Off Life Issue4

8/12/2019 Off Life Issue4

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FEATURING AN INTERVIEW

WITH THREE OF THE NEW

GENERATION'S BEST

GREENBERG, TEAGLE AND

BERRY PLUS COMICS FROMTHE MOST EXCITING INDIE

TALENT AROUND

APR/MAY

2013

ISSU

E#4

F

REE


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THE NEW GENERATION

SINCE LAUNCHING LAST OCTOBER, OFF LIFE HAS BEEN PRIVILEGED TO INTERVIEW

SOME OF THE MOST ESTABLISHED ARTISTS WORKING IN COMICS TODAY. TOMINE,

TALBOT, GAULD ALL CREATORS WHO HAVE HELPED PUSH AND REDEFINE THE

MEDIUM THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREERS.

BUT WE FIGURED IT WAS ABOUT TIME WE SPEAK TO THE NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS

WHO ARE ALREADY TAKING COMICS IN TO WHOLE NEW PASTURES. HOW HAS THE RECENT

COMICS BOOM AFFECTED THEIR WORK? WHERE DO THEY SEE THE MEDIUM HEADING?

AND IS NEW TALENT BEING GIVEN ENOUGH ROOM TO BREAK OUT? OFF LIFE SAT DOWN

WITH THREE OF THE NEW GENERATIONS FINEST TO FIND OUT.

HANNAH BERRYS first book, Britten And

Brlightly, came out through Jonathan Cape

in 2008 when she was just 25. She will be

a part of the Lakes Festival this October.

JACK TEAGLE was one of the first

contributors to Nobrows 17x23 series, and at

26 has already had two of his own Fight!

comics printed through the same publisher.

At just 23, ISABEL GREENBERG won the

2011 Observer/Jonathan Cape Comica graphic

short story prize. Her first full-length book,

The Encyclopedia Of Early Earth, will be

released through Jonathan Cape this autumn.

Do you see yourselves within a certain generation of

comic artists? If so, what ties you together?

BERRY: Shockingly, I referred to myself as a new

author in a conversation with Paul Gravett recently

and he told me I wasnt new enough to be one of them

any more. Dammit, man, Im only 30! In my head

there are only two generations of comickers in the

UK: new and legendary. I am still new, obviously, and

among the current generation theres a feeling that

were all in it together not like that feculent lieDavid Cameron refuses to flush but like were facing

an uphill struggle for recognition as a kind of united

front. Its quite nice.

TEAGLE: Things still feel like theyre in early stages

for me Im meeting new people all the time and

making connections. There seems to be an explosion

of talent out there, and it feels like the medium

is opening up and a lot more people are starting to


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draw comics, which is fantastic. Im not sure what

ties everything together at the moment. Maybe people

just totally voicing their own opinions and thoughts?

Theres a lot of self-published work online and in print

out there, and artists seem to be uninhibited by what

others think, and just do what they want, so maybetheres that.

Do you think the new generation have a good chance

of helping break the mainstream, perhaps where

other generations didnt?

GREENBERG: I think Ive been lucky, in that I have

come into comics at a time when they are becoming

extremely popular. However, as to whether the new

generation have been responsible for this, I am not

sure. I think that the way has been paved for us byartists like Art Spiegelman, Robert Crumb and Will

Eisner. It may only be now that comics are starting to

become mainstream, but I think the groundwork was

done by the previous generation.

BERRY: I hope so. There seems to be some real

momentum behind comics at the moment, so perhaps

weve reached a tipping point. Comics came so close to

being recognised as proper literature before in the late

80s/early 90s but floundered. After Watchmen and

Maus the general public suddenly realised what they

were missing in comics and tried to find more of the

same, but unfortunately there just wasnt enough going

on to hold their interest. Now we have the big titles

catching the publics attention The Nao Of Brown

[Glyn Dillon], and Dotter Of Her Fathers Eyes

[Mary and Bryan Talbot], for example and the wealth

of comics creators bubbling away under the surface.

The lure AND the hook. Its looking good!

