Comics about politics, activism, social memoir, fashion and pop culture
We woke up this morning to sad but inevitable political news, as the people of Clacton opted for a right wing grifter over a somehow more credible candidate with a bin on his head. But, more cheerily, this unusual election did inspire some top notch comics activity. SelfMadeHero, my publishers, rushed to put out an [ ]
I ran a workshop at the South London Comic and Zine Fair last weekend, repping CCIC, on the theme of making/finding a comics community. It s a topic close to my heart, because my own comics community here in Brighton has been such an invaluable source of support, feedback, laughter, opportunities, congratulation, commiseration and above all, friendship. [ ]
OK it’s really starting to happen now Noisy Valley is go! The Noisy Valley tour kicks off on Thursday with the launch event at Gosh Comics in London. If you’re in or near London, I’d love to see you. Gosh launches are always a laid-back affair where you can drink, chat with other comics folk and browse [ ]
I love to talk about myself comics, and the opportunities to do so have come in thick and fast around the publication of Noisy Valley (which you can pre-order now!). From Brighton to Leeds to Borth to (most important of all) the Rhondda and with a couple of dates in cyberspace too I [ ]
I'm in an exhibition at Brighton Museum
On National Illustration Day, what illustration does for me
One of the big comics festivals of the year, Thought Bubble in Harrogate is coming up very soon. This year I am super delighted to be hosting a panel, with a range of extremely interesting speakers. Joe Sacco, Karrie Fransman, R.E. Burke, Michael D Kennedy and I will be discussing how comics can be used [ ]
A very quick note to share some happy news: Noisy Valley will be published by Self Made Hero in May next year. *** You can pre-order it here. *** People who have been following this blog for a long time (and thank you if you re one of the 9,000 odd who have) will know that [ ]
Indie comics site Broken Frontier has been reviewing many of the comics in the LDComics Fair, and this week they reviewed mine, Running Out. If I d been worried that it was a bit too obscure, or wouldn t resonate with readers, I needn t have. Honestly I couldn t really have asked for a better review, especially since [ ]
Just a quick reminder to let you know that the LDComics fair has now started, and will be open throughout all of July. All the comics in the LDComics fair are digital downloads, meaning that you’ll receive a PDF version as soon as you purchase one. So there’s no wait, no filling up your precious shelf space, and [ ]
As I sit here with one of my two pet cats trying to get between me and the laptop, and having just finished drawing a graphic novel about protest, I suppose I can t complain about being pigeonholed . In fact, I m pretty darn delighted at my two forthcoming events. Cats and comics The Cartoon Museum in [ ]
A quick update to tell you that you can find me or my work in three places this month! 1. Graphic Brighton: the brilliant academic comics conference returns, this year with the theme of architecture in comics. I ll be on a panel alongside Karrie Fransman and the two facilitators of DenCity, the comic about crowds [ ]
Back in 2022 I was invited to exhibit my drawings in a “small but fierce” gallery in the Rhondda Valley. Little did I know that the trip would shape the next two years of my comics work interviewing residents about their memories of protest and drawing them up into a series of comics that, [ ]
Two online events you might be interested in virtually coming along to: 1) On 29 April I ll be joining two other comics creators for the LDComics meet-up, to talk about my close-to-completion documentary comic The Noisy Valley. Attendance is free (but donations to the great and supportive LDComics are always welcomed by them). Sign up [ ]
CCIC, the Comics Cultural Impact Collective, this week released a report based on consultation with people across the comics community. Creators, funders, publishers, booksellers, festivals, museums and unions all gave their side of the story, and this report collects them together. The resulting report, which I m glad to be the author of, acts as a [ ]
Another year, another look back at everything I ve managed over the last twelve months, comics-wise. It feels necessary to celebrate the achievements, to give myself energy and enthusiasm for sailing into the new year. So let s see Drawing comics 1. The Noisy Valley, the scribbly little zine I thought I d toss out to accompany a [ ]
It s always nice to update my About page with new achievements and as soon as I ve written this post, I have two to add: my contribution to the comics compendium as mentioned in my last post; and also (fanfare) The Noisy Valley has been shortlisted for the First Graphic Novel competition. The winner will [ ]
I was lucky enough to be picked as one of the contributors to this academic comics project, exploring the concept of crowds around the world. My strip took inspiration from Nick Cave s attendance of the king s coronation, and his own recent writing about what it means to be part of the crowd at one of [ ]
Woo-wee, I met a lot of people, saw a lot of talks, enjoyed a lot of exhibitions and came home completely pooped from the Lakes International Comics Art Festival. I honestly don t think I ve ever crammed quite so much in to one comics event before! If you d like to see my full account, with photos, [ ]
Image by Zara Slattery I ve just updated my Patreon. It s a public post so anyone can see it. One big thing: the creation of CCIC, the Comics Cultural Impact Collective, which I m proud to be a part of. Read about who we are and what we hope to achieve in terms of making comics more [ ]