The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

As clouds skip across the sky here’s Alex Fitch to act as the bursts of sunshine between the showers with details of the latest upcoming shows he’s involved with; as usual check the Panel Borders site for more details and to check out archived podcasts of previous shows.

Strip!: The Art of Shaun Tan, tonight at 5pm on Resonance FM, extended podcast on Panel Borders after transmission

Continuing cross cultural comics month on the show: Alex Fitch talks to Australian artist Shaun Tan about his work, including his award winning graphic novel The Arrival which tells tales of immigrants arriving in fantastical worlds and was loosely based on his Malaysian family’s history and his new book Tales from Outer Suburbia, which superbly mixes a whole variety of story telling techniques from comic strips, to poetry and collage.

Midi Clear Spot: The Phoenix Games Club, on Resonance FM on the 12th of June at 2.30pm, extended version on Sci-Fi London after broadcast

Alex Fitch talks to Hugh and Matt, members of The Phoenix Games Club, a group who meet at least once very week at the Black Lion pub in Plaistow to play board games, strategy games and RPGs together. The Phoenix Club is one of many up and down the country who also play games together at regional meets and national ones and Alex discusses with the guys: the type of games they play, the demographic of their membership and the social and intellectual aspects of gaming.

Previous podcasts:

Panel Borders: Manhwa Galleries, Mixed media Graduates and Manga Girls…

Starting cross cultural comics month on the show: Dickon Harris introduces the 100 years of Manhwa exhibition at the London Korean Cultural Centre and talks to a couple of recent illustration graduates.
Alex Fitch interviews a couple of female indie manga creators – Sally Jane Thompson and Kate Holden – at the Docklands Manga Expo and discusses the brutality of nature with Melody Lee, whose comics depict woodland animals in the style of Beatrix Potter but who also shoot, shag and swear like troopers!

Reality Check: Genre (crossing) directors – Charlie Kaufman and Nacho Vigalondo

Continuing our series of twice annual looks at pairs of directors who combine genres on screen to beguiling effect, Alex Fitch talks to Academy Award winning screenwriter turned director Charlie Kaufman about his new film Synecdoche, New York and the processes of getting his previous scripts Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Being John Malkovich to the screen. Alex also talks to Nacho Vigalondo, the director of the new Spanish film TimeCrimes / Los cronocrimenes which mixes the style of a 1970s psycho thriller with the tropes of a modern, cerebral time travel film.

Coming soon:

Panel Borders: The Art of Rutu Modan

Concluding cross cultural comics month on the show: Roehampton University Illustration lecturer Ariel Kahn interviews award-winning graphic novelist Rutu Modan about her work from the acclaimed Exit Wounds to her new collection Jamalti and Other Stories. Rutu and Ariel talk about her influences, the difficulties in depicting a city as rich and diverse as Tel Aviv in print and adjusting to life in England.

Part 1 on Panel Borders at 5pm 18/06/09, Part 2 online after broadcast 25/06/09 (please note: Resonance FM is only broadcasting repeats from 15/06/09 – 21/06/09 while the studio is being rewired, so the next episode of Strip! – a half hour edit of Ariel’s conversation with Rutu Modan – will be broadcast at 5pm on Thursday 25/06/09)