(art for the 2010 Hi-Ex! comics con by Colin MacNeil, Dredd (c) Rebellion and Mega City One Justice Department)

Matt: Please tell us a little about yourself and your previous and current involvement in the Brit’ comics scene.

Rich: About five years ago, I was asked to come on board the FutureQuake team as an editor. I’ve been there ever since. (And we’ve added to the stable too. We now publish a horror book, Something Wicked, two 2000AD fanzines, Zarjaz and Dogbreath, and a Manga book called MangaQuake, although we’ve decided to shelve that one after the next issue.)

In addition to that, I’m currently writing two full-length graphic novels for Insomnia and co-organising Hi-Ex!, The Highland International Comic Convention.

I’m sure there’s other stuff too…

Matt: How did your new comic, Turning Tiger from Renegade Arts Entertainment, come about?

Rich: Well, first, I better give you a quick outline of the plot… Sarah Smith is a nine-year-old girl. JEN is a multi-billion dollar war robot. When JEN malfunctions and kidnaps Sarah, the military find themselves in desperate race against time to save the child and to stop her parents going public with the story.

As with a lot of things, it began with a couple of different ideas. I had a couple of particular images that kept popping into my mind featuring a young girl and a giant robot. One of these turns up as a panel in issue two.

The other thing I can’t talk about as it would spoiler the story in an enormous way!

So yeah, I one day realised that these two separate things were not actually separate but parts of the same story.

Suddenly Turning Tiger was born!

(Turning Tiger #1 by Richmond Clements and Alex Moore, published Renegade Arts)

Matt: What have been the benefits of working for small press titles, in terms of writing and networking opportunities, and your life generally?

Rich: In terms of writing, it’s good practise!

What the small press can do is take a script that might not be anywhere near ready, but has perhaps just the spark of a good idea in it and work with the writer for as long as it takes until the script is ready. It also gives a writer or artist the undeniable thrill of seeing something you created in print.

In my life…?

Phew! Will I start with meeting my partner through working on comics and work down from there? I’ve made some incredibly good friends through my involvement in comics. That and it gives me something to do with what little spare time I have!

Networking… I’m not sure how to answer this without coming over as terribly mercenary!

It’s great fun to meet pros and to have become friends with some. And to then have some of these guys agree to do covers for us is a real thrill.

On a personal level: sitting in a bar with an editor at a convention is a damned good way to pitch a story!

Matt: How did you develop your ideas? Do you bang away at a script or plot and write a synopsis first?

Rich: Turning Tiger arrived pretty much fully formed.

Some things, the graphic novel Corvus I’m writing for Insomnia, for example, start off as an idea (superhero story set in Roman Britain) and have to be worked into a plot.

However, Turning Tiger, once I had the original thought, was more or less all there from the off. There have been a few very minor changes made, but that’s all.

Matt: Corvus sounds interesting. Please tell us about that.

Rich: Corvus is set in Roman-occupied Britain in 30AD. The Brits are held in subjugation by the mighty Roman army, helped by their own superhero, Gladius. But the British have a hero too; a 15-year-old girl called Callie, who must become the Corvus, legendary guardian of the people…

It’s basically a rip-roaring adventure, with some awesome action set pieces in there, as well as, I hope, telling a good story. Art is by the brilliant Kevin Levell, who has produced some cracking concept sketches already.

(art by Kev Levell for Richmond Clements’ Corvus, to be published by Insomnia Publications)

Matt: You seem to have a lot of irons in the fire at the moment. Are you doing all this stuff on top of a day job?

Rich: Yes, I have a day job too! I’m lucky though, in that I’m a pretty fast writer once I get started.

Also, I drive a lot in my day job and get a lot of time to edit in my head, so by the time I get to putting it on paper a script or story can be more or less fully mapped out.

Matt: It seems in one way that British comics are going through a bit of a golden age, with a thriving small press scene, lots of stuff happening online and lots of indie companies springing up. On the other hand, there seem to be few opportunities to actually make money from comics in this country.

Please give us your perspective on the pros and cons of being a fledgling comics writer working right here, right now and also as a con’ organiser, who perhaps gets a bit of an overview of the scene that way.

Rich: The small press scene is indeed thriving.

In truth it’s always been that way, but it’s just that the ‘top end’ of the market, if you want to call it that, has all but disappeared, so now folks are starting to notice the small and mid-sized press more.

You’re right though, there are a, to put it mildly, limited number of ’slots’ in the industry where a writer or artist can expect to make a full-time wage.

Frankly, though, if you’re mental enough to get into comics as a way of making your fortune then you deserve everything you (don’t) get! I think there’s too many people who look at writers like Grant Morrison or Alan Moore and assume that everyone in the industry can make that kind of money. Which is of course stupid. Every author doesn’t make Rowling or King money. Every musician is not going to reach the earning level of U2 or Springsteen. You have to accept that the chances are you will not make your fortune writing or drawing comics unless you are very, very lucky.

On the convention organising front, we were delighted and surprised by the interest shown by the general public. Our first Hi-Ex! was all but snowed off, with only half the guests being able to make it because of the weather, yet we saw hundreds of members of the general public turn up, many of them in family groups, to join in. There is a massive market out there of ‘ordinary’ people who are interested in the medium. The industry needs to focus on bringing them in and not on keeping an ever-diminishing number of hardcore fans and continuity whores happy. Most people want to open a comic and simply want to see Batman thwart the Joker or Hulk Smash. They don’t care if Cyclops did such-and-such in a comic written 25 years ago. They just want entertainment.

Matt: What next for you, in terms of your writing?

Rich: Next up will be finishing off writing both Pinkerton and Corvus. There will be, if everything goes to plan, a collected edition of Turning Tiger available in print sometime in April, and after that I’ll start writing the sequel.

In between this I’d love to finish the children’s book I’m writing, and we’ll have new issues of all the FutureQuake books to get out, including an ABC Warriors special, which, if it all works the way we’ve planned it, will be very special indeed.

Matt: Please give the latest Hi-Ex! a pimp. Tell us about the guests and events…

Rich: Hi-Ex 2010 is on the 27th and 28th of March at Eden Court in Inverness. We’ve got an enormous number of guests with something for everyone. We’ve got a children’s corner with some fantastic artists there.

Kev F Sutherland is bringing his socks, the Beano guys are going to be doing their stuff and as always, we’ll have a brilliant charity auction (and if you’re not coming, you can still bid! Check out our website for details on the lots!).

This year we’re also running a games room, where the public can try their hands at things like the Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog and Doctor Who RPGS.

And as if that’s not enough, the one and only Cam Kennedy is coming!

(publisher Ron Grossett with artist Cam Kennedy at the first Hi-Ex convention, pic by Joe)

Matt: And in terms of Zarjaz, you guys seem to have been very good at getting pros to contribute/let you work on their characters. Tell us about working with the likes of Pat Mills and Kek-W…

Rich: Yup, getting to work with these guys is a great bonus! Pat’s been very helpful and generous- not only by allowing us to use the characters, but in offering us pointers and advice on them.

Kek-W has given us an awesome Rosie O’Rion story that I guarantee will make you want her back in the prog! We’ve also been very fortunate with everyone from Simon Coleby to Rufus Dayglo doing covers for us! You can’t imagine the thrill of seeing a specially drawn Kingdom cover by Richard Elson arriving in your inbox.

And we’ve got a couple of very cool cover artists lined up for the next few issues of Zarjaz and Dogbreath…

FPI would like to thank both Matt and Richmond for taking the time to answer our questions. The third Hi-Ex comics con takes place in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands next weekend (27th and 28th of March) and Joe should be heading up so look out for more on the con in due course.

Matthew Badham, features writer at Judge Dredd Megazine, and contributor to this blog, has been in touch regarding a project that he needs some help with, particularly those readers who also make their own comics. Over to Matthew:

“I’m writing a 4000 word piece about the British indie/small press comics scene. I’m going to be using my contacts book to gather primary research material in the form of quotes from indie comics peeps. However, any indie/small press comics types who want to be proactive and get in touch with me via mattbadham(at)hotmail.com to chat about the scene are more than welcome to do so.

I can’t promise that I’ll have space to mention every comic creator I speak to, but I will try and mention as many as I can (and hopefully get them some publicity). “

“Matt: In terms of “Psychiatric Tales,” when and why did you decide to start making strips about mental illness?

Darryl: I worked for many years as a health care assistant on an acute psychiatric ward. Throughout this time I kept a diary, in which I gradually amassed a huge amount of material about the day-to-day workings of a psychiatric hospital. People kept saying to me that I ought to turn these stories into comic strips. I was, at that time, trying to knock the material into a prose book and didn’t think that adding drawings would enhance the work in any way. Surely, all the information you need is already there in the writing as it is, I thought.

