Writers Bloc

A Publishing Alternative for Writers

[hellyeahwritersbloc]

Goodbye to Hell Yeah Writers Bloc

Hi Tumblr Cool Gang,

Well, it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye. After a long hiatus, it has been decided that Hell Yeah Writers Bloc will be no more.  Earlier in the year there was a plan for a relaunch of the site - getting back to basics, and paying a competitive rate for artists and cartoonists. Unfortunately because of financial difficulties within the organisation, this didn’t happen. With the relaunch scrapped, the Tumblr site was just languishing, and I was in a state of limbo. I decided that the best thing to do would be step down as editor. The Tumblr site will remain live so that the archives can be accessed, but there will be no more new posts from henceforth.

I want to say a profound thank you to the Writers Bloc editor in chief Geoff, who had the idea for the Tumblr and gave it its name. Geoff, as well as Sam, the former editor of the Writers Bloc main site, were invaluable in regards to support, advice, and opportunities. It is really, really hard running a site which isn’t reliant on public funding, and they were incredible.

I would also like to thank everyone who submitted to us, whether it was a comic, an illustration, or a piece of writing. Your work is amazing, and I am beyond proud that I got to share it with the world. The main goal of HYWB was to show off fantastic visual literature and short fiction, and I believe that we succeeded in that goal. Thank you to everyone who answered my interviews. Interviews were my favourite feature, and the answers I received to my questions were thoughtful, whimsical, and provocative. I feel privileged to know so much more about the literary and comics scene in Australia, and about sandwiches.

Thank you to everyone who let me come and cover your events, and let me take (blurry) photos, or kindly donated their photos for a piece. I would also like to thank everyone who donated photos for The Bloc Album.

To those of you who let me review your comics, I’m grateful for letting me read your fantastic work, and having faith in my ability to judge your work accurately and fairly. 

Finally, thank you to everyone who liked, reblogged, shared or commented on the Hell Yeah Writers Bloc posts. Week after week I was amazed at how the audience for the site grew, and you, the audience, were terrific. I’ve had so much fun and learnt so many new things in my time as the editor of HYWB, and I really hope that these posts have made you laugh, smile, think, and feel. Keep writing. Keep drawing. Keep eating sandwiches. And above all, keep being the best you that you can be.

Amy the Editor xo

[dredsina]

YOU THINK I’M JOKING BUT I’M DEAD SERIOUS

[sixfeetunderrthestars]

you learn a lot about the human race once you become a cashier somewhere

[geekartgallery-blog]

“The Problem With Actually Having Superpowers“ by JHALL Comics Source: Dorkly If you ever get a superpower, what are the chances that a second power develops at the same time to counteract the negative effects of the first power?

[sealochs]

*whispers* if Shakespeare could pass the bechdel test despite writing in an inherently patriarchal and routinely misogynistic society then you, modern day writers, have literally no excuse

[dulect]

[neil-gaiman]

It wasn’t until I read Laura Miller’s Salon article on the PEN-Charlie Hebdo courage award, that I learned about Molly Norris (that’s her, above, with her dog).

Molly Norris was a Seattle cartoonist. Four years ago, on FBI advice, she went into hiding. She had drawn the cartoon above, and for that she was placed on an al-Quaida list of targets for murder.

Molly’s story came back to light last month after twelve cartoonists and journalists were gunned down at the offices of the French satirical publication, Charlie Hebdo. They were slain by Islamic radicals who were offended by their depiction of the Prophet Mohammed.

Norris, a Seattle cartoonist who drew for local publications like the Seattle Weekly and City Arts, found herself on the same al-Qaeda hit list as some of the murdered Hebdo artists.

On the advice of the FBI, she abandoned her life and work when Islamist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki called for her assassination in retaliation for posting a comic referencing Mohammed…

Learn her story here:

http://seattleglobalist.com/2015/02/09/molly-norris-draw-mohammed-cartoon-charlie-hebdo-seattle/32674

[septemberpoems]

I really do love your work and I admire you a lot, but I can just scroll past this without commenting it. Is it right that she received death threats? No. Absolutely not. But do I understand that ordinary people are upset when someone so important to their religion is being portrayed, not in any historical context for example, but as a punchline? Yes.

It’s kind of… I don’t know how to put it, but needlessly offensive. There are better ways of taking this discussion than things like these because they only tend to inflame the situation even more, be it this issue or other related or non-related ones.

[neil-gaiman]

I’m sure there are better ways of taking the discussion than this, yes.

A young cartoonist has been in hiding for the last four years with her name on a death list (others on the death list have already been killed) because she drew a cartoon. I think this is something that people should know.

I thought that Molly’s story would lack context without the actual cartoon. (Does it offend some people? Yes, obviously, or Molly wouldn’t be in hiding. Does it actually show a drawing of Mohammed? No, it shows a drawing of a cup, a cherry, a domino and so on.) I apologise unreservedly to anyone who was upset by it, and have taken it down on the original post, and reblogged this as text only.

Obviously, this is the action of a tiny number of extremists: Islam is a religion of peace and of love, and of reasonable people. People who, if they saw an image like that, would explain to the person who made it why they were offended, why they thought it was a bad idea, why it wasn’t treating others with respect.

But there’s a cartoonist gone. A woman cartoonist at that. And until yesterday, I didn’t know her story.

[comicsalliance]

GALLERY: ‘POPEYE CLASSIC COMICS’ VARIANT COVERS ARE ALWAYS STRONG TO THE FINICH

[design-is-fine]

William Morris, The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems, 1904. London. University of Maryland Libraries

The book was originally published in 1858, when William Morris was twenty-four years old. This edition is illustrated by Scottish artist Jessie M. King, who was known for her Art Nouveau designs and contributions to the Arts and Crafts Movement. King also designed the decorative binding.

More about Jessie M. King: University of St. Andrews

[buzzfeedbooks]

Happy Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month! 32 Essential Asian-American Writers You Need To Be Reading

[decorkiki]

More Mens #Fashion Infographics

Shop KikiModo.com

[regicidee]

The best🙌

[lauren2hills]

Omg

[midderin-deactivated20200827]

Great artist reference!

[yourpatchworkgod]

I’ve never seen full break look good. It makes your legs look short and will make a tailored suit look off the rack. You’re not Goku, that much fabric shouldn’t on top of your shoes.

[hirumashadow]

plerndraws

[slow-riot-deactivated20200720]

Can you imagine being a boring enough person to ask “how high were these people when they made this” whenever you see any remotely weird art?

[sykend]

[maptitude1]

These maps show the regional prevalences of the words ‘bro’, ‘buddy’, ‘dude’, ‘fella’, and ‘pal’ in the contiguous United States.

[rubiline-deactivated20210204]

there are no friends in florida

[6ftaboveground]

[alafrenais]

A quickly drawn guide to visually emphasize advice I was giving about diversifying characters using spaceing of features, not just unique features, which you can read here. Hope this is helpful!

[bogleech]

“I heart my car” she says as she pumps its hole full of love fluid, but their half-hearted smiles betray the truth. They’re just going through the motions, each silently wondering which will be the first to admit that the spark is gone.

[william-snekspeare]

the second panel was originally going to have words but I decided it was better without them