Two online events you might be interested in virtually coming along to:
1) On 29 April I’ll be joining two other comics creators for the LDComics meet-up, to talk about my close-to-completion documentary comic The Noisy Valley.
Attendance is free (but donations to the great and supportive LDComics are always welcomed by them). Sign up here.
LDComics events are always worth attending! With three creators presenting their work in each one, the odds are good that there will be something to interest you.
2) On 7 May, the Comics Cultural Impact Collective will be reconvening as many comics folk as possible for an online series of discussions. In the last meeting, we identified the various challenges and opportunities facing the comics industry in the UK – now we want to put some plans into place to make things better.
Anyone in the comics community is welcome – makers, publishers, academics, booksellers, librarians etc etc, and you don’t have to have been at the first meeting to attend this one. All the details here.
CCIC, the Comics Cultural Impact Collective, this week released a report based on consultation with people across the comics community. Creators, funders, publishers, booksellers, festivals, museums and unions all gave their side of the story, and this report collects them together.
The resulting report, which I’m glad to be the author of, acts as a snapshot of the challenges facing the comics industry in the UK at the moment – and the many potential opportunities for boosting our comics cultural impact.
Another year, another look back at everything I’ve managed over the last twelve months, comics-wise.
It feels necessary to celebrate the achievements, to give myself energy and enthusiasm for sailing into the new year. So let’s see…
Drawing comics
1. The Noisy Valley, the ‘scribbly little zine’ I thought I’d toss out to accompany a visit to my 2022 exhibition at The Workers, turned into something a lot more significant – and I’m still drawing it.
So far I’ve completed the introduction, plus nine people’s tales of protest – six of which were drawn this year. I’ve just finished writing the script from the final interview, and once I’ve drawn that there’s just the epilogue to go. So the end is in sight, although not massively soon, because as ever, work and life commitments mean progress is much slower than I would like.
I’ve been sharing the completed chapters on my Patreon, for subscribers on the middle tier. There’s also lots more on there, often open for everyone to read without subscription, detailing all my thoughts and experiences on comics.
2. DenCity was a wonderful anthology to be involved in, and I’m super proud of my contribution. This was an academic project and the resulting print comic was handed out for free at Thought Bubble, but only in limited numbers, so if you missed out it’s the PDF version for you.
Exhibitions
Only one this year – the slightly surprising and very welcome news that a page from Satin and Tat was shown in Lewisham shopping centre. Sadly, I didn’t get to see it myself but it’s nice to know that it was there, hopefully as a nice surprise for harried shoppers.
Events and talks
Looks like I gave 5 talks this year:
1. At Newton Abbot library’s great Pen & Ink festival. Travelling to this neck of the woods was a real treat for me because I grew up in the area, and it was so nice to be part of a new and ambitious festival for the area. I haven’t heard anything about it returning for 2024 though, so I’m not sure if it was a one-off.
2. At the South London Comics and Zine Fair, on a panel with Chloe Green, Lucy Sullivan, Alex Potts and Clio Isadora, talking about our works in progress.
3. At Oxford’s TORCH Comics as/and Resistance academic conference, sharing my own practice as examples of comics as activism. I wish I could share this but I don’t think they recorded it. The tech side of the event was a bit troubled.
4. Because I was in New York to accompany my playwright husband to the opening of his show on Broadway, I hosted an event at the Society of Illustrators’ Museum of Illustration talking about the Street Noise Books edition of Draw the Line, together with Tracey White and Joan Reilly.
5. And finally, at LICAF, I joined Karrie Fransman and Zara slattery talking about CCIC, the Comics Cultural Impact Collective – about which more later.
And also
Well, there’s the small matter of being shortlisted for the First Graphic Novel awardfor The Noisy Valley.
I may not have won, but they sure made us all feel special with the awards evening at Waterstones Piccadilly. And I’m hoping that the stamp of approval, the exposure and the number of publishers/agents in the audience mean that something may come of it yet.
It feels crazy that this competition – mounted only thanks to the dogged determination of its founder Corinne Pearlman – is one of the very few paths into being professionally published as a comics artist. This lack of opportunity is my main motivation for being part of CCIC, an organisation founded to help forge a more viable comics industry in the UK. We’re having an online roundtable on 16 January, so do come if you’re UK-based and involved in comics in any capacity, large or small.
And finally – I’ve been updating my Patreon pretty much weekly. If you’ve missed the frequency with which I used to blog about comics on here, it’s because I’m doing the same thing over there now. Do join us!
