Laydeez Do Comics Leeds 22/10/2018 with Tony Pickering & John Swogger by Hannah McCann

Hi from Leeds!  This post is well overdue.  We met as usual at Wharf Chambers on the evening of Monday 22nd Oct, ready to be regaled with tales of non-fiction comics from Tony Pickering and John G Swogger.

Thankfully my diary had two blank pages, since my sketchbook lay forgotten at home.

Tony’s book Diabetes: Year One is a fascinating insight into his experience of the year-and-a-bit following his diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.  Excellent discussion in this talk around how one person’s experience of illness “can’t be universally applied, but it can be universally engaged with”.  Check out his work, buy his art, follow him on Twitter.

Our second talk of the evening was from John Swogger, a freelance archaeological illustrator.  What a cool job.  John was talking to us about his current project, a graphic biography of Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister of the UK from 1937-40), written by Benjamin Dickson.  Read his blog post about it here.  We were treated to a glimpse into some of his in-depth visual research, tips and techniques in getting perspective just right, and the strong influence of Hergé throughout his work.

Thanks to both Tony and John for sharing their work with us.  As always, thanks to Lou for organising a great evening!

Blog and sketches by Hannah McCann (twitter)