Graphic Brighton was a public event organised to celebrate the community of those writing, drawing, creating and publishing comics in Brighton. Held on Saturday 24th May 2014, the programme included panel talks, one to one surgeries, Q and A’s, interactive presentations and hands-on workshops all delivered by artists, writers and publishers from and around Brighton.
Alex Fitch, co-organisor of the event, offers us his impression of the day:
From the point of view of a member of staff, the University of Brighton does a fair amount to promote and educate about comic book culture. There is a module on graphic novels taught within the literature department at Falmer, a sequential design / illustration MA at Grand Parade and other art and illustration graduates have used comics as their medium of choice. However in terms of presenting this interest to the wider public, the University’s public events have been small or esoteric in their engagement with the medium; a conference at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School in July 2013 explored the burgeoning sub-genre of Graphic Medicine (i.e. comic books with a medical narrative) and recent University of Brighton writer in residence Isabel Ashdown presented a ‘graphic novel salon’ with a pair of writer / artists and their editor in November last year.
While these have been brilliant and worthwhile occasions, Spring 2014’s Graphic Brighton event was designed as a broader one day introduction to the medium with a focus on local creators. To this end, a mixture of panel discussions, workshops and single creator focussed talks gave a both a survey of work written and drawn by Brightonians and a flavour of the current graphic novel and comic book scene, albeit with this geographical constraint.
My involvement might be surprising to some University of Brighton colleagues as I’m employed as a member of the support staff in Information Services, and won’t be starting my Masters degree at the University until this autumn; however, outside of the campus, I have presented the UK’s only weekly radio show on comic books on the Arts Council Radio Station in London – Resonance 104.4 FM – since 2007 and have spoken about the medium at the University of London, the Science Museum and at Guardian Weekender events. Becoming a co-curator of Graphic Brighton was due to happenstance, an encounter with lecturers Paul Slater and Barbara Chamberlin at the aforementioned salon, but this proved to be a rewarding and invigorating experience, helping to organise the University’s first foray into public comic book events with the beneficial input of the C21 department. Paul and Barbara performed the lion’s share of organising the event, with help from my address book in finding guests and speakers, but gave me the pleasurable role of hosting the day itself and liaising with the brilliant artist – Daniel Locke – who designed the poster and flyers.
This inaugural salvo in promoting comics in Brighton was pitched somewhere between the more formal academic conferences the University is used to holding and the cosplay / signing / jumble-sale attributes of ‘traditional’ comic book conventions.
On the day itself at Graphic Brighton, I had the joy of chairing the panel discussions that bookended the day and a Q&A with cartoonist and illustrator Chris Riddell after the break for lunch. These panels were illuminating and entertaining as various creators spoke about how Brighton itself has been an inspirational location for them to work in and with the help of local publishers such as Myriad Editions, a venue where the graphic novel medium itself can be furthered in its ambitions. The closing panel – “What makes a good graphic novel?” – lead to a vibrant discussion of the medium itself, looking at topics that included ‘What differentiates this relatively recent term from comics as a whole?’ and the creation of a neologism as a marketing tool, led by insights from veteran creator David Lloyd.
Innovative examples of recent graphic novels discussed, included the diary style narratives of an artist Nicola Streeten, who only just moved to the area, and the first book length work by former American comic creator Nye Wright (now also a Brighton resident) which incorporates medical diagrams and Classical mythology into its pages. These show that ‘graphic novels’ are a form (beyond their first incarnations as comics with a longer page count and a spine) that perhaps have much greater possibilities for redefinition and storytelling potential than monthly comic book periodicals.
Outside of the panel discussions, my interview with Chris Riddell traversed his parallel careers as a political cartoonist and children’s illustrator, and displayed his great passion for sequential and narrative art. I also had the pleasure of sitting in on a workshop that looked at the story-telling potential of ‘silent comics’, i.e. strips with no word balloons or captions, chaired by another member of UoB support staff Paul O’Connell (a great comic book creator in his own right), and I look forward to sharing recordings of this and other sessions from the day as podcasts over the next few months.
Looking forward to 2015, Paul, Barbara and myself are in the early days of planning another Graphic Brighton day (or weekend) – with the date, location and format still under discussion – but with the positive and appreciative attendance by staff, students and the general public of all ages at the first iteration, we look forward to building on this foundation with further compelling events to come.
Alex Fitch produces the Panel Borders blog and radio show on Resonance 104.4 FM
Podcasts from this event can be found here