Baggywrinkles #4 is Here!

WOW. Wow. I can’t process into words how amazing TCAF was this year, so I’m just going to cut to the chase and let you all know that Baggywrinkles 4 was a monstrous hit this weekend, and now it’s time to put the comic into general release for all of you to enjoy! There are several ways to get the most out of your reading experience, so choose carefully.

1. This Post (Free and Easy)

You can scroll past all this nonsense to cut straight to the chase and read Baggywrinkles #4 on the site. Easy peasy!

2. Digital Edition (Free or Pay-What-You-Will)

If you’d like something more lasting, why not download the PDF edition from Gumroad? The PDF is free, but there’s a pay-what-you-will option built in, so if you enjoy the story and would like to chip in a few bucks towards the completion of the next comic, this is the best bet for you!

3. Physical Copy ($5 + Shipping)

Die-hard Baggywrinkles fans will most likely want a physical copy of the comic, which is TOTALLY AVAILABLE. Phew! You can pre-order via Storenvy this very second! Hard copies will begin shipping on Friday.

Unfortunately, I’ve had to stop hand-sewing all my books due to time constraints (I did the math. Did you know I’ve hand-bound over 600 copies of Baggywrinkles since I started the series? NUTS.), so this issue will be stapled, but the comic does feature a very nice recycled cardstock cover and 16 creamy interior pages of comics goodness. I think it looks swell. I’m also happy to doodle in the copies you purchase if you’d so desire.

So with all that out of the way, here’s the comic! Enjoy!

Vancouver Maritime Museum Installation

Some of you may recall I was doing some illustration work for the Vancouver Maritime Museum last month. Their Art of the Sailor exhibit opened this week, and Alina Anghel (of the Vancouver Trolley Company Blog) was kind enough to snap a photo of my giant poster on the wall!

 The exhibit runs through October, so I’m really excited to see it in person when I visit for VanCAF in May. In the meantime, if you’re in the Vancouver area, be sure to stop in and check it out! There are a ton of educational and entertaining elements involved — including beautiful pieces of scrimshaw and many photographs of actual sailors showing off their ink. To learn more, check out this in-depth article on The Tyee blog.

I’m also excited to announce that the Museum will be stocking all three issues of Baggywrinkles in their store. There have been some delays, so they might not arrive for a week or two, but hopefully Vancouverites can pick up copies on site before too long.

More art to come soon!

HMS Rose

Wrapped up this little painting today. Aren’t boats just the best?

Baggywrinkles #3 – Parts Unknown

Nautical enthusiasts and beloved shipmates, rejoice! Baggywrinkles #3 is now available online for your reading pleasure. This issue covers the sailor’s rig, period-appropriate clothing, and the mysterious science of the foretopmast’ays’l. If you’d like to own a physical copy of the comic, you can pre-order one here! The current printing should be finished and bound in two weeks.

These comics celebrate and support the modern world of tall ship sailing. If you’d like to have a direct impact on the survival of this amazing lifestyle, consider supporting the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain via the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority, a Washington non-profit dedicated to perserving maritime heritage.  You can donate to the Seaport here, or, if you’re lucky enough to live along the West Coast, visit the boats in person when they stop in a town near you! For more info about crewing aboard tall ships, check out the Tall Ships America homepage or the Seaport’s Two Weeks Before the Mast program.

Lyrics from “Sailor’s Boot” used with kind permission from Frank Turner. All other content © Lucy Bellwood, 2012.

 

Melville & The Peking

I recently had the pleasure of doing some illustrations for my friend Justin Hocking, whose forthcoming memoir, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld, will be released next September from Graywolf Press. Justin is the Executive Director of the Independent Publishing Resource Center, where I got my Certificate in Comics and Independent Publishing. If any of you Portland folk don’t already know about this fantastic resource, I highly encourage you to check it out. While the book goes through final revisions, Justin was kind enough to let me post these here on the blog for y’all to enjoy before they appear in print. So here’s some boaty goodness!

Baggywrinkles 1 & 2 Now Available Online! (Fo’ free)

If you’ve been out there itching to show your friends the magic of Baggywrinkles without having to buy tangible copies of the comic, then boy howdy is this the post for you! I’ve just made both issues available online in their entirety because I love you all and really, it’s about time.

[EDIT: The images are quite small in slideshow view, so if you're having trouble reading them just click the "Permalink" button at the bottom right of the image. It'll take you to a larger version. Click on that page to advance to the next one in the series. Sorry for the glitchy-ness of WordPress in this respect. Soon to be fixed when my new site goes live!]

Furthermore, the amazing Joe Follansbee (author of the Fyddeye Guide to America’s Maritime History) recently put up an interview with yours truly on his site! To learn more about how I got involved in all this sailing and comics stuff in the first place, check it out over here.

I had a wonderful (but brief) trip out to see the Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain this past weekend in Oxnard, CA. We had a lovely breeze for our three-hour sail, and it was a huge treat to be aloft and out on the water after so much time away. Fellow sailor Kyle Bruner snapped this awesome shot of Chieftain at sunset that weekend. How could I ever love anything else more than this?

Finally, I’ll be returning to Portland this weekend to reprint both issues of Baggywrinkles and make a bundle of new buttons. If you’d like to buy buttons on their own to distribute to nautical friends or decorate your own peacoat/ditty bag/fisherman’s hat, they’ll be available in the store next week in packs of three for two bucks (plus shipping).

That’s it from me. I’ll see you all in a week!