Panel Borders: (Ghosts of) Young Graphic Novelists
Continuing a month of shows about the depiction of musicians and music culture in comic books, this week’s episode coincides with our yearly look at the work of young graphic novelists. Alex Fitch talks to Owen Johnson, Mark D Penman, James Lawrence and Andrew Tunney about their comics and forming an exhibiting group with three others called Ghosts for an art show at Orbital Comics entitled ‘Cult’. The artists discuss the influences on their comics including the anthology title Waste, how the group was formed and what visitors can expect from the exhibition; includes an extract from the soundtrack to Johnson’s comic Raygun Roads. The exhibition Ghosts: Cult runs at Orbital Comics, London until April 20th (Originally broadcast Monday 7th April, Resonance 104.4 FM)
Excerpts from comics by Owen Johnson, Mark Penman, James Lawrence and Andrew Tunney
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: More info about the Orbital Cult exhibition
Owen Michael Johnson’s blog and website
Mark D Penman’s tumblr site
James Lawrence’s Dangerine commix
Andrew Tunney’s website
Listen to Alex’s previous shows on Young British Graphic Novelists: 2011 / 2012 / 2013
Recommended events:
Comics at SCI-FI-LONDON
Dave McKean doesn’t really need an introduction here – from his Sandman covers to Arkham Asylum to his books with Neil Gaiman, through to his own books and illustration and graphic work, he has shaped and changed the look of comics for decades. Apart from his well-known photo collage work, he is also extremely adapt at the good ol’ ink and brushwork.
Alex Fitch will be interviewing Dave McKean at Gosh! on Saturday, the 26th of April, from 7.30pm onwards.
Emma Vieceli, you may know from SelfMadeHero’s Manga Shakespeare adaptations, Young Avengers, her work on ambitious webcomics The Thrill Electric for Channel Four with John Reppion and Leah Moore and Breaks with Malin Rydén, plus most recently in print, the graphic novel adaptations of the ever-popular Vampire Academy series.
Emma will be conversation with Alex on Sunday, the 27th of April, from 7.30pm, Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, London, W1F 0DR
Nearest tube for Gosh! is Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square
Mike Carey is a much loved contributor to Vertigo Comics’ John Constantine: Hellblazer title, he also enjoyed a seven year tenure as the writer of the Lucifer comic. He will be discussing his career so far, plus his latest acclaimed horror novel The Girl with all the gifts and graphic novel X-Men: No more humans.
Saturday 3rd May, 2.30pm, The Club Room, 2nd Floor, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL
Nearest tube to Conway Hall is Holborn on the Central and Piccadilly Lines.
First Fictions Festival 2014
For those who like to mix their fiction with a dose of graphics there’s a heady mix of novelists with more than a cartoonist twist on the Saturday at the First Fictions Festival in glorious surroundings at West Dean College near Chichester. Nye Wright is holding up the flame in a panel on New Forms of Writing, while Broken Frontier’s Andy Oliver debates New Forms of Reading with Hannah Berry and the aforementioned Brookes and Phoenix. See the full programme here. The prices are set by the College, sadly, so you would need to think of it as pampering yourself with literature, good food, and beautiful spring walks: if, however, you are a student it all becomes deliciously affordable, so call the West Dean booking office on 01243 818314.
Gareth Brookes was winner of the First Fictions 2012 First Graphic Novel Competition, organised by Myriad Editions, and the long list for the 2014 competition will be announced on the same day, Saturday 12 April.
More info at www.myriadeditions.com
Sponsor UNFINISHED CITY by Ben Dickson, Sylvija Martinovi? and Robert Solanovi?
Unfinished City is a powerful, stylish thriller with a sharp, East-European edge. Nadja’s home town of Nikši? is a real place; many elements of the story are drawn from Sylvija’s experience of living in the city, and the stories that circulated at the time. This will undoubtedly be a controversial book in the Balkans – so much so that Sylvija and Ben had to consciously distance some elements from real life!
The book is being illustrated in glorious, shadowy black and white by cult Croatian artist Robert Solanovi?. A highly-regarded artist in the Balkans, this will be Robert’s first English language work.
Incentives include a first look PDF, signed paperback and hardback editions of the graphic novel, an exclusive T-Shirt and much more. Info at: www.kickstarter.com
