New Scott Pilgrim is out.

heh.

The eye of the Sea is one thing and the foam another. Let the foam go, and gaze with the eye of the Sea. Day and night foam-flecks are flung from the sea: of amazing! You behold the foam but not the Sea. We are like boats dashing together; our eyes are darkened, yet we are in clear water.

“This is a thrilling, beautiful, funny, scary graphic novel. It is a comic book by one of the best creators that we have in Australia. It is our privilege to hold, and read, a first edition of it and to be able to salute its author in person, en masse.”

Well, that year went fast.

I thought that, a year on, I might write a few things on what I thought of Rooftops by Mandy Ord. I didn’t say anything much at the time, partly out a feeling of not wanting to intrude in any way on the “spotlight”, and partly out of being a little close to events that inspired the story itself. The coincidence – the actual coincidence – made as big an impact on me as it does to Ord’s character in the book.

The emphasis is on I thought and I might. But now, even a year later, I’m reluctant to say much more than how great I think the book really is, how wonderful the memories I have are of that night at the movies, of seeing the pages as they were drawn, of holding the book for the first time, and finally how glad and thankful I am to have seen these pictures drawn and this story told.

I found out about this by accident. I work just up from where the launch is going to be. I found out too late to go to the launch, as I’m moving house that night, but I’ll have to grab a copy when it’s out. The line up sounds good.

And Collective publications are notorious for showcasing the best and brightest of Melbourne’s emerging art scene, and this their newest project is no exception, featuring works by Warwick Baker, Tom Civil, Oslo Davis, Kubota Fumikazu, Rachael Wenona Guy, Andy Jackson, Kyle de Kuijer, Brigid McCarthy, Meg Mundell, Mandy Ord, Liza Power, Memuzin River, Lou Smith, Salote Tawale and Eve Vincent. Get some.

This monkey is here to wish EK a very happy birthday.

This is the second.

I didn’t see the whole story for years after, but just those two panels by themselves were incredibly moving for me. Still are, in fact – something happened that made me think of them just the other day.

The comics are drawn by the wonderful Amber Carvan, who has two comics projects (that I know of) on the boil at the moment:

Wednesday Night Comics

and

Comic Artist Rehab.

Thanks, Amber.