But eventually, I did start drawing it all up into narrative strips. By this time, I’d seen Marjane Satrapi’s “Persopolis,” a simply drawn autobiographical strip about the writer’s childhood and young adulthood in Iran. This book was a big international success. I thought, “Well, I can do something like that.” “Persopolis” was a big inspiration to me in terms of what you can do with the comics medium. It was not so much that Satrapi was a particularly good artist, more that she had a dynamite subject that she told well and clearly.”

(a page from Psychiatric Tales by and (c) Darryl Cunningham, published this spring by Blank Slate in the UK & Bloomsbury in the US in 2011)

On a related note I should point you to Darryl’s blog as he has decided recently to start painting again, with the first work now available to view (and yes, he will be selling any paintings):

In this interview, Goodbrey and Azzopardi chat about, among other things, how Necessary Monsters came about, the process of working together for the first time and also give us their thoughts on the British comics scene generally. Questions by Matt Badham, interview copy-edited by Matt Badham, Joe Gordon, Sean Azzopardi and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey.

Matt: Could you both please give us a bit of background on your involvement in comics, both as creators and fans?

Daniel Merlin Goodbrey: Let’s see… as a fan I started with The Eagle and more specifically Dan Dare, which my dad used to buy and read to me before I was old enough to read for myself. My first real comics love as a kid was the UK Transformers comic, which I think a surprising number of UK creators have in their comics-DNA somewhere. Later I eventually discovered US comics via a stint as an X-Men zombie in the ‘90s, before finally swearing them off and making a concentrated attempt to broaden out my comics reading when I headed to university.

As a creator I started on the web around ‘98 in the early days of experimental web comics.  I was a multimedia student and there just seemed to be all this untapped potential for what comics might become when mutated via the web and computer screen.  I spent my initial years in comics trying out one crazy formalist idea after another (all archived here) but over time I started to become more interested in telling longer stories and this led to a gradual slide towards print comics.

(a frame from The book of merl, a hypercomic by and (c) Daniel Merlin Goodbrey)

I began in the small press by doing mini-comics, which eventually led to me winning the Isotope Award in San Francisco. This opened some doors for me in the print world and my first proper book, The Last Sane Cowboy, came out from AiT/Planet Lar in 2007. This in turn lead on to some work-for-hire opportunities at Marvel, with me writing an Avengers short story in 2008 and an Iron Man 2020 series being serialized in Astonishing Tales in 2009.

Some-when in all of the above I started working on Necessary Monsters with Sean, initially serializing it on the web, then bringing out mini-comics for the UK small press scene before finally seeing it collected by AiT/PlanetLar for the US/UK direct market. This path for Monsters kind of encapsulates my approach to longer narrative comics, I think – not working to any one format but instead trying to access as many different markets as possible during the life of a work.

Alongside the print comics I’ve also tried to keep one foot in the world of the web. At the busiest point of last year I was actually doing new comics five days a week on the web (Necessary Monsters on Mondays and Wednesdays, my own All Knowledge Is Strange on Tuesdays and Thursdays and The Rule Of Death with Douglas Noble on Fridays). I’m also still trying to do the crazy hypercomic stuff, although finding the time for that is sometimes a bit of a stretch. This year I managed to do one new hypercomic, Four Derangements, as part of a retrospective of my work in South Korea and a new hypercomic installation with David Baillie at a children’s mental health clinic in Paris. Busy, busy, busy!

(one of Daniel’s brilliant All Knowledge is Strange strips, (c) Daniel Merlin Goodbrey)

Sean Azzopardi: I have read comics on and off for as long as I can recall. There was the newsagent era in the ‘70s, then rediscovering them in the ‘80s, with Swamp Thing, Watchmen, Dark Knight etc. Then a big gap until the late ‘90s. And I have stuck with them since then.

As a creator, in the ‘80s I attended the Portobello Project (1986-88), which ran comic classes taught by David Lloyd and Nick Abadzis. I then drifted into fine art, a crazy detour that lasted 12 years. Around 2001 I decided to have another go at comics, and started on the slow road to learning self-publishing. The job I was in at the time facilitated two important elements to this progression. One being a photocopier and the second a regular Internet connection. Through the latter I discovered most of the people I know now, through yahoo groups and the Warren Ellis Forum (WEF) – how influential has that been!?! I then made mini-comics and started attending conventions, and it all developed from there.

(a page from the highly recommended Twelve Hour Shift by and (c) Sean Azzopardi)

DMG: Ooh, good point. The first major webcomic project I was involved in – Rust at Popimage, with me doing the art and Alasdair Watson writing – came about as a result of the WEF too.

Matt: How did Necessary Monsters and your collaboration on that project come about?

SA: I had a table next to Daniel and Douglas (Noble) at the 2007 UK Web & Mini Comix Thing. I had read a lot of Daniel’s work, but had never really spoken to him. I asked both Doug and Daniel if they would like to collaborate on something. We talked again at that year’s Caption, and we began exchanging emails, on likes and interests. At this point, there was no solid idea of what we would do.

Matt: Did you guys brainstorm Necessary Monsters together then?

SA: After that initial email, no. I told Daniel what I had in mind, there was a brief period of silence and then the first script appeared. There was no input from me. The script, set-up, ideas were all from Daniel’s fertile brain.

DMG: That brief period of silence was me wracking my brain to try and figure out exactly what story we were going to collaborate on. I was really excited to have the opportunity to work with Sean on a graphic novel-length project, but for a long time I just couldn’t figure out what would make for the best fit between the two of us. I think to start with I had these notions of a very Indie, very low-key kind of narrative but nothing I came up with felt quite right. It was only when I tried reversing my thinking a bit, aiming at something that was actually a bit more commercial – a bit more of a romp – that ideas began to stick together into the eventual shape of Necessary Monsters.

Monsters grew out of a collection of odd character names – Charlotte Hatred, Cowboy 13 and Chicken Neck – that I noticed together in my notebook and thought might be the start of some sort of team. I also had this other name, Gravehouse, which I was turning over in my head as some kind of supernatural thriller set in a graveyard. I think I then took a longish train journey, during which time the ideas got all tumbled up together in my head and the basic premise of Necessary Monsters fell out the other side.

(some of the memorable cast from Necessary Monsters, from left to right: Charlotte Hatred, Cowboy 13 and Chicken Neck, art by Sean Azzopardi, (C) Goodbrey/Azzopardi)

Matt: Daniel, for those readers unfamiliar with Necessary Monsters, would you please give us a quick run-down of the plot/setting.

DMG: Necessary Monsters is your basic Mission Impossible-style spy thriller, only instead of focusing on a group of morally grey espionage specialists it stars a group of morally black supernatural psychopaths. The world of Necessary Monsters is one where the bad guys of modern horror movies – think Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Candyman and the like – are the ones secretly pulling the strings.

The story focuses on the actions of a covert agency known as The Chain, whose mandate is to ensure that no one supernatural menace becomes so powerful as to truly threaten the extinction of mankind. But far from doing this for altruistic reasons, The Chain’s real motive is simply wanting to ensure that there are always enough humans around to keep it’s monstrous founders amused and well fed. It’s worth stressing, The Chain are not the good guys, which for me was really the thing I wanted to explore in telling the story. I wanted to try a straight reversal of heroic fiction, but still keep the cast likable enough to carry the audience along without questioning exactly what kind of horrible creatures they were cheering for.

Matt: Daniel, how far did you succeed in the above, your stated aim?

DMG: I think we succeeded pretty well, judging from the positive reader feedback we’ve received so far. It’s something I want to keep pushing if we do more Necessary Monsters – especially with Creeping Tuesday, who’s kind of our Luke Skywalker by way of Freddy Krueger central character. With Tuesday I’m trying to do this perversion of the classic heroes journey, with the seductive forces of good trying to tempt her from the one true path of evil.

Something that I hadn’t counted on in the planning stages of Necessary Monsters was how much the spy fiction trappings of the series would throw off readers as to the characters’ motives. Several early reviews for the series made the assumption that the characters were somehow serving a greater good and so it was okay to enjoy reading them do all these terrible things. I thought I was pretty explicit up front about these being the bad guys, but I think people are just kind of used to their spies being bastards and so were happy to see them through grey-tinted glasses.

Matt: Sean, please tell us a little about the art.

SA: Once I received the story from Daniel I made the (with hindsight) mad decision to draw the whole book in Photoshop. To this day I can’t recall why, but if I ever find the bug that put the idea into my brain, it will get evicted for sure. I love stark black and white graphic approaches in comics and cartoons.  Despite the amazing advances in colouring and printing in comics, black and white is king. So, I half had in mind a combination of Eduardo Risso and John Ridgeway (solid blacks and negative space describing the design, with scratchy cross-hatching to model the form.)

Knowing Daniel’s work I was hoping that I would get to draw some crazy shit, and also stuff that I would have to research, as well as make up. I embraced a lot of behind-the-scenes approaches, using photographs, 3D models, tracing. Whatever got the job done really and made the pictures in my head possible.

On a side-note, me and Daniel are both writer/artists, and I really like this dynamic when it comes to working on a project. The understanding of the two roles bypasses a lot of problems that can rise from a non-artist/writer working with a non-writer/artist.

