Author Archives: alexfitch

About alexfitch

Co-presenter / producer of "Panel Borders", Thursdays 5pm Resonance 104.4 FM. Film reviewer for www.electricsheepmagazine.com Podcaster for www.sci-fi-london.com

Electric Sheep podcast: Bloody Women – Female Horror Directors

Electric Sheep podcast: Bloody Women – Female Horror Directors

In the third Electric Sheep Podcast of 2011, to coincide with the Birds Eye View Film Festival’s focus on women in horror, Electric Sheep editor Virginie Sélavy leads a discussion with three women filmmakers working in this traditionally male-dominated genre. Her guests are: Melanie Light, director of Switch, Kate Shenton, director of Bon Appetit, and Jennifer Eiss, co-director of Short Lease. All three shorts screened as part of the Horror Shorts programme of B.E.V. on Saturday 12 March at the ICA.

Still from Switch by Melanie Light

Still from Switch by Melanie Light

More info: www.birds-eye-view.co.uk

Read Eleanor McKeown’s rarticle about new female horror directors.

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

In association with

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Panel Borders: The art of Karrie Fransman

Panel Borders: The art of Karrie Fransman

Continuing our month of shows looking at newspaper comics, Alex Fitch talks to cartoonist Karrie Fransman about her work which has been serialised in The Guardian and The Times. Karrie started her comics career making self published autobiographical titles and these transferred to the G2 in 2008 as a weekly strip followed by a more ambitious David Lynch inspired full page comic in Times2 a year later. Alex and Karrie talk about all these projects as well as her mentoring of interns at the London Print Studio and her forthcoming graphic novel to be published by Random House.

Extract from The Night I lost my love by Karrie Fransman, originally printed in The Times

Extract from The Night I lost my love by Karrie Fransman, originally printed in The Times

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: Karrie’s website
London Print Studio Comics Collective blog
Interview with Karrie Fransman on University of York Student Website
Karrie’s Twinkle Toes serial from The Girly Comic

Recommended events:

London Comic and Small Press Expo March 12th, 2011

“The capital’s Bohemian comic show” brings you “all the best that the Indie, Small Press and Web Comix world has to offer.” – David Hine and Shaky Kane will be talking about their work and exhibitors include Yuri Kore, Timothy Winchester, David O’Connell, Sarah McIntyre, Hugh Raine, Luke Pearson, Edward Ross, Rob Jackson, Dan Berry, Douglas Noble and many more…

Goldsmiths University, New Cross, London
March 12, 2011- 10am to 5pm – more info: www.thefallenangel.co.uk

followed by…

Comica Conversation: Lorenzo Mattotti and Dave McKean
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Panel Borders: The art of Glen Baxter

Panel Borders: The art of Glen Baxter

Starting a months of shows about Newspaper Comics, Alex Fitch talks to artist and writer Glen Baxter about his work from entering the world of self publishing in the 1970s to building an international audience via gallery shows in the 1980s and his first graphic novel – The Billiard Table Murders – in 1990, which has just entered preliminary preproduction as an animated film. Alex and Glen talk about the latter’s current exhibition, running at Flowers Gallery in Cork Street until March 5th and why he doesn’t like to be called a ‘cartoonist’…

Prints by Glen Baxter on display in Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, March 2011

Prints by Glen Baxter on display in Flowers Gallery, Cork Street, London, March 2011

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

The Hepworths might be slowing us down by Glen Baxter

The Hepworths might be slowing us down by Glen Baxter, on display in Cork Street, London, Spring 2011

Links: Wikipedia and Comic House pages on Glen Baxter
Flowers Gallery website
Review of Baxter’s second graphic novel Loomings over the Suet in The Observer
Buy Speech with Humans, Loomings Over the Suet, Trundling Grunts and Blizzards of Tweed from amazon.co.uk

Recommended events:

Glen Baxter: Immured in Hessian, exhibition on Cork Street

Beloved British newspaper cartoonist Glen Baxter has a new exhibition in London of his inimical one panel gags of whimsy and surrealism.
Flowers Central Gallery, 21 Cork Street London W1S 3LZ
8th Feb – 3rd March 2011
More info at: www.flowersgalleries.com and www.glenbaxter.com

London Comic and Small Press Expo March 12th, 2011

“The capital’s Bohemian comic show” brings you “all the best that the Indie, Small Press and Web Comix world has to offer.” – David Hine and Shaky Kane will be talking about their work and exhibitors include Yuri Kore, Timothy Winchester, David O’Connell, Sarah McIntyre, Hugh Raine, Luke Pearson, Edward Ross, Rob Jackson, Dan Berry, Douglas Noble and many more…

Goldsmiths University, New Cross, London
March 12, 2011- 10am to 5pm – more info: www.thefallenangel.co.uk

followed by…
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Laydeez do podcasts: Trina Robbins Q and A

Laydeez do podcasts: Trina Robbins Q and A

Complimenting our inaugural podcast, we have an additional companion recording of the Q and A that veteran Underground Comix creator and historian Trina Robbins gave at Laydeez do Comics in September 2010 with questions by Woodrow Phoenix and Paul Gravett among others. Introduced by Sarah Lightman, recorded and edited by Alex Fitch.

