Outside the obvious notable exceptions, I don’t see much evidence of the ‘new talent’, emerging, at least not in any quantity, but again that is largely, as you say, down to the fact that there just isn’t the opportunity over here.

I do agree that the small press, mini-comics, scene is the answer, but at present our innovative cartoonists, Tom Gauld would be an example, have to produce their own minis, attract attention in the US, get into some good US anthologies, and only then get delivered back to us here in the UK. I’d like to see a simpler route, with talent nurtured here, although that is difficult when the Arts Council doesn’t even recognise ‘cartooning’ as a category (apparently next year they may add it to the animation category).

So you might think I would welcome Hannah Berry’s 3-book deal as a positive step forward, for cartoonists. Well I would, but she isn’t one, not in the sense that say Posey Simmonds is, or Jessica Abel is or Raina Telgemeier is or Renee French is. There is no evidence that she is a cartoonist at all – apart from this very, very, well produced book.

Now, although I think the current way of doing things, or having to do things, is wrong, I’m naturally very suspicious when people leap over the ‘apprenticeship’ (for want of a better word) that most cartoonists go through before they get a graphic novel published, and suddenly end up on the same bookshelf as Can Clowes and Charles Burns. In indy terms it’s like jumping straight from being passed over for Shoit Crock and then going straight into Kramers Ergot. It doesn’t happen.

(tried to email, got bounced as spam)

After reading it I read Hannah’s little bio piece on some photography site, or other, where she suggested graphic novels had ’suddenly’ become popular just on time for her work to appear. Brilliant. That was a hoot.

My great worry is, and I spoken of it often, that Britain won’t ever produce work on a par with that created by US cartoonists like Art Speigelman, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, et al, and cartoonists from other countries like Shaun Tan, unless we let the real practised creative cartoonists create the work. When we don’t do that, we allow the litterati and mainstream publishers to produce ‘graphic novelists’ the way music companies produce boy bands, and we open the door for a new range of ‘graphic novels’ by the likes of Posh Spice and Katie Price – all illustrated by nameless work-for-hire cartoon monkeys.