We are getting close to the six week mark from the publication of my debut graphic novel by Titan Books on the 29th October 2024. It’s exciting time as we reveal more about the book. But it’s also time to reflect upon how it came about. I was lucky enough to visit Paris this week and go the Pompidou Center. There’s an incredible exhibition currently on till Nov 24 called Comics, 1964-2024. The exhibition is just incredible as it straddles the whole of world comics over 60 years.
On display original artworks by the greats of the medium. Robert Crumb, André Franquin, Gotlib, Claire Bretécher, Osamu Tezuka, Moebius, Edmond Baudoin, Alison Bechdel, Ulli Lust, Art Spiegelman, Marjane Satrapi and Chris Ware. The Art Spiegelman room is really powerful. Please do take a visit. I was walking around then POW! – it hit me…
The three original drawings of the graphic novel that inspired me to write a graphic novel. They are from Jacques Tardi and Lëo Malet’s Nestor Burma series. I first thought about writing a graphic novel when I taught illustration/animation at Kingston University. Books were a big thing on the course. I used to visit the brilliant Nicolas Schmerkin at Autour De Minuit to talk about making films. We made quite a few films. I would raid the comic book shops and always pick up a Jacques Tardi book. The way he draws his characters just mesmerised me. So I would try to draw like him. The way he draws rain, buildings, characters. Economic and yet perfectly proportioned. I remember drawing a Christmas a Christmas Card of Santa returning to Liverpool in the late 1990’s. It’s in my Etsy shop. I tried to emulate a Tardi world. While my book Anfield Road goes its own way in terms of style, Tardi was such a pivotal early inspiration for me. He made feel like it was possible to tell a story using a different medium like the graphic novel. So when I saw the drawings in real life it was a real sucker punch for me. I took a picture of the drawing that really inspired me and its in this post.
If you get a chance do go and see Comics 1964-2024. Here’s a link to the site. There’s also a book about it too!
You can buy the English language version Anfield Road in France at Shakespeare and Co!
