THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2024! I have indeed noted this before here for our Thought Bubble 2024 celebrations but one of the great joys of following self-publishing comics creators is seeing how far their practice has evolved over the years in both confidence and technique. Chloe Starling is a firm fixture on the London small press scene being a former winner of the Manga Jiman competition for Even Androids Dream, a contributor to the WIP Comics anthologies, and a co-organiser of the last South London Comics and Zine Fair (SLCZF). This year at Thought Bubble she will have new work in the shape of The Black Dog of Bouley Bay, a minicomic that makes up the Good Dog Bundle, alongside companion zine Grim Guardians.
Both offerings take their inspiration from various ghost dogs of English folklore. Creatures that can be portents of doom or forces for good depending on your local legend. The Black Dog of Bouley Bay very much lives up to the classification of minicomic given it has a page count of just four pages. But they are four cleverly constructed pages that just burst with the magic of the language of comics.
In this particular piece of folklore the phantom canine in question comes from the region of Jersey; a large dark cryptid dragging a ball and chain who is considered an omen of oncoming storms. Starling’s account casts it as a reluctant observer who, on this one depicted occasion, seeks to break free from its assigned role and rescue those in peril in the sea. Starling’s pages are designed to mirror the dog’s fate – its ball and chain snaking around panels of humans in peril, placing it adjacent to events but unable to intervene because of its constraints.
There are so many neat touches in these four pages. Waves become panels that play with comics’ unique relationship with the passing of time while a meta flourish sees our four-legged protagonist breaking the confines of a panel. It’s a fleeting but beautifully designed handful of pages that are complemented by the Grim Guardians zine with its illustrations and information on other ghost dogs from folklore. A recommended reminder that Thought Bubble isn’t simply about the major releases with the huge page counts and that there is just as much aesthetic value to be found in these smaller one-off offerings.
Chloe Starling (W/A) • Self-published, £3.00
Review By Andy Oliver
Chloe Starling will be at Table D19a in the Redshirt Hall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2024 runs from November 11th-17th with the convention weekend taking place on the 16th-17th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2024 coverage so far in one place here.
Art by Rocío Arreola Mendoza
