Here at the Bloghorn we’re always ready to applaud when people do something different with cartoons and comics, and the exhibition Hypercomics, which is at the Pump House Gallery in Battersea, London, appears to do just that.

Subtitled The Shape of Comics to Come, it runs until September 26 and features work on four floors by Adam Dant, Dave McKean and Warren Pleece, above, and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, below.

The show, we are told, “will explode the narratives in their work from the printed page into the gallery space and beyond”. We’re also told that it “uses the building’s unusual architecture to weave a story whose outcome depends upon how visitors interact and move through the space”.

If any of that sounds confusing, it probably indicates that the show should be experienced, rather than written about. And as the curator of the show is the comics expert Paul Gravett, who usually has his finger on the pulse, it’s sure to be nothing less than intriguing.

Accompanying the exhibition will be a programme of screenings, talks, workshops and events. The newly refurbished Pump House Gallery is in the rather marvellous Battersea Park, so make a day of it and take a picnic! For more information, visit the Pump House Gallery website.

A new British adult comic, CLiNT, launches on the 2nd September. Featuring writers including TV’s Jonathan Ross and contraversial comedian Frankie Boyle, the magazine is a collaboration between Kick Ass artist Mark Millar and Titan Publishing. The comic, that Millar describes as “The Eagle for the 21st Century,” is aimed at men aged 16-30. You can find out more information about CLiNT via twitter.com/clintmag or Facebook.

In case you’re wondering why the magazine is titled CLiNT, Bloghorn suspects it has more to do with a piece of US comic folklore than a certain Mr Eastwood.

CLiNT number 1 is on sale 2nd September in the UK from all good retailers and specialist comic stores.

UK comic retail chain Forbidden Planet has announced the start of sale for small press comics and self-published works in three stores around the country.

The first outlets, Nostalgia & Comics in Birmingham, World’s Apart in Liverpool and Forbidden Planet in Manchester, are to have special racks to house works by independent comic makers from the UK and overseas.

What’s more, they’re offering the service for free on a sale or return basis, and will take no commission. In combination with small-run and self-publishing services such as Lulu, Bloghorn thinks this represents an excellent way for independent cartoonists to get their work in front of prospective buyers without having to go through large third-party publishers and distributors.

There are more details for small press comic producers at the Forbidden Planet International blog.

The Comic Book Alliance, a fledgling non-for profit organisation was founded in 2009 and is ‘‘dedicated to the promotion of British comic books, graphic novels, webcomics and sequential art in its many forms.’’ It duly joins our list of cartoon and comic art organisations. The organisation has just announced the winner of its recent competition to search for a new logo. The design (see above), features three interlocking speech balloons to represent the ‘‘cross-industry cohesiveness’’ the Alliance are looking to foster, according to chairman Tim Pilcher.

Thanks to the Birmingham Mail’s Speech Balloons blog for alerting us to this news.

The US Postal Service is to honour cartoonist Bill Mauldin with a postage stamp, due to be released in March 2010. Mauldin, who served with the 44th Infantry Division during World War II drew cartoons about ordinary soldiers for Stars and Stripes, the US Army’s newspaper. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1945 and died in 2003 aged 81.

Also released this year is a series of stamps featuring characters from US comic strips, including Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield and Beetle Bailey. The set, titled Sunday Funnies is due to go on sale in July.

Bloghorn asks: What cartoonists or comic characters would you like to see on British postage stamps?

The British Museum is currently exhibiting original artwork from acclaimed Japanese manga artist Hoshino Yukinobu’s newest comic. The exhibition follows the adventures of Yukinobu’s character Professor Munakata and is set in the Museum itself. The work uses icons including the Sutton Hoo mask and the Lewis chessmen. Artwork from more of Yukinobu’s manga also features at the museum, alongside talks and family events.

British film director Ken Russell has written a review of the exhibition for The Times.

The three-week London-centred comic festival Comica opens today, featuring the usual mix of talks, workshops and exhibitions including the Cartoon Museum’s 30 Years of Viz celebration (previously on Bloghorn) and a collection of original artwork from American underground comic legend Robert Crumb (previously). Also happening is the small press and self-publisher’s fair, Comiket, this coming Sunday at the ICA. There’s a full program of everything that’s going on here (or in PDF form here). Comica continues until the 26 November at various locations across the city.

Coming later in the month is the Thought Bubble festival in Leeds, happening between Thursday 19 and Sunday 22 November, and features more workshops, talks and exhibitions and incorporates the Thought Bubble one-day comic convention on the Saturday at Saviles Hall, opposite the Royal Armories.

Internet book retailer amazon.com and US comic publisher Andrews McMeel Publishing have launched a new contest to search for a new Comic Strip Superstar. Following two elimination rounds a panel of comic strip luminaries including Doonesbury’s Gary Trudeau will select 10 finalists, and the winner will be picked by a vote by amazon.com customers. The winner will receive a publishing contract, a $5000 (approx £3000) advance and a monthly stipend to develop 20 further strips.

For more details see here and you can read the official rules here. The deadline for all submissions is Saturday 12th September. Although the contest is being hosted by the US version of amazon.com, it is open to customers from a further 23 countries, including the UK.

The world’s largest comic page was unveiled earlier this month as part of the Brussels 2009 BD Comic Strip Festival (BD being short for bande dessinée). The 672 m² image was a page from Hergé’s Tintin (specifically, page 42 from Destination Moon) and was also chosen to tie in with the forthcoming release of the big screen adaptation of Belgium’s most famous comic export, directed by Stephen Spielberg.

Sadly, the page was only there between 7-10th May, but the comic festival continues all year, and includes this comic strip tour (map) around Brussels featuring 31 comic-based murals – of which there are many pictures on the Birmingham Mail Speech Balloons blog.

The Bristol International Comic Expo takes place this weekend (May 9 and 10) at the city’s Ramada Plaza Hotel.

The event features talks, panels and interviews with many top creators in the world of comics, and lots of opportunities to forget the recession and spend big on comics, merchandise and artwork. For more information, visit the website. There is also a sister event, the Small Press Expo, where the focus is on independent comics creators, on the Saturday only at Bristol’s Mercure Holland House Hotel.