Panel Borders: Small press publishers

Starting a month of shows looking at small press and self published comics, Panel Borders looks at the titles produced by two British independent publishing companies in interviews recorded at the London Super Comics Convention.

Alex Fitch talks to Nicolas Rossert, Loran and Charles Cutting about Sloth Comics, a new publisher devoted to both British and European graphic novels, including reissues of classic titles. Loran discusses his book Booyah!, about a playful green monster with anger management issues; Cutting talks about his steampunk adventure Steam Hammer, and Rossert describes his approach to choosing graphic novel formats and the process of getting the rights to republish Moebius and Alejandro Jodorowski’s classic Madwoman of the Sacred Heart.

Also, publisher Colin Mathieson discusses his company Accent UK which has built up a commendable body of work over the last dozen years concentrating on anthology books which have showcased the work of some of the country’s finest small press creators. Artist Conor Boyle joins the conversation to talk about Accent’s latest graphic novel Who on Earth was Thaddeus Mist? and the importance of design to the company’s range of books. (Originally broadcast 8th April 2013)

(Originally broadcast 08/04/13 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

For more info and a variety of different formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at www.archive.org

Links: Sloth Comics website
Accent UK website
Disconnected Press blog

Recommended events:

Help launch The Black Cloud

Support Charles Cutting’s new graphic short story compilation… If you think it’s the kind of thing you would be cool with posting about, liking and sharing on Facespace and Twitter, Charlie would be most grateful…

Over the last year and a half Charles has produced three short stories in graphic form for three different authors.

‘After The End’ is penned by Tauriq Moosa and deals with a secret scientific experiment.

‘Two Little Boys’ concerns an intriguing coincidence linking the lives of Adolf Hitler and Ludwig Wittgenstein and is written by Christian David. It first appeared in Issue 29 of The Illustrated Ape.

The final story ‘The Bleeding Horse’ is an adaptation of a macabre story by Brian J Showers about a haunted Irish pub.

Charlie needs $2000 to cover the printing and shipping costs. By pre-ordering a copy of Black Cloud via Indiegogo you will be entitled to various perks depending on how much you wish to chip in to the campaign. These cost between $15 and $200 and include sketches, advertising space and original artwork.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/black-cloud

COMICA FESTIVAL COMES TO CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS APRIL 19th & 20th!

In an exciting new co-operation, Comica is working with Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design (or CSM) to stage two days of talks, events, exhibitions, a fair day, live drawing and an exclusive painting and music performance, all in the adjoining spaces of The Platform Theatre, Foyer & Bar, Studio and White Lab at CSM’s spectacular London headquarters, mere minutes away from King’s Cross rail, tube and Eurostar stations.

On Friday April 19th, from 2.30-6.30pm, Comica is working with CSM to programme a practical, informative afternoon of professional development talks and panels designed to help students, graduates and aspiring writers and artists to break into the comics and graphic novel world. Among those taking part will be CSM alumni Brian Bolland, famed for his iconic renditions of Judge Dredd and Batman, Nobrow co-publisher Alex Spiro, and acclaimed manga creators Chie Kutsuwada and Inko. Also participating will be graphic novel commissioners from Knockabout, Myriad and other publishers, Julie Tait, director of the first Lakes International Comic Art Festival, and 2000AD, Marvel and DC superstar illustrator Frazer Irving.

Then from 6.30 to 7.30pm, also in The Platform Theatre, Comica welcomes principal sponsor Sequential, the deluxe digital graphic novel storefront app for the iPad, bringing together literary graphic novels from the world’s leading publishers and creators. Sequential’s Tokyo-based pioneer, Russell Willis, will be joined by Brian Bolland, Hunt Emerson, Terry Wiley and others on the roster to launch the deluxe digital versions of Bolland Strips!, The Essential Hunt Emerson, VerityFair and more. Followed by signings and a launch party in the Foyer. Tickets will be on sale soon, details to follow. There will also be exhibitions including brand new work by CSM students, such as a multi-path hypercomic, Black Hats in Hell, masterminded by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey.

Saturday April 20th brings our second Spring Comica Comiket, bigger and better than ever. Come to our Independent Comics Fair where publishers like Jonathan Cape, Knockabout, SelfMadeHero and Walker Books will be joining indie presses and self-publishers, and it is still admission free to the public. Fraser Irving, Viviane Schwarz, Gary Northfield, Stephen Collins, Warren Pleece and Oliver East are among the Drawing Paraders on board promoting their brand new books, and we’ll be announcing the full line-up in our next Newsletter. We’ll also have details of the thrilling Sequential comics competition which will see one lucky winner on the day walks away with a highly covetable and nifty iPad.

