Posted: January 16th, 2009 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Reviews, Twelve Hour Shift | Tags: Cobblers, Jason Cobley, Twelve Hour Shift | No Comments »
Over on his cobblers blog , Jason Cobley mentions 12 Hour Shift.
I was really impressed by Sean Azzopardi’s collected Twelve Hour Shift – a really nicely put together book, thinly veiled autobiographical humorous melancholy.
Pop over and catch up on all the work that Jason is putting out, a very busy (and talented) writer.
Posted: November 1st, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Reviews, Twelve Hour Shift | Tags: 2008, Bruton, Hour, Propganda, review, Richard, Shift, Twelve | No Comments »
Richard Bruton posted this review as part of his ongoing Propganda reviews.
In mini comic form this would have been impressive, but in one burst of the collection it’s much more than the sum of it’s individual tales. The unrelenting sense of lost dreams and stalled inertia is all pervading and builds throughout the collection. It’s not a fun read by any means but it’s certainly a good one.
Posted: October 28th, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: News, Twelve Hour Shift | Tags: Hour, Jones, new, Shift, Steve, stories, Twelve | No Comments »
When I got the book together, I felt a great excitement completing it, but also slightly saddend that I couldn’t cram in all the other stuff I had written. Since then all my time has been devoted to NM, and will be for a while yet.
BUT, having recentley taken on the role again I have found myself dragging out the old material and working on it. Now I am not sure where this is heading, but I have a definate idea of what I want to cover. Steve Jones is going to take a back seat, as he seeks to deal with his issues through hypnotherapy. I want to explore some themes through the other characters at Mahogany Heights. Themes such as greed, corruption, power and it’s corosive influence, and dead people.
Here is a pencil of the first issue cover, Emilio.
Posted: August 13th, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Reviews, Twelve Hour Shift | | No Comments »
That lovely man Paul Gravett has flagged up Twelve Hour Shift in his PG tips column, and also in the extensive interview over at Forbidden Planet, with that other nice man Joe Gordon. Both articles are worth reading if you are interested in what is happening with the UK scene at the mo’. After this weekend at Caption, i feel that self published comics are in very good health. There seems to be new people every time I attend an event. But, importantly, good stuff being produced.
Posted: February 20th, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Twelve Hour Shift | Tags: and, Azzopardi, black, classy, eagle awards, Hour, product, reprint, Sean, Shift, Twelve, vote, white | No Comments »
It’s that time of year in UK comics for the Eagle awards.Twelve Hour Shift has been nominated in favourite reprint compilation, and if you have the time it would be nice to be added to: favourite black and white comic book – British. Thank you.
Posted: February 14th, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Twelve Hour Shift | Tags: Camden, Check, Comics Stall, Name, Sean Azzopardi | No Comments »
There is an interview over at the Forbidden Planet blog about the Camden comics stall, and i get a mention. Yay!
Posted: February 2nd, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Reviews, Twelve Hour Shift | Tags: Azzopardi, Fiction, Hour, Midnight, Reviews, Sean, Shift, Twelve | No Comments »
Richard Krauss has just reviewed Twelve Hour Shift.Cheers Richard!
Twelve Hour Shift by Sean Azzopardi
All too often there’s a sharp contrast between the creative job you want and bill-paying job you can get. Azzopardi’s new graphic novel confronts this sobering fact of life with candor and insight. Twelve Hour Shift is the story of an artist who struggles through a series of tedious, menial jobs for sustenance, leaving his creative time squeezed into evenings and weekends. It’s an ambitious, 146-page story, that took Azzopardi 3 years to complete. There’s no doubt that it’s fiction. Some of the scenes are downright surreal, but much of the story is unmistakably drawn from the daily routine of working a low-wage job and commuting by rail in London and its surrounding boroughs. If you’ve ever felt torn between a creative pursuit and putting bread on the table, you will quickly find a connection with the frustrated artist, Steve Jones, and it will draw you into this illustrated docudrama.The artwork on some pages and panels is very tight, while others are sketchier and loose. I don’t know if this was intentional, an artifact of the 3 year development time, or a happy accident – but it all works. The artwork and page layouts are engaging, beautiful, at times satirical, and consistently inventive. Azzopardi is a captivating storyteller. He successfully combines the words and pictures into a heart-felt drama I couldn’t put down.
His other small press comic, Ed, also deals with a life of artistic pursuit. But the character Ed seems to be the world’s nicest struggling artist. If Ed’s world is conflicted or at times gut-wrenching, he’s doing a great job of keeping it all to himself. In sharp contrast, the world Steve Jones lives in is stark and gritty. Some days it takes all his energy just to cope with the mental and physical challenges of the daily routine he’s come to dread.A roster of consecutive twelve hour shifts is a schedule no one would welcome, but the story goes deeper than whining about surface hardships. Azzopardi explores the artist’s emotions and challenges with understanding and honesty. At times Jones is a screw up, in both his day job and his creative vocation. He wants to be an artist, but he doesn’t always have the drive. He has doubts. Sometimes it’s easier to drink or dope, than draw.Sometimes he’s angry and mean spirited. He doesn’t take the daily commuters he travels with on the train, seriously. He thinks his artistic cause makes him better than they are. But later on the job, he sees the other side of the coin when his customers treat him like a trained dog.He’s got a few issues with his coworkers too. Some are justified, but he also learns to appreciate that he’s not the only one who’s found the world doesn’t owe him any favors. Everyone has dreams and aspirations.Spoiler Alert: Finding a balance in life is a tricky business, especially when it’s a moving target. AsTwelve Hour Shift ends, Steve Jones is left still trying to figure things out. In that sense, the story is unresolved. But the creative soul is compelled to explore new territory, and in that sense we know the story and Mr. Jones will continue the journey.Twelve Hour Shift is a b&w, 148-page graphic novel. Available for £6.95 + £2 postage from Azzopardi’s website Phatcatz.
Posted: January 13th, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Twelve Hour Shift | | No Comments »
Posted: January 13th, 2008 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Twelve Hour Shift | Tags: Artist, Azzopardi, book, Comic, graphic, Hour, London, Novel, Publisher, Sean, Self, Shift, Twelve | No Comments »
Twelve Hour Shift is now available for sale.
Posted: October 7th, 2007 | Author: sean azzopardi | Filed under: Twelve Hour Shift | | No Comments »
