Panel Borders: Ben Dickson

At Cartoon County in Brighton, Ben Dickson talks to Alex Fitch about his satirical sci-fi comics Slumdroid and Falling Sky and his contributions to political anthologies Fight the Power and Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption.

Ben will be appearing at Graphic Brighton on December 10th to discuss Fight the Power alongside artist Inko who has worked on the follow-up title by New Internationalist.

(Panel Borders continues on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 5.30pm, repeated the following Sunday at 6am. Partially broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 4th October 2016)

Comics written by Ben Dickson – Fight the Power, Slum Droid, Falling Sky, Santa Claus vs. the Nazis

For more audio formats to download and stream, please visit the home of this podcast at wwww.archive.org

Links: Ben Dickson’s website and page at Scar Comics
Graphic Brighton blog
Info about Fight the Power at New Internationalist
Alex’s interview with Lightspeed Champion and Laura Ford about Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption

Panel Borders: Ben Dickson [ 1:13:15 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Gay Manga

Alex Fitch talks to Ilya, Inko, Chie Kutsuwada and Emma Vieceli about gay representation in manga and Japanese style comics, including the phenomenon of Yaoi, titles that have inspired them, and LGBT characters in their own work. Recorded at Graphic Brighton 2015, University of Brighton

(Panel Borders continues on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 5.30pm, repeated the following Sunday at 6am. Partially broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 12th July 2016)

Sketch of the Gay Manga panel by artist Myfanwy Nixon

Links: Graphic Brighton website
Emma Vieceli’s blog
Inko’s blog
Chie Kutsuwada’s blog
Page on Ilya on the British Council website

Panel Borders: Gay Manga [ 1:06:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: City Strips

Alex Fitch talks to Goldsmiths College Design lecturer Stuart Bannocks about his ‘zine City Strips which collages panels from superhero comics with the hero removed, to create a travelogue of fictional cities such as Batman’s Gotham and Superman’s Metropolis. Alex and Stuart discuss the second edition of City Strips: Amazing City which reconstructs issue 95 of Amazing Spider-Man from 1971, featuring the webslinger’s trip to London, and also explore Stuart’s cinema trailer project Sub Dogma 13.
(Panel Borders continues on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 5.30pm, repeated the following Sunday at 6am. Partially broadcast on Resonance 104.4 FM, 7th September 2016)

Covers of City Strips 2, 4 and 5 / comparison with Amazing Spider-Man #95 / poster, cover and interior of Sub Dogma 13 #3

Links: City Strips website and exhibition at Goldsmiths College
City Strips publishers Point of Interest
Sub Dogma 13 website
io9 article on the city as a ‘battlesuit’

Panel Borders: City Strips [ 48:40 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: The Last Driver of Insect Cowboys

In the first episode of the tenth series of Panel Borders, Alex Fitch talks to Chris Baker and Shaky Kane about their comic The Last Driver from Dead Canary Comics, currently on Kickstarter, which combines 1960s road movies with giant irritated monsters. Kane also discusses his latest collaboration with David Hine – Cowboys and Insects – which is about to receive a new print edition; interview recorded at Safari Festival, August 2016.
(Panel Borders continues on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 5.30pm, repeated the following Sunday at 6am. Originally broadcast as the first half of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 7th September 2016)

Excerpts from The Last Driver by Chris Baker and Shaky Kane and Cowboys and Insects by Kane and David Hine / Kane, Fitch and Baker at Safari Festival

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: Last Driver Kickstarter campaign
Review of David Hine and Shaky Kane’s Cowboys and Insects
Dead Canary Comics website

audioPanel Borders: The Last Driver of Insect Cowboys [ 39:21 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Summer Rabbits

Continuing our two part look at the work of Avery Hill Publishing, Alex Fitch talks to Rachael Smith about her latest title The Rabbit and drawing back-up strips for Doctor Who comics, and Tillie Walden discusses her work for the company including The City Inside and The End of Summer plus her Eisner Award nominated graphic novella I Love This Part.
(Panel Borders continues on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8pm, repeated the following day at 9am. Originally broadcast as the second half of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 10th May 2016)

