Panel Borders – Panel Borders and other podcasts

Local And Locas Stories: In this ‘feature length’ podcast, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of comics creators whose work is based around representation of marginalised people and cultures in specific times and places. Graphic novelist Susan Sainsbury discusses her Worthing based titles Kitty and Cheery Cak, about female lives lived on the South Coast of England, recorded at Cartoon County; and acclaimed cartoonist Jaime Hernandez celebrates the 40th anniversary of the award winning comic Love and Rockets, featuring L.A. punks, down-at-heel superheroes, and LGBTQ+ musicians in a Q and A recorded at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

Partially broadcast 7th December 2022 on Resonance 104.4 FM / DAB (London)

For more formats to stream or download, please visit archive.org

Links: Susan Sainsbury’s website and instagram site

Curating and Creating Comics: As the start of a new season of Panel Borders, the UK’s only monthly broadcast radio show about comics, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of artists whose work includes autobiography, museum display, and responses to Covid and Lockdown. In a Q and A recorded at Cartoon County, Henny Beaumont chats about the exhibition Invisible People, which features art based on her graphic novel Hole in the Heart and political cartoons alongside work by neurodiverse artists, and how she sequed into satirical work for The Guardian. Cathy Brett discusses her comic Mary and Agnes, about her grandmother’s friendship with Mary Trump, as featured in the BBC Alba documentary The President’s Mother, her work in three-dimensional collages and reliefs, and her new role as a curator at Leatherhead Museum.

Invisible People is on display Wednesday to Sunday at Worthing Museum and Gallery until 30th Oct 2022.

For more formats to stream or download, please visit archive.org

Links: Henny Beaumont’s website / More info about the Invisible People exhibition

Greg Rucka – Desert Island Comics: In the second of a pair of podcast only recordings, Alex Fitch chats to comics writer Greg Rucka about the five titles he would want to have with him, if marooned on a desert island, including classics by Brian Bolland, Matt Wagner, Bill Sienkiewicz, Matt Fraction and Jen Van Meter.

Alex and Greg also talk about the comics which inspired the writer in his formative years, including Marvel Digest collections, and the importance of minority representation in his comics Batwoman and The Old Guard, in an interivew originally recorded to promote The Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

Also available as a video recording, uploaded 13th October 2021 on YouTube

For more formats to stream or download, please visit archive.org

Links: Greg Rucka’s website

Si Spurrier, Rob Williams, Garth Ennis and Alex Fitch at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival

The Writing Game: In the first of a pair of podcast only recordings, Alex Fitch talks to Simon Spurrier, Rob Williams, and Garth Ennis about their history of writing comics. The three writers discuss their techniques, the characters they’ve enjoyed working on including Judge Dredd and John Constantine, and their tips for collaboration in a panel discussion recorded at The Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

Originally available as a video recording, uploaded 17th October 2019 on YouTube

For more formats to stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at archive.org

Links: Simon Spurrier’s website

Cover of The 77 annual, Blazer no.2, Eat More Comics: The Best of The Nib, The Nib no. 6 plus photos of Ben Cullis, Steve MacManus, Alex Fitch, Sarah Mirk, Myfanwy Tristram, Daniel Locke

New Anthologies: In a pair of interviews recorded at Cartoon County online, Alex Fitch talks to a number of creators about their work on anthologies. Sarah Mirk discusses her work on political comics anthology The Nib with contributions from artists Myfanwy Tristram and Daniel Locke, talking about their strips created for the title. Ben Conan Cullis, a.k.a. Benksy, and veteran comics editor Steve MacManus talk about the various titles they’ve launched via kickstarter including The 77, Blazer and Pandora which are a love letter to classic British comics.

