This month we are thrilled to welcome Stephen L Holland, UK'S Comics Laureate 2021 - 2023 as our Guest Editor.
Stephen's mission is to bring graphic novels to as wide an audience as possible and share his great passion and knowledge. The Comics Laureate is an ambassadorial and educational role for the comics medium and aims to raise awareness of the impact comics can have in terms of increasing literacy and creativity. Stephen is fully qualified for the role being co-owner, co-manager and sole curator of the award winning European-style comic shop Page 45 created to promote and celebrate quality and diversity in comics.
Stephen began his tenure as Comics Laureate in April this year with a focus on increasing the acceptance of comics as a creative art form in schools, libraries and throughout the educational system. He has championed five recommended must-read graphic novels to help introduce our readers to the world of graphic novels - and has also chosen a brilliant Book of the Month for June.
The New Neighbours by Sarah McIntyre : An exuberant bundle of wisdom which wittily wraps its warm heart around the welcoming of strangers, this is more a Young Readers picture book than a comic, but the narrative is so image-driven and those pictures are so cleverly controlled that it counts. New neighbours move into some flats; they’re rats. That was succinct, wasn’t it? I love this book so much that we made a film of me reading from (and reviewing) it which you can find on the book page. 3+ 5+
Looshkin by Jamie Smart : stars a manic blue cat terrorizing its family household, their neighbours, their elderly relatives and any odd-ball expert foolish enough to step through their doors. Utterly oblivious and determinedly in denial, Looshkin refuses to take responsibility or any notice of what you or I would call reality. You will cry with laughter. Recommend you moderate your sugar intake first. 7+
Kerry and the Knight of the Forest by Andi Watson : Temptations lurk around every corner as Kerry engages in tricky navigation, ingenious problem solving and close-quarter combat. Far more central to Kerry’s success, however, will be the moral choices he makes. The design is delicious, with angles, shapes, colour, light and shadows providing far more than atmosphere, but narrative cues too, with sudden striking shifts denoting imminent danger. 7+ 9+
Bad Machinery by John Allison: energetic, behavioural comedy in which six school-aged sleuths investigate local mysteries. Their expressions are as priceless as the dialogue: Allison nails the young ones’ pouts and passion (often inversely proportioned to whatever merits it) and the way everything is taken so personally. Whatever your age, you will recognise so much here like the first time you went round for tea at a friend’s, encountering new food and alien customs. 11+ 13+
What We Don't Talk About by Charlot Kristensen : “I think it’s important to be true to yourself. If something feels wrong you should speak up.” Farai is taken by train by her boyfriend Adam to meet his parents in the countryside. Feeling beholden to their hospitality and trying her hardest to make things work, Farai soon discovers that Adam’s controlling and calculating mother is an too real racist nightmare. With the lushest of lines, form and colour, Kristensen has created something deceptively complex with extraordinary economy that will give readers much to ponder upon. 13+ YA
And Stephen has chosen an extra title for his Guest Editor's Book Of The Month :
Delicates by Brenna Thummler : Eliza Duncan is a direct and diligent, no-nonsense teen with a passion for photography and a focus on ghosts. Marjorie Glatt found her laundromat infested with white-sheeted ghosts: with its washes, tumble-dries and ironing, they thought it the perfect health spa. She adopted one called Wendell as her best friend. But now she has been adopted–by her school’s most popular students who rule the roost by putting everyone else down. Marjorie, once a victim of this, feels awkward about her newfound immunity for she fails to speak up for others, particularly when they start picking on Eliza who’s determined that there are ghosts, that she’ll snap one on celluloid, and soon has her sights set on Wendell. Astonishingly complex, this comes with layers of self-awareness, self-examination yet blind spots and moments of betrayal from even the kindest of corners.
Also: is this not the most perfect cover? What a narrative drive! Thummler totally owns her unique colour palette. 9+ 11+ 13+
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Stephen gives us an insight into his role as Comics Laureate and shares his passion for graphic novels in a Q&A you can find here, and you can read Stephen’s extended reviews of the graphic novels he mentions by clicking on the The Comics Laureate Recommended Reading List.
Stephen has taught comics as an inspirational medium within schools - if you would like Stephen to visit your school you can contact him through Page45.com or on twitter at @PageFortyFive.
Stephen is a proud Patron of the The Lakes International Comic Art Festival which takes place in Kendal, Cumbria every October.
And you can find a selection of further reading below plus more in our Graphic Novels & Comics section.
