Broken Frontier

Over 50 of the UK’s best comic creators have teamed up for a ground-breaking charity graphic novel project  released this week. Entitled Nelson, the book will see publisher Blank Slate donate all profits to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity.

A celebration of the incredible diversity of talent within British comics today, Nelson sees acclaimed literary graphic novelists such as Posy Simmonds (Tamara Drewe) teaming up with mainstream sensations like Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy) and a whole host of artists associated with Marvel, DC, 2000AD, The Beano and the rapidly-growing British small-press scene and beyond.

Co-edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix, Nelson tells the story of one woman’s life from birth in 1968 to the present day. Each creator individually details a single event or moment of protagonist Nel Baker’s life before handing over to the next artist, resulting in a vast narrative told via yearly snapshots. Part exquisite corpse, part relay race, Nelson spans decades of British history and combines a myriad of stylistic approaches in one compelling, beautifully-rendered graphic novel.

Blank Slate publisher Kenny Penman believes that “the UK comics scene is more vibrant than ever before, making now the perfect time for people to come together to aid the greatly important work that Shelter does in these difficult economic times”. He states that “When Davis and Phoenix came to me with the idea of uniting this diverse group of creators behind the charity, I knew the opportunity was too good to miss”.

Arriving in comic and book stores across the country this week, Blank Slate will be going on tour with the book this November, holding Nelson events at Comica Festival’s Comiket Fair on the 12th (Bishopsgate Institute, London) and at Thought Bubble Festival on the 19th and 20th (Saviles Hall, Leeds), before holding a exhibition launch at London’s The Cartoon Museum on the 22nd and an action-packed public launch party at Soho’s Gosh! Comics on the 25th.

ISBN: 978-1-906653-23-1 | 252 pages | 236 x 178mm softcover with flaps, full colour | £18.99    Released 9th November 2011

CONTRIBUTORS
Paul Grist, Rob Davis, Woodrow Phoenix, Ellen Lindner, Jamie Smart, Gary Northfield, Sarah McIntyre, Suzy Varty, Sean Longcroft, Warwick Johnson–Cadwell, Luke Pearson, Paul Harrison–Davies, Katie Green, Paul Peart–Smith, Glyn Dillon, I.N.J.Culbard, John Allison, Philip Bond,D’Israeli, Simone Lia, Darryl Cunningham, Jonathan Edwards, Ade Salmon, Kate Charlesworth,Warren Pleece, Kristyna Baczynski, HarveyJames, Rian Hughes, Sean Phillips & Pete Doree, Kate Brown, Simon Gane, Jon McNaught, Adam Cadwell, Faz Choudhury, JAKe, Jeremy Day, Dan McDaid, Roger Langridge, Will Morris, Dave Shelton, Carol Swain, Hunt Emerson, Duncan Fegredo, Philippa Rice, Josceline Fenton, Garen Ewing, Tom Humberstone , Dan Berry, Alice Duke, Posy Simmonds, Laura Howell, Andi Watson, Dave Taylor