Some forthcoming releases to look out for....

(this above image is taken from Pravda by Guy Peelaert)

Self Made Hero, one of the holy trinity of UK independent publishers who I will probably be referring a lot to from now on, have recent released a catalogue of all their forthcoming releases to whet your appetite. As a publisher you can see that they are really beginning to grow outside of their original manifesto of literary adaptations and graphic biography. They recently put out their first original work Hair Shirt by Patrick McEown and have also released the first of their gift books, a Moomin cookbook of Finnish cuisine. In the future they will be continuing with their Sherlock Holmes and H.P Lovecraft adaptations (the later in the form of a multi-artist anthology) as well as Reinhard Kleist's next graphic biography this time about Fidel Castro, and The Incal the collaborative sci-fi graphic novel between old master Moebius and cult directer Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Here are a few of the highlights for me:

Black Paths by David B-With the recent release of his literary adaption The Littlest Pirate King and the forthcoming release of The Armed Garden, Black Paths fits quite snugly into the dream tales and surreal and invented wars and myths of other cultures he touched on between the pages of Epileptic. This time set in the more recent time of 1919 it weaves a slightly more fantastic tail amongst the background of the First World War.

Fish+Chocolate by Kate Brown-a collection of short stories set to be published in September, although if you manage to catch Kate at a comic book convention you will have an opportunity to buy an advance copy (which is something I instantly regret not going myself). All these stories explore the mother-child relationship in various ways, but usually carry an uneasy feeling along with them. Style wise from what I remember flicking through it, it has a slight surreal Mangaesque quality filtered through American and European influences with nods to the fluid qualities of Miyazaki and the general aesthetics of Taiyo Matsumoto.

Hellraisers-written by Robert Sellers and illustrated by JAKe.

Hellraisers is a graphic biography with a difference. It mixes biography with fiction to weave a Christmas Carol style tale of regret for a potential hellraiser. The story begins with our anti-hero Martin sitting in a pub in London at Christmas time, trying to drink himself to an early grave. At the end of the bar sit the original bad boys of Hollywood, Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Oliver Reed, and Peter O'Toole. They each take him on a tour of their lives in attempt to warn him against the path he is taking. An interesting twist on the traditional biography, but then comics have always been a great medium for twisting, breaking, and reshaping tradition.

The Wolf Man-Written by Richard Appignanesi, illustrated by Slava Harasymowicz

A graphic adaptation of Sigmund Freud's most famous case, need I say more?

Sandcastle-Written by Pierre Oscar Levy, illustrated by Frederick Peeters

From the brush of the artist and author of the taboo crushing and very personal graphic novel about living with someone with HIV Blue Pills, comes this collaborative tale of suspense, murder, and science fiction.

Robot-Adapted from the work of Stalinslaw Lem by Andrzej Klimowski and illustrated by Danusla Schejbal.

Here we are presented with two robot themed pieces adapted from the Polish master responsible for that wonderful piece of psychological sci-fi that is Solaris.

Finally Fantagraphics are to release not one, but two, billiant examples of Belgian comic art by cult artist Guy Peelaert who has a style reminiscent of the space age pop art exotica of Barberella. The Adventures of Jodelle (due May 2012) is a satirical spy story set in a futuristic space age Roman empire, whilst Pravda (due November 2012) tells the story of an all female biker gangs journey across a mythical America. Both are kaleidoscopic psychedelic visions of colour and elasticated form mixing both high and low art. From the few images I can of this work I am literally drooling with anticipation (2012 is a long way away). If what I've said doesn't convince you, then read the much more articulate Fantagraphics post.

