Tiny Dancing - Issue 8

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If I were to list the reasons why it's taken a loooong while for Tiny Dancing Issue 8 to appear, it would be boring. Real life, job related, boring. So please forgive me if I do not do that. Instead, I will tell you about the things that are not boring. These are the things that are in Tiny Dancing Issue 8.

Kicking off the massively unboring, we have a trio of illustrative debuts from a trio of gentlemen whose work I absolutely love. To say I'm delighted to have them all grace this issue would be a true thing.

The first of the heady trio is Rob Jones. I got in touch with Rob ages ago to see if he wanted to do something for issue 8, and he sent me his contribution back almost straight away. I've had it for ages, and it got to the point where it almost felt like a crime not to get it out into the world. I find it quite difficult to describe Rob's style, in fact I'm not sure I have it in me to do it justice, and that is a very good thing indeed. Have a look at his website to see what I mean. Or don't mean.

The next of the trio is Simon Moreton, who has contributed two pages of beautiful, individual introspection. Those who are familiar with Simon's work, not least in his outstanding self-published series Smoo, will know exactly what he's capable of, but Simon achieves more in two sets of four panels here than many creators achieve in pages and pages and pages and pages and pages. Smoo Issue 6 is on pre-order now, and you after you buy Tiny Dancing Issue 8, you should order Smoo 6. I have.

The final of the three is Owen D. Pomery. When I asked Owen if he wanted to do something for this issue, I was maybe expecting something along the lines of his architectural work, if not his comics work. I didn't expect what Owen sent in, and it is to my eternal joy that I didn't. I don't want to go into too much detail for fear of spoiling it - buy you'll see from the photo below that Owen's maintained his amazing, intricate line style. Just not in a way I'd seen before. Monkeys. There, I said it. Owen is working on a new project at the moment, bringing to life The Megatherium Club, which is very exciting indeed, not least for the possibility of some sequentially rendered taxidermy.

But there is more new! Steve Gregory has given us a short story about butterflies, which is kind of about butterflies, but probably isn't it. It'll make sense when you read it. Steve packs more into one idea than you'll find in thousands of words in any newspaper, or editorial or commentary, and it's surely time to hear more from him. And accompanying Steve's story is a wonderfully complimentary illustration from Rebecca Strickson, which is no more amazing than we've come to expect from her. Take a sneaky peek below.

And to counterbalance the new, we have contributions from Tiny Dancing favourites Megan Ancliffe, who has completely sussed out the future of academic furtherance (it will be based in Tilbury, obviously), and we find out what happens when Tim Bird thinks about something really hard - this time, teeth. And to round the issue out, there's a new short story from David White about a man called Toby Banoobe, and one or two other little bits that may or may not feature Kenny Everett.

But but but - that is not all! To keep your Tiny Dancing Issue 8 nice and uncrumpled and clean, it comes in a super special handmade fabric pocket, complete with name tag! Rebecca Strickson is making these for us, and they'll all be different, whether it be design, fabric, or sheer emotional content. She's currently making them out of cotton velvet. Nice.

So, Tiny Dancing Issue 8 - 40 pages of wonderful, with a colour card cover, that handmade unique protective fabric pocket, and a guaranteed release from the drudgery of real life, all for a bargain price of £2.50! I don't know how we do it! (I actually don't know how we've done it, I've still got to do all the adding up).

Get it from the Avery Hill Publishing online boutique, which you can find here.

Tiny Dancing - Issue 7 (Real Version)

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Cast your mind back, dear reader, to the days of the dim and distant past. To a time of civil unrest, political skulduggery, and international warmongering. To a time of uncertainty, despair, and anger. To a time when you couldn’t be sure that one day would follow another, and so lived every moment as if it were your last. Yes, dear reader. I speak of August 2011, when the last issue of Tiny Dancing made itself known unto this world of tumult. So much has happened since then. So much has come to pass...

But one thing happened of such import that the foundations of the very internet were ever so slightly wobbled. I shall remind you of this one thing – the comics left Tiny Dancing. You remember this, because I told you.

And now here we are. Older. Wiser. Bigger. And we are comic-less. What does this mean? What could this possibly mean?

It means that like Crazy Mel at the start of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, a familiar yet strange figure is emerging from the smokes of the apocalyptic wasteland (well, Dartford – it’s a sad tale) to set the story straight. It means that Tiny Dancing 7 is here.
And we have so much to tell you.

Let us start with the basics, in bullet point format:

- 44 pages of captivation! More than ever before!
- Risograph printed on 100% Recycled Cyclus Offset paper stock! We’ve gone sustainable!
- Full colour cover! Beautiful and pretty!

The basics, then, fully covered. But what is contained within the plentiful, socially responsible, beautiful and pretty pages?

Well, we have a trio of illustrative debuts – firstly from Soju Tanaka, contributing two new, wonderful pieces. Soju has an exhibition in Japan over the next couple of weeks, and whilst I won’t be able to get there (living in London and that), if you find yourself over that way you must surely go and see it.




Edward Ward is a man who knows about the finer things in life – specifically Tom Selleck, David Bowie and birds of prey. It was only natural then, that he should bring them altogether in something that will make me happy forever. Check Edward’s blog on a regular basis, because it will make your world a better place.




And the final member of our trio is Lawrence Williams, who has given us some beautiful new work – I’m particularly chuffed that Lawrence agreed to contribute, as it was his zine that inspired me to start out on this crazy journey we call self-publishing, so it feels like some kind of full circle, self fulfilling… thing. You know? You know.




We’re overjoyed to welcome Tom Quinn back to our pages with a short story that only he could write (right), and equally overjoyed to be able to feature a new story from Germany’s favourite son Ulrich Haarburste. Ulrich of course needs no introduction, but it’s always worth being reminded of his seminal debut book.

But it’s not all about the new, we’re apoplectic with happiness at the returns of Megan Ancliffe detailing her ‘Open City’, the view from Steve Horry’s window, the latest ‘Tiny In Our Time’ from Michael Gosden and Ricky Miller (this time – Astronomy and Empire, and Lord Bragg on a bench with Captain Cook, of course), oh, and one more new – Spaceship Earth’s Free House Project, destroying the property bubble in one fell swoop.




So after all that, you want one, yes? Well friend, you need just mosey over to the all-new, all-shiny Avery Hill Publishing Shop, where you can pick up a copy without having to negotiate the traditional chaos of the shonky PayPal stuff I used to get so wrong. That’s the smell of progress. This is where the shop is:

The Avery Hill Publishing Online Shopping Experience

And so, it is time for us to part ways once again. To flog the Mad Max metaphor to death, we’ve taken on the crazy future punks, we’ve driven a massive lorry full of petrol around a desert, and we’ve come through the other side. Next time – Tina Turner in a brilliant wig. Can’t wait.