It’s always nice to update my About page with new achievements – and as soon as I’ve written this post, I have two to add: my contribution to the comics compendium as mentioned in my last post; and also (fanfare)…
The winner will be announced at Waterstones in Piccadilly (London) on the evening of 11 December, so do come along if you’re nearby and would like to hear some grand chat about comics.
The Noisy Valley is one of seven shortlisted entries and you can see the others here.
I was lucky enough to be picked as one of the contributors to this academic comics project, exploring the concept of crowds around the world.
My strip took inspiration from Nick Cave’s attendance of the king’s coronation, and his own recent writing about what it means to be part of the crowd at one of his concerts.
It involved drawing a lot of crowds! Which I don’t mind, but there really are no shortcuts. Anyway, you can download the comic for free as a PDF here; and if you’re at Thought Bubble this weekend, you can pick up a print copy (also free).
I’m pretty proud of my contribution. While all the others are excellent, I’d also single out Karrie Fransman’s as it displays her usual seemingly effortless and endless invention.
Woo-wee, I met a lot of people, saw a lot of talks, enjoyed a lot of exhibitions and came home completely pooped from the Lakes International Comics Art Festival. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever crammed quite so much in to one comics event before!
If you’d like to see my full account, with photos, please head over to my Patreon. It’s available to subscribers on the lowest tier (subscription also gets you access to previous posts).
Sketch (by me) of Nicholas Wild and Dr Harriet Earle
One big thing: the creation of CCIC, the Comics Cultural Impact Collective, which I’m proud to be a part of. Read about who we are and what we hope to achieve in terms of making comics more viable in the UK.
Image by Zara Slattery
If you’ll be in Bowness on Friday, please come and see us talk!
Also hop over to my Patreon post to see who I’m most excited about seeing at LICAF, and which book I definitely want to buy while I’m there.
I was so thrilled to have been picked as one of 12 comics makers to participate in the DenCity comic project, devised by Colin McFarlane of the University of Durham, and overseen by Jordan Collver.
It’s a very unusual project, looking at crowds through the medium of comics. Here’s the initial call for submissions, which explains what it’s all about far better than I can.
Anyway, I’ve spent the last few weeks putting together my four-page strip which looks at two occasions involving crowds: a rock concert, and the recent coronation of King Charles. The connecting factor is my favourite iconic rockstar Nick Cave, who as you may know was a guest at the coronation.
Image by Myfanwy Tristram
As ever, I’m doing most of my thinking and writing about process etc over on my Patreon, so do follow me over there if you’re interested to hear more.
Due to a crazy set of circumstances, I’ll be in New York later this month.
I thought I might as well make the most of the opportunity, so – thanks to a lot of help from my publisher Street Noise Books, I’m going to be doing a panel and zine workshop at the Society of Illustrators.
Please do help spread the word – I’m not sure how many people I know in NYC, so my attempted promotional activities feel a bit feeble :) If you know anyone who’s into comics, activism or just learning new things, let them know!Â
I’ll be joined by Tracy White and Joan Reilly. Tracy has just published Unaccompanied, true stories of teenagers seeking asylum in the US:Â
and Joan art-designed Among the Liberal Elite: The Road Trip Exploring Societal Inequities Solidified by Trump, just one of her many interesting projects around comics.
Both artists contributed to Draw the Line. Joan’s image introduced the concept of craftivism:
Tracy’s was added for the US edition, and illustrated the idea of ‘listen to refugees’.
Apologies, you might want to mute before you play – the sound track is Valley Girl by Franz Zappa, which I thought was amusing at the time (The Noisy Valley being the name of my comic, geddit?).
Anyway, the above clip shows me flipping through all the pages I’ve completed so far. I’ll be bringing it to the South London Comics and Zine Festival on Sunday, if you’d like to see.
Also! I’ve shared another completed story on my Patreon – Maria’s story of protest. I love this one, partly for her final message that success doesn’t have to correlate with one’s looks.
Come and see what small amounts of stock I have left (there’s a cost of living crisis and I can’t afford to do another print run!) – do come early if you’re hoping to buy the protest book or Draw the Line.
I’ll also be appearing in one of the several panels running throughout the day, talking about my work in progress:
Perhaps more startlingly – well, certainly for me it is – I’ll be at the Society of Illustrators in New York, babee, on August 12, presenting Draw The Line along with some of the other contributors, and then helping to lead a fun ‘change the world’ drawing session.
Talk to me about my climate guilt: it is top of mind, and I will be offsetting my carbon like crazy.
