OTHQ #1
A quarterly newsletter from writer/artist Lucy Sullivan
ON THE HUSH QUARTERLY : #1 IMBOLC '23
Hello there, welcome to the first of my new newsletters. If we've not yet met I'm Lucy. I write and draw comics and pin-ups amongst them my debut graphic novel BARKING, a BLACK HAMMER short for Jeff Lemire, a RAZORBLADES short with Dan Watters and IND-XED with Fraser Campbell. I'm currently writing the next part of my folk-horror series SHELTER with support from Arts Council England (ACE). Recent winner of 'Best New Periodical Series' in the Broken Frontier Awards '22. The 1st story EARLY DOORS has now manifested & is available to buy online or from Gosh Comics, London.
This newsletter will be updates on my projects, chats about the processes, upcoming events and a little wander around what I'm reading, listening or singing along to. I'll be putting it out 4 times a year and using the seasons as a reminder to write them. Thanks for subscribing & so without further waffle...
SKETCHBOOK & DRAWING BOARD -
Since late last year I've been developing the script for the SHELTER and researching the themes as part of my ACE grant. If you're unfamiliar with ACE there are 2 funding strands for individual creators. The Project Grants with National Lottery (which I received for BARKING) and the Develop Your Creative Practice. A grant for you to do just that: Be paid to develop and take a leap into experimenting or changing up your practice. I applied for the DYCP funding to push the writing side of my comics work and was absolutely delighted to get it. So far my research has centred at the British Library, a free resource to anyone resident in the UK and a treasure trove for material. I've read everything from Irish Folk Magic to Women's Lib pamphlets and Voodoo spell books by way of West London Newspapers from 1970. The possibilities are inexhaustible and I'm having to hone in on what I want to include in the next story but I've probably got several ideas to run with in the future.
If you haven't heard about my new series then here's the pitch!
A new Folk-Horror tale of urban unease from the creator of BARKING! SHELTER is a world of vengeful goddesses, healing witches, deathly whisper networks, and a fight to survive in West London 1969. In each story we’ll follow a local in trouble, seeking help from Mammy Magee and her singular girls. Mammy can fix any mess but as they say...
"There's no shame in asking for help, but can you pay the price?"
In EARLY DOORS we’ll follow Ealga Culhoun who has fled rural Ireland and arrives in Shepherds Bush at the tail end of 1969 when all was changing in this pocket of London. Luckily Ealga has landed on her feet thanks to her British cousin Tommy, who’s set her up with a bedsit and a barmaids job at the local pub. For a wee while all seems to be going swimmingly. But soon Ealga learns that everything has its cost and finds herself seeking shelter at Mammy Magee’s. Will she be willing to pay the price for Mammy’s help and avenge herself in the process?
The printed comic was funded via Crowdfundr in '22 and is now launched into the wilds after a signing and exhibition at the wonderful Jam Bookshop, London. I was astonished to win a Broken Frontier Award for the book and can't wait to get the next issue going.
I’ve plotted out about 2/3rds of the next story titled MOTHERS RUIN. It’s quite a lot bigger than EARLY DOORS and centres around Mammy Magee as her past and future collide in a bloody, dangerous mess that puts everyone at stake. I’ve got a new bad wolf, in fact a few of them, and a new girl to introduce to the world of SHELTER. It’s been a complicated one to figure out with a number of plot lines and so many intriguing research paths to follow. Luckily I'm working with Claire Napier who's deftly helping me wade through the ideas and find the crux of the story. This is part of my ACE funding and Claire is available to edit your projects too so check Claire's website for rates. I’m going to spend from now into April writing out scenes and probably covering my walls in post-it notes as I finesse the plot. I’m not sure about planning the production yet. It’s far too early in the game. It's exciting to see it come together and believe me there's some very strange happenings afoot.
