With so much going on online at the moment it seemed a fitting moment to resurrect an old BF feature for the interim. The Broken Frontier Bulletin Board was a round-up piece we ran in years past. Returning it to the site now lets us give a nod towards the digital direction that so much of the indie comics world has taken of late that we may miss alerting you to otherwise, alongside some other nuggets of news and info.
We’ll avoid the temptation to start every short shout-out with a Stan Lee-style “Item!” but hopefully the below mentions will give readers a starting point for checking out some cool work and artists further…
LDComics Online Festival and Prize Winner
In all oddness of the last few weeks we didn’t mention the winners of this year’s LDComics competition, a women-only prize for a graphic-novel-in-progress. So congratulations to Rima Sabina Aouf who won the main prize for Yugo (below): “Yugo is a biography of my mother that contains the history of Yugoslavia as a nation. It examines the nature of historical memory, nostalgia and national identity, while telling the story of one ordinary life in an extraordinary place and time.”
… and Denise Dorrance who won the Penfold Award for Polar Vortex (below): “An adult daughter escorts her dementia-ridden mother across the USA’s Midwest during a harsh snowstorm, while placating her estranged sister and unwanted visits from the Grim Reaper. Polar Vortex is a humorous and touching tale of confronting life and death, revisiting your past, and the universally complex nature of family.”
The LDComics Festival went online at the end of March instead of its normal annual weekend of events and you can see all the presentations (including one on what Broken Frontier does) here.
Nobrow Post New Submission Advice Online
Nobrow Press, those purveyors of beautifully illustrated graphic narrative, have published a new blog talking about submissions. It’s written by Nobrow co-founder Sam Arthur and it’s a piece that will be of interest. It’s online here on the Nobrow blog.
BF ‘Six to Watch’ Artist Rebecca Bagley Features on the Puffin Storytime Channel
Our 2016 Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ artist Rebecca Bagley (who first featured on the site way back in 2012) has gone on to great things as children’s book illustrator. This week she made an appearance on the Puffin Storytime channel on YouTube which you can view below. This edition features Don’t Mess with a Princess written by Rachel Valentine (who reads from the book) and illustrated by Rebecca (who shows us how to draw an ogre in the second part of the film). You can follow Rebecca on Twitter here and on Instagram here.
‘Dear Mr. Poole’ Exhibition Online at the Cartoon Museum Site
The ‘Dear Mr. Poole’ exhibition at the Cartoon Museum in London is one of many events that sadly fell victim to the lockdown but there’s a chance to see some of the exhibits at the Cartoon Museum site via an online tour here.
(Photo by John Londei)
The exhibition is described by the Museum in the following terms: Philip Poole sold pen nibs to cartoonists, comic artists, illustrators, designers and calligraphers around the world for more than 70 years. He was internationally renowned for his unparalleled knowledge of nibs and antique writing equipment, and for owning the largest collection of pen nibs in the world.
Many of Philip’s clients gave him a piece of their work as a gesture of gratitude and respect. This exhibition presents a selection of these letters and artworks given to Poole in the period 1980–1999.
This charming personal collection acts as a love letter to the often-overlooked tools of the trade. It provides a unique snapshot of the international cartoonist community, from Serbia to Scotland, New York to Brazil, in the late 20th century.
Comics Club
From Neill Cameron and Hannah Sackett (with tech assistance from Sam Hardacre), Comics Club has a stated mission of “Helping Awesome Kids Make Awesome Comics” and posts regular activities, worksheets and challenges to get kids creating. There’s a wealth of resources on the site and with kids homebound at the moment it’s sure to be of interest to parents! Visit the site here.
New Process Video from 2020 Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ Artist Nic Mac
Our 2020 ‘Six to Watch‘ star Nic Mac has been posting some very cool art of late on Twitter and on Instagram. She’s created this process video on her YouTube of her series of illustrations of strange creatures which are overlaid on everyday photos. Nic’s work is always hauntingly resonant. Check out the short film below and be sure to follow her social media accounts.
Jens K Styve Launches New Dunce Comic Spin-Off Brego on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jensk/dunce-brego?ref=discovery&term=brego
While our Crowdfunding Corner feature has been on hiatus as we focus on review coverage for the interim this is a great space to promote the odd campaign or two. Jens K Styve is the Norwegian creator behind the long-running Dunce comic, a slice-of-life, semi-autobio strip with its own distinct eccentric tone. Brego is a spin-off from Dunce and stars the titular family dog. Styve is a master of short-form strips and comic timing and this is well worth a look. I also spent a very memorable evening with him in an East London pub post-festival a few years back and can guarantee he’s as entertaining off the page as he is on it!
Rachael Smith’s Quarantine Comix
So there are a lot of comics surrounding current events being posted on social media but these are particularly good. Rachael Smith (Wired Up Wrong, Stand in Your Power) has always been able to encapsulate the sheer humanity of any given situation. You can catch up with her comics about life in quarantine (which have a similar approach to her recent autobio work) on her social media with her Instagram probably being the best place to keep track.
If you have any online events you’d like to alert us to get in touch via the BF ‘Contact Us‘ page.
