To launch his brand new graphic novel, The Boxer, Reinhard Kleist will be in conversation with Paul Gravett at the Goethe-Institut in London on Thursday 6th March (from 7pm). Hosted jointly by SelfMadeHero and Comica, this event is your only chance to hear Kleist speak about his award-winning biography of the Holocaust survivor and champion boxer Harry Haft. The event is completely free, but guests are asked to RSVP to [email protected].
The Boxer tells the true story of Hertzko Haft, a Polish Jew who was plunged into the horror of the concentration camps at sixteen and found himself forced into life-or-death boxing matches by his SS captors. His battles took him to the end of the Second World War and – against all the odds – liberation. After the war, having emigrated to America, Haft (now “Harry”) established a career as a heavyweight prizefighter, which began with ten straight wins and ended with a defeat to the great Rocky Marciano in 1949.
Reinhard Kleist is a multi-award-winning graphic novelist. His books include Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness, Castro and Havana: A Cuban Journey. In January 2013, he became the first comic book artist to be awarded the B. Z. Kulturpreis for his contribution to Berlin’s cultural scene. Kleist will be in conversation with Paul Gravett, Director of Comica, author of Comics Art, and curator of the upcoming British Library exhibition Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK.
The event takes place from 7pm at the Goethe-Institut, 50 Princes Gate, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2PH. Admission is free but RSVP to [email protected].
It’s Australia Day – and, fittingly, we’re celebrating the publication of our first title of 2014, Terra Australis. Written by LF Bollée and illustrated by Philippe Nicloux, this brilliant, ambitious graphic novel charts the epic voyage of the First Fleet from London to Port Jackson, Australia.
The book is being published to coincide with the bicentenary of its central character, Admiral Arthur Phillip, Captain of the First Fleet and founder of the settlement that would later become Sydney. Terra Australis follows Phillip’s journey, but it also charts the lives of the men and women, mostly convicts, who were crammed aboard 11 ships and transported 24,000km to the other side of the world. Having endure mutiny, disease and extreme weather, the Fleet reached Australia early in 1788, raising the Union Jack in Sydney Cove on 26th January, Australia Day.
Terra Australis is a meticulously researched dramatisation of a fascinating period of history. Drawing on the lives of real historical figures, from the thief John Hudson to the diarist Ralph Clark, the book takes in the festering squalor of Newgate Prison, the claustrophobic confines of the ships, and the outstanding natural beauty of Australia’s east coast.
LF Bollée is a journalist and the author of over 40 graphic novels. Fascinated by Australia, he began working on Terra Australis in December 2007. He is also the author of XIII Mystery, a spin off from the world-renowned VIII saga. He lives in Versailles, France.
Philippe Nicloux is from Nice, France. He has illustrated three graphic novels for the French publishing house Les Enfants Rouges.
Everyone knows that the best resolution to make – and to keep – in January is to create a graphic novel. With this in mind, SelfMadeHero is teaming up with The Guardian to host a one-day masterclass in graphic novel creation.
Taking place on Sunday 26th January, this in-depth full-day event covers everything you need to know, from the history of the art form to the mechanics of getting published. Following an introduction by comics expert Paul Gravett (Comics Art), there will be workshops led by some of the country’s top writers and artists, including graphic novelist Karrie Fransman (The House that Groaned), Guardian cartoonist and author Martin Rowson (Tristram Shandy) and acclaimed novelist and comics writer Toby Litt (King Death, Dead Boy Detectives). To end the day, a panel of graphic novel experts will discuss how creators can progress their art, offering practical advice to those looking to get their work in front of an audience.
The masterclass takes place on Sunday 26th January at The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, 9.30am-5.30pm.
To find out more about the event – and to book tickets – click here.
We’re thrilled to be revealing our catalogue for spring 2014, which is now available here in all its glory. It’s a wonderfully varied and impressive list of books, perhaps our strongest to date.
As you may already have heard, May sees the release of a brilliantly original book by Pixies frontman Black Francis. Illustrated by The Guardian’s Steven Appleby, and co-written by the band’s biographer Josh Frank, The Good Inn is an inventive and vividly imagined illustrated novel set in early twentieth-century France.
We’ll also be introducing English speakers to Abel Lanzac and Christophe Blain’s bestselling satire of Franco-American relations, Weapons of Mass Diplomacy (retitled from the French Quai D’Orsay). Penned by Dominique de Villepin’s former speechwriter, this won the Grand Prix at Angoulême in 2013 and was recently adapted into an acclaimed French film (under its original title). The film is expected to reach English speaking audiences in 2014. Here’s the trailer:
The release of Reinhard Kleist’s The Boxer, a moving biography of Holocaust survivor and champion prizefighter Harry Haft, adds to our list of prize-winning books in translation, as does LF Bollée and Philippe Nicloux’s masterful history of the founding of Australia, Terra Australis.
Spring also sees the release of I. N. J. Culbard’s first original graphic novel, Celeste; the second in our Art Masters series, Vincent by Barbara Stok; and The Cigar that Fell in Love with a Pipe, a collaboration between the French novelist David Camus and Eisner-winning graphic novelist Nick Abadzis.
“First there was Rembrandt, then there was Typex!” Nick Cave
Typex, creator of the acclaimed graphic novel biography of Rembrandt, will be in London next week to lead two workshops at The National Gallery. His trip coincides with the Gallery’s Rembrandt: The Late Works exhibition.
On Friday and Saturday next week, the Dutch graphic novelist will lead two practical workshops alongside artist and lecturer Aliki Braine.
Friday 5th December (6.30-7.30pm, National Gallery Room 23): on Friday evening, Typex will lead a drawing workshop in the Gallery itself, working with participants to create a piece of artwork inspired by Rembrandt’s 1654 painting, ‘A Woman bathing in a Stream’.
Saturday 6th December (10.30-12.30am, Pigott Education Centre Entrance): on Saturday morning, the focus shifts from drawing to comic creation. Participants will explore the process of creating a graphic novel, experimenting with drawing and collage to create their own comics inspired by Rembrandt’s work.
Admission is free for both workshops. Spaces are limited to 30 people on a first-come, first-served basis. All materials are provided. The events are aimed at people aged 18-25.
“Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn would have adored this book. He would have admired its draughtsmanship and its wit and – given how many times he painted himself – he would have loved the fact that he is its star, warts and all.” The Observer