Matt: What were the pros and cons of the decision to work entirely in Photoshop?

SA: Well there were a lot of time-saving benefits. These were quickly replaced by constant crashes of computer, and far too much time wasted through having access to the Internet. I am trying to wean myself off too much usage, especially with the justification that ‘It’s research’. I am amazed at the amount of posting on FaceBook and Twitter that a lot of professionals do. Whatever project they are working on must be really boring.

Matt: Could you please expand on this statement a little: ‘On a side-note, me and Daniel are both writer/artists, and I really like this dynamic when it comes to working on a project. The understanding of the two roles bypasses a lot of problems that can rise from a non-artist/writer working with a non-writer/artist.’

SA: Yes, I wasn’t very clear on this. I found that working with Daniel he had a very visual idea of what was going on in the panels, and the page as a whole. It was very clear, because he has scripted and illustrated hundreds of pages for himself and for other artists. I have had scripts from writers that have very little visual awareness, and it can be very painful, and ultimately dull and uninspiring.

Matt: Daniel, the series reads like a bit of a love letter to video nasties, Japanese horror films, espionage drama and even the Dirty Dozen (’We’ve gotta get a team together!’). How do you strike a balance between riffing off these various sources while still crafting a story that is very much in your own style?

DMG: Having thought about this for a bit I would have to conclude that I don’t know. I usually tend to build the initial framework of a story out of the strange little moments and characters and names and titles that clutter up my head. I guess this results in an essential undercurrent of my own particular sort of strangeness permeating the story. Necessary Monsters was me trying to be deliberately quite commercial in one sense and, yeah, it’s riffing on all sorts of stuff, but the devil remains in the details.

Matt: From what you guys have said, you, Sean, are working from a full script provided by Daniel. What are those scripts like in terms of their art direction (do you, Daniel, make any comments/suggestions about the composition, page and panel layouts…)? And what was the process when it came to designing the world and characters? How much of a back-and-forth was there?

DMG: Lots of back-and-forth on the character designs. Most of the characters went through several iterations as we tried to figure out the right look for them, starting with some initial descriptions from me and then providing as much feedback to Sean as I could while he tried out different approaches to each character. I think Tuesday’s design was probably the hardest to nail down – certainly the last of the major cast to fall into place, anyway.

In terms of script, I wrote full script but most of the time focused just on what was going on inside the panels and left page layouts to Sean to figure out. Occasionally I’d make a suggestion on page layout (usually limited to indicating what should be the biggest panel on the page) but I really felt much happier leaving that down to Sean.

In terms of composition within the panels I’m a bit more vocal, often providing some sort of suggestion as to how to shoot a scene (yeah, shoot – I use film language a lot for this stuff – it’s just what makes most sense in my head). When we first started out Sean’s natural inclination was to use medium and full body shots of the characters and I tried to push him more towards closer shots to up the tension a bit and give proceedings a more filmic feel. As the series progressed I think the amount of direction I gave dropped off substantially as Sean and I became more and more attuned to each other’s sensibilities.

Throughout the series I kinda also served as the editor on the book, critiquing the pages as they came in from Sean and making suggestions where I felt it was needed. Sean, bless him, had the patience of a saint when it came to this process and one of the advantages of working digitally was that it wasn’t too difficult to make small changes when required. Again, I found there was less and less that needed doing on this front as the book progressed and Sean hit his stride on the artwork.

SA: The character design stage was a lot of fun, what’s not to make a person shout ‘YES!’ when you read Chicken Head ’s description? As for the script and the process of Daniel being editor, it worked really well. Daniel’s other life is a tutor, and I learnt a lot throughout the various stages. My understanding of composition and design has advanced for sure.

Matt: Prompted by Daniel’s answer, I want to throw this question at you both:
Quoting Daniel: ‘Throughout the series I kinda also served as the editor on the book, critiquing the pages as they came in from Sean and making suggestions where I felt it was needed.’

Sean, Daniel, how useful would it have been to have an actual editor working on the book with you? And is this one of the downsides of working on Indie projects, that there often aren’t the resources to employ someone as an ‘outside eye’? Having said that, did you guys at any point tap into your friends and peers in the comics community for feedback about what you were doing?

DMG: Well, it would certainly have been nice to have someone to catch all the continuity errors we made, which got a bit painful at times. Although our online readers were actually very useful in this regard, letting us know via the comments thread for each page where we’d let mistakes slip through. Another advantage to the online serialisation was this: being able to fix as you go in a medium more forgiving of edits than print.

And I do tend to use other creators as a sounding board at times, yeah. Most often Douglas Noble as he’s usually around somewhere on a Friday, with a glass of vodka and Coke in his hand, more than happy to dispense some comics wisdom (I just asked him about this on MSN and he says, I quote, “Any and all good ideas were mine.” Lies, obviously, but his heart is the right place). I think in the case of Necessary Monsters, I talked more with Douglas in the early stages when I was trying to figure out exactly what I’d be working on with Sean. I kinda, sorta stole Sean from out of under Douglas, as they were mid-collaboration on Sightings of Wallace Sendek when we started work on Necessary Monsters. Sendek has since made it into the B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S anthology and can be read online here;  good stuff from the two of them, as always.

(a recent page from Sightings of Wallace Sendek by and (c) Douglas Noble and Sean Azzopardi)

SA: The wider question of editors is an interesting one. In mainstream publishing, there seems to be a crisis in this area. I was reading one senior pro (the name has escaped me) saying that some editors dealing with their work just didn’t have sufficient knowledge of the medium to edit the work. I imagine as well that there are some editors who let the creator get on with it, assuming everything will be fine and just collecting the work for the deadline.

This shows in some shelf-bound product, with speech balloons so full of dialogue they are practically novels and speech balloon placement that unnecessarily obscures art (for me, ideally, the balloon placement should be integrated into the artistic process, not done afterwards, to avoid this problem).  It seems that the interventionist, Archie Goodwin-type editor is a thing of the past (which, reading about him, is a real shame). With regards to Indie publishing, we are, as Daniel has pointed out, our own editors. In this situation, working with someone else is so refreshing. We bounce off each other during the process, both picking at areas that need correcting or improving.

There are, though, some good models of editing that I’d like to mention now you’ve raised the subject.

The RAW model seemed ruthless in their editorial approach, and look at the fantastic results that Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly got.

In the UK, Tom Humberstone with Solipsistic Pop has taken on a curator/editor role, although I’m not sure if he actually has an input on the actual work. But the result is amazing – he’s clearly someone who has a strong idea of what they want – and the obvious care he’s taken on Solipsistic Pop has resulted in lush production values.

Matt: Could you guys just take me through the thinking behind publishing Necessary Monsters in the way you have, online, then as mini-comics and now in a collection?

DMG: The idea was basically just to get it out there in front of as many different audiences as possible. Initially our focus was web-comic serialisation to print collection, which I think is going to be the dominant model for independent comics for a while. We had the print deal with AiT agreed before we started serialising online, the idea being that the online version builds word of mouth and positive press for the eventual collection, which is where you (hopefully) make your money.

The mini-comics part of the puzzle came a little later – we realized we’d be doing tables at all these comic shows, so it made sense to have something physical to help promote the book and get another section of the comics audience talking about us. I think originally we’d maybe only thought of doing the first chapter as a mini to give a taste of the story, but response in the small press community was so strong that we decided to put out all five chapters as minis.

SA: I think Daniel has covered most of it. For me it was a first, serializing the material online, then printing it up as minis. It was a really immersive process, having feedback from Daniel, and then from people posting on the website (I was amazed at how many stuck with it from the beginning) and finally from the readers of the minis. I guess what I’m trying to say that there gave me an awareness that there was an audience, that the work wasn’t being thrown out into the void. (It’s certainly a good way of overcoming nerves, although not a way to banish self-doubt.)

Matt: What’s next for Azzopardi/Goodbrey, both as individuals and as a team? (And will there be more Necessary Monsters?)

DMG: I can reveal exclusively in this interview that there will be more Necessary Monsters, yes. We’ve both been taking a nice little break to recharge ourselves, but my notebook is starting to get so clogged up with sequel ideas that I think I’m just gonna have to break down and start writing the thing. Look for Necessary Monsters 2: Murder Box to start appearing online sometime later this year – probably in the summer, I should think.

Apart from Necessary Monsters I’ve a couple of new projects on the horizon, but neither of them are far along enough that I can talk about them without jinxing them. Instead I shall plug my other two ongoing webcomic series, The Rule Of Death with Douglas Noble and my own All Knowledge Is Strange.

(public transport continues to get worse in a scene from The Rule of Death by and (c) Douglas Noble and Daniel Merlin Goodbrey)

SA: Well, like Gravehouse I thought I was out of the game. (Although I have been writing a script/pitch of my own). Seems like that is about to change…

Matt: Oh, and I almost forgot, has NM – the trade – got any extra features, such as an intro, artists sketches, that sort of thing?