And for our grand finale in The Platform Theatre on the Saturday night, Comica presents Battle Of The Eyes in The Noise Of Our Art, the first amazing collaboration between live performance painters Chris Long and Edwin Pouncey and leading musician and DJ Trevor Jackson. The evening ends with our Comiket after-party in the Foyer till 10pm.

When: Friday April 19th, 2.30 to 10pm, and April 20th, 11am to 10pm.

Where: The Platform Theatre, Foyer, Studio and White Lab, Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, Handyside Street, London N1C 4AA

More info: www.comicafestival.com

Exhibitions at Orbital Comics

Des Taylor

Orbital Comics proudly presents to you a collection of limited edition art prints by British illustrator Des Taylor.

His client list reads the likes of Michael Jackson, Theo Fennell, La Perla, FHM, Cosmopolitan, Ministry of Sound, Universal Music, ITV Studios, and many more. In this exhibition you will see pieces from his vast collection of artwork influenced by fashion, classic comics, Pop art Icons and his love for screen sirens of the 50?s and 60?s.

He will also be promoting art from his latest book Scarlett Couture Investigations and The Trouble With Katie Rogers which has recently been optioned by ITV Studios America. An artbook shall be on sale exclusively for this event.

19th March – 14th April 2013

(To all of you artists out there: Orbital Comics Presents a Pin-up Art Class by Des Taylor featuring model Nina Hearne as the muse posing in a variety of Pin-Up and character inspired outfits. The class will take place on Friday, April 5th at 7:30pm, more info at http://www.orbitalcomics.com/destaylor-masterclass)

Andrew Hickinbottom

is a digital 3D illustrator who specialises in stylised pinups. His work has been showcased on the internet over 60 times, and has been featured in many international books and magazines, appearing on 4 covers. Some of his clients include EA, Tassimo, Seat, Intel and The international Olympic Committee.

This exhibition of his personal works features a wide range of his appealing female character illustrations, with signed prints, an artbook and even a VERY limited edition figurine for sale.

17th April – 10th May

Reappropriating Lichtenstein

Artists Jason Atomic and Rian Hughes are curating an exhibtion at Orbital Comics, on the subject of Reappropriating Lichtenstein to coincide with the final weeks of the exhibtion at Tate Modern in May. Any practising comic book artists who would like to trace back one of Lichtenstein’s images to its original source, crediting the original artist in the process, and produce a new version themselves are invited to submit proposal for exhibition by April 6th.
More info here: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/03/19/a-call-for-comic-artists-to-respond-to-roy-lichtenstein

Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JA

Tripwire 21st anniversary fundraiser

In 2013, Britain’s favourite comics and genre magazine celebrates its 21st birthday. To commemorate, we are doing a must-buy book.

TRIPWIRE has been Britain’s only features-driven comics and genre magazine which has published since 1992 and with 2013 being the magazine’s 21st anniversary, its coming of age if you like, we thought it would be remiss if we didn’t do something to commemorate this.

The book will come in regular paperback and in a limited hardcover edition. Between its covers will be a selection of new material, including art either never seen before or rarely seen from the likes of Drew Struzan (poster artist for Indiana Jones, The Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Phil Hale (award-winning portrait painter), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg, The Shadow, Blackhawk),Frank Quitely (Batman and Robin, All-Star Superman), Walter Simonson (Elric, Thor), Dave Taylor (Batman, Tongue Lash) and many more. Additionally, it will include features looking at the trends and issues that have played a major part in comics and genre over the past 21 years, including the best and worst comic and genre movies 1992-2013, the 21 most important creators to come to the fore in the last twenty-one years, the 21 best graphic novels (mainstream and independent) and much more. It will also include the best content from twenty-one years of TRIPWIRE, a magazine which covered the cream of comics and genre and will include the likes of Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Guillermo Del Toro, Mike Mignola, Joss Whedon, Joe Kubert, Will Eisner to name but a few. It will also include a selection of photos pulled from the magazine of genre movers and shakers. It will be a must-buy for fans and aficionados of comics and genre, approached with the same level of professionalism and quality that people have come to expect from the magazine.

“TRIPWIRE really is a breath of fresh air. Its layouts are superb, with great well-written features perfectly set off by the pictures, adding clarity and intelligence to every page. And it keeps on doing it. Amazing, Gratifying. A pleasure to look at, a pleasure to read…” MICHAEL MOORCOCK

Incentives run at prices between £1 and £500 including signed copies, PDFs, prints T-Shirts and more…

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/154246759/tripwire-21st-anniversary