The British Comic Awards committee this morning announced the shortlist for this year’s prizes, and it’s good news for Mark Stafford and David Hine, and also for Glyn Dillon. The Man Who Laughs and The Nao of Brown are both shortlisted in the ‘Best Book’ category. The shortlist was whittled down from hundreds of eligible titles by a committee of 9 industry professionals and academics. The winners will be decided by a judging panel that includes comedians Lenny Henry and Josie Long, and the ceremony will be held at the Thought Bubble convention in Leeds on Saturday 23rd November.
The full list of this year’s nominees is available on the British Comic Awards website. Congratulations to those who made shortlist, and good luck to Mark, David and Glyn. Our fingers are firmly crossed!
Following Saturday’s Guardian Masterclass, we thought we’d share some of the books the tutors recommended to up-and-coming graphic novel creators. These six quite different books form a useful reading list for anyone interested in writing or illustrating graphic novels.
In advance of Saturday’s ‘How to Write a Graphic Novel’ masterclass, curated by SelfMadeHero for The Guardian, we asked four of the event’s speakers to recommend a key text to budding graphic novelists. Here’s what they had to say:
Audrey Niffenegger, Writer and Artist
Life? or Theatre? by Charlotte Salomon
“I admire it because she was inventing a form to contain her life, the book is strange, honest, and extremely original. It was made long before the notion of a 'graphic novel' took hold, and so she followed no rules and the book is the result of her need to tell (and show) her story.”
Paul Gravett, Writer
Annie Sullivan and The Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert
“In what is much more than a historical graphic biography, Lambert uses the visual/textual alchemy unique to comics brilliantly to convey the interiority of a blind, mute little girl’s halting, gradual awakening to the outside world and to her place in it, and the depth of caring and resolve of her tutor Annie Sullivan who takes her there.”
Pat Mills, Writer and Creator of 2000AD
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
“It’s a great story with identifiable characters and superb art, and it demonstrates how “political” themes can make excellent drama. ”
Karrie Fransman, Writer and Artist
The Wrong Place by Brecht Evens
“The Wrong Place demonstrates just the right balance of good storytelling and dialogue mixed with stunning painted visuals. In addition, it manages to break out of the usual ‘panels and speech bubbles’ formula while remaining readable and coherent.
“I’d also recommend getting your hands on a copy of the Blab anthologies published by Fantagraphics. They have an amazing mix of media and really demonstrate the potential of the medium: collage comics, history comics, painted and printed comics and even graphic journalism. Lots of inspiring stuff!”
Tickets are still available for the masterclass, which runs from 9am to 5pm this Saturday (7th September). To find out more – and to book tickets – click here.