Originally broadcast 4th May 2022 on Resonance 104.4 FM / DAB (London)

For more formats to stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at archive.org

Links: The Nib website

Cover and interior art from You’re Thinking About Tomatoes, and Welcome Home / Photos (by Myf Tristram) of Michael Rosen and Cole Henley, Alex Fitch and Clarrie Pope

Unusual Buildings: In this month’s show, Alex Fitch talks to the creators of graphic novels set in unusual buildings… Former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen and artist Cole Henley discuss the comic book version of You’re Thinking About Tomatoes, in which a boy on a school trip to a country house gets embroiled in an adventure with a girl from a painting and a mummy come to life, in a Q and A recorded at Graphic Brighton; cartoonist Clarrie Pope explores the graphic novel Welcome Home about the lives of a community of squatters in a condemned tower block, co-written with her sister Blanche, in a Q and A recorded at Cartoon County.

Originally broadcast 6th July 2022 on Resonance 104.4 FM / DAB (London)

For more formats to stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at archive.org

Links: Info about You’re Thinking About Tomatoes on publisher Unbound’s website

Hannah Berry and Lance Dann at Graphic Brighton / cover and interior art from The Rez / page from The Train by Chihoi / The Train on display in the window of the Southbank Centre

Multimedia Comics: This month, Alex Fitch talks to comic creators about multimedia engagement with their sequential art. Chinese cartoonist Chihoi chats about his comic The Train, which is currently on display in the riverside window of the the Royal Festival Hall, London, and at Graphic Brighton, audio producer Lance Dann and graphic novelist Hannah Berry discuss a comic and podcast called The Rez, which is a science-fiction title about kindness aimed at a young audience.

Originally broadcast 1st June 2022 on Resonance 104.4 FM / DAB (London)

For more formats to stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at archive.org

Comics by Ellen Lindner and Josh Hicks / photos of Lindner, FItch and Hicks

Sporting Titles: In a pair of interviews recorded at Cartoon County, Alex Fitch talks to cartoonists whose recent work has been on sports themed comics. Ellen Lindner chats about her project ‘A History of Gender Rebellion in Baseball’ – which has generated the comic, Lost Diamonds and two issues of the zine The Cranklet’s Chronicle, so far and looks at how female presenting people, and people of colour have been marginalised by the sport, and Josh Hicks discusses Glorious Wrestling Alliance, which follows the escapades of ‘the universe’s least-professional wrestling company’, as well running Carp Publishing Endeavours, a micropress based out of Cardiff, plus his work on animating a pop video for the Foo Fighters.

Originally broadcast 6th April 2022 on Resonance 104.4 FM / DAB (London)

For more formats to stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at archive.org

Links: Ellen Lindner’s website

David Bramwell performs The Cult of Water at Brighton Festival 2018, Once Upon a Time by Danny Noble, Cover of Black Crown Quarterly featuring a fictionalised version of Will Potter (drawn by Philip Bond)

Music, Comics, and Performance: In a pair of interviews recorded at Graphic Brighton Alex Fitch talks to a trio of performers who mix music and comics in their creative output. Will Potter (Cud) and Danny Noble (The Meow Meows) discuss how being in bands has an influence in their writing and drawing comics, while David Bramwell talks about how music is an important part of his performance piece The Cult of Water which examines the work of Alan Moore.

Originally broadcast 3rd March 2022 on Resonance 104.4 FM / DAB (London)

Links: Danny Noble’s website

Historical Adventures: Alex Fitch talks to artists Warren Pleece and Edith (Grattery) about their work on historical graphic novels. In a Q &A recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, Pleece discusses the joy of rendering adventures set in the past, and the importance of creating comics featuring people of colour who often get excised from history, when drawing the books Freedom Bound and Incognegro: Renaissance. Plus, in an interview recorded at Amiens comics festival, Edith explores her technique and references, including inspiration from Gustave Doré, when rendering Basil & Victoria and her adaptation of Tom’s Midnight Garden, dramas set in Victorian England and beyond.

Partially broadcast 2nd February 2022 on Resonance 104.4 FM / DAB (London)

Links: For more info, and links to various download formats, please visit the home of this podcast at archive.org