Covers from A City Inside, The End of Summer and I Love this Part by Tillie Walden / The Rabbit, Artificial Flowers and Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor 2.1 by Rachael Smith

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: Avery Hill website
Tillie Walden’s website
Rachael Smith’s blog
Listen to Alex’s interview with Avery Hill co-publisher Dave White, publicity agent Katriona Chapman, plus artists Edie O.P., Matthew Swan, and Owen Pomery

Panel Borders: Summer Rabbits [ 31:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Exploring Avery Hill

A special episode looking at the output of Avery Hill Publishing: Alex Fitch talks to various creators and staff at this young British Comic Book company about their varied output. In a round table panel discussion Avery Hill co-publisher Dave White, publicity agent Katriona Chapman, plus artists Edie O.P., Matthew Swan, and Owen Pomery discuss moving from self publishing to having a company to help promote your work.

Avery Hill logo + art by Matt Swan, Edie OP and Owen Pomery

(Panel Borders continues on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8pm, repeated the following day at 9am. Originally broadcast as the first half of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 10th May 2016)
For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: Avery Hill website
Owen Pomery’s blog
Edie OP’s website
Matthew Swan’s tumblr
Katriona Chapman’s website
Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Owen Pomery

Panel Borders: Exploring Avery Hill [ 41:23 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: The Arab of the Future

Alex Fitch talks to Charlie Hebdo alumnus Riad Sattouf about the first volume of his autobiographical strips about growing up in France, and the Middle East published as The Arab of the Future by Two Roads Books. Alex and Riad explore how the book relates to the latter’s experiences as a film-maker on such movies as Jacky in the Kingdom of Women, plus his interest in Victorian serialised entertainment by Dickens, and children’s adventure comics by Hergé.

Cover and interior of The Arab of the Future and poster for Jacky in the Kingdom of Women by Riad Sattouf

(Panel Borders continues on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8pm, repeated the following day at 9am. Originally broadcast as the second half of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 12th April 2016)
For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: The Arab of the Future website
Info about the graphic memoir at tworoadsbooks.com
Wikipedia page on Jacky in the Kingdom of Women

Panel Borders: The Arab of the Future [ 32:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Space Dumplings

Alex Fitch talks to Eisner Award winning artist Craig Thompson about his first full colour graphic novel Space Dumplings, an uproarious depiction of adventure and galactic travel published by Faber, in which the daughter of an interstellar salvage man goes on a trip of her own meeting aliens, giant robots and space whales. Fitch and Thompson also discuss the latter’s collaborations with other creators such as James Kochalka and Theo Ellsworth and how this might predict more work in the future, including a sequel to …Dumplings.

(Panel Borders continues on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8pm, repeated the following day at 9am. Originally broadcast as half of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 12th April 2016)

Cover and interior art from Space Dumplings by Craig Thompson / extract from “Conversation” by James Kochalka and Thompson

For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: Craig Thompson’s blog
Info about Space Dumplings at faber.co.uk
Listen to Alex’s 2012 interview with Thompson about Habibi and Blankets

Panel Borders: Space Dumplings [ 34:41 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: The Inflatable Woman, Rachael Ball

Alex Fitch talks to cartoonist Rachel Ball about her graphic novel The Inflatable Woman, a magical realist tome loosely based on her experiences with breast cancer and dating, featuring talking penguins and unreliable lighthouse keepers! Fitch and Ball also discuss the latter’s tenure on Deadline Magazine and her next project Wolf Man. Recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, January 2016.

Interior art and cover of The Inflatable Woman, Wolf Man and Lisa + Lulu by Rachael Ball

(Panel Borders continues on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8pm, repeated the following day at 9am. Originally broadcast as the first half of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 9th February 2016)
For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, please visit archive.org

Links: Rachael Ball’s tumblr site
Info about The Inflatable Woman and other Bloomsbury Graphic Novels
More info about Cartoon County, Brighton.

Panel Borders: The Inflatable Woman, Rachael Ball [ 52:35 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download