Panel Borders: Exploring War in popular comics

Continuing our month of shows about war comics, Panel Borders is pleased to present a selection of interviews recorded at the launch of “Draw your Weapons – the art of Commando comics”, a new exhibition at the National Army Museum in Chelsea, as Alex Fitch talks to curator Robert Fleming, current Commando editor Calum Laird, and former editor George Low about the history of the comic and the art on display at the museum. Also in another recording taken from last month’s ‘Comics and conflicts’ festival at the Imperial War Museum, Roger Sabin and Martin Baker give a presentation about the depiction of the Iraq war and PTSD in the US comic strip Doonesbury.

Please note: Martin and Roger’s presentation contains strong language and challenging ideas, so we recommend younger listeners (or parents who share the podcast with younger listeners) stop playback of the podcast after the Commando interviews.

Doonesbury, Martin Baker and Roger Sabin at the Imperial War Museum / Commando livery outside the National Army museum

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

Links: Buy A ‘Toxic Genre’: The Iraq War Films by Martin Baker, Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels: A History of Comic Art by Roger Sabin,
The Doonesbury trilogy: The Long Road Home, The War within and Signature Wound,
Commando: 50 Years – A Home for Heroes, Rogue Raiders, Achtung! and Scramble!: The Ten Best Battle of Britain Comic Books Ever! from amazon.co.uk

Commando website
More info about Draw your Weapons – 50 years of Commando comics at the National Army Museum
Comics and Conflicts at the Imperial War museum
Listen to last week’s War comics show: Garth Ennis’ Battlefields

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Panel Borders: Garth Ennis – Battlefields

Starting a month of shows about war comics, Alex Fitch talks to award winning writer Garth Ennis about his interest in the genre, from the backdrop of conflict in his debut strip Troubled Souls to his exploration of wars throughout the 20th Century and beyond in his series War Stories and Battlefields. Alex and Garth also discuss his past and forthcoming projects for Avatar, Dynamite and Marvel Comics and there are questions from the audience on the subjects of putting his stories into context for younger readers and the use of drones on the battlefield. This interview was recorded live at the Imperial War Museum, London as part of the ‘Comics and Conflicts Festival‘, August 2011.

Garth Ennis interviewed by Alex Fitch at the Imperial War Museum, London. Photo by Joe Shahabuddin

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

Links: Watch an interview with Garth recorded on the same day by Talk Comix
Read an interview with Garth transcribed on the day by The Irish Times

Wikipedia pages on War Stories and Battlefields

Listen to Alex Fitch and Duncan Nott’s previous interview with Garth Ennis – part one / part two / part three
Listen to Alex’s interviews with John McCrea – 2007 part one, featuring Glen Fabry / part two / 2011 interview featuring Jon Browne

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Panel Borders: Garth Ennis’ Battlefields [ 1:10:15 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Buying and selling comics

Continuing our month long look at comic book shops, we have interviews with the proprietors of a couple of venues that are unlike your average comic shop. Veteran publisher Mike Lake and colleague Colin Strawbridge talk to Dickon Harris about their regular stall selling classic comics at the monthly Royal National Hotel Comic Mart off Russell Square. Also, in an interview recorded at last week’s Caption festival in Oxford, Alex Fitch talks to comic book creator Pete Renshaw, author of Burke and Hare: The West Port Murders, about Plan B, the graphic novels and coffee shop that he co-owns in Glasgow.

Interior of Plan B books, Glasgow and exterior of the Royal National Hotel, London

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

Links: Plan B Books, Glasgow
Pete’s myspace blog on Burke and Hare
Info about London Comic Marts
Blog post about Mike Lake and Forbidden Planet

Recommended events:

New Comic Internship at londonprintstudio for 21-25 Year Olds

Do you enjoy telling tall tales or scribbling stories? Do you love reading graphic novels, comics or picture books? Then look no further!

londonprintstudio is offering five carefully chosen 21-25 year olds the chance to…

-Run comic workshops for 16-20 year olds.
-Receive mentoring from top professional comic artists, anthology makers, screenwriters, print makers, comic publishers and art educators.
-Develop your own artistic comic projects with supervision from mentors and feedback from your fellow interns..
-Be introduced to the London comic scene, attend events, give presentations, network and meet publishers, editors and creators in the comic industry.
-Take part in editing, planning and creating work for a comic anthology publication and a comic exhibition at londonprintstudio.