TEAGLE: There have been a few false starts in the UKscene, but a lot of comics I see being created now seem

to be very relatable to readers. Hopefully, having a lot

of people being exposed to illustration means people

are more accepting of drawn imagery. The internet

seems to open things up to newcomers, too. Things

have come out of a closed club. I remember when I was

a teenager, I didnt know what to buy, and things felt

intimidating, but now Id like to think that attitude is

starting to fade away.

Comics seemed to become pop-culture short hand for

geek cool around the time that you were starting

out in illustration. Do you think this had an impact

on your style and approach to the medium?

GREENBERG: I may be misinterpreting your

definition of geek cool, but it puts me in mind of trendy

hipster comics, which, in my opinion and this is a

personal taste thing, so please dont anyone hate on me

on Twitter! is often visually amazing but not so great

on the stories. I think there is a lot of brilliant stuffaround at the moment, but I really like comics that have

great stories as well as looking good. And, of course,

I hope that my work achieves that. Saying that, I am

aware that I am part of a generation of illustrator

comic artists, and I did do a degree in illustration, so

whatever I might think I am, no doubt my style has

been influenced by the stuff Ive seen around me.

BERRY: It honestly didnt seem very cool, geek or

otherwise, at the time I was studying! Often when

The Great Dag by Isabel Greenberg


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As someone young in their career, where do you see

comics heading in the near future?

TEAGLE: I hope because of the rise of social media,and the ease of online self-publishing, people will

continue to discover comics and things they like,

instead of having the much more basic options of

entertainment given to them through television. I dont

watch TV any more, but I read a lot more comics, and

try to support as many self-publishers as I can.

BERRY: I used to want the UK comics scene to be as

huge and established as it is in France, but Ive gone off

that idea slightly since going to the Angoulme

[International Comics] Festival. There was a guy who

was part of a self-publishing collective who was

handing out books on the street and asking for money

it seems that there are so many bande dessine

publishers that self-publishing is only done by total

outsiders. I mean, I wish there were more graphicnovels published in the UK, but the self-publishing

scene is pulsing with creativity and spontaneity and

absolute freedom, and Id hate for it to be marginalised

in the same way. Wed lose a hugely vibrant aspect of

the comics family.

GREENBERG: Comics are now seen as a totally

legitimate way to tell stories of any kind, which is great.

Graphic novels are reviewed by national newspapers,

win literary prizes and are sold in mainstream

bookshops. I think that however visual trends move

and change, comics as a medium are here to stay. Its a

very exciting time.

TO VIEW MORE OF THE ARTISTS WORK,

PLEASE VISIT:

HANNAH BERRY

JACK TEAGLE

ISABEL GREENBERG

HANNAHBERRY.CO.UK

JACKTEAGLE.TUMBLR.COM

ISABELNECESSARY.COM

Old Lady Vengeance by Hannah Berry


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YOU HAVE BEEN READING

ADA JUSIC

LETTERS FROM DAD

@ADAJUSICILLUSTR

PAGE 2

DANIEL HUMPHRY

@DANIEL_HUMPHRY

WILL ELLIOT

@WILLUSTRATES

ASSUMPTIONS

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STEPHEN ONG

THE SECRET DIARY

OF A HIGH RISE

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WARWICK JOHNSON-

CADWELL

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SEAN AZZOPARDI

FOUL

@SEANAZZ

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ALEX NORRIS

THE BLOT

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PAUL WILLIAMS

HOW THE INTERNET

RUINED YOUR LIFE

@PAULWILLIAMSART

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EMILIA MCKENZIE

THE MYTH OF SISPYHUS

@ORIGAMISHIP

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PHILLIP MARSDEN

HIPSTER HAIRDO!

@PHILMARSDEN

PAGE 9

DAN BERRY

THROW YOUR

KEYS AWAY

@THINGSBYDAN

PAGE 24

CM CARTER

COMPANY CAR

@C_M_CARTER

PAGE 10

INTERVIEW

HANNAH BERRY

JACK TEAGLE

ISABEL GREENBERG

PAGE 13

OLIVER EAST

ROLLING STOCK

@OLIVEREAST

PAGE 18

ISSUE#4

OFFLIFE.CO.UK

@OFFLIFE_COMIC


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Off Life Issue4