DMG: The trade features a brand new introduction from Kieron Gillen and reworked artwork across all five chapters. Think of it as the Special Edition of Necessary Monsters, now with better special effects and even more Azzopardiness but with Han still shooting first and less incongruous CGI dinosaurs.

SA: Yeah, all that. Thankfully I had time to correct a lot of the pages that were rushed, due to deadlines. There is a panel with Chicken Neck that has really benefited from a re-work.

Matt: Please give us your overview of the current state of the Brit’ comics industry. What’s good? What’s bad? What needs to change?

DMG: Hmm, lets see. Well, it was a good year in terms of conventions, I think. Between the injection of youth provided by the two MCM conventions and the crowning of Thought Bubble as the UK’s new première comics event, it feels like we’re on really solid ground again. I didn’t bother with Bristol or Birmingham this year and didn’t feel like I’d missed out on anything at all, so maybe those shows could both use a bit of a sprucing to compete with the new up-and-comers.

Apart from promoting Necessary Monsters at every available opportunity, I actually feel like I’ve been a bit removed from the Brit’ industry this yeah – quite a chunk of my time was spent back in the international world of hypercomics, with my Paris collaboration with David Baillie and a retrospective show at SICAF in Korea. So I don’t have that much more insight to offer. Sean? You got any pearls of wisdom for us?

SA: I feel out of touch with the scene now. I missed Bristol and Birmingham last year, and not having LUC (London Underground Comics) anymore has kind of sidelined me in terms of having an informed opinion of what is current. I think what I did learn last year is that there are massive amounts of opportunities for people to get their work seen, or to apply for grants and residencies. I think that there is an industry.

There is certainly an economic model, if someone would take the time to actual add up all sales of comics, in whatever format, that has been produced in the UK, I would imagine it would be a healthy total. All those two-pound minis, selling throughout the year, then trades, etc. I would have to say it’s in a healthy state, as much as print can be at the current point in time. It is at the point of moving into a new form, and the page is going to be another fetish form preserved by fanatical purists. Or something like that. But what is really positive is the amount of young people that are involved, as readers, as makers. I was involved in two separate workshops last year, and the enthusiasm for comics was inspiring.

(Bunuel and Dali eat your hearts out, this is how to do an eye-slicing scene! (c) Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Sean Azzopardi)

Matt: And, finally, what are you reading comics-wise? And are there any up-and-coming creators, Brit or otherwise, that you think we should be looking out for?

SA: At the moment I’ve the twin headed beast of Alec: The Years Have Pants (Eddie Campbell) and Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli on the go. People to look out for include Marc Ellerby, Adam Cadwell, Tom Humberstone, Julia Scheele, Matt Sheret and Lizz Lunney. Others from America are Alec Longstreth, Liz Baillie, and Liz Prince.

DMG: It feels like I’ve had less and less time to actually read comics this year, which shall probably result in a culling of my pull list sometime soon in the new year. I’ve been enjoying the usual names in US comics – Ellis, Ennis, Fraction, Bendis. Outside of that… well, it’s probably the year of Gillen & McKelvie, isn’t it? Those two chaps just keep going from strength to strength in all their comics endeavours.

In the world of the small press, it’s been great to see the return of Paul Fryer to active comics duty. He had two new ones out this year – Sticks and Rockfall – both of which were lovely little slices of perfectly staged action. In webcomics… well I always feel like I’m late to the party when I recommend a webcomic that people are probably all reading anyway but in the last year www.oglaf.com has caught my eye. Decidedly NSFW [not safe for work] and rather pornographic but also consistently funny and wonderfully illustrated. Worth a look, if you don’t mind the odd naked elf with your tea on a Monday morning.

FPI would like to thank Matt Badham, Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Sean Azzopardi very much for sharing their time and thoughts with us; you can check out Necessary Monsters online here and the collected edition can be ordered here.

Chloe Noonan, Monster Hunter by Marc Ellerby

Chloe Noonan, which follows the monster-hunting escapades of its eponymous heroine, is the sort of light-hearted, fun comic that leaves you with a spring in your step. If Ellerby doesn’t hit the big time off the back of Chloe’s exploits, well, there isn’t any justice in this world.

The Trial of Sherlock Holmes by Leah Moore, John Reppion and Aaron Campbell

I’m a big Holmes fan, so I was worried that scriptwriting duo Leah Moore and John Reppion were going to drop the ball with the Trial of Sherlock Holmes (Conan Doyle being a tough act to follow and all that). They didn’t. Instead they crafted a compelling locked room mystery that easily holds its own against the original Holmes stories. Good stuff and highly recommended.

Necessary Monsters by Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Sean Azzopardi

Barking mad concepts, cool dialogue and atmospheric art make this one of my must-reads of 2009. I enjoyed Monsters in mini-comics form, but it’s also available online and will soon be released, in February, I believe, in trade paperback.

Dear David Lasky by Sarah McIntyre

Sarah is one of my favourite cartoonists. Dear David Lasky is, in my opinion, her best comic. Enjoy it online here.

B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S by various

There are lots of good anthologies around at the moment. This marvellous offering, edited by Dan Lester and Francesca Cassavetti, features some of my favourite cartoonists including Sally-Anne Hickman and Paul Rainey. There’s a great deal of variety in B.A.S.T.A.R.D.S, in terms of subject matter and style, from some of the best comic creators working in this country today. You really should pick up a copy as soon as you can.

Psychiatric Tales by Darryl Cunningham

Originally presented on Darryl’s blog, these strips about mental health will be collected by Blank Slate in 2010. This is comic strip as reportage – important, socially useful work.

Fool’s Errand and Reasons Why I’m Scared To Love You by Phil Spence

Phil Spence is probably best known for his online comic, Ninja Bunny. I’m actually a bigger fan of his mini-comics, such as Fool’s Errand and Reasons Why I’m Scared To Love You. Both are beautiful and heartbreaking.

Paul Crystal, Graphic Designer by Jim Medway

This was Jim Medway’s entry to the Observer/Comica/Cape graphic short story prize. I liked the winning entry to that competition, but, I’m afraid, it pales in comparison to Jim’s offering, which is genius. Read it here.

Spandex by Martin Eden

I loved this. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it.

The creator of The O Men takes things to the next level with this poptastic slice of super hero fun. Functional art (it has to be said). A great colour scheme. Amazing scripts.

“Matt: How did you get involved in writing for Warhammer Monthly?

I’d never really been into wargaming, but when I was a bit younger I used to buy the coolest-looking models (mostly monsters) to paint, so I guess I had a rudimentary idea of how the WH and WH40k universes operated.  I did some quick homework and pitched a few ideas to Christian, one of which (all about a troll-slayer with a particularly pungent aroma), he liked.”

For this ninth instalment of the series, Matt chatted to Lisa Wood of the Thought Bubble comic convention, just head of this year’s Thought Bubble, which kicks off this weekend in Leeds. (NB: this will be the last of these interviews for the foreseeable future)

MB: Please tell us about a little about the history of the Thought Bubble.

Lisa: Thought Bubble started in 2007. I had been toying with the idea of running some kind of comics based exhibition or a series of workshops and the idea grew from there. I was really keen to bring a comics festival to the UK that was in the same vein as some of the European festivals; something that wasn’t just a convention but a celebration of comics on lots of different levels.

I feel really passionately that comics should be recognized as a valid art form like in France, when they are called the ninth art and regarded very highly. The public’s perception of comics and graphic novels is changing at the moment due to the popularity of comics-based movies. We are not only seeing superhero comic movies at the moment but films such as Road to Perdition, Scott Pilgrim and A History of Violence too, which are all based on great graphic novels.

MB: How is the Thought Bubble funded, by ticket sales, the exhibitors, a grant, some other means or a combination of these?

Lisa: Thought Bubble is funded by Ticket sales and exhibitors. We have also just found out that we have Arts Council funding which is amazing! It is great to know serious funding bodies such as The Arts Council are recognizing the benefits of comic books for learning and literacy. Hopefully this is the beginning of something really special.

MB: What are Thought Bubble’s overall aims?

Lisa: Our aim has always been to bring comics and graphic novels to the mainstream, and to show they can be an excellent educational tool to be embraced by libraries, schools and local councils. We want to put on a great show celebrating the amazing art and writing in comics.

MB: Who is Thought Bubble aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?

Lisa: We are very family-friendly. We pretty much aim the con at everyone! We try and programme events that will appeal to all ages and types. At our Alea event we host panels, screenings and talks, which are for adults. However, we also run lots of workshops and events especially for young people! We recognise the importance of introducing young people to comic books so the art form can keep growing and growing.

(Yishan Li taking the first Thought Bubble workshop of 2009, pic borrowed from the TB blog)

MB: How effective have you been in getting those kind of people to attend?

Lisa: Because we run as part of the Leeds International Film Festival we tend to get a wide range of people attending our events. We also tend to get people coming along who are just curious, which is great for us because we have the chance to introduce newcomers to this wonderful art-form, this is what we always intended to do.

