Patrice Aggs is an American comics creator living in the UK since the early 1970s. She is best known for her comics for children, with strips in The DFC and then The Phoenix. Recent work includes illustrating the children's book Abigay's Farm by Odette Elliot and No Country by Joe Brady, a graphic novel telling the bleak tale of a family facing the arrival of civil war in their country, which seems increasingly prescient in 2022.

Her most recent work sees the illustrator turned writer, as the author of a new graphic novel It’s Her Story: Shirley Chisholm, illustrated by Markia Chenal, which relates the true story of the first black woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968, where she served seven terms, and also became in 1972 the first black person to seek nomination for President.

Patrice will be talking to Alex Fitch about these projects and more in our usual venue

The Southern Belle
3 Waterloo Street,
Hove BN3 1AQ / and online

Monday 26th September 2022

Doors: 7pm / Q&A from 7.30pm

Tickets are free but please register here to join us online or in person.

This month's guest is Henny Beaumont, author of the graphic novel Hole in the Heart (Myriad Editions, 2016) a memoir about bringing up her daughter with Down's Syndrome. Henny has recently curated an exhibition at Worthing Museum - Invisible People - which mixes her own artwork with work created by people with learning difficulties and neurodiversity, supported by the charities Rocket Artists and Superstar Arts.



Invisible People is the outcome of Henny’s work as artist in residence with the British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD) and Respond UK, which help the health and social care sector’s understanding of trauma experienced by people with learning disabilities and by those on the autistic spectrum. The exhibition is open until Sunday 30 October.

Henny will be talking about how this exhibition builds on both her graphic novel work and her satirical illustrations that have been commissioned by The Guardian. One of these, entitled "Lost Generation," won the Political Cartoons Award for "Covid cartoon of the year" in 2021.

See more about the exhibition, and about Henny's work:

https://wtm.uk/events/exhibition-invisible-people-worthing
https://hennybeaumont.com


Monday 29th August
7.00pm. Talk starts 7.30

The Southern Belle
3 Waterloo Street
Hove BN3 1AQ

Free and open to all. If you can't make it in person, do join us via zoom.

Julian Hanshaw's new graphic novel Free Pass (Penguin Random House) is a sci-fi satire. It follows two earlier works, Tim Ginger and Cloud Hotel. and is described as "an intoxicating new tale of liberty, privacy, and shame, set in the sticky place where sex, politics, and technology come together."

Julian has also continued to paint murals for branches of the Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho, and this year is the tenth anniversary of the first iteration of his location-based comic "Not Everybody Rises" which can be read at various points along the seawalk between Rye Harbour and Hastings.

See more about Free Pass here
... and an article on his site-specific comics
...and find Julian here on Instagram

July 25
7.30pm (doors 7pm)

The Southern Belle
3 Waterloo Street
Hove BN3 1AQ

Our guest this month is Clarrie Pope, artist and co-writer, with her sister Blanche, of Welcome Home, which was shortlisted for the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition in 2018 and published by Minor Compositions.

Welcome Home tells the tale of the overlapping lives of a group of people squatting in a condemned tower block in London, and the rivalries and love triangles that form within this community. As Clarrie says, it's about "lost struggles, unrequited love and irritating activists. Despite its gloomy topics, it is written with humour and driven by hope."

Clarrie also makes humorous greetings cards based on drawings from her Skyrat instagram page started during the first lockdown. Her second graphic novel in progress, Love's Labour, was longlisted for the Laydeez Do Comics prize in 2021.

https://www.clarriepope.com/


For this month at least, we'll be back – in person – at our old haunt, The Southern Belle in Brighton, but also hope to run it online too for those who would prefer to join virtually. You may have to bear with us as we get to grips with technology but we'll do our best! Free, but do register here for either in person or online!

The Southern Belle
3 Waterloo St
Hove BN3 1AQ

Monday 27th June
Doors at 7pm, talk starts at 7.30pm

Graphic Brighton: Comics by and for young people is a FREE event with talks, panel discussions, book signings and a workshop on how to make your own comics, curated by Alex Fitch and Barbara Chamberlin.

Friday 27th May: talks by academics and local creators about childrens comics.

Saturday 28th May: invites a variety of creators including former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen to chat about their work and sign comics, plus a workshop by young graphic novelist Coco Kirkland.

The many Cartoon County creators include Hannah Berry, Jaime Huxtable, Zara Slattery, Dan Locke and Paul Fisher Davies.

University of Brighton, Edward Street Building.

Full details here