Panel Borders: Social realism and magical realism in comics

Concluding this month’s theme of shows about newspaper comics, Alex Fitch introduces a talk recorded at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in which Ian Rakoff discusses social realism and magical realism in the newspaper strip Little Orphan Annie and the international comic books Corto Maltese and Love and Rockets and how the three sagas are related.

Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray, Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt, Locas by Jaime Hernandez

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: Ian’s blog
Articles on Little Orphan Annie from 1935-1945 and 1970-2000
Victoria and Albert Museum website
Wikipedia pages on Little Orphan Annie, Corto Maltese and Love and Rockets

Panel Borders: Social realism and magical realism in comics [ 33:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: British Strip Heroes – Garth, Wallace and Gromit

Continuing this month’s theme of shows about newspaper comics, Alex Fitch talks to a couple of creators working on newspaper strips featuring popular British science-fiction characters. Richy K Chandler is a member of a writing team penning new adventures of Wallace and Gromit for The Sun newspaper, including this week’s story ‘Paper Hound’ and talks about his interest in humour strips and writing licensed characters. Writer / artist Huw J Davies was approached by The Daily Mirror in 2007 to update their classic adventure strip Garth for the 21st Century and he talks about his problems in achieving this goal and how it lead to a reimagining of the character in his graphic novel Freeman.

Wallace and Gromit written by Richy K Chandler with art by Mychailo Kazybrid and Garth / Freeman by Huw J Davies

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: Buy Wallace and Gromit strips online at http://gb.zinio.com
Richy K Chandler’s website www.tempolush.com
Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Richy about his small press work
Info about Huw’s art master classes at The London Film Museum
Info about Freeman at www.markosia.com
Articles about Garth at scifipulse.net
Wikipedia pages on Wallace and Gromit and Garth

Panel Borders: British Strip Heroes - Garth, Wallace and Gromit [ 42:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Audrey Niffenegger – Librarians and other time travellers in print

Continuing our month of shows looking at newspaper comics, Alex Fitch talks to author and fine artist Audrey Niffenegger about her graphic novella The Night Bookmobile which was serialised in The Guardian in 2008 and is now available as a hardback collected edition from Jonathan Cape. Alex and Audrey also talk about her picture books for adults – The Three Incestuous Sisters and The Adventuress – and the relationship between The Time Traveller’s Wife and the depiction of non-linear storytelling in comics, Doctor Who and the work of Jorge Luis Borges.

Extract from the Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger as printed in The Guardian

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: read The Night Bookmobile as serialised in The Guardian
Info about the limited bookplate edition from Gosh! comics
Buy books by Audrey Niffenegger from Jonathan Cape
Read The door in the wall by H.G. Wells, which was an influence on The night bookmobile

Recommended events:

2nd Leeds Alternative Comics fair

Buy the cream of Northern England’s comic creators’ recent output and meet the artists at the 2nd Leeds Alternative Comics fair, including Hugh Raine, Steve Tillotson, Gareth Brookes, Adam Cadwell, John Allison, Nikki Marie Jackson and Tommy Eugene Higson…

Saturday 19th March, noon – 6pm, ‘A nation of shopkeepers’ cafe / bar, 27 – 37 Cookridge Street, Leeds, LS2 3AG
More info at leedsalternativecomics.wordpress.com
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Panel Borders: Audrey Niffenegger - Librarians and other time travellers in print [ 33:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

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 Karrie Fransman [ 33:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

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, 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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Panel Borders: The art of Glen Baxter [ 42:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

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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Panel Borders: Women of Caption [ 30:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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

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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Panel Borders: The art of Melinda Gebbie [ 1:02:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download