MB: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for the Thought Bubble?

Lisa: Figures for our festival and one day convention were: first year convention 500, festival as a whole 1100, our second year convention was 1500, festival as a whole 2500 and we are hoping this year will be 2200 for our convention and 3000 for our festival as a whole.

MB: What lessons have you learned during your time running Thought Bubble, in terms of its marketing and advertising?

Lisa: I think we are still learning how best to approach these areas. We will probably concentrate more on online advertising this year rather than printed matter, just because costs can be so high. The way we have approached this in the past is where possible find in-kind sponsorship. We have worked with various magazines to promote ourselves and in return we have helped promote them. We also work with various shops around West Yorkshire to promote our event as much as possible. Getting people on board to help us spread the word and our brand is invaluable.

MB: Do you use emerging technologies to spread the word about Thought Bubble? Do you have a website or blog, or use email mailing lists?

Lisa: We are really into using social networking sites to spread the word. We are also currently setting up a Youtube account, where we can post our favourite clips and hold competitions. We also have a Wordpress blog that is updated daily at the moment and a Twitter. Our next goal is to record all of our workshops and talks to build up an online library of educational information for anyone and everyone to access.

MB: What about print? Do you use print advertising, have a newsletter, anything like that?

Lisa: Because these cost tend to be fairly high we try and avoid buying adverts in magazines and work on in-kind deals as I mentioned before

MB: What’s the mix in terms of exhibitors at your con? Do you even have exhibitors?

Lisa: We have over 170 exhibitors. The mix is usually, small press 50%, guests and pros 20% and retailers 30%. It changes year on year though.

(last year’s over-16s comic art competition winner by and (c)  Kristyna Baczynski)

MB: What are your thoughts on the small press comics scene in this country? Does Thought Bubble support the small press and what form does that support take?

Lisa: We absolutely support the small press scene. We love it! We hold weekly small press features on our blog, highlighting some of our favourite small press people.

MB: How much are the tickets for the Thought Bubble? How did you arrive at that price? Please tell us about any concessions.

Lisa: Our tickets are £8 full price this year, half price for cosplayers and under-12s are free. For this price you get to spend the whole day listening to various talks and have the chance to take part in workshops, watch screenings, meet artists and writers and ask for sketches. It is a tough call trying to keep prices low. venue costs can be really high. There are also lots of hidden costs such as insurance and trading licence, the stage, tables. Running a convention can end up being very pricey. When dealing with ticket prices you need to look at your own costs and what your competition is charging.

(Dan Lester and Oliver Lambden at TB, pic from Richard’s 2008 report)

MB: How much are exhibitor tables for the Thought Bubble? Again, how did you arrive at that figure?

Lisa: Again we try and keep this low where possible, especially for small press as most of the time they end up losing money attending cons. Our small press and professional tables are £40, retailer and publisher tables are £60.

MB: Do you run workshops/events/panels at the Thought Bubble? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.

Lisa: Most or our programme is full of free workshops for young people and adults, our Arts Council funding helps us to do this. We invite industry professionals to come along and let people know how they write or draw and how to get in to the business. Our workshops have been incredibly successful, with most of them selling out before our brochure comes out. So far workshops have been run on a voluntary basis by industry professionals who are kind enough to give us and the public their time.

(video of Thought Bubble by and (c) Russ Entwistle, borrowed from RJaymoon’s YT Channel)

MB: As you’ve been kind enough to answer these questions, please fell free to big the Thought Bubble up a bit. Tell us what you do well, what the Thought Bubble’s main attractions are and why our readers should attend the next one.

Lisa: Thought Bubble is a four-day annual event which celebrates sequential art in all its forms, including everything from superheroes to independent small press. We are a non-profit making organisation dedicated to promoting comics and graphic novels as an important cultural art form. Taking place at a variety of venues across the city, our aim is to cater to both long-time comic book fans and those who have never picked up a graphic novel before!

Thought Bubble will take place 19th -- 22nd November 2009 with a centrepiece one-day convention on Saturday 21st.  Thought Bubble will include art and writing based workshops for young people and adults, panels and talks lead by industry professionals and a programme of sequential art related film screenings. The special one-day convention includes an incredible line up of leading artists and writers, and over 150 tables selling comics and merchandise. The day will also feature portfolio viewings and competitions. This promises to be one of the best events of its kind in the UK, where you’ll be able to meet some of your favourite comic book creators and browse the huge selection of memorabilia on sale -- brought to you by the biggest and best exhibitors and dealers from across the country.  Keep an eye on the website for more updates, or join us on MySpace or Facebook to share your thoughts and ideas.

FPI would like to thank Lisa for taking time out from a busy schedule to talk to us and Matt for a fascinating series of interviews. This year’s Thought Bubble takes place in Leeds from the 19th to the 22nd of December (you can read Richard’s report on last year’s TB here on the blog). You can read the previous Q&As with other British comics con organisers in this series here on the blog: Comica’s Paul Gravett,  Patrick Findlay of the UK Web’n’Mini Comix Thing,  Jimi Gherkin of the Alternative Fair Press chats with Matt, Matt talks with Bristol’s Mike Allwood, Hi-Ex’s Vicky Stonebridge, BICS’ Shane Chebsey, Caption’s Jay Eales and LUC’s Oli Smith.

Just as we were preparing this interview the Thought Bubble crew updated us on a whole raft of (mostly free) comics classes that will be running during the weekend for children and adults:

Digital Colouring Masterclass with Peter Doherty. 14:00-15:00, Carrigeworks, FREE, 16+. Famous for his work on The Wachowski Brothers’ Shaolin Cowboy, and Judge Death, Peter will take participants through the stages of how to digitally colour line art in photoshop. A basic understanding of photoshop is required. Places are limited, book soon to avoid disappointment, email thoughtbubblefestival@googlemail.com

Sequential Art and Literacy Workshop. 14:00-15:30, Leeds Art Gallery, 12-18 year olds, FREE. Award-winning artist, curator, and academic Sarah Lightman, who trained at ‘Slade School of Art’, will go through the stages of creating your very own publication. She will explain how young people can use the comic format to reflect their own feelings and experiences. Places are limited, book soon to avoid disappointment, email thoughtbubblefestival@googlemail.com

Yishan Studio Shojo Manga Workshop with Yishan Li. 14:30-15:30, Leeds Central Library, 7-12 year olds, FREE. Yishan Li, a leading manga artist, and creator of the Yishan Studio ‘How To Draw Manga’ books, will run this fun workshop for younger children. Yishan will take them through the steps of how to create characters and figures. Places are limited, book soon to avoid disappointment, email thoughtbubblefestival@googlemail.com

Creation of Computer Game Concept Design. 14:50-16:50, Leeds Central Library, 16+, FREE. Steve Beaumont, character design and storyboard artist, will look at how the two are produced within the video games industry. There will be an opportunity to work from a typical client brief to create a gaming character. Steve will also touch on what the gaming industry looks for to give you a heads up in this ever growing field. Places are limited, book soon to avoid disappointment, email thoughtbubblefestival@googlemail.com

Manga Character Art Workshop with Emma Vieceli. 14:50-15:50, Leeds Central Library, 12-18 year olds, FREE.  Sweatdrop Studios’ Emma, is well known for her presenting on Anime Network, and her fantastic art on the Manga Shakespeare series. In this session, Emma will demonstrate techniques used in manga styled pages and show participants the foundations needed to create their own characters. This workshop will be fun and informal. Places are limited, book soon to avoid disappointment, email thoughtbubblefestival@googlemail.com

Frank Quitely Art Masterclass. 15:15-16:45, Carriageworks, 16+, £5 Entry. Thought Bubble is delighted to welcome Frank Quitely, one of the world’s most respected comic book artists, for a special insider look at his art. Frank is best known for his work on Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, Batman and Robin, and We3. Talking to Peter Dohert of 2000AD fame, Frank will reveal the creative process he employs in this fascinating masterclass. For tickets go to www.thoughtbubblefestival.com

Young People’s Comics Writing Masterclass with Adam Lowe. 16:00-17:00, Leeds Central Library, 12-18 year olds, FREE. Local author Adam Lowe’s first novel, Troglodyte Rose, mixes sequential art and prose. In this workshop for young people, he gives tips on writing scripts for comics, including dialogue, pace, and visual cues in this fun and informal masterclass. Places are limited, book soon to avoid disappointment, email thoughtbubblefestival@googlemail.com

FPI: Matt, what’s it all about? Is this a new comics project or, as the name might imply, a fiendishly evil scheme for world domination under the guise of Project Grinder, doubtless to be conducted from some hi-tech underground lair?

MB: I’m a bit embarrassed to be answering these questions (you’ll soon see why). Still, I suppose this is an opportunity to flag up how rich and diverse the small press comics scene is in this country.

The short answer: GRINDER!! is the best deathsploitation comic I haven’t written yet.

