About

Ellerbisms is a weekly autobiographical webcomic by Marc Ellerby. Ellerbisms chronicles the small events on Marc’s life, though blown up to be much larger than they first appear to be. He started it on the 15th of May and has drawn over a 200 strips. So far, three print editions have been released, collecting 40+ strips each.

FAQ

Q: What’s your email! I want to send you an email!

A: It’s marclrbATgmailDOTcom (obviously replace the capital text with the required characters)

Q: When do these strips take place? Are they really…uhrr…real?

A: There’s currently a three month gap between an Ellerbism happening and the strip going live. There are many reasons for this, one is for quality control (so I don’t put up any old guff, only the good ones get through) and secondly, it allows me to have a back log of strips in order to always be ahead of myself. I don’t want to be late with this strip and I’d rather the strips have a delay on them then not appear due to the fact I have to draw them.

Everything that happens in the strip, actually happened. No, really.

Q: These used to be in colour and now they’re not. What’s up with that?

A: Colour comics take up much more of my time and seeing as this isn’t my only job at the moment I had to come to a compromise. I weighed up the option of either doing more Ellerbisms but in black and white or have them come out slower though in colour. I decided that the best for everyone would be if they stayed black and white and therefore actually came out. I sorta prefer them in b/w, as I wasn’t doing anything exciting with colour.

Q: Didn’t you do a daily strip in a day? An Hourly Comic or something? Where’s that? I wanna read it!

A: Yes, each year I take part in Hourly Comic Day, which is an event where comic artists around the world chronicle their day, but the trick is you have to draw a comic for every hour you’re awake. So say you wake up at 8am, by 9am you must have a comic or a panel complete. It’s a lot of fun, here’s my entry from 2008 and 2009 , here’s 2010′s and for more information about the event, click here.

Q: Why does your artwork look kinda squished in some panels? What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you draw in big panels like manga? I like manga! Do you like Bleach?

No I don’t like Bleach, shaddup!

I used to draw the strips in a moleskin sketchbook – the strips are usually drawn 11cm by 18cm. Why did I do this? I kinda like the idea of the sketchbook collecting the strips which can be reproduced but also is a piece of art in itself. It does however take longer to draw and is murder on the hand.

I now draw at A4 so the art and composition of the comics can breathe.

About the author
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Marc Ellerby has drawn comics for Oni Press and Image Comics and more recently, for himself. He has collaborated with writers Jamie S. Rich and Kieron Gillen and has had work appear in Love The Way You Love (Oni Press) Put The Book Back On The Shelf (Image) This Is A Souvenir (Image), Fat Chunk Volume 2 – Zombies (SLG Publishing)  and Phonogram: The Singles Club (Image). His illustration clients include Mannequin Republic/Atlantic Records, the Truck Festival, Drowned In Sound and WhatsOn magazine.

Upcoming work includes a comic for the C.B.G.B’s Anthology written by Kieron Gillen and published by Boom! Studios and a short story in the second Solipisistic Pop anthology.

His newest series Chloe Noonan: Monster Hunter has just started and the first two self published issues are out now.

To view his other comics such as Venal Muse and Polar Opposites please visit his portfolio site.

Photo by Dan Berry. Taken at the UK Web & Mini Comic Thing 2010.