ON THE HUSH QUARTERLY : #7 (Not) Autumn ‘24
Hello there, welcome to Issue 7 of my comics happening and meanderings. If we've not yet met I'm Lucy. I write & draw comics such as BARKING, a BLACK HAMMER short for Jeff Lemire and art for exciting things like RAZORBLADES & D.O.T WILD FICTIONS.
I’m currently creating the next part of my folk-horror series SHELTER. The 1st story, Early Doors, has now manifested & is available to buy online along with my research zine HAGBOUND.
This newsletter will be updates on my projects, chats about process, events and a little wander around what I'm reading or listening to. I'll be putting it out 4 times a year and using the seasons as a reminder to write them. Thanks for subscribing & without further waffle…
In a surprise to all of you I am out of season. Yes, it’s Winter so I’m rounding up this weird year with my (Not) Autumn edition. Where to even start? I mean, really, are you okay? I’m not okay. I can’t believe the world has taking another dive into the abyss. This newsletter isn’t the place to go into politics and global travesties so my heartfelt condolences to anyone affected and hope that we, of saner minds & kinder hearts, can build a positive resistance.
As the end of 2024 approaches I honestly can’t say I’ll miss it. It’s been a weird year and one where I’ve been almost unable to do any comics work. There have been many unfortunate, unlikely events in my personal life but also lots of exciting things I’ve done and places I’ve been fortunate to visit. All of which I’ve spoken of in past newsletters so if you haven’t caught up then please read at your leisure. This edition will be a stranger affair as aside from Thought Bubble I have spent most of Autumn unwell thanks to Norovirus and a post-con burn out that I’m still recovering from. Fortunately I have had some exciting news FINALLY revealed so…
I’m joining Lakes International Comic Arts Festival as their new patron! Now, you may find that moniker as confusing as I did. I am not swinging bags of money at LICAF as if it’s a new Renaissance but instead becoming a cheerleader / industry advisor for them. It’s a genuine privilege to be asked and I’m grateful for the support LICAF have given me & my comics over the years. You can read my interview with John Freeman of Down The Tubes for a deeper dive here: https://downthetubes.net/comics-writer-and-artist-lucy-sullivan-announced-as-new-lakes-international-comic-art-festival-patron/
Alongside co-commissioning the 1st edition of BARKING, LICAF have promoted my comics & put them forward for a number of opportunities. This year I chaired a panel for them at TCAF as part of the British Comics Now project and discussed creating comics with Clio Isadora, B. Mure & Martin Simpson. Under the same project Mollie Ray & I were very lucky to be involved with PICOF in Manilla and rep UK comics whilst meeting the incredible Filipino creators & event organisers. Next year looks to be another exciting year for LICAF with plans for guests at the festival taking shape as I type. I’ll be working with the festival on a couple of fascinating projects and will be hopefully getting you to apply for some superb opportunities soon. Mark your calendars now for 26th-28th September 2025 and look out for applications to the International Comics Rights Market, putting creators in direct conversation with international publishers and hopefully getting your comics translated!
I’m honoured to say that Barking has been selected for the required reading list on the Art & Trauma Honours Collegiate at UCLA for another academic year. With thanks to Course Leader & lecturer Tania Abramson students will be discussing my comic alongside greats such as Sylvia Plath! It really is an extraordinary compliment and I wish I could attend the course myself. If like me you are unable to join in the UCLA discourse BARKING is available from my website and comes with a sketched option or signed in messy carbon by my own inky hands.
If you are based within the EU or Northern Ireland I will sadly be suspending shipping from 9th December ’24. This is due to the incoming GPSR regulations that ask all non-EU imports have an EU based representative in order to sell. In short we small traders, here in the UK mainland, cannot sell to you anymore. Once more Brexshite has confounded sense and destroyed the livelihoods of many. I’ve been in many chats on Bluesky about this and recently attended a seminar on GPSR which, though informative, was frustrating as even the specialists couldn’t say if books are exempt or not. I won’t lament any further but please order any of my comics before the deadline (09/12/24!) as I have no idea when this might get resolved, if ever.