FPI: Okay, you have me in that sort of fascinated by the promise of pulp and B movie references state I get into when I hear a new Tarantino is coming (you had me at ‘deathsploitation’), so what’s the long answer version?

MB: The long answer: last night Doug Noble (ace cartoonist) and I were chatting about the recent Cape/Observer/Comica Graphic Story competition. One question we considered was whether a genre (sci-fi, horror, whatever) entry would have any chance of winning… our thinking was that winning entries would probably reflect the sensibility of the Observer’s art pages and that would rule out genre stuff. Anyway, we started to light-heartedly discuss the idea of entering a genre story next year to test our thesis. Before we knew it, we were bandying story concepts back and forth. Out of that was born GRINDER!! The basic plot is as follows (some of this came from Doug; some from me): Max Grinder is on the run in Mexico for a crime he didn’t commit. A corrupt cop framed him (Max was having an affair with his wife). The cops catch up with him, he’s accidentally zapped with an experimental teleportation device and teleported to a hostile alien planet.

(no, they’re not talking about Matt, its a scene from a recent page of Complex by and (c) Doug Noble, borrowed from his site)

Anyway, as the night went on, I found myself thinking that it would actually be a lot of fun to write GRINDER!! And get it printed up to flog at conventions for charity or just put it online. Problem: no artist, and who was I going to persuade to draw my mad ramblings anyway?

And then, sudden inspiration. I could ask lots of artists to contribute, each one providing one panel. Asking one artist to work for free for a whole comic felt wrong, even a page felt like I’d be taking the piss. But one panel on a not-for-profit enterprise that wasn’t taking itself too seriously, that felt like it might be fun for people…

(Of course, one artist per panel brings its own problems. For a 24-page comic that’s about 144 contributor copies before I even sell any.)

Anyway, I’m hoping that I can rope Doug Noble and Andrew Cheverton into helping me write the comic, although I’m not sure Doug is aware that I’ve taken the ball and ran with it (Andrew is now credited as a co-creator along with Doug after coming up with a two-word title for the first episode, but, boy, was it a good two-word title!)

I’m also hoping that I can persuade a musician friend to do a deathsploitation ‘John Carpenter’-like soundtrack that can be mounted as a free CD on copies of GRINDER!!

FPI: This year’s Cape/Observer/Comica winner has certainly sparked a fair bit of commentary on the blog (see here) and I suspect you’re right in that something overly genre would have less chance of winning (which is also the case in major literary awards all too often as well). Back to Grinder – from what you’re saying I’m guessing we’re going to be treated to some of the beloved staples of Grindhouse and B movies and pulp novels?

MB: Well, I have certain elements that I want to include:

Scorpions.

An intelligent, talking monkey.

Nuns.

A teetotal, slipper-wearing assassin.

Alien punks.

A comedy robot.

A handgun that blows up if used by anyone other than its owner (Dredd homage).

A philosophical bomb.

Mexican wrestlers (although I’m a bit worried about whether I can write Mexico and Mexicans without falling back on slightly racist clichés).

Subterranean creatures.

Clowns.

An alien religion.

Bikers.

More scorpions. Lots more scorpions.

FPI: Hopefully scorpions of the stinging, multi-legged variety and not the band… Are you ready to name some of the names involved and what they’ll be contributing?

MB: I’ll gladly name them, but they might decide not to contribute once they’ve read this interview.

I tweeted a request for artists who would be willing to draw one panel for me for a new comic I was doing. The following artists responded (check out their blogs and websites, gentle readers, they’re all fantastic. (Well, they’re not all fantastic artists. One’s a computer programmer. They’re all great people, though.))

They are: Gary Northfield, Andrew Cheverton, Chris Doherty, Paul Harrison-Davies, David O’Connell, Rob Jackson, Sarah McIntyre, Mo Ali, Vicky Stonebridge, Neill Cameron, Jez Higgins, Garen Ewing, Mike, Dan Berry, Philip Spence, Warwick J Cardwell and Jon Scrivens (and, possibly, a 2000 AD artist).

FPI: That’s a fair old list of talent to be starting off with! Is the title a homage to the affectionate term applied to the low budget, usually exploitation movies, Grindhouse?

MB: Yes. The whole exercise is also inspired by browsing Johnny Ryan’s Prison Pit in a comic shop.

(cover to Prison Pit Book One, by and (c) the one and only Johnny Ryan, published  Fantagraphics)

FPI: Good old Johnny Ryan, you can always count on his corrupting influence. Are you planning to physically print and sell it or will it be online or, as is increasingly the case, will it be both physical and digital? Any ideas when you hope to release it and is there a site where readers can follow the progress of Grinder?

MB: Who knows? I’ll start a blog if and when I finish the first draft. Determined to release it if it’s good enough, even if all the artists have dropped out and I have to self-publish it as a script book with ‘concept art’.

FPI: Are you looking for more contributors and if so where do they get in touch with you?

MB: I am, but let’s hang fire for now. I’ll be in touch with more news when I have it (i.e., when the first draft of the script is written).

FPI: Matt, thanks for that, sounds like a fun project; we’ll be sure to post more on it further down the line and meantime you can follow Matt via his Twitter.

Matt Badham: Please tell us about a little about the history of your event and how it’s evolved over the years.

Paul Gravett: Comica started in 2003 and grew out of a couple of events I’d done with the ICA (that’s the Institute of Contemporary Arts) before, including interviews with Grant Morrison and Tetsuya Chiba and a panel with Dave Gibbons, Dave McKean and Matt Smith. The ICA is a cool venue, on the Mall, just off Trafalgar Square and up the road from Buckingham Palace. It has galleries, two cinemas, a theatre, education space, cafe, bar and bookshop. A key person there getting Comica to happen was John Dunning, their film PR man at the time and a keen comics enthusiast – and now a published graphic novelist himself with the brilliant Salem Brownstone from Walker Books which launched on 24th October at a Comica Spooktacular evening at the ICA.

Together John and I cajoled and persuaded Philip Dodd, director of the ICA, finally to let us run a pilot 10-day festival during their summer refurbishment of the galleries. They gave us the Concourse Gallery to fill, a long corridor-type space that leads from the foyer to the bar, and the use of rooms and the cinema for talks. Luckily, I knew a curator at a Spanish festival who was inviting Charles Burns, Joe Sacco and Chris Ware over and she very kindly let me bring the three of them from Madrid to London, saving on their pricey transatlantic flights. So we had three top-class guests to kick the show off. One central idea of Comica is to mix comics with all the other media, and not keep it sealed off in some specialist cocoon, so we got novelist Alex Garland, who had drawn his hit book The Beach initially as a comic (he showed it to me years ago on the train to Caption in Oxford), to talk with Chris Ware. They were both pretty shy frankly but it was a great encounter. Jonathan Ross surprised many people by being respectful and knowledgeable interviewing Charles Burns.

The pilot was an astonishing success. Instead of the ICA being a deserted building site for 10 days, it was packed with the public, the talks sold out and the bookshop shifted loads and loads of graphic novels. We got some great press coverage and even had Joe Sacco on Channel 4 News. Philip Dodd rang me right after and said “Let’s do it again next year”, and Comica was underway.

Over the years, Comica has had some amazing guests  – Craig Thompson, Alan Moore (no less than 3 times), Joann Sfar, Lewis Trondheim, the Bitterkomix boys from South Africa, Alison Bechdel, Ben Katchor, Guy Delisle, Scott McCloud, David B. and many more. We’ve also branched out to work with other venues like The French Institute, National Maritime Museum, V&A, BookArt Bookshop and this year no less than The British Museum, but the ICA has remained the hub, the base, and the simple idea is to try to get each ICA department – film, performance, exhibition and of course talks – to programme something comics-related during the festival.

MB: How is your event funded, by ticket sales, the exhibitors, a grant, some other means or a combination of these?

PG: The ICA continue to support Comica amazingly, through their arts funding and providing the venues, technology and staff. Of course most ICA events are ticketed, so that’s the main revenue stream. From the start, Philip Dodd recognised that something was happening in comics, something they had to engage with and embrace, to be there first, ahead of their big artsy rivals like the Tate. We’ve also had huge help from publishers, other European festivals and various cultural institutes bringing artists over. We’ve never gone for the big comic-mart mixed with trade-fair approach, but we started a small press fair in 2007, Comica Comiket, and that’s growing well, with London Underground Comics teaming up last year, and this year on Sunday November 8th we expand to the ICA Theatre and have several groups supporting it, from Jimi Gherkin’s Alternative Press crew to Matthew Sheret from Words+Pictures and the Nobrow guys.