SPRING HAPPENINGS -
It's con application season so I've been putting images together & trying not to write too bombastically about my work to get a table. Bigging yourself up is not my strength but it is part of the job so has to be done. I've got my fingers crossed to be a part of a handful of festivals this year including SLCZF, LICAF & Thought Bubble. No guarantees that I'll table at any for sure but I will try to be there no matter what. I’m definitely going to be part of a cool, smaller London fair in March that’s unannounced (but will be all over my socials soon) as well as a group Gallery show (also unannounced, damn this secrecy!) in April. This will be the first opportunity to buy my original art but not the only one as I hope to start doing so at Festivals this year. Keep a look out for info on my socials & website soon!
I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of COMICA’s 20th anniversary events at the Century Club, Soho. Getting to be a guest at an event that introduced me to the UK Comics scene is a real honour & the venue looks very swish indeed. On March 23rd I’ll be alongside Lucie Arnoux (Je Ne Sais Quoi / Enola Holmes) to discuss creating comics from often difficult personal experiences. There’ll be live drawing, imagery and a chance to buy books from both of us. Tickets are available here: https://centuryclub.co.uk/members-events/turning-your-life-into-comics-with-lucie-arnoux-and-lucy-sullivan/
Just recently I got to have a great chat with Canadian creators Lyndon Radchenka & Steven Kaul for the CREATORS ON COMICS podcast from Jordan Patrick Finn. A podcast that invites guests to interview each other about their work and processes. We talked about making our recent comics. For me that's EARLY DOORS and for Lyndon & Steven that's THE LAUNDRYMEN, an action packed and witty take on the monster hunter genre. The duo bill it as Ghostbusters meets X-Files and I whole heartedly concur. It's a lot of fun and a pleasure to hear all about how they work together and the processes behind it. We also share an experience of getting Arts Council funding too so worth a listen if you're based in Canada or the UK and interested in getting funding. You can catch the episode on Redcircle, Spotify & Apple
SOUL FOOD LITERATURE -
The weird irony of making comics for a living is that you lose valuable time to actually read comics. Luckily my commute to the British Library has given me time to catch up on a few titles. Given the choice I'd pick a small press comic or zine over a main publisher for leisure reading. The eclectic and idiosyncratic wealth of talent making comics and zines is astounding. Two stalwarts of the current UK scene are personal favs Sean Azzopardi and Anna Readman.
Sean's most recent series LIFE'S A PARTY beautifully embodies the open often raw storytelling that small press is well known for. In ONCE THERE WAS DANCING Sean takes us back and forth from Camden 1996 to Hull 2021 in a quietly, powerful reflection on life and alcohol. I was really affected by it and think about it often. There's a number of books in the series and can be picked up from Sean's website phatcomics.co.uk
Anna Readman is a remarkable talent. Truly. And PEACH FUZZ NO.1 is a testament to why Anna will be everywhere in comics one day very soon. It's a brilliant collection of short stories that are somehow both absurdist yet cannily observed comments on the state of world we live in. It's yet another work that's left me pondering it's ideas and I heartily recommend you nab a copy from Anna at annareadman.bigcartel.com along with the many excellent comics available.
Fortunately I'm reading lots of printed works for my SHELTER research but when I'm working on something repetitive, like some Photoshop tidying up or painting pages, I love to let my mind wander in an audiobook. Most recently it was the rip-roaring and properly funny HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL COVEN by Juno Dawson. This is the 1st in a series set in the UK amongst the covens and outcasts of the witch communities. It mixes mundane, every day aspects - family rows, dating, appeasing your partner - with a growing battle amongst the witches as they discover a young powerful wizard who's also transitioning to being a witch. The heart of the story is about lifelong friendships and how aging can cause fissures in the foundations. It does discuss transphobia and in line with my own thoughts, is pro-trans rights but I'd be interested to hear how it lands with folks with lived experience. I think it's heart is in the right place, it’s well read making a very enjoyable listen and I'm looking forward to the next installment. I listened via Audible but I'm sure other options are available.
