Suzanne – The Jazz Age Goddess of Tennis by Tom Humberstone 1914 and Europe was beginning its descent into the abattoir of war. Young men turned away from their jobs and homes and went to the battlefield. Thousands of women were needed to work in arms production and they filled the factories. For many it was a taste of independence that they liked. A revolution … Continue reading This Sporting Life
Sleeping While Standing by Taki Soma Published by Avery Hill In his introduction to this book, Brian Michael Bendis compares the stories of Taki Soma to his favourite short, loud, angry hardcore punk songs “you know those songs that are only, like, a minute ten. A short burst of rrrrrrage energy aaaaaand done.”. Well I can tell you that reading Sleeping While Standing took me … Continue reading Sharp Fragments
Lights, Planets, People! Molly Naylor and Lizzy Stewart Public speaking – it divides us. Some weirdos (I must include myself in this group) have no issue with it. They will happily ad-lib a few remarks or drone through a powerpoint for an hour. But for many others the thought of standing up in front of more than two people elicits dread. Lights, Planets, People! Tells … Continue reading Another Girl, Another Planet
Alone in Space – A Collection by Tillie Walden Alone in Space collects several of Tillie Walden’s stories together in one volume. The End of Summer, I Love This Part and A City Inside along with some rare early work. Tillie Walden restores to comics some elements that have got a little lost. The surreal, the innocence of youth. The moments after you awake from … Continue reading In the Land of Wonderful Dreams
Breakwater by Katriona Chapman The British seaside town, a cinema whose glory days are in the past, a woman whose life seems to have been put on hold, a young man escaping from something. This is the familiar setting in which we find ourselves in Katriona Chapman’s Breakwater. I say familiar because it is a scenario that many of us will have encountered before. Generations … Continue reading At the Edge of the Sea
The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott by Zoe Thorogood There are a lot of comics out there, but not always the variety you might expect. I don’t blame creators for picking out the genres that they enjoy or indeed what they know is more likely to sell – autobiography, superheroes, horror. Many of these are great comics, occasionally fantastic comics, but it can make it … Continue reading Look and Learn
Victory Point by Owen D. Pomery Victory Point is the kind of place that people dream of living in. Designed to be the perfect meeting of form and function, with cool, sleek modernist buildings. The needs of the population both materially and culturally are taken into account. The perfect dwelling place and a dream place to grow up. But life isn’t a dream, no matter … Continue reading Architecture and Morality
The Flood That Did Come By Patrick Wray. Published by Avery Hill We live in a golden age of technology. Smart phones, smart houses. Automated systems that can order us a cab or warn us of a meteor strike. We also live in an age of disasters. Disastrous climate change which sets entire continents on fire and sets the Arctic Circle soaring into record temperatures. … Continue reading Waiting for the Floods
Walking Distance by Lizzy Stewart Like Lizzy Stewart I like walking. I particularly like walking if I don’t have a destination or some kind of commitment to structure my path. What I really like is the independence and autonomy of walking. In Walking Distance Lizzy walks around London contemplating what it means to be an adult. She thinks of her cinematic role-models. Independent women making … Continue reading Closing the Distance
Internet Crusader by George Wylesol It is the early days of the internet. The days of slow, dial-up modems. Of Mosaic and Netscape Navigator, of IRC and message boards. Of Geocities, flashing text and rotating gifs. An evil cult determines to spread chaos around the globe with a simple computer virus which spreads faster than a cold sore in a glam metal tour bus. The … Continue reading God Times dot exe
The Writings and Ramblings of Ben Herman
This is a blog dedicated to what I have been lucky enough to find out about comics. I might add in some other geeky goodness, but it's mainly about the comics.
Comicbook chin-stroking, to while away an idle moment, or two
Comics with a British focus
Interviews with big name comic book creators brought to you by the Official Lakes International Comic Art Festival Podcast.
Just another WordPress.com site
Comic Writer
Feeding the habit one issue at a time
Comics with a British focus
Daredevils and Warriors 