The course is run by professional comic creator Karrie Fransman whose comics have appeared in The Times, The Guardian and who is currently working on her first graphic novel due to be published by Random House.
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Panel Borders: Buying and selling comics [ 52:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Comic Book Caption(s)

Starting a month of shows about comic book shops, we have three interviews recorded at Oxford’s small press comics convention ‘Caption’. Alex Fitch talks to Doctor Who comic illustrator Al Davison, who runs a graphic novels and art supply shop in Coventry and to former Gay Comics writer Will Morgan, one of the proprietors of a comic book shop in Putney which specialises in classic British titles. Also, 2000AD artist P.J. Holden is interviewed by comics journalist Matt Badham, about the shops he frequented while growing up in Belfast.

Will Morgan, Al Davison and P.J. Holden sell their wares at Caption and other locations

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

Links: Will Morgan‘s shop 30th Century Comics, Putney
Will’s profile on prismcomics.org
Buy Prime Cuts by Will Morgan writing as Howard Strangroom from amazon.co.uk

Al Davison‘s shop The Astral Gypsy, Coventry
Al’s Astral Gypsy and Muscle Memory blogs
Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Al Davison about Doctor Who comics

P.J. Holden‘s website
Articles about P.J. at Irish Comic News
Additional interview with P.J. by Matt Badham about breaking in to 2000AD

Caption website
Selina Locke’s photos of Caption 2010
Matt Badham’s blog
2000AD online

Recommended events:

Caption Comics festival 2011

Oxford’s small press comics festival is taking place this weekend, the 6th and 7th of August at the East Oxford Community centre.
Guests include Al Davison, Ian Culbard, Kate Brown, Paul Rainey, David O’Connell and Paul Duffield and tickets are a very reasonable five pounds per day, plus workshops on comic book creating, the annual Caption auction featuring original art pages and new pieces by attending creators and much, much more…

Find more info at www.caption.org

New Comic Internship at londonprintstudio for 21-25 Year Olds

Do you enjoy telling tall tales or scribbling stories? Do you love reading graphic novels, comics or picture books? Then look no further!

londonprintstudio is offering five carefully chosen 21-25 year olds the chance to…
Continue reading →

Panel Borders: Comic Book Caption(s) [ 34:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: The art of P.J. Holden

A special online exclusive episode of Panel Borders – in an interview recorded at Oxford’s Caption comic book festival in 2010, comics journalist Matt Badham talks to 2000AD artist P.J. Holden about his work, from his formative years combining art and computers to getting his first Judge Dredd assignment and his most recent projects.

Excerpt from a Judge Dredd strip by P.J. Holden and Gordon Rennie

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

Links: P.J.’s website
Matt Badham’s blog
Caption website
2000AD online

Recommended events:

Caption Comics festival 2011

Oxford’s small press comics festival is taking place this weekend, the 6th and 7th of August at the East Oxford Community centre.
Guests include Al Davison, Ian Culbard, Kate Brown, Paul Rainey, David O’Connell and Paul Duffield and tickets are a very reasonable five pounds per day, plus workshops on comic book creating, the annual Caption auction featuring original art pages and new pieces by attending creators and much, much more…

Find more info at www.caption.org

Continue reading →

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Panel Borders: Kieron Gillen – Gameplay and fantasy comics

Concluding our month of shows looking at the crossover between comics and games, Alex Fitch talks to writer Kieron Gillen about how his history as a video and computer game journalist influenced his comic writing career. Alex and Kieron talk about the latter’s experience writing for Warhammer Monthly, developing an online game The Curfew for Channel Four and how game playing has only a little impact on his writing Thor and Uncanny X-Men.

Panel from Save Point by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, still from The Curfew, excerpt from Uncanny X-Men by Gillen, Matt Fraction and Greg Land

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

Links: Kieron’s website
Play The Curfew
Wikipedia pages on Warhammer, Kieron Gillen and the games review website he helped create, Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Recommended events:

Orbital comics events…

GARRY LEACH EXHIBITION 13.07.11 – 12.08.11

Orbital Comics is very proud to present an exhibition of work by the great Garry Leach (Miracleman, Dan Dare).

The exhibition, which will run from Monday 11th for one month, includes pages from Judge Dredd, Warrior, The Twelve pencilled by Chris Weston, Transmetropolitan, pages inked by Garry from Benaroya Publishing’s Marksmen and more.

JACK KIRBY PANEL DISCUSSION

A panel discussion of the King of Comics’ work on Friday July 29th, with exhibition curator Jason Atomic, Charles Hatfield (comics academic and writer for the Jack Kirby Collector), David Hine (Bulletproof Coffin, Detective Comics), Garry Leach (Marksmen, Marvelman), Mike Lake and moderator Paul Gravett.

7.30pm, Friday 29th July, 2011

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