Laydeez do comics, September 2010, photo by Nicola Streeten

Laydeez do comics, September 2010, photo by Nicola Streeten

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

Listen to Trina Robbins talk about the history of women in comics

Info about Laydeez do comics

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Panel Borders: Women of Caption

Panel Borders: Women of Caption

Concluding Women in Comics month on Panel Borders, Alex Fitch presents three interviews conducted at the small press comics convention Caption held in Oxford last Summer. Selina Lock and Jeremy Day discuss the history of the convention, how it has changed over the years and the various events they’ve been involved with at the East Oxford Community Centre. Alex also talks to Philippa Rice, creator of the comic My Cardboard Life, who was one of the people involved in running a collectible dinosaur sticker game at this convention and at other comics events.

Jeremy Day and Philippa Rice prepare activities at Caption, photos by Selina Lock

Jeremy Day and Philippa Rice prepare activities at Caption, photos by Selina Lock

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: Caption website
Jeremy Day’s website
Selina Lock’s flickr page
Fact or Fiction Press website
Philippa Rice’s webcomic: mycardboardlife.com

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Reality Check: Twisted Tales

Reality Check: Twisted Tales

Currently on stage at the Lyric, Hammersmith until 28th February is Jeremy Dyson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “Twisted Tales”, combining five of his black comedy short stories into an eighty minute play about man’s inhumanity to man and the awkwardness of commuting… In a Q and A recorded after a performance of the production, cast members Jonathan Danciger, Nick Fletcher, Selina Griffiths, Alexandra Maher, Larry McCartney, George Rainsford and Trevor White discuss their love of Dahl, the delicate art of getting the tone right as one tongue in cheek tale rubs up against another that is genuinely disturbing, and playing multiple roles within the production. Tales by Roald Dahl adapted for the production include The Landlady, William and Mary, Galloping Foxley, Man from the South and Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat… (Originally broadcast as part of a Clear Spot on Resonance FM)

George Rainsford and Jonathan Danciger in Twisted Tales plus the opening paragraph of The Landlady by Roald Dahl

George Rainsford and Jonathan Danciger in Twisted Tales plus the opening paragraph of The Landlady by Roald Dahl

(Twisted Tales goes on tour to Newcastle in March and Liverpool in April)

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: More info about Twisted Tales at the Lyric, Hammersmith
Wikipedia page on Roald Dahl
Observer review of the production
Read The Landlady by Roald Dahl at www.wattpad.com
Roald Dahl official website and fan site

Recommended events:

Upcoming screenings at the Alibi, Dalston

Alibi Film club…

Feb 28th // Total Recall
March 7th // Saw
March 14th // Mean Girls
March 21st // Bad Lieutenant
March 28th // Evil Dead

Join the facebook group

The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London E8 2PB
FREE, Mondays from 8pm
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Panel Borders: The art of Melinda Gebbie

Panel Borders: The art of Melinda Gebbie

Continuing this month’s series of shows about female comic creators, we’re proud to broadcast a talk given by American comic book artist Melinda Gebbie about her work, from being featured in the renowned underground comics anthology Wimmen’s Comix in the 1970s to working as an animator in the 1980s on such films as When the wind blows to her collaborations with Alan Moore such as Lost Girls and Cobweb from the 1990s to the present day. Recorded at the Oxford Small Press Comics festival, Caption in Summer 2010. Interview conducted by Jenni Scott, edited and introduced by Alex Fitch.

Comics containing art by Melinda Gebbie: Wimmens Comix #7, Lost Girls #1, Tomorrow stories #5

Comics containing art by Melinda Gebbie: Wimmens Comix #7, Lost Girls #1, Tomorrow stories #5

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: Wikipedia page on Melinda Gebbie
Lambiek page on Wimmen’s Comic
Sarah McIntyre’s report about Caption 2011
Caption website
Read posts by Jenni Scott at factorfictionpress.co.uk

Listen to Alex Fitch’s interview with Alan Moore about Lost Girls: part one / part two / video

Recommended events:

Young Graphic Novel Festival, Islington

Childrens’ workshops:

Gary Northfield – Thursday February 24, 10.30am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
John Barnes Library, 275 Camden Rd., N7 0JN 020 7527 7900
+ Thursday February 24, 2.30pm – 4, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
Finsbury Library, 245 St. John St., EC1V 4NB 020 7527 7960

Sally Kindberg – Saturday February 26 ,11am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
North Library, Manor Gardens, N7 6JX 020 7527 7840
More info: http://www.islington.gov.uk/Education/Libraries/whatsnewlibraries

