Issue 10 ~ 4 Days in June

Issue 10 of the Life and Times of a Sri Lankan Panda Bear has been a long time in the making. I published Issue 9 in 2013, a patchy production of photocopied moleskin pages stitched together with red cotton thread, all thumbprints, felt pens and spiky lettering.  The genesis of this inferior offering was prompted by advice from one of the largest publishers of alternative comics in the United States, Fantagraphics.  In a rush of precocious enthusiasm (buoyed by the complimentary reactions of friends and family) I had bound together Issues 1 - 5 and sent them off, with a catch in my heart, to the iconic publishers. 

I said:

‘The Life and Times of a Sri Lankan Panda Bear is not just comic book autobiography but, like Peanuts, an ode to friendship and the little things which lift us.  Let me know what you think!’

They said: 

‘I would have to say the biggest problem we had with your project was the art. We are just not interested in computer art especially primitive computer art. I realize this project means a lot to you and do not mean to demean it in any way.’

Taking their criticism on board I started rendering Panda off the safety net of Microsoft Paint (no undo button in real life) and began to appreciate just how hard it was to tell my stories without the aid of a perfect circle and text that could be manipulated by size and font.

I was now using inked thumbprints, stamps, felt pens, watercolour pencils and black nibbed pens to draw Panda. Messy. Experimental. Not quite right. I spoke to my friend Mini (not Mouse) about my problem creating a perfect circle and she suggested using stencils. A few days later I visited my local art supply store to buy some and discovered a dazzling rack of watercolours set in tiny white trays. Panda met Gansai Tambi, the traditional Japanese pan watercolours.

The colours of 4 Days in June, Gansai Tambi.

4 Days in June is the culmination of my adventures rendering Panda free style, and, the happy discovery of Venn Panda which has given me hours of amusement and Instagram fodder. Repeating some of my previous issues (see the Gallery, #3 Salt) I have taken one of my poems and set it to Panda. On each A5 page I have tried to create a conversation between the circles, the colours and the words. I hope you enjoy the result.

Still, Issue 9 has its own place in the arc of the Panda story line.  Not long after binding a batch of copies together in red cotton, I set out one Sunday morning for a coffee date with a woman I had been messaging online.  In a rush of precocious enthusiasm I popped Issue 9 in my pocket and with a catch in my heart I gave her a copy as we kissed goodbye.  We were together for four years. 

There are various ways to measure success in creative endeavours however unsatisfactory in hindsight the final product may be.  That’s all I’m saying.

(Thanks to Mini’s husband Paul for scanning Issue 10 so beautifully).