None of this Comica festival would happen without everyone involved at the ICA itself, from house management, tickets, reception, installation, bookshop and technical to director Ekow Eshun, Jennifer Thatcher in Talks, Tejinder Jouhal in Films, Emma-Jayne Taylor and Vicky Carmichael in Education, Jennifer Byrne in press, and everyone else who pulls together to make it go smoothly. And I must sing the praises of the team of volunteers who help make Comica possible, including Sarah Lightman, Vasileios Sakkos, Tom Smith, Ben Le Foe and others. In fact, if anyone reading this would like to volunteer for Comica this November, do please get in touch via the website www.comicafestival.com

MB: I understand that you run satellite events under the Comica banner throughout the year. Can you tell us a little about these and why you decided to augment the main Comica with other panels and exhibitions?

PG: Because too much is happening, comics are too vibrant to limit them to one festival a year, even one that’s grown from ten days to three weeks. With the year-round flexibility of Comica events, we can welcome major guests whenever they can make it to London, from Art Spiegelman and Marjane Satrapi to Alan Moore and Joe Sacco, only a few weeks ago, to a packed house, and Daniel Clowes lined up for next spring.

MB: What are Comica’s overall aims?

PG: To treat comics as a totally valid contemporary artform, to show where the medium is heading right now locally and internationally, and how comics can interconnect with every other artform. In many ways, the aims, the mission, of Comica are in sync with what Peter Stanbury and I envisaged when we used to co-publish Escape Magazine back in the 1980s – to escape, to break out from narrow definitions and formulas, to liberate comics to be anything they want and everything they can be.  That’s why we’ve put Spiegelman together with Philip Pullman, Posy Simmonds with Ian McEwan, Moore and Gebbie with Stewart Lee  – or this year Logicomix author Apostolos Doxiadis with Marcus de Sautoy and Ben Templesmith with Philip Ridley.  And Comica hosts the best, from whatever field of comics, from Japanese comics, with Junko Mizuno, to American superheroes, like Alex Maleev last year and Cameron Stewart this year – quality is there in every sector of this medium.

(all the girls go crazy for a sharp dressed cartoonist man! Seth at Comica, pic courtesy of Paul Gravett)

MB: Who is Comica aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?

PG: To reach out to as broad a public as possible, to the fans and enthusiasts of course but also to all sorts of other people who are culturally alert and curious and may just be discovering the wonders of manga or graphic novels.  Among them are plenty of people who want to make comics themselves, easily half of them these days being women. Comica this year is adding a kids’ workshop, Little Pencil with Sarah McIntyre. Its identity is mostly focussed on the adult audience for comics, though plans are afoot to expand the family side next year.

MB: How effective have you been in getting those kind of people to attend?

PG: Definitely effective. One of my greatest pleasures is to chat with people queuing for an event or signing and find out how they’ve got interested in Comica. They come from all sort of backgrounds and interests and for a lot of them it’s opening up a whole world of comics culture that they are really getting into.

MB: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for Comica?

PG: We estimate over 5,000 people now attend Comica over the festival period and the numbers are still increasing as we link up with other major venues. The added plus is that the ICA no longer has to charge admission to the venue so a lot more people are visiting the free exhibitions and events.

MB: What lessons have you learned during your time running Comica, in terms of its marketing and advertising?

PG: Key to Comica’s success has been the ICA’s high profile and strong links with the cutting-edge media. People notice and pay attention to what the ICA does, so it’s been amazing working with them and getting coverage far and wide. Comica doesn’t advertise, because our newsworthy events and guests can get us valuable editorial coverage. We know word of mouth works wonders.

MB: Do you use emerging technologies to spread the word about Comica? Do you have a website or blog, or use email mailing lists?

PG: Yep, vital – first through my own website www.paulgravett.com and since this year through www.comicafestival.com , its own site, both doing extremely well with thousands of visitors. And we’re using Facebook now. I’ve got some great help with these from Tim Webber, who runs Read Yourself Raw, and Ben Le Foe. And the ICA’s own site always highlights our events.

MB: What about print? Do you use print advertising, have a newsletter, anything like that?

PG: Instead of a convention booklet only for paying attendees, we print a Comica programme that gets widely distributed across London so people can pick it up and get an overview of the whole season. On top of this, the ICA always highlight Comica in their monthly agenda which gets to lots of outlets. And yes, people can sign up to the email newsletter via the Comica site to get first alerts on upcoming events to be sure to book those tickets early.

MB: What’s the mix in terms of exhibitors at Comica? Do you even have exhibitors?

PG: As I said, that’s one aspect of traditional conventions that we’ve not gone for. Instead, the ICA’s own Bookshop stocks all the relevant books by the guest creators and since 2007 we invite small presses, self-publishers and independents to sell their wares at the Comica Comiket.

(a triple header from Roeg and Gebbie, not sure who the bloke in the middle could be...)

MB: What are your thoughts on the small press comics scene in this country? How do you use Comica to support it (do you try and support it)?

PG: Again, as above, the Comiket is an important part of the festival. We also spotlight small press creators on panels and in exhibitions such as the Potential Comic or PoCom wall that ran in 2003 and again last year. In 2007, Comica hooked up with The Observer and Jonathan Cape to launch the Graphic Short Story Prize, to give newcomers the chance to win £1,000, get published in a national Sunday paper and be talent-spotted by a mainstream graphic novel publisher. Last year’s winner, Julian Hanshaw, has his debut graphic novel, The Art of Pho, out from Cape next Spring. It’s a real opportunity for small pressers to get noticed. This year we’re getting four full pages in the glossy Observer magazine for the winner’s strip – that’s great exposure and will come out the Sunday before the Comica Festival begins, so great pre-publicity. And plenty of emerging UK talents have been nominated for the Arts Foundation’s first £10,000 fellowship for a graphic novelist  – we’re announcing the finalists at Comica. The first of many, we hope.

MB: How much are the tickets for Comica? How did you arrive at that price? Please tell us about any concessions.

PG: The ICA sets the prices for all its Comica events, and there are always discounts for concessions, and even bigger discounts if you become an ICA member. We also offer reduced rates for an afternoon of three Comica Conversations in a row. I’m well aware that Comica can be pricey for many people so I’m pleased this year that thanks to sponsors Ctrl.Alt.Shift and The Arts Foundation we’ve got some totally free panels, you just need to book. And the exhibitions and Comiket comics fair are always free admission.

MB: How much are exhibitor tables for Comica (if you have any)? Again, how did you arrive at that figure?

PG: We try to keep Comiket prices deliberately low just to cover costs, as low as a tenner, to give people a chance to attend and reach out to the public.

MB: Do you run workshops/events/panels at Comica? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.

PG: Yep, the ICA now has a Reading Room and Student Forum where we’re holding an afternoon workshop with Bryan Talbot, Pat Mills and other major creators dropping in to give advice and guidance. There’s another workshop at the new Book Club in Shoreditch to design cartoon posters. Organising panels, or Comica Conversations, is one of the most complex parts of programming the festival, co-ordinating guests’ schedules to bring amazing people together, like last year’s underground comix reunion of Spiegelman, Shelton and Spain, their first three-way conversation in many, many years. Vital to making these work are my years of working in comics, getting to know creators, publishers and festival organisers worldwide. Getting Sacco over, for example, was possible only because he was in Europe between two weekend festivals in St. Petersburg and Italy.

MB: As you’ve been kind enough to answer these questions, please fell free to big Comica up a bit. Tell us what you do well, what Comica’s main attractions are and why our readers should attend the next one.

PG: I really think there should be something for everyone who loves comics at this year’s Comica. We’ve teamed up again with the brilliant, unmissable Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds to bring Ben Templesmith over. As Thought Bubble run their big Saturday during the Comica season again this year, I deliberately don’t programme major events to clash on that day. For one thing, I want to get to Thought Bubble myself. I can see the advantages of holding a one-day event like this, or the weekend approach of Bristol or Birmingham. But you never have time to see everything and everyone you want to, especially as there’s often parallel programming going on. Comica is different because it can stretch across two, even three weeks. It does kind of favour people already living in or near London who can get here easily, but out-of-towners can choose the weekends which are often the busiest parts of the festival.

I’m especially excited by Comica ‘09 because we’ve hooked up with a fantastic sponsor, the youth charity Ctrl.Alt.Shift, and I’ve helped them co-edit the first anthology comic published for Comica, Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption. It really is a first-class international anthology of reportage/exposé comics with Bryan Talbot, Dave McKean, Woodrow Phoenix, Peter Kuper, Pat Mills, Dylan Horrocks, Dan Goldman and more. Through Ctrl.Alt.Shift we’re hosting NY musician Lightspeed Champion, who’s created one story and scripted a second in the book, for a live-gig to launch the comic. And it’s great to have a month-long exhibition to promote it through the ultra-cool Shop at Lazarides gallery in Greek Street, Soho. This show is going to stun people, situating comics alongside agit-prop graphics and the whole plethora of activist and political comics and cartoons from May ‘68 and Black Panthers to today and Sean Duffield’s forthcoming Paper Tiger War anthology and Alan Moore’s new venture Dodgem Logic.

