It’s the tenth Thought Bubble comic art festival at the weekend and this week at Broken Frontier we’re taking a tour of just some of the debut book highlights. Over the next five days we’ll be looking at 25 or so of the very best small press comics launching in Leeds with preview images and pages (many exclusive to BF) and the locations of the creators/publishers for you to hunt them down at TB. Don’t forget to tell them that Broken Frontier sent you when you do!
We begin today with a familiar name to all regular ‘Small Pressganged’ readers…
Ø – Rozi Hathaway
Broken Frontier 2015 ‘Six UK Small Press Creators to Watch‘ artist Rozi Hathaway has a new 16-page comic at Thought Bubble with the rather succinct title of Ø. A beautiful story of childhood friendship, affection and loneliness, this magical tale showcases Hathaway’s powerful use of colour to accentuate mood and theme. She will also have copies of her acclaimed Njálla one-shot on sale at TB.
For more on the work of Rozi Hathaway check out her site here and follow her on Twitter here. You can find her at Table 180b in the New Dock Hall at Thought Bubble. You can buy Ø from her online store here after TB.
Untitled Ape’s Epic Adventure – Steven Tillotson (Avery Hill Publishing)
From the memorably skewed imagination of Steven Tillotson comes this brilliantly bizarre story of one strange ape-creature’s quest to find his lost family. With ever inventive storytelling, this highly anticipated offering by the one-time Observer/Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story competition runner-up is yet another triumph in a spectacularly successful year for Avery Hill Publishing. You can also read a creator’s commentary by on Untitled Ape’s Epic Adventure by Steven Tillotson at BF here.
For more on the work of Steven Tillotson visit his site here and follow him on Twitter here. You can find Avery Hill at Tables 161-162 in the New Dock Hall at Thought Bubble. You can also pre-order Untitled Ape’s Epic Adventure from Avery Hill Publishing’s online store here priced £12.99.
Horrible Folk and Got Your Nose – Douglas Noble
A fitting choice for Halloween perhaps, Horrible Folk (preview pages below) is a “monologue for twenty-eight voices concerning devils, the landscape, old stones, older gods, ordinary murder and many of the other crimes of man” and features a host of background characters from such classic British chillers as The Wicker Man, Blood on Satan’s Claw, The Witches, The Stone Tape and many others. Douglas Noble’s comics are generally disquieting and often oblique, and his particular brand of psychogeographical horror is always worth your time. He’ll also have Got your Nose (preview video below) at TB described as “a gallery of injuries, a collection of smashed rock and broken faces, a compendium of hurt” told by 24 statues.
For more on Douglas Noble’s work visit his site here and follow him on Twitter here. You can find him at Table 159a in the New Dock Hall at Thought Bubble. Horrible Folk and Got your Nose will be available on his online store here soon.
Growth and Static – Peony Gent
Peony Gent is a creator whose work I first discovered in the pages of Dirty Rotten Comics #6 with her memorable piece on bereavement in that issue being one of the stand-out stories. She’ll be at Thought Bubble with two new zines that she describes as being “introspective illustrated poetry”. A name to watch out for on the small press scene with a genuinely distinctive approach to the page.
For more on Peony Gent’s work visit her site here and follow her on Twitter here. You can find her at Table 88b in the Comixology Marquee at Thought Bubble. Visit her online store here.
The Artist – Anna Haifisch (Breakdown Press)
Anna Haifisch’s The Artist has been collected by 2015 Broken Frontier Award-nominated Breakdown Press, those fine purveyors of cutting edge comics. The book is described by Breakdown in the following terms: “Haifisch’s idiosyncratic, episodic comic chronicles the experiences of a young artist in his formative years, satirising the exclusive, ephemeral and frequently absurd world of fine art. Plagued by doubts and anxiety, the artist is confronted with constant setbacks punctuated by occasional, surprising glimpses of recognition.”
For more on Anna Haifisch visit her site here and Breakdown Press’s here. You can also follow Anna Haifisch on Twitter here and Breakdown Press here. Breakdown Press are at Table 158 in the New Dock Hall. You can pre-order The Artist here priced £12.99. There’s a launch party for The Artist at London’s Gosh! Comics on November 11th. Details here.
For more information on Thought Bubble visit the festival site here.
For regular updates on all things small press follow Andy Oliver on Twitter here.
[…] Horrible Folk is a monologue for twenty-eight voices concerning devils, the landscape, old stones, older gods, ordinary murder and many of the other crimes of man. Built out of the faces in the backgrounds of British horror films, and sites sacred and profane from the British landscape, it’s a singular comic experience that demands to be read and savoured. What shadow stretches out behind the devil? Who was the stranger in the lane? Horrible Folk points the way. A preview of the first four pages can be found on Broken Frontier. […]