12 months of Paper Science

Hello! Happy Valentine’s Day! All good with you? Splendid. Us? Well, we’ve been plotting.

At the end of last new year we sat down with Newspaper Club and had a chat about ways of doing more with Paper Science. Over a cup of tea – a brew that may yet live in infamy – they offered us a bit of advice about how to make things a bit more interesting over the next twelve months.

So; four issues, barcodes, new channels of distribution, better design and even more comics. Sounds like a plan to me.

January was about sorting out the line-up, and I’m delighted to announce some of the artists who will be appearing in our next issue; Paper Science 4, slated for print in April.

Luke Pearson will be the very first featured artist of Paper Science; he’ll be providing a cover as well as four pages of doubtlessly beautiful comics. Luke’s been one of the bright stars of small press comics, and his Hildafolk for NoBrow Press last year was a gem; a perfectly judged story of one girl in a storybook land.

John Allison needs no introduction to fans of webcomics. His Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery have been captivating audiences for almost a decade, and he’s one of the medium’s best-loved creators. John will be contributing a pin-up to Paper Science 4, a poster-sized take on the issue’s Sci-fi theme that you’ll be framing as soon as you can get yourself to a trendy art shop.

Andrew Waugh will be making his Paper Science debut. Andrew’s a member of Paper Jam Comics, a Newcastle-based collective of comickers whose collections have been exhibited in everywhere from pubs to contemporary art galleries. Andrew himself is a frequent contributor to Mustard and Alan Moore’s Dodgem Logic, and it’s a pleasure to have him on board.

Timothy Winchester is a WAW+P favourite. His webcomic – People I Know – has taken on all of the day’s pressing issues (Why are people mean? What is love? Is Ke$ha really that wild?), and his half-page debut in Paper Science 3 was greeted universally with the words “Can we have more please?”. Timothy’s ridiculously energetic presence at conventions is a model for creators, and has to be seen to be believed.

Finally, Adam Cadwell will be contributing a four-part story to Paper Science as it runs throughout the year. After bringing his webcomic The Everyday to a close last year he’s been hard at work on Blood Blokes which is set to debut in time for TCAF in May. His story, featuring The King of Things, is a family-friendly fantasy that will span from issue 4 to issue 7, and we’re very excited to have him.

All very exciting! Later this month we’ll be letting you know about how you can subscribe to all four issues; there are going to be membership cards and everything.

Meanwhile, if you’re a retailer looking to help support Paper Science in the coming 12 months – either by stocking the series or by some other means of sponsorship (maybe even advertising -gasp!) – just get in touch with Matthew (matthew.sheret@gmail.com).

In the meantime enjoy February, and if you’re looking around for a late Valentines gift there’s always Paper Science 3…
WAW+P
xx