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Reality Check: Casting and creating Paul

Reality Check: Casting and creating Paul

Sci-Fi London is proud to present a recording of the London press conference for a new Sci-Fi Comedy released on Valentine’s Day, as cast members Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Sigourney Weaver, Joe Lo Truglio, Jason Bateman and director Greg Mottola discuss the making of the film ‘Paul’, from interacting with the CGI lead character to the many SF and ‘geek-culture’ references that pepper the film. (Recorded and introduced by Alex Fitch)

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in Paul

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in Paul

For more info about this podcast and a variety of other episodes you can download, please visit the home of this episode at www.sci-fi-london.com

Links: Official Paul website
Article about Paul marketing
Simon Pegg’s website
Nick Frost fansite

Recommended events:

Upcoming screenings at the Alibi, Dalston

Alibi Film club…

Feb 21st // Freddy Got Fingered
Feb 28th // Total Recall
March 7th // Saw
March 14th // Mean Girls
March 21st // Bad Lieutenant
March 28th // Evil Dead

Join the facebook group

The Alibi, 91 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, London E8 2PB
FREE, Mondays from 8pm
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Laydeez do podcasts: Couch Fiction

Laydeez do podcasts: Couch Fiction

Continuing our month of shows about women who create comic books, we’re happy to present another talk + Q and A recorded at the monthly event ‘Laydeez do comics’. Therapist Philippa Perry discusses her graphic novel “Couch Fiction: A Graphic Tale of Psychotherapy”, which presents a fictionalised version of a series of sessions conducted between a Psychotherapist and a patient with additional footnotes that put the words and pictures into context that are useful to anyone with an interest in how the profession and such encounters work and evolve. Philippa talks about her collaboration with artist Junko Graat, her experiences of being a therapist and discusses the work with an audience of comic book fans and creators. (Edited and introduced by Alex Fitch)

Four pages from Couch Fiction by Philippa Perry and Junko Graat

Four pages from Couch Fiction by Philippa Perry and Junko Graat

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

Publisher’s page on Couch Fiction
Review by Alain de Botton
Interview with Philippa Perry in The Observer

Info about Laydeez do comics
Marcia Mihotich’s blog about Philippa Perry’s talk in May 2010

Recommended events:

Young Graphic Novel Workshop Festival, Islington

Childrens’ workshops:
Steve Marchant – Monday February 14, 4.30pm – 6, Ages 12 – 16, 10 places
South Library, 115 Essex Rd., N1 2SL 020 7527 7860

Gary Northfield – Thursday February 24, 10.30am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
John Barnes Library, 275 Camden Rd., N7 0JN 020 7527 7900
+ Thursday February 24, 2.30pm – 4, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
Finsbury Library, 245 St. John St., EC1V 4NB 020 7527 7960

Sally Kindberg – Saturday February 26 ,11am – 12, Ages 8 – 11, 10 places
North Library, Manor Gardens, N7 6JX 020 7527 7840
More info: http://www.islington.gov.uk/Education/Libraries/whatsnewlibraries

Glenn Baxter in Cork Street
Beloved British newspaper cartoonist Glenn Baxter has a new exhibition in London of his inimical one panel gags of whimsy and surrealism.
Flowers Central Gallery, 21 Cork Street London W1S 3LZ
8th Feb – March 2011
More info at: www.flowersgalleries.com and www.glenbaxter.com
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Panel Borders: Alan Moore, saving local libraries

Panel Borders: Alan Moore, saving local libraries

A special hour long edition of Panel Borders, recorded at St James’ Library in Northampton, February 2011. Alan Moore talks about the closure of local libraries and the loss this will cause for the community and reads the short story ‘Cold Reading’ from his periodical Dodgem Logic followed by a Q and A with members of the audience. Introduced by Graham Croucher, Secretary of the St. James’ Residents Association. Edited and recorded by Alex Fitch.

Alan Moore and local residents outside St James Library, Northampton

Alan Moore and local residents outside St James Library, Northampton

Death stalks the shelves of St James library

Death stalks the shelves of St James library

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: Sign the petition to save St. James Library
More info about St. James Library
Local Lib-Dem page on the potential closure
Alan Moore youtube video on the library cuts
Dodgem Logic website

More podcast interviews with Alan Moore and his collaborators
Interview with Josie Long and talk by David Quantick and Savage Pencil about their work in Dodgem Logic

Recommended events:

Orbital Comics exhibition and events

Mark Stafford exhibition

Artist Mark Stafford (Bryan Talbot’s Cherubs / Electric Sheep Magazine) is exhibiting his work in the Orbital gallery, including images from his forthcoming contribution to Self Made Hero’s H.P. Lovecraft anthology… 18th Jan 2011 – 13th Feb 2011

More info at www.orbitalcomics.com
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