Art For Art Sake – Nelson Special….. | The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Art For Art Sake – Nelson Special…..

Sat, Nov 5, 2011

Okay, we wouldn’t usually devote one of these “art for art’s sake” things to just one book, but Nelson is different – very different.

Blank Slate and everyone involved are aiming to make this one a massive success, and with all profits on their way to Shelter – the housing and homelessness charity, we’re going to shamelessly pushing this as much as we can. Thankfully it’s not only a great book in terms of concept and aims, thanks to the preview copy I received from Blank Slate, I can safely say it’s also a spectacular success as a book as well.

As for what Nelson is… here’s Blank Slate‘s press release:

Nelson is a 250-page collaboration between 54 of the UK’s most exciting comic creators. It is an unprecedented experiment to create one complete story – a collective graphic novel.

London, 1968. A daughter is born to Jim and Rita Baker. Her name is Nel. This is her story, told in yearly snapshots. Each chapter records the events of a single day, weaving one continuous ribbon of pictures and text that takes us on a 43- year journey from Nel Baker’s birth to 2011.

Based on an original idea by Rob Davis and co-edited by Davis and Woodrow Phoenix, Nelson celebrates the incredible diversity of talent in British comics today. Creators known for their editorial and national newspaper strips unite with those from humour comics such as the Beano, The Dandy, and MAD Magazine joining a wealth of talent from children’s books, indie publishing and webcomics, with the science fiction and superhero worlds of 2000AD, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse.

Part exquisite corpse and part relay race, Nelson spans decades of British history and a myriad of stylistic approaches in telling the story of one woman’s life by 54 creators, in 54 episodes, detailing 54 days. The result is a surprising and compellingly readable book that is sad, funny, moving, poignant, ridiculous, heartfelt, and real. This is a story like none you have seen before.

Nelson will be available in softcover and hardcover. But right now the hardcover is exclusively available as a pre-order at the Blank Slate webstore.

Nelson’s official launch will take place at the London Cartoon Museum on 22nd November. But copies will be available on it’s public debut at Thought Bubble on the 19th and 20th, with many of the artists being there to sign copies and then it’s a quick dash back to London for Nelson Week:

And what’s that…. a special exclusive Frank Quitely GOSH bookplate….. that would be this then….