Alan Moore's virtual book launch - tonight!

This is tonight! Have fun if you're going!

Courtesy of Paul Gravett...

ALAN MOORE'S VIRTUAL BOOK LAUNCH AT CENTURY CLUB, LONDON, OCT 18th 2024

Century Club in Soho London announces: 'Join us for a special event on 18 October 2024, 19:00, to celebrate the launch of Alan Moore’s new book, The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic [from Knockabout in the UK]. In an engaging conversation with writer and occult scholar Gary Lachman, Alan Moore will discuss his latest work. 

This book, developed over nearly two decades, is the result of the creative partnership between Alan Moore (From Hell, V for Vendetta) and his mentor Steve Moore (2000AD, Doctor Who). It explores the realms of magic and the occult through a blend of prose, illustration, and sequential art from five talented artists. 

The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic will be available in October 2024. It promises to reveal the secrets of the Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, a storied institution of magic since circa 150 AD. The book includes contributions from the late Kevin O’Neill, John Coulthart, Steve Parkhouse, Rick Veitch, and Ben Wickey, offering both practical insights and visual artistry. 

NOTE: Alan Moore will not be physically present, he will join us virtually via Zoom for this in conversation. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from two respected figures in the world of magic and the occult.' 

Book tickets here: https://centuryclub.co.uk/moonandserpent/

Alan Moore's virtual book launch

Courtesy of Paul Gravett...

ALAN MOORE'S VIRTUAL BOOK LAUNCH AT CENTURY CLUB, LONDON, OCT 18th 2024

Century Club in Soho London announces: 'Join us for a special event on 18 October 2024, 19:00, to celebrate the launch of Alan Moore’s new book, The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic [from Knockabout in the UK]. In an engaging conversation with writer and occult scholar Gary Lachman, Alan Moore will discuss his latest work. 

This book, developed over nearly two decades, is the result of the creative partnership between Alan Moore (From Hell, V for Vendetta) and his mentor Steve Moore (2000AD, Doctor Who). It explores the realms of magic and the occult through a blend of prose, illustration, and sequential art from five talented artists. 

The Moon and Serpent Bumper Book of Magic will be available in October 2024. It promises to reveal the secrets of the Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, a storied institution of magic since circa 150 AD. The book includes contributions from the late Kevin O’Neill, John Coulthart, Steve Parkhouse, Rick Veitch, and Ben Wickey, offering both practical insights and visual artistry. 

NOTE: Alan Moore will not be physically present, he will join us virtually via Zoom for this in conversation. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from two respected figures in the world of magic and the occult.' 

Book tickets here: https://centuryclub.co.uk/moonandserpent/

Escape, the early years

I just wanted to record the early years of Escape magazine so that I can log which ones I (don't) have. These are the early A5-sized years.

Currently I need issues 1-4

Escape, issue 1

Escape, issue 2

Escape, issue 3

Escape, issue 4

Escape, issue 5

Escape, issue 6

Escape, issue 7

crisp!

crisp! was a 'celebration for contemporary comic art' that ran 8th-22nd July 1997. It was accompanied by this 60 page booklet/catalogue that features examples of comic art by an array of comics talents (some examples shown below) & features an introduction by Paul Gravett (who was then the Director of the Cartoon Art Trust). It was funded by Arts Council England. 

Anyway, well worth checking out

Art by Carl Flint

Art by Mark Stafford

Art by Steve Marchant

Art by Roger Langridge

Dave McKean at Lakes festival 2021

To celebrate episode 172 of the Mega City Book club (available right here) I thought I'd share some Dave McKean photos that I took at the 2021 Lakes comic art festival

Dave (on the left) and Paul Gravett (right)

images of raptors...

birds!

some more impressionistic artwork from Dave

You can read my full review of the festival right here - I could have watched Dave flick through his (electronic) folders of art all day - there was SO much unpublished stuff that we just whizzed through. A great talk!

The Devil's smell - an Inspector Montalbano case

Trailled by Paul Gravett on facebook some time ago (and then delayed for pandemic related reasons) 'The Devil's smell' comic has arrived! 

My copy arrived yesterday (thanks to the Italian Cultural Institute in London).

