Forget the last Monday in the month, we're going for a middle Tuesday! At our final meet-up of the decade we're delighted to welcome as guest Meg-John Barker, co-author (with Jules Scheele) of Queer: A Graphic History and the new Gender: A Graphic Guide. Anyone who witnessed Meg-John's keynote speech at the Graphic Medicine conference in Brighton in July will surely beat a path to the backroom of the Southern Belle, 4, Waterloo St, Hove, this Tuesday, 17th December, from 6.30pm, with chat from 7-730pm. Alex Fitch of Resonance FM will once again be our skilful interviewer, and the conversation recorded for future podcast. Be sure to join us, but if you can't, then here's happy seasonals to you and hope to see you in the new year!

Brighton cartoonist and Cartoon County habitué Zara Slattery will be talking about her work-in-progress Coma Comic at our next meeting on Monday 25 November. Join us from 6.30pm at The Southern Belle, 3 Waterloo Street, Brighton BN3 1AQ. Zara will be in conversation with Resonance FM's Alex Fitch from 7.30pm.

Coma Comic is the story of Zara’s 15-day drug-induced coma, in which she battles to protect her three children against the forces of evil that threaten to engulf her. Meanwhile, husband Dan tries to keep family life going as he faces the most difficult task of all: preparing the children for the likely loss of their mother. His diary, and that of the nurses in the Intensive Care Unit, who kept of record of Zara’s illness, interweave to make a powerful graphic memoir.

An extract from Coma Comic was shortlisted for the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition 2018 and longlisted for the Laydeez Do Comics Awards 2019. Myriad will publish Coma Comic in January 2021. Follow Zara on twitter @inksplattery and on instagram @zaraslattery

Join us on Monday 2nd September from 6.30 on for an interview with Lindsay Pollock, scriptwriter and artist on a new graphic novel, co-authored with Benjamin Dix of Positives Negatives, on whose experiences and research it is based, about families caught up in the Sri Lankan civil war. As Pipedream Comics says in an early review: ‘While the Sri Lankan civil war may not be a conflict on everyone’s radar Vanni is the kind of graphic novel which brings attention to it in a very accessible and impactful way. It is more than just a book about Sri Lanka, it’s about the horrors and futility of war in the modern age, and the devastating effect that is has on a native population. This could be applied to any modern conflict and is a reminder that even in a civilised world we are still a barbaric species, capable of horrific things. But also [a reminder] of surviving those atrocities, stronger and wiser for it. A thought-provoking and beautifully told story, this is an extraordinary piece of work that deserves the utmost praisel.’
Lindsay Pollock will be interviewed by Alex Fitch at approx 7.30pm. The venue is The Southern Belle, 4 Waterloo St, Hove, where we'll be from 6.30pm. Open to all, it's sure to be a fascinating evening.

Our next Cartoon County meeting is at The Southern Belle, 4, Waterloo St, Hove, on March 4th, with a start at 6.30 and official chat for podcast with Alex, at 7-7.30.
Our excellent guest will be Ian Williams, cartoonist and founder of the Graphic Medicine website and annual conference. His second graphic novel, The Lady Doctor, has recently been published by Myriad Editions, and he'll be talking about this follow-up to the acclaimed The Bad Doctor, and detailing his plans on bringing back the Graphic Medicine conference to Brighton this summer. See you there!

Also, a call out for graphic novels to replenish the collection in West Sussex libraries.
Southwick Library’s entire graphic novel collection was stolen over Xmas. @prof_elemental is asking for donations of new/good condition graphic novels. If people can bring in to the meeting any unwanted graphic novels less than 3 years old, then Simon Russell is happy to collect and deliver to the good Prof.
Follow this link for more information.

Bob Bond will be our guest on Monday 17 December at the Southern Belle, Waterloo Street, Brighton. Bob has been a cartoonist for over fifty years, working mainly in sports comics, illustrating humorous football and cricket strips for Fleetway and DC Thomson. He has drawn the comic book histories of Arsenal, United and Liverpool football clubs, a graphic novel about the 1966 world cup and most recently his diary Both Legs Down One Knicker: The Confessions of a Sports Cartoonist. As well as working on his own comics, Bob also found himself to be the father of another cartoonist - Phillip Bond - whose style evolved in a similar fashion to his own. More info at: https://footballershappen.com Join us at 6.30 for 7pm chat with Alex Fitch – and the odd mince pie.