The other startling thing is the number of related exhibitions linking up with Comica this time, from the British Museum’s manga show spotlighting the genius Hoshino Yukinobu and Swiss Cottage Library’s Black Powers display, to solo shows by Robert Crumb at Scream Gallery, Mayfair, Philip Marsden at Riverside, Richmond, and John Miers at The Flea Pit in the East End. Our catch-line this year is totally accurate – “London is bubbling over with comics!” On top of this are the exceptional theatrical/live performance events this year: David Lloyd himself kicking off the festival appropriately on November 5th with live drawing and music with a V for Vendetta theme – it’s a free party at the ICA bar – so remember, remember, the 5th of November! Then there’s the darkly funny, adults-only Uncle Hans-Peter Party by comic artist and animator Richard Squires where everyone in the audience has to wear an identical creepy mask, and the equally edgy play Busted Jesus Comix, based on the conviction of Florida teen Mike Diana, forbidden to draw his crazed Boiled Angel comix.

(Chris Ware bestows his comics benediction at Comica; pic courtesy of Paul Gravett)

In the end, what makes Comica worth doing is having remarkable guests, like Gerry Finley-Day who had never appeared at a comics event before, and this year reuniting Brian Bolland and Dave Gibbons with retail pioneers Phil Clarke of Nostalgia & Comics and Derek “Bram” Stokes, founder of Dark They Were And Golden-Eyed, a thrill for me as DTWAGE was the first comic shop I ever visited for my 12th birthday, a life-changing experience! It’s also so special to have Eddie Campbell over, launching his massive omnibus Alec: The Years Have Pants, some of which we serialised in Escape and collected in three graphic novels. Eddie and I go back ages and I’ll never forget being at Ian Wieczorek’s home with Phil Elliott in Chelmsford, Essex when we were first discovering his autobio self-published stripzines.

Comica 09’s line-up also includes wunderkinds James Jean and Tara McPherson, thanks to the great support of Offset, the design conference in Dublin, and Reinhard Kleist talking with music critic Charles Shaar Murray about his Johnny Cash bio, and Willy Linthout with his stunning graphic novel about losing his son to suicide, talking with former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen. These are the sort of unique encounters that make all the hours of organising and teamwork worthwhile.

You know, these are incredible times, comics are everywhere and Comica invites you to celebrate them together, with panache and passion.

FPI would like to thank Paul and Matt for sharing their time and thoughts with us. In addition to his not inconsiderable Comica duties Paul is highly respected as a promoter and writer on comics culture and you can follow him via his site. Comica ‘09 is just about to hit London with a slew of great events, guests and exhibition, as well as various other events sprinkled throughout the year, so check out the Comica site. The winner of this year’s Comica/Jonathan Cape/Observer short graphic fiction prize should be announced this Sunday (November 1st) in the Observer magazine.

You can read the previous Q&As with other British comics con organisers in this series here on the blog: Patrick Findlay of the UK Web’n'Mini Comix Thing,  Jimi Gherkin of the Alternative Fair Press chats with Matt, Matt talks with Bristol’s Mike Allwood, Hi-Ex’s Vicky Stonebridge, BICS’ Shane Chebsey, Caption’s Jay Eales and LUC’s Oli Smith.

Matt Badham: Please tell us about a little about the history of the UK Web ‘n’ Mini Comix Thing and how it’s evolved over the years.

Patrick Findlay: The Thing was conceived as an event to showcase what was at the time a new industry, the web comic, with the traditional homemade comic attached. At the time there were virtually no exhibitions, not proper ones. Inspired by events such as Mocca and SPX in the USA, I saw a clear opportunity for a similarly styled UK event. It was conceived along the simple idea that the event featured a hall of tables with exhibitors showing their stuff. This simple premise, as opposed to the more grandiose attempt to offer a myriad of attractions such as lectures, juggling, bands, stars and such is the reason why the show has been able to sustain itself over the years. As such, the show has not really changed from day one, other than a venue change in year two and some additional tables for years three and four.

MB: What are the Thing’s overall aims?

PF: The aims of the Thing are to create an environment of creative comic-minded people, primarily for the entertainment of the visitor. It is always the perspective of the visitor that I have in mind, based on my own experiences from years ago when I went to similar events that were later cancelled. As such, the aim is to create a hall full of exciting things to look at, leaving the visitor inspired, invigorated and excited about having attended. Contrary to some beliefs, it’s not a show devised to allow creators to make a profit, although that is, of course, a significant side-effect of exhibiting and one of the main reasons exhibitors do attend.

MB: Who is the Thing aimed at? What sort of punters do you hope to attract? Are you family-friendly?

PF: The Thing is aimed at anyone that enjoys web and mini comics, that is, in this day and age, who surfs the web book marking their favourite sites. In the old days it would have been people that scoured the small ads of Comics International for mini comics and such for their small tableside collection. The show is not really family-focussed at all, unless it’s a family that like to surf the web looking for comics. I like to advise children to leave their parents safely tied up outside or if left in the car, with the window rolled down a bit.

MB: How effective have you been in getting those kind of people to attend?

PF: Pretty effective. The nerdometer has always gone off the Richter scale, so I’m pretty happy.

MB: Can you give a projected (or actual) attendance figure for the Thing?

PF: It’s hard to tell as there are usually about 150 exhibitors and they make the place look full by default and ticket sales get merged in with everything else. I used to print tickets for 1000 people, in year one. These days it’s three to four hundred people, but I think even that’s a bit optimistic.

MB: What lessons have you learned during your time running the Thing, in terms of its marketing and advertising?

PF: I have learnt that marketing and advertising is a total waste of time, at this stage. Last year the show was run on a completely minimal budget with no advertising at all and it was the best year ever. The fact is that the show is established and kind of stands on its own two feet these days.

(one of our regular cartoonists-in-virtual-residence, Richard Cowdry at the 2005 Thing; pic borrowed from Typocrat)

MB: Do you use emerging technologies to spread the word about the Thing? Do you have a website or blog, or use email mailing lists?

PF: No blog or e-mail lists at all. I don’t have twitter or anything.

MB: What about print? Do you use print advertising, have a newsletter, anything like that?

PF: No print advertising at all. Used to send out printed flyers to every comic shop in the country but always felt it was a waste of time. Didn’t do it last year and as I’ve said it was the best year ever. Also tried printed ads in Comics International, which was completely pointless.

MB: What’s the mix in terms of exhibitors at your con?

PF: The mix of exhibitors is fairly even really. I like to think there’s a bit of everything, but in general they are all young creative types, some good, some new to the scene. There’s a handful of pros. I prefer the more amateur end of the spectrum and generally frown on the ‘exceptional’ talent.

MB: What are your thoughts on the small press comics scene in this country? Does the Thing support the small press and what form does that support take?

PF: The small press is what it’s all about. However, from my perspective that’s the photo copier. There’s not a lot of distinction between web and small press really. Everyone at the show is small press. They are all printing stuff. I don’t really have direct thoughts on the small press. It’s a bit like having thoughts on cars. I use them, people use them, but I might be a bit vague on the exact details of my car: it’s blue and has wheels. People print stuff, they are small press. I’m more interested in the art and creativity. It would be better to ask if the Thing supports art and creativity!! The answer would be yes.

MB: Do you run workshops/events/panels at the Thing? Please tell us about those and how they are organised.

PF: We run a few things. It’s usually a bit piecemeal based on volunteer availability. The panel events are the main feature that requires volunteers from the exhibitors. We aim to offer wall-to-wall panel discussions so that there is always something to sit down and rest your feet at. The panels are generally stage-managed by me. However, the allocated host generally fails to show up. Last year we had four hosts drop out, one after the other, the last being on the day before the show. These are the biggest problems, but in short they run themselves. There is usually a film show, an art area, and other things. We used to have a portfolio workshop but it was a bit of a farce. Everyone these days is their own expert. Unlike other shows that seem to conjure guest speakers out of thin air, we have never had any luck in getting clever people to chitchat about their success.

(a selected haul of goodies from the 2009 Thing, pic borrowed from Sarah McIntyre’s write-up of this year’s con)

MB: As you’ve been kind enough to answer these questions, please fell free to big the Thing up a bit. Tell us what you do well, what the Thing’s main attractions are and why our readers should attend the next one.

PF: The best thing about the Thing is the huge amount of creative art and comics that you can see and buy. The show offers free plastic bags so it’s easy to get a whole load of comics and such, that you can then read on the train home and leave stacked up by your drawing board or computer or such for future reference, because one things for sure, if you go to the show, chances are your going to go home wanting to do comics yourself.

The UK Web ‘n’ Mini Comix Thing is held in Mile End in London. The next one is on 27th March, 2010. For details, visit the con’s website here.

FPI would like to thank Patrick and Matt for their time and thoughts; you can read the previous Q&As with other British comics con organisers in this series here on the blog: Jimi Gherkin of the Alternative Fair Press chats with Matt, Matt talks with Bristol’s Mike Allwood, Hi-Ex’s Vicky Stonebridge, BICS’ Shane Chebsey, Caption’s Jay Eales and LUC’s Oli Smith.