If you go here you can see Paul Gravett and contributors like Matthew Dooley talking about this comic-y cultural crossover.

A4 sized, full colour throughout and with an international line-up of creators involved - of whom, to my shame, I only recognised the UK creators (Posy Simmonds, Matthew 'Flake' Dooley and Jon 'Kingdom' McNaught) - this looks great.

There's more information on downthetubes, too.

As it says on that website...

Fenati has put together the work of fifteen comic book artists and graphic novelists to create a short story in comics, adapted from the novella by Andrea Camilleri L'odore del diavolo, first published in 1998 in the collection “A month with Montalbano”. 

Drawing on his experience on the 2018 adaptation of Simonetta Agnello Hornby's best-selling novel La Mennulara (“The Almond Picker”), Fenati converted Camilleri’s short story into a comics’ script, tasking each of the cartoonists with the illustration of one single page. The result is surprising and wonderful. 

The selected cartoonists are some of the most important new generation Italian ones, together with some very renowned British ones: Sergio Algozzino, Paolo Bacillieri, Alessandro Baronciani, Lorena Canottiere, Thomas Campi, Daniel Cuello, Matthew Dooley, Massimo Fenati, Gulio Macaione, Federico Manzone, Jon McNaught, Andrea Serio, Posy Simmonds, Alessandro Tota, Lucas Varela

Comics at the British Library this autumn (3)

Paul Gravett chairs a panel (full details here) at the British Library this autumn... 

Visual narratives for personal stories

Graphic novels are proving themselves the unlikely arena for European artists and writers to come to confront difficult and untold 20th-century experiences.
Join Czech artists Tomas Kucerovsky and Toy Box, two of the authors of the collective project We’re Still at War and German-American author and illustrator Nora Krug (Heimat), to find out what drew them to tell personal and collective stories in graphic form.

Chaired by Paul Gravett.

We're Still At War sold more than 13,000 copies in the original Czech edition. The book features documentary comics in the style of Art Spiegelman's Maus, combining oral history with high artistry and contains 13 testimonies by people who experienced a totalitarian regime, either Nazi rule or communism.

Heimat by Nora Krug is a powerful and deeply affecting graphic memoir that explores identity, guilt and the meaning of home for a post-war German. Nora documents her journey investigating the lives of her family members under the Nazi regime, visually charting her way back to a country still tainted by war.

In collaboration with the Czech Centre London and Karolinum Press, supported by CzechLit – Czech Literary Centre, a section of the Moravian Library. Presented in partnership with EUNIC and the European Writers' Tour.

Dix & Jim Broadbent tonight @ Gosh comics

This is happening tonight people, don't forget!

Gosh comics (and Paul Gravett) have announced an intriguing sounding evening at Gosh on Tue 26th June 7:30 - 9pm 

as they say here...

We'll have Jim Broadbent and Dix here to discuss their new graphic novel Dull Margaret with Paul Gravett on Tuesday the 26th June, 7.30-9pm. We'll also have copies of our exclusive Dull Margaret Gosh! Bookplate Edition available on the night!

Academy Award-winning actor (and some might say national treasure) Jim Broadbent has turned his hand to the graphic novel format, teaming with Dix, of Guardian strip Roll Up! Roll Up! fame, to present a tale that finds its start in the Pieter Bruegel the Elder 16th Century painting Dulle Griet, with its striking image of a breastplated woman with a sword in one hand in front of the mouth of hell. 

Dull Margaret leads a miserable life hunting slippery, slimy eels to sell at the marketplace. In town, she finds that she does not belong: the locals shun her, steal from her, and send her away to her crude shack far away from civilization. Fed up with the cruel world, she decides to take fate into her own hands, mixing a witch’s brew to bring her friendship and riches. But she soon learns to be careful what she wishes for, as this powerful magic sends her down a series of shocking and gruesome twists and turns. Intense, bleak, and darkly humorous, Dull Margaret is one of the most unexpected and original graphic novels of 2018.

We're thrilled to be able to offer a Gosh! Exclusive Bookplate Edition of Dull Margaret, available to buy on the night. If you can't make it along but would like a copy, you can pre-order now via our webstore.

