets.

This police sergeant made a brief appearence all the way back here.

Last time: Tension mounted at the hookball game.

Next weekend is Caption, the convention for comic creators in beautiful Oxford. I’ll be there on Saturday as part of a panel on webcomics. Caption is a wonderfully informal festival devoted to the art of making comics and is very much recommended. More information at the Caption website or on Facebook.

If you’ve got 8 minutes to waste, here are some robots performing synchronised dancing. I imagine Klikker does this to relax:

Last time: The hookball match continued…

The first volume of the brilliant Shi Long Pang by Ben Costa is available for pre-order. I love this tale and it’s beautifully illustrated too – go take a look.

Last time: Rafaella and Klikker watched the hookball game at the steam mechanic’s.

Vuvuzelas are banned at the Ombra Society. (I didn’t plan for this update to coincide with the World Cup final – these things just happen serendipitously.)

Last time: Klikker found Rafaella at the steam mechanic’s.

I’ve mentioned the brilliant Order of Tales comic by Evan Dahm a couple of times before. It’s beautifully written with art full of atmosphere and character.

Dahm’s reached the end of the tale but has decided his final update will be a massive 60-pager (at least – it was 78 pages according to his twitter feed yesterday) and it all happens tomorrow (July 5th). It’s a fantastic achievement and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for his readers next. Order of Tales and Dahm’s other comics can be found here.

Speaking of inspirational comics, Drew Weing‘s Set to Sea is available for pre-order from the Fantagraphics site. There’s a lovely little video flick-through so you can see just how beautiful this book is – I think it’s set to be a classic. Take a look here.