It looks like I will be able to AT LAST spill the proverbial beans about the film I worked on this year. There are a couple of huge things coming up early in the year so not long now until I can tell you about that time when I met redacted or when I spilt *redacted whilst drawing *redacted… Because my clumsiness cares not what I’m working on. It’s going to be such a relief to not hold this secret any more.
Although I haven’t been unable to create much comic work of late I have had two recent releases that I was lucky to contribute to. Dave Cook’s KILLTOPIA spin-off anthology Nano Jams is out now. I’m delighted to have been paired with artist par excellence Liana Kangas for our short dystopian love tale Meat Cute. For a 1st writing gig I couldn’t have gotten luckier with my team, alongside Liana are JP Jordan on colours and Micah Myers on letters and it was a total pleasure to collaborate with them all. There’s a huge mix of talent in the book and, from the copies I saw & signed at Thought Bubble, looks like a gorgeous print.
Speaking of the mighty D.O.T Wild Fictions is also released and is a stunning, behemoth of a book! Huge props to the folks that carried both that & Razorblades around Thought Bubble for signatures. It was an absolute thrill to sign alongside some incredible creators. I honestly can’t believe I’m in a book with Sienkiewicz and 2 with Martin Simmonds who is a good dude as well as an astonishing talent. (I’m pretty sure he’s the reason I’m in the book so here’s my unabashed shout out to buy all his stuff!).
Finally my plans for BHCZF aka “Bhuk-zuf”a new comic fair for Brighton & Hove are on hold but still happening. I’ve managed to get another willing victim on board who will be an excellent ally in pulling this off. There’s chats with local shops and more to come BUT I have to actually move to Brighton first. Hopefully this will happen in the first part of next year but who knows with today’s house markets… I’d say it’s a fair bet it won’t be up and running until 2026 but you never know. I’ll certainly update when I get the ball rolling. If you’d like to hear more please check out my last newsletter that highlights my chat with Alex Fitch at Cartoon County & plans for BHCZF.
AUTUMNAL HAPPENINGS -
Autumn brought just 2 festivals for me. First up was the bijou but well attended Winchester Comic Fair. Set up by Tim Bird & Julian Payne in the picture perfect town and chock full of small press creators. Great to see lots of familiar faces and meet new makers as well as get new readers to my comics. I highly recommend applying for the festival or dropping by next year. You can follow the WINCH Comics instagram for updates. Oh, and a huge congrats to Tim for his new AHP book Adrift On A Painted Sea and accompanying exhibition. It’s a poignant read and a beautiful comic so you should be adding it to your collection.
I caught the exhibition alongside the equally brilliant Secrets of The Majestic exhibition as part of Thought Bubble. Such a lovely celebration of comics at Mercer Gallery and edifying to see so many small press creators gathered together. If you’ve yet to be inducted into the UK’s grandest and most bizarre lavatory experience then this may sound a bit odd. Perhaps you should buy a copy of the anthology, join us for next year’s TB festival and whisper the secret code for entry to a willing comics type…
Back to the festival proper and Thought Bubble was as ever a whirldwind of chats, tabling and evening dinners. This year I was in the new Travelling Man Hall and 1 of 500+ TBF exhibitors and dozens of guests! Amongst so much choice it was fairly quiet on our hall on the Saturday but picked up massively on the Sunday as visitors reached the back halls. It was extremely lovely, as ever, to catch up with friends, collaborators and meet new comic folk. Some of whom I’ve known online for years and yet met for the first time this year. I found making comics can be such isolating work and there are times, especially this year, when I wonder if I have the drive to keep battling for my comics. Then TBF rolls around and I’m inspired, comforted and buoyed by all the cool, lovely creators once more. If you are ever waining in your passion for comics I prescribe this festival on an annual basis.
That was my last event for the year and I’m planning on scaling back a fair bit next year. I need to get my head down and make SHELTER: Mothers Ruin so will be limiting myself to only 2 for 3 festivals. I will definitely be at LICAF, I’ll try for Thought Bubble if they’ll have me again and might dip my toe in the MCM London madness next May. Still thinking on that one but I’ve realised this year that I’m not longer sure where my comics fit. I was saddened to not be included in any small press events though I only self publishing or work with a small press publisher. I’m not big leagues but need to get my comics out there so maybe it’s worth a punt on MCM… We shall see if I have the money or courage next year.