But since we’ll be going to see my partner Joe’s play opening on Broadway, it makes sense to also meet and work with lovely comics folk at a top-of-my-to-see-list location.
Online
If you miss my thoughts on making comics, reading comings, finding inspiration for comics etc etc, don’t forget I’ve largely upped sticks and moved over to Patreon. Many of my posts over there are open for everyone to read without payment.
And, even if you do subscribe, payments are small!
I’ve shared another comic from my work in progress, The Noisy Valley, on my Patreon. This one tells the story of an ill-judged landfill site at the top of a Rhondda mountain, and how the local community mobilised to get it shut down.
You can see it here. It’s on the £3 tier of my Patreon, which gets you a comic every month and a whole lot of blog posts about how I’m approaching this project, and comics in general, in between.
I just tried something new: I sat in an empty room and gave a presentation to no-one at all, while recording it.
It’s the talk I gave at the Pen and Ink comics and book art festival in February, and it’s about a) making comics even if no-one asks you to; and b) changing the world through comics.
I run through my three most recent comics projects – Draw the Line, the protest book, and The Nosy Valley – each of which tries to change the world a little bit, and for each of which I used a different method to get it to audiences.
You can see the video – and 7 other posts about the process of making comics – by becoming a £3 patron of my Patreon.
I start a bit stilted – well, it’s hard to talk naturally to your computer – but I do warm up eventually. And you can also enjoy my very shouty cat getting outraged that the door’s closed, a little way through. Hope you enjoy!
Here are some quick recommendations for great Patreons to follow. If you want to check these out, many creators have some posts that are open so you can see what they’re like without having to subscribe.
Julia Rothman
Julia is a very successful illustrator and pattern designer living in NYC.
I came to her through her books and illustrated documentary work: she has a weekly newspaper gig interviewing people in New York around a different topic each time, and drawing the results. But she’s also illustrated books, designed fabric and wallpaper and drawn for big brands.
Julia is extremely generous with practical advice in her Patreon – basically she’s sharing the tips and knowledge needed to forge a career like hers.
Julia Rothman
As she’s super busy at the moment, she’s recently slowed down on posting, and lowered her prices accordingly. This means that you can subscribe now, and get access to everything she’s posted in the past for practically nothing!
In fact, I’ve just had a look: you could subscribe for £1 for a single month and gobble up all that content before unsubscribing. I recommend sticking around for longer, of course, but it is an option! See Julia’s Patreon here.
H-P Lehkonen
I met H-P through my happy connection with the Finnish comics community and gradually became aware that they are producing comics on a variety of topics that really interest me – and challenge my way of thinking.
I think the strand I find most interesting is their anti-consumerism project – an attempt to buy nothing bare the necessities of life (see the image above which depicts them dumpster diving). They are also vegan, anti-capitalist, planning on standing as a local councillor, trans, and in a longstanding polyamorous relationship (another of the people in this relationship, Sara Valta, also makes excellent comics about it).
Full disclosure, Zara is a great friend! But even if she wasn’t, I’d still be admiring her amazing comics work. You might know her as the creator of Coma, the graphic novel that takes us on a journey into the subconscious.
Now, along with academic Gregory Norminton, she’s bringing her incredible drawing skills to Sweeny’s Tale, a retelling of the medieval Irish poem Buile Suibhne. In this Patreon, you’re treated to previews of the lush artwork in progress.
Illustrations by Zara Slattery
More to explore
I also follow a number of Patreons without currently subscribing – it’s like dipping my toe into the water; eventually I will probably jump in.
These include Michi Matthias, who’s making a graphic adaptation of a Victorian cycling/camping manual; Lucy Bellwood, who’s a stalwart of indie comics, currently looking after an elderly parent and carving out time to keep her practice up; and Emma Carlisle who appears to run an extraordinarily efficient community that includes videos and an online sketchbook drawing club.
And me!
Yeah, you probably already know this because I’ve been going on about it a lot recently. But if you[re checking out the Patreons above, don’t forget mine. I’m sharing a lot of the kind of thoughtful blog posts I used to put on here, as I create The Noisy Valley, true stories of protest from the Rhondda Valley.
While I am building my audience, quite a few of the posts are free to access. Check it out here.
Why do people patronise?
I suspect ‘patronise’ is not the right word, eh.
Because I’ve set up my own Patreon, and would love more people to follow me there (for free, or on one of the – very small – payment tiers), I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. What got me following creators over there? Why did I make that leap of faith onto a new platform?
