Sunday Spotlight: Stuff & Nonsense From The World Of Comics
by Richard Bruton
Okay then, something new for your Sundays, a weekly round-up of things from the world of comics. Links, news, art, announcements, new stuff, interesting oddments … pretty much anything. Welcome to The Sunday Spotlight.
Now obviously, this isn’t intended to be a total round-up of every bit of comics news going on. There’s only one of me and only 24 hours in the day.
But what it will be is a collection of anything interesting and comic-related (even if only really tangentially) that I’ve seen in the week and haven’t managed to cover in previews, reviews, Art For Art’s Sake, The Art of Politics, or Webcomic Weekly.
Let me repeat that one for the readers in the back – it’s not exhaustive, it’s not simply a rehash of press releases, some weeks there might be loads, some weeks not much at all – and it’s very much MY taste in comics and what I think is interesting. But hey, it will have loads of GREAT comics stuff for you to enjoy.
So, with those provisos, let’s dive into things…
Petrolhead interview with Rob Williams…
Alec Worley‘s substack is just one of many newsletters you should be subscribing to – plenty of fascinating writing info to be found there.
This week, it was an interview with fellow writer Rob Williams, whose new series, Petrolhead, with Pye Parr providing some incredible looking artwork, comes out from Image in November.
Here’s just a little of what Rob has to say about the comic…
‘It’s the story of a very smart girl, Lupa, in a future domed city called ‘The O-Zone.’ Lupa’s dad thinks he has a cure to the environmental disaster that had destroyed the breathable planet, and so he and Lupa go on the run from the City’s terrifying administrator, ‘The O’, who doesn’t want that cure getting out into the world.
And Lupa and her dad then run into a giant, defunct, gas-guzzling drag-racing robot called Petrol Head who has his own beef with ‘The O’. Together they go on the run, and from that point on it’s a pedal-to-the-robo-metal chase thriller with colours and art that’ll take your head off.’
You can see more Petrolhead stuff over on Rob’s socials – Twitter at @Robwilliams71 and Instagram @RobWilliams1971, plus www.robwilliamscomics.co.uk. Pye Parr will be doing the same at Instagram and pyeparr.com. And then there’s more stuff to be found at www.petrolheadcomic.com.
Sophie Castille Awards For Comics In Translation Finalists announced
I reported on the inaugural Sophie Castille Awards for Comics in Translation before now, but we’ve got the announcement of the finalists, with the winner to be announced at this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival (29th September – 1st October) in Bowness-on-Windermere.
The three judges – Karen Green, Peter Kessler, and Dean Simons – have chosen All Princesses Die Before Dawn, translated by M.B. Valente, original work by Quentin Zuttion, published by Europe Comics; Always Never, translated by Montana Kane, original work by Jordi Lafebre, published by Dark Horse; and The Philosopher, The Dog and the Wedding, translated by Michele Hutchison, original work by Barbara Stok, published by SelfMadeHero.
Here’s what the judges had to say…
‘The three finalists display the translator’s skill at its highest. There is no sense of awkwardness or artificiality, no barrier between the reader and the story. They welcome the reader into their very different, beguiling and emotionally powerful worlds. From a child experiencing the first inklings of their own sexuality, to a love story told in reverse, to a classical Greek woman contemplating philosophy, these stories – all with very different visual aesthetics – are emotionally and intellectually engrossing.’
The Sophie Castille Awards for Comics in Translation is intended to recognise an under-appreciated aspect of comics, and have been created in honour of Sophie Castille, international rights director and V. P. of licensing for Mediatoon, cofounder and director of Europe Comics, who died unexpectedly last year.
More information – here at the LICAF website and the Sophie Castille Awards site.
Des Taylor’s Scarlett Couture – out August 9
Des Taylor‘s Scarlett Couture: The Munich File came out on August 9 from Titan Comics. I meant to do a lot more on this but we’ve been in hospital (again) this past two weeks (Meningitis is no fun,) but I wanted to at least mark the release of the first issue.
Part 1 of a five-issue series where ‘Agent Scarlett Carver and her team embark on a thrilling game of cat and mouse as they’re thrown into the high stakes world of technological espionage. It soon transpires that the effects of Project Stardust reach further than anyone had anticipated – there are new threats emerging, and this time, it’s personal.’
Issue #1 features covers from Taylor, Dan Panosian, Ken Lashley, and Lesley Leirix.
Obviously, the draw for this is Taylor’s artwork, which I’ve admired for a long, long time. He has a really gorgeous style, one you can see in the trailer video…
Dan White’s Cindy & Biscuit Launch at Gosh London…
If you didn’t already know, you haven’t been paying attention – Dan White‘s Cindy & Biscuit: We Love Trouble is out everywhere from 15 August, published by Oni Press.