Jim Broadbent and Dix will be here to discuss their work with noted comics scholar Paul Gravett, from the genesis of the project through to their collaborative process, on Tuesday the 26th June, 7.30-9pm. We will close briefly at 7pm for setup before letting people in shortly before start time. No need for tickets or reservations, seating will allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Jim Broadbent & Dix in conversation @ Gosh

Gosh comics (and Paul Gravett) have announced an intriguing sounding evening at Gosh on Tue 26th June 7:30 - 9pm 

as they say here...

We'll have Jim Broadbent and Dix here to discuss their new graphic novel Dull Margaret with Paul Gravett on Tuesday the 26th June, 7.30-9pm. We'll also have copies of our exclusive Dull Margaret Gosh! Bookplate Edition available on the night!

Academy Award-winning actor (and some might say national treasure) Jim Broadbent has turned his hand to the graphic novel format, teaming with Dix, of Guardian strip Roll Up! Roll Up! fame, to present a tale that finds its start in the Pieter Bruegel the Elder 16th Century painting Dulle Griet, with its striking image of a breastplated woman with a sword in one hand in front of the mouth of hell. 

Dull Margaret leads a miserable life hunting slippery, slimy eels to sell at the marketplace. In town, she finds that she does not belong: the locals shun her, steal from her, and send her away to her crude shack far away from civilization. Fed up with the cruel world, she decides to take fate into her own hands, mixing a witch’s brew to bring her friendship and riches. But she soon learns to be careful what she wishes for, as this powerful magic sends her down a series of shocking and gruesome twists and turns. Intense, bleak, and darkly humorous, Dull Margaret is one of the most unexpected and original graphic novels of 2018.

We're thrilled to be able to offer a Gosh! Exclusive Bookplate Edition of Dull Margaret, available to buy on the night. If you can't make it along but would like a copy, you can pre-order now via our webstore.

Jim Broadbent and Dix will be here to discuss their work with noted comics scholar Paul Gravett, from the genesis of the project through to their collaborative process, on Tuesday the 26th June, 7.30-9pm. We will close briefly at 7pm for setup before letting people in shortly before start time. No need for tickets or reservations, seating will allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Secrets of comics in North and South Korea

Don't forget that this is tonight...

To tie in with their current exhibition The House of Illustration have announced (here) a talk by comics expert Paul Gravett on 'Secrets of North and South Korean comics', tickets are from £15 (note this includes free entry to the 'Made in North Korea' exhibition, which this talk complements).

The talk is on Thursday 19th April @ 7pm

As the blurb says...

In 1991, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il declared that the nation should ‘develop the comic-strip genre’. This official endorsement led to increased production of kurimch’aek or ‘picture books’, many in comics form and several adapted from the writings of the ‘Great Leader’, his first wife or their son and successor. During and since the Korean War, North and South Korea have harnessed the cartoon medium for propaganda, while they also share historical folk heroes who live on in both sides of the demilitarised zone. On the other hand, modern manhwa, or comics made in South Korea, survived censorship and public burnings to earn government support and compete directly with manga from Japan. Today, South Korea's searing graphic novels can confront the traumas of history. Their phenomenally popular digital comics or webtoons can also give a voice to critical cartoon journalists and North Korean defectors.

Secrets of North and South Korean comics

To tie in with their current exhibition The House of Illustration have announced (here) a talk by comics expert Paul Gravett on 'Secrets of North and South Korean comics', tickets are from £15 (note this includes free entry to the 'Made in North Korea' exhibition, which this talk complements).

The talk is on Thursday 19th April @ 7pm

As the blurb says...

In 1991, North Korea’s Kim Jong Il declared that the nation should ‘develop the comic-strip genre’. This official endorsement led to increased production of kurimch’aek or ‘picture books’, many in comics form and several adapted from the writings of the ‘Great Leader’, his first wife or their son and successor. During and since the Korean War, North and South Korea have harnessed the cartoon medium for propaganda, while they also share historical folk heroes who live on in both sides of the demilitarised zone. On the other hand, modern manhwa, or comics made in South Korea, survived censorship and public burnings to earn government support and compete directly with manga from Japan. Today, South Korea's searing graphic novels can confront the traumas of history. Their phenomenally popular digital comics or webtoons can also give a voice to critical cartoon journalists and North Korean defectors.