Mmm, it was that time of the year again on the first Saturday of May. When we celebrate all that is good and nerdy—FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, YAY. I and my good mate Andrew went traipsing around north-west and inner Melbourne devouring any freebie in our wake. Victoria only has 2 participating stores: Trading Cards Australia in Moonee Ponds and Classic Comics in Bourke St, City.

I finally caved and bought a Rorschach action figure—the cheapest I could find was at the Moonee Ponds store. Will photograph close-ups when I next find spare time. They definitely have the action figures and most comics cheaper there… Good grief, why do I keep going to Minotaur (Then again, prices differ for various things. It pays to shop around)? Also got Catwoman #27 and an X-MEN: First Class special issue dirt cheap. Very pleased with my self-restraint. *cough*

Am curious to read more Green Lantern after the reading a good preview of Chuck Dixon’s newest take on the Emerald Guardian. At least, I think it was Chuck Dixon. I can’t remember at top of my head, but it was good! And that’s the most important part! …

Last Monday, as planned, I went up to Bendigo with my folks, mainly to check out the featured exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery, The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London (1937–1948), direct from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was overall a fantastic show of outfits, ranging from refined afternoon wear to the more flamboyant evening gowns, with also a collection of fashion photography from the likes of Richard Avedon on display.

Bendigo is a lovely city. Clean, vintage and with friendly people. And there was a Katies store that was closing down with the cheapest clothes! $5 a piece for most garments, zomg! Not even DFO can compare!

I sort of splurged on the gift range… The bag is beautiful and cute however, and well worth it.

Now I wouldn’t be a true type fan without noticing the amazing signage around this historic city! ‘Total Abstinence Society Inc”—well, that’s one way of putting it, eh? I love the little flourishes and the Nouveau/Deco typefaces.

The flourish in the ‘AND’ is beautiful! But I love the little stencil someone grafittied on top of the sign. It completes the set. ;)

I went to the Coburg Trash and Treasure market again this morning. Only the weather was srsly stinking—miserably cold and windy and changeable to boot.

Still, I got a really good bargain—20 various sized photo frames for $5:

They’re probably the most common things you’ll find in these markets, but it just so happens I’ve been looking for some decent and CHEAP frames for my photos and artwork, etc.

I regret not buying these weathered vintage Mills and Boon novels though—they’d have been great fun to make graphics/illustrations out of. eBay’s a bitch when it comes to vintage items.

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been taught the value of thrift, and despite my sometime dalliances with overspending, I am generally a fiscally responsible person—I baulk at the idea of paying $100 for a pair of jeans or the brand name of an ordinary-looking shoe when I can get something similar for far less, and I am wary of blindly following stocktake sales’ supposed slashed prices. So, it comes as no surprise that we loves teh flea markets! Not just for the bargains, but for all the quirky, weird things that you encounter! It’s brilliant for those days when you’re having creativity drought. I love retro kitsch, and there is no better place to find it than at a flea market (or a car boot sale, or a trash and treasure, or a second hand market, or the Sunday market or a thrift market, or whatever you like to call it). Apparently the world’s largest flea market, not counting eBay (hah!) is in the US, spanning from Kentucky to Alabama, 450 miles wide (about 724km, that’s almost the distance from Melbourne to Sydney!). God I would love to travel along there. It’d be like a road trip plus …

So it’s been a hell of a month lately! I finally finished second year uni last Monday. That Monday was one of my worst Mondays ever, and that’s saying quite a lot, but in amongst all the travelling from north to west to east to in-between, printing mock-ups (and muck-ups) and bookbinding setbacks, there was that massive shower of relief that washed over me when I set that folio down onto the desk in studio, and exited the campus with a somewhat triumphant feeling. The victory didn’t kick in until I was binging on glorious junk food in QV with Steph, and having a good nervous chortle about it afterwards. Not particularly looking forward to the end of November which is when results are released, but meh, c’est la vie.

More excitingly though, Cam and I went to the Armageddon Expo at the Exhibition Centre on Saturday. I was totally not planning to go this year, but I passed several bill posters in Essendon with multiple Batmans gazing at me, daring me not to come, so how could I not go, eh? That was when I found out Jim Lee, THE Jim Lee, Master of All Comic Art, was making a …