Our own Rachel Bellwoar spoke to Dan about it recently and I gave you the advance preview here.
Now Gosh Comics are in on the action with a launch signing on 25 August, details below. And if you can’t get there, there’s signed books available from Gosh’s website.
The new collection of the very best bits from Cindy & Biscuit over the years, including the multi-parter “The Bad Girl” and shorter tales, is just a sublime bit of comics, perfectly made by White, all about Cindy, the girl, and Biscuit, her dog, and all the very strange things they get up to in their continuing mission to save the world.
It really is as good as the bloke quoted on the cover says it is – ‘Cindy and Biscuit is a spectacular comic, full of incredible action, powerful emotions [and] wonderful storytelling.’
Cindy And Biscuit: We Love Trouble comes out fro Oni Press on 15 August… just like this…
Farewell to The Nib
After 10 years of publishing some superb comics and cartoonists, The Nib closes down at the end of August. This is a terrible shame of course. But there are a few things you can do to help them out…
First of all, you can get access to all 15 issues of this Eisner and Ignatz Award-winning magazine FOR FREE. They’re offering PDF downloads of the more than 1,600 pages all through August.
The Nib has published more than 6,000 comics over the span of that 10 years and it would be terrible to lose them, so that’s why there are plans to preserve the material online – and for that they really need you to chip in. So, go download the material and throw in a few bucks to help. Or, pick up issues of the magazine from their store.
Calvin & Hobbes at Jam Bookshop…
David Ziggy Greene is a great cartoonist (see this review of Walkies) who decided that he was going to open up a small bookshop in London – JAM Bookshop. I haven’t made it down there yet but by all accounts it’s a damn fine shop, with a damn fine selection of books and graphic novels. It’s been a turbulent time for book stores over the past few years and JAM (and David) have found the going extremely tough.
But he’s still continuing, even if only for the time being. Which leads me to the next big exhibition JAM is putting on. The recent Draw Columbo one looked great. This is the next one… what’s not to love? Submit your own by using the #DrawCalvinandHobbes on Twitter.
But before that – JAM Bookshop has Mark Stafford…
Yes, told you JAM did a lot of great signings! Mark Stafford is there on 31 August signing and celebrating his new book Salmonella Smorgasboard. Plus, there’s an exhibition running from Aug 31 to Sept 17 of Mark’s work…
Meanwhile… Noble & Stafford bring you Further Cases from the Forbidden Files of the Everything Agency
And whilst talking of Mark Stafford (I’m not just throwing all this together you know – there’s structure and everything – the latest Pocket Chiller – Further Cases from the Forbidden Files of the Everything Agency, written by Douglas Noble and drawn by Mark Stafford is out right now.
As with everything Noble writes (and sometimes draws), it’s no doubt confusing brilliant and frustratingly wonderful. But his works are ALWAYS worth a look.
Digital at linktr.ee/apocketchiller, Physical at stripforme.bigcartel.com.
Wallace & Gromit at the Cartoon Museum…
London’s Cartoon Museum has a host of events over the next few years, with plenty to keep the kids amused over the summer holidays. But I wanted to highlight this one particular exhibition… guaranteed to be an absolute delight…
Premier League Football/Soccer returned this week – David Squires nails it, as always…
David Squire’s regular Guardian column on football occasionally features in my Art of Politics column when he makes some political point (always brilliantly) – but for lovers of the beautiful game, it’s always a perfect antidote to the propaganda of the football authorities and clubs.
This week, as the Premier League starts up once more, Squires chips in on the forthcoming campaign… featuring Ralph from Happy Days, a dancing Roy and Proper Football Men… (the rest of it – and it’s perfect – can be found here.)
Junji Ito’s Uzumaki Artwork features in Adult Swim Series Trailer…
One of the most terrifying Manga, Junji Ito’s Uzamaki is coming to Adult Swim ‘later in 2023’. But there is a trailer…
And finally… Happy Birthday Posy Simmonds
One of Britain’s finest cartoonists and graphic novelists, Posy Simmonds had her birthday this week, 9 August.
If you don’t know who Posy Simmonds is – well, you should. Author of, amongst many more, Bear, Mrs Weber’s Diary, Lulu and the Flying Babies, True Love, Pick of Posy, Fred, Gemma Bovery, Literary Life, Tamara Drewe, and Cassandra Darke – whether it’s graphic novels for adults or children’s books, her work is sheer perfection.