Publisher Spotlight: Self Made Hero

Self Made Hero are another London based independent comics publisher established in 2007. The thing that makes Self Made Hero stand out from other independent publishers in London is their central focus on bringing us the best graphic adaptations of the best literary work. They split their releases into themed series including Manga Shakespeare, Eye Classics, Crime Classics, and Graphic Biography. Their Eye Classics series has established comic artists such as Martin Rowson, and Andrzej Klimowski , as well as relative newcomer Catherine Anyango tackle Laurence Sterne Mikhail Bulgakov, and Joseph Conrad. These aren't just straightforward adaptations either, each artist is given license to add postmodern twists and even their own jokes.
Perhaps their most well received release however, was the Johnny Cash biography by Reinhard Kleist entitled I See A Darkness. This is a biography that will probably attract even those who aren't really the biggest fans of Cash's music. Visually it taps into the dark underbelly of Cash's life with it's noir style use of black and white and occasional surreal elements.
Also coming soon in this series is Gonzo: A Graphic Biography of Hunter S Thompson and Dance By The Light of The Moon by Judith Vanistendael, the first biography published by Self Made Hero about someone who isn't really famous. Dance By The Light of The Moon is a semi-autobiographical story inspired by the authors love affair with a political refugee from Togo, beautifully rendered in lush brush strokes reminiscent of Craig Thompson's Blankets.
Finally Self Made Hero have just started to branch out into gift books based on comic book charecters and will be releasing several Moomins inspired books including a Moomins cook book!
Self Made Hero's reputation is deservedly growing and hopeful with continue to do so, Anyango's adaptation of Heart of Darkness is the latest of their releases to be heaped with praise.
Check out their website here.

Happy 75th Birthday Penguin!

75 years ago the publisher Allen Lane disappointed at the lack of options for reading material for his train journey decided to set up Penguin a company that have enjoyed a rich history of cutting edge publishing and design from the likes of Alan Aldridge and Peter Blake, as well as illustrations by Quentin Blake, Nicholas Bentley, and Paul Hogarth to name but a few. To celebrate this fact Penguin, in association with their archives at the University of Bristol have just ran a series of illustrated lectures about Penguins rich history of design, which sadly I only heard about on the day and sadly I was working in the evening. However, the university have also just released a load of old penguin books to be sold at the Oxfam Bookshop at the top of Park Street, including a rare original copy of Quartermass and The Pit which I couldn't quite part with £15 quid with in order for own. So as my way of celebrating their birthday I have scanned some my favourite covers from my meager collection(*1). Enjoy! (Click on the images to enlarge)

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(*1) The only book out of these I don't own is the Miles Van der Rohe book which I bought as a present for a friend.

Publisher Spotlight: Nobrow Press

Nobrow is a London based independent publisher with an eye for design. Formed in 2008 they specialise in publishing quirky and eye catching work by lesser known illustrators and comic artists. Although they publish a lot of UK based talent such as Bristol based illustrator Ben Newman (whose comic book debut on Nobrow I reviewed here) they also publish work from international artists such as Berlin based master of colour and Ou Ba Po, Blexbolex, and American Micah Lidberg. Despite being a small publisher they don't cut corners when it comes to quality which is something that instantly draws me to them. They seek to use the best paper and experiment with different sizes, means of folding, and other techniques to insure that what they produce is not only worth reading but also worth holding on to as an art object in itself. They also have their own in house studio with screen printing facilities where they produce prints and posters by their rosta of artists and they even sell an expensive (but great looking) vinyl toy designed by Ben Newman. To cement their identity further, you can usually tell a Nobrow product due not only to its comforting to touch paper but also from their use of colour. A lot of their products are printed in only 2-4 colours (usually blues, reds, and sometimes they venture into neon territory, but the artists here make neon look good, unlike the people over at Paper Rad/PictureBox). Sometimes as with a lot of indie publishers and artists, there is a danger of venturing too far into the twee style of illustration and some of the items can be a bit pricey, however I shouldn't let this bother you too much as you are paying for quality. If you fancy getting a sample of what they do, they release an anthology type magazine every now and then. If you live in London they are also opening a shop and gallery space on the 27th of May which I can imagine would be well worth checking out (details below).


Out of what they have to offer now, the things that catch my eye are Micah Lidberg’s stunning prehistoric concertina Rise&Fall, Blexbolex's abstract alphabet Abecederia, and John McNaught's Birchfield Close (which reminds me a bit of Tobias Schalken's work).

Nobrow's site is here, and blog is here.