WIP Comics

With Thought Bubble Festival currently underway in its new 2020 online format, Joe caught up with Aled Lies, Dylan Owen and Shehzad Amhad – the team behind Idiot Corpse, which is debuting at the festival. They took a very unconventional approach to working together, taking the format of a classic exquisite corpse parlour game and applying it to making comics, so we discussed how they came up with the idea, being creative whether you like it or not, and making a comic that was as much of a surprise to the creators as it is to the readers.

In the middle of their Kickstarter campaign to fund their upcoming releases, Sam Williams, Paddy Johnston and Rozi Hathaway from micropublisher Good Comics join Joe to talk about how this year has affected them, the financial pressures of small press, and how they decide which books they want to publish.

On the cusp of releasing his new book There's Only One Place This Road Ever Ends Up, cartoonist and illustrator David Biskup joins Joe to talk about how he approached turning deeply personal life events into a story to share with the world. They also talk about drawing simple faces, developing an artistic style, and the similarities between making comics and seeing a therapist.

On this episode Abs Bailey joins Joe to talk about how she crafted the story of her recently released debut graphic novel Zebedee and the Valentines. They also chat about developing characters, visually depicting music, and how being part of the Broken Frontier Six to Watch helped boost their reach.

Joe catches up with Andy Oliver, the editor-in-chief of the small press-focused news and review website Broken Frontier, and one of the most vocal and supportive voices on the UK comic scene. They discuss advice on how to promote your comic, get reviews, and get involved with the community, plus they dive into how Andy got started in comics press and plans for the future of Broken Frontier.

Joe has a lengthy chat with portrait artist and comic maker Ed Firth, who is also one of the artists on this year's Myriad First Graphic Novel Prize shortlist. They discuss Ed's Myriad entry and current comic project, dive into their respective approaches to drawing people and benefits of life drawing, and talk about drugs, sex and death.

In a bit of a change up from the usual episode format, rather than focus on a particular topic Joe had an open and casual chat with illustrator, printmaker and small press creator Aleesha Nandhra. Both Aleesha and Joe were featured as part of the 2019 Broken Frontier Six to Watch, and they discuss how that affected their work, balancing having a creative job with having a creative pastime, and the pressures of promoting yourself on social media.

Joe has a lengthy chat with British Comic Award nominated creator Ramzee about a multitude of topics including where to find inspiration, how he has taken influence from creative mediums outside of comics, and the two have a big discussion about the state of the UK comics scene.

Thinking about running a Kickstarter for your next comic? Well this episode is full of loads of great tips and insight from Chris Mole, who recently ran a successful campaign for his comic The Black Rubric. Chris and Joe talk all about the three crowdfunding campaigns Chris has run, the power of social media, and the benefits of Kickstarter beyond just financing your comic.

The coronavirus lockdown has been a big talking point in terms of how it affects everyone's ability to make comics and come up with ideas on previous episodes, so Joe caught up with Rachael Smith who has been sharing her daily Quarantine Comix on social media since it all began. They discuss her admirable work ethic, finding inspiration during lockdown, and how the whole situation might effect the comics community going forward.

Joe is joined by Jenny Robins to chat about her upcoming graphic novel Biscuits (Assorted), which was the winner of the Myriad First Graphic Novel Prize in 2018. They discuss what goes into planning a graphic novel, how the book has evolved over time, and how winning the competition has affected things.

On this episode Joe talks to writer/artist Christopher Hazeldine, who is currently bouncing between working on two very different projects. They discuss why he chose to take on two projects at once, how he picks which one to work on, and they go deep into the creative process of coming up with an idea and writing story moments that feel earned.

Joe has an in-depth conversation with writer Nick Bryan, covering a range of topics including where and how to find an artist for your comics project, best practice tips for working with artists, and the financial pressures of collaboration.

Joe chats with Chloe Starling, a regular WIP meetup attendee who released her first comic The Promise last year. They talk about finding the confidence to make that first comic, some great tips for getting started on your comic-making journey, and the Creating Comics meetup group that Chloe now runs as a spin-off from WIP.

Joe talks to small press comic creators Peter Morey and Rebecca K. Jones about how they are both approaching working on longform projects, delving into the benefits of serialisation, how to keep things looking consistent, and the different ways they have planned their books out.

For the first episode, Joe introduces what WIP Comics is and talks with comic creator and podcaster Lara Callaghan about the benefits of sharing your ideas with other people and receiving feedback on your work.