I can see that it is a bit of a leap, because I had to make it myself. I definitely remember when I first heard about Patreon, thinking, ‘Wait, these people want me to pay them to create stuff? When what I really want is to be creating stuff myself?!’.
It didn’t feel like I was subscribing to the podcast – in fact, I could download and listen to them for free whether I was a patron or not. No, this was a way for me to show support for Dan’s work, and help ensure it could carry on.
I guess that’s also when I discovered that a Patreon subscription is not, typically, a huge amount of money. The model encourages a large number of people to make monthly ‘micro payments’ of, say, one or two dollars/pounds – hopefully, an amount that most people won’t much miss, but which, in aggregate, can really help an artist out. These are totally flexible, so you can switch them on and off on a monthly basis – follow one person for a bit and then switch over to someone else, if you want.
Anyway. Since following Dan – and, sadly, his podcast days have now come to an end – I’ve become patrons and followers of a few other people. It’s helped me understand the model before taking the plunge myself.
I created my Patreon as an experiment to see whether people are willing to help me carve out some time to focus more on my comics. Those comics will undoubtedly be better, more thought out, ultimately more valuable, if I have the time and energy to spend on them, and that means trying to readjust the balance of my work life and my creative life.
But, if you don’t have the time or inclination to pay, do follow me there anyway, and I’ll make sure I continue to share some of my content for free. Cheers!
In my latest Patreon post (this one is for subscribers) I’m pondering a challenge that comes with making documentary comics: drawing real people who are going to be seeing the finished work.
It can be tricky to get a likeness once, let alone over several panels – and what will people think of how you’ve drawn them?
Read my thoughts and see some examples of the people I’ve drawn so far, over on Patreon.
In this week’s Patreon post, having finished the pencils for my current Noisy Valley strip, I’m showing my process for putting a page together. Even though I work digitally, it’s no scanner required, as I’m learning!
The first is public and free for everyone to read. It contains thoughts about drawing from historic photos, the ageing process, and how words can affect the way you think of visuals. It also has the link to an incredible Ken Russell film. Read it here.
In the second post I’m actually sharing a strip from The Noisy Valley, which I haven’t done in public before. And this still isn’t in public because it’s for patrons only! I aim to be sharing a strip a month.
This one tells Jenny’s story. Jenny is a 70 year-old woman who has always been law-abiding and responsible; therefore she was pretty surprised to find herself deliberately going out to get arrested, sitting with a friend who attached herself to a gate with a D-lock around her neck.
And arrested she was. You can find out the cause that was important enough for her to put herself through this ordeal, and the surprising effect it had on her house’s interior design, via this post (become a patron to view it).
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m moving my blogging over to Patreon, but will let you know every time there’s something to read over there.
Today I’ve posted about starting a new story – the memories of David Hurn, who’s a Magnum photographer. I am keen to do him justice – it felt like every word he spoke was absolute gold dust.
Anyway, that post is open to everyone so you can read it even if you’re not a patron. Hopefully it also gives a taste of the sort of content I’ll be sharing as I progress. Read it here.
I’ll be sharing my work in progress on The Noisy Valley – 12 stories of protest from the Rhondda – over the next 12 months, as well as thoughts and advice about comics. My sort of comics, that is: political, personal, a bit scribbly.
I think most people are familiar with what Patreon is by now, especially if you follow arts-related people, but if not: it’s a platform that allows you to support creators with micropayments. Your few quid each month helps contribute to a larger pot, and in return the artist shares content that you might not see elsewhere – artwork, conversations, merch… and community.
If you enjoy this blog, you’ll get the same kind of writing over there, plus I’ll share the actual comics from The Noisy Valley that I haven’t yet shown in public. Twelve people telling stories about all kinds of protest, large and small. If you’re in need of inspiration for activism, you’ll get some!
The biggest frustration for me in creating this project hasn’t been material – there’s plenty of that – or inspiration – I could hardly ask for more. It’s time. With a 9:00-5:30 day job, time and energy are very rare commodities. If enough people chip in with a couple of quid, I am hoping to put some of that time into my creative work.
Obviously money can’t make more hours in the day (imagine if it could! Elon Musk would be fiddling with Twitter 240/7), but it does help in the very practical sense of making up for time taken off my paid work to make comics.
And for you? The reward will be better comics, made with more energy and enthusiasm. You’ll have helped those come into the world.
I’ll also be blogging on Patreon – occasionally in public posts, but mostly for patrons only. I’ll post on here to let you know every time there’s something new to see on Patreon.
Myfanwy Tristram 