One of my all time favourite creators is GIPI. I can't tell you how many hours I've poured over his artwork and marvelled at the ease of dialogue in his stories. When I dropped off my artwork for the recent exhibition at Jam Bookshop I spotted one of his books I hadn't gotten yet and immediately nabbed it. I'm part way through MBDL - My Badly Drawn Life (Fantagraphics) and not only is it full of brilliantly, loosely rendered art but the accounts of his youth in Italy made me gasp and chuckle on the Overground (whilst hiding the pages as it's not exactly family friendly reading). I could recognise a lot from it even though my teens were in London but clearly we are all total bellends at that stage in life. You can get a copy of MBDL along with NOTES ON A WAR STORY, GARAGE BAND and the jaw-droppingly stunning ONE STORY from Jam Bookshop in the UK. Seek this work out wherever you are. I promise it will be a tonic for your soul.
Listening wise I’m writing so it’s instrumental only & I’ll have Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds & Brian Eno on hard rotation. I’m one of those that cannot write if there’s lyrics and although I’m a fan on film scores I find it has to be one inline with the tone of my project. I’m still looking for that illusive vibe. Saying that if you get EARLY DOORS from my website I’ll send you a playlist to enhance the read.
AUDIO/VISUAL DISTRACTIONS -
I'm emerging from a half-term school break so have been playing plenty of Nintendo Switch with my kid. We've puzzled over UNRAVEL 2, tag teamed on LUIGI's MANSION 3 & returned to our all time fav RAYMAN DEFINITIVE EDITION. My kid is a keen gamer since lockdown and hard to get off POKÉMON ARCEUS or ZELDA; BREATH OF THE WILD. The latter of which she's finally got me started on. It's a beautiful game but as I've barely got time to blink at the moment I'm unlikely to get lost in an open world epic. One day though I absolutely will. I got to take her to her first arcade outing this holiday where she promptly thrashed a couple of teenagers at MARIO KART. It was a proud moment for both her 8 year old self and me. I used to play Nintendo with my Dad so making that a tradition with my kid feels like still having him around.
TV wise we joined the rest of the UK in devouring the final series of HAPPY VALLEY. We caught the 2nd series when it first aired so it's been a long wait for the resolution but well worth it. Sarah Lancashire's performance as hard AF copper Catherine Cawood is masterful and a subtle revolution in portraying older women on screen. Another fascinating series and one that has a superb cast is STATION 11, a near future sci-fi set in the dregs of social cataclysm. Apparently it was written pre-Covid but its uncanny similarities make the trails of survivors all the more impactful. We're about 2/3rds through and hooked on the show. I'm also throughly enjoying THE GOLD, a drama based on a real life UK robbery in the 80's. It's got a brilliant cast, superb dialogue and feels very authentic. It's got a fair few laughs amongst the criminality so do check it out. For a bit of light relief we're watching EXTRAORDINARY, a new comedy set in a world where everyone gets a super power except the lead Jen. It's a wry take on the fuck-up-in-your-20s tale and episode 3 is near perfect. If you need a giggle I promise Luke Rollason as Jizzlord will get you there.
I rarely get to watch cinema these days as having a kid and a puppy and making comics leaves me with about an 1hr or so in the evenings. I'm desperate to find some time for AFTERSUN, THE NANNY & ST. MAUD so hopefully by the Summer edition of this newsletter I'll have caught up on those. I took out a subscription to SHUDDER to get up to speed on Folk-Horror and specifically for the documentary WOODLANDS DARK & DAYS BEWITCHED, a deep dive into the genre. It's meant I keep stopping to catch the titles that come up in the film but luckily many of them are on the streaming platform. I realised I hadn't seen BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW and what a trip that was, alongside a re-watch of THE WICKERMAN I was left suitably unnerved.
LOOKING AHEAD -
I hope by April to have a finished script and plan for the next SHELTER story. There may be some news to share on that soon but for now the plan is to keep making it and possibly self-publish via Crowdfundr. I must admit MOTHERS RUIN is looking graphic novel sized but could potentially be made into 2 issues so we shall see.
I've got work coming out in an anthology soon (Yep, it's not yet announced!) and will hopefully be able to share some details about those upcoming events. So keep an eye out in my socials... I'm on most platforms as @LucySullivanUK
I hope you enjoyed reading this 1st issue of my newsletter, thanks again for joining me and I'll be back when Summer has taken hold. Look after yourselves till then, Cheers! Lucy