SOUL FOOD LITERATURE -
Despite being bed bound for most of Autumn I have read very little so instead I’m going to implore you to check out a couple of recommendations…
First is i-Doppelgänger from the mighty Shelly Bond. This is her 3rd book of the Graphic Memoir / How to Make Comics series she has been treating us to. Covering her last days at Vertigo and life as a 21st Century editor. Shelly is an icon of comics and these books never fail to wow. I recommend the 1st book Filth & Grammar on a weekly basis to creators and highly encourage you to get onboard. You can add the previous books too and get everything digitally if shipping is too hard on your pockets. It would make an excellent gift for the comic maker in your life.
Second rec is BOXES Comic Magazine Vol. 3 An anthology of upcoming and established comics creators edited by Steven Ingram and published by ThirdBear Press. If like me you missed out on previous issues of Boxes then you can pick up all three now! It would go a long way to getting them funded. It’s vital that we, as a community, keep supporting independent comic creators especially when there are major publishers on Kickstarter so please check behind the sofa for some cash and chuck it their way.
For the younger readers and out next year is Stephanie Cooke’s The Racc Pack with art by Whitney Gardner. A humour filled middle-grade graphic novel about a family of raccoons and their quest to ‘leave no garbage bin unturned’.
For the curious thrill seekers D.O.T’s latest issue #27 focuses on the elevation of Norma Jean to Marilyn but things aren’t exactly what you thought and there’s some visitors messing with the timelines. The art on this is gloriously bonkers and beautifully drawn by my pal & comics conspirator Alison Sampson. Both my daughter & I get cameo appearances but I will actually be disappointed if you do recognise me in this (*Spoiler: I am not Marilyn). Grab a copy wherever you get your comics. Lastly another talented pal Emma Vielceli is launching Vol.3 of her rivals-to-romance comic series Breaks with a signing at Gosh! on Sat 7th. If you can’t join us to celebrate Emma and her stellar talents then pick up a copy from Gosh afterwards. There’s bound to be a few signed copies available.
AUDIO/VISUAL DISTRACTIONS -
Leading up to the US elections I mainlined political podcasts but after the horrors of the result I’ve found it hard to focus on very much and moved more to favourite playlists and listening to 6Music. I have kept up with one current affairs podcast as they manage to discuss topics with knowledge, a level-head and a fair few giggles. I was recommended Quiet Riot by Alex Moore and can’t thank them enough for the intro. It’s a balm to this age of divisionism and a big recommend from me.
The other series that brought me out of the proverbial dumps was The Third Information Crisis by Naomi Alderman (author of The Power). In her 5 part docu-essay Alderman breaks down her argument the we are in a 3rd informational crisis that started with writing and the printing press and lead to social media. It’s a fascinating, enlightening listen and staunch reminder to not get so carried away with arguments you end up burning innocent women as witches. Of particular relevance to the current global climate I feel.
As I head into festive serfdom of cooking, cleaning & present wrapping I will be immersing myself in seasonal favs such as Scrooged! or Muppets Christmas Carol but still listening when I can. Also lined-up is Mythical Creatures on BBC Sounds by Rhianna Pratchett. A deep dive into the mythologies of the British Isles and how it echoes with our past and current lives. This couldn’t be more up my street so I’m very much looking forward to it. Especially the episode on Banshees, a moniker I hope to have one day.
Well, that’s my news for now. I’ll be back in the Winter with hopefully THE BIG NEWS, plus a catch up on my up coming trip to Angoulême (solely as a punter) and other shenanigans. Until then you can keep up with me on the socials… I’m off Twitter permanently now. It’s really not going brilliantly online BUT you can still find me on:
Instagram - @lucysullivanuk
Bluesky - @lucysullivan.bsky.social
Online: lucysullivanuk.com
Thanks for reading. Best Festive wishes to you & may Krampus steer clear of your dwelling. Or not, no judgement here. Cheers, Lucy