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.
Continue reading →

Panel Borders: (Ghosts of) Young Graphic Novelists [ 42:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Jim McCarthy, Music Biographies

Starting a month of shows about the depiction of musicians and music culture in comic books, Alex Fitch talks to Jim McCarthy about writing graphic novel music biographies of musicians and groups such as Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, The Ramones and Metallica. Fitch and McCarthy talk about the varying difficulties of depicting late musicians on the page, writing authentic voices for real people and taking a docudrama approach to graphic novels. (Recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, January 2014)
Originally broadcast Monday 7th April, Resonance 104.4 FM (London)

Excerpts from Sex Pistols, Ramones, Michael Jackson and Kurt Cobain graphic novels, written by Jim McCarthy

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: Jim McCarthy’s website and page on Omnibus Press website
Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Jim as part of a tag team conversation with four 2000AD creators

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. Continue reading →

Panel Borders: Jim McCarthy, Music Biographies [ 1:07:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Ben Katchor, architectural strips

Concluding a month of shows about comics and graphic novels drawn from elements of real life, Alex Fitch talks to award winning American cartoonist Ben Katchor about his weekly newspaper strips on tourism and architecture. Fitch and Katchor discuss the latter’s weekly strip from The Village Voice – Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer – and how it was part of a wave of underground cartoonists in periodicals, collecting his absurdist cartoons on tourism – The Cardboard Valise – and his oversized monthly graphic short story for Metropolis magazine, collected as Hand Drying in America and other stories.
(Originally broadcast 31/03/14 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

Excerpts from Julius Knipl, The Cardboard Valise and Handdrying in America by Ben Katchor

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: Ben Katchor’s website and blog
Katchor’s pages on www.lambiek.net and www.ted.com Continue reading →

Panel Borders: Ben Katchor, architectural strips [ 1:05:32 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Panel Borders: Unusual Origins

Continuing a month of shows about comics and graphic novels which present ‘slices of life’ on the page, Alex Fitch talks two creators who are doing their first work in the field. Jessica Martin, actress turned graphic novelist, discusses her self published comic book biography of Clara Bow – It Girl – and her forthcoming longer work about society and cinema in the 1930s. Willem Samuel talks about the first volume of his autobiography Mengelmoes, published by Soaring Penguin Press, which depicts his childhood in South Africa and how the drawing style and magical realist narration will change over later volumes. Recorded at London Super Comic Con, Spring 2014. (Originally broadcast 24/03/14 on Resonance 104.4 FM)

Cover and interior art from Mengelmoes by Willem Samuel and It Girl by Jessica Martin

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: Jessica Martin’s website
Info about Mengelmoes at Soaring Penguin Press’ website
Continue reading →

Panel Borders: Unusual Origins [ 39:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download