BIFF! BAM! POW!
I find myself in the secluded garden of the Palazzo Castiglioni just off the Piazza Sordello in Mantua, Italy. I am a guest of the literary festival and am greeted by Fabrizio and Federico from my Italian publisher. Edizioni BD is run by Marco who first edited my book Dumped in Italian twenty years ago. There's been a last minute request for an interview and Federico will act as my interpreter.
I can hardly believe my luck. Here I am, a humble cartoonist, at a literary festival in northern Italy about to talk comics with anyone who will listen. Things really have moved on since the days of BIFF! BAM! POW! Graphic novels have been welcomed into the bosom of the literary establishment. I am listed alongside the likes of Anne Enright and John Banville. I was, I admit, feeling pretty pleased not only with myself, but with the status of the medium.
I am mic'ed up by a cameraman. A nice lady holds an iPad and smiles at me. She is a journalist for Rai TV , the national broadcaster. I am going to be filmed. My smile becomes a little forced. My mind quickly runs through a catastrophising check list of all the stupid things I will say and do that will be seen by the people of Italy. I will embarrass myself, but even worse, embarrass the lovely people of the festival.
There are technical difficulties. None of the microphones work. The interview is postponed. Phew! I mentally tear up my catastrophising check list and leave.
Wiping the cold sweat from my brow I go to lunch with the two wonderful cartoonists I will be chatting with at an event later in the afternoon, Giacomo Bevilaqua, Zerocalcare and their publisher, Caterina. The cartoonists live in Rome, are good friends and have their double act down to a fine art. Caterina shrugs and rolls her eyes while I laugh. I don't have to worry about the event, those two can carry it and I can sit back and enjoy the fireworks. I eat pumpkin and amaretto ravioli. Life is good.
My laissez-faire attitude is somewhat undercut when we arrive at the venue to see a large crowd at the Palazzo San Sebastiano. These two guys are very successful and have many devoted readers. My cold sweat returns. My mind takes the catastrophising check list out of the mental wastepaper basket, sellotapes it back together and adds a few more items of possible humiliation to the list. I have the gloomy sense of being an unnecessary addition to proceedings.
That turns out not to be the case as I am treated kindly and generously by Giacomo, Zerocalcare and Simonetta, the host for our talk. There are laughs and nods of agreement and rounds of applause. Simonetta describes the people here as 'crazy readers' and I am one of them. The check list is screwed up and chucked in the bin at the back of my brain.
We end by signing copies of our books. I expect to be sat twiddling my thumbs while my new friends sign for long lines of eager readers, but am shocked to see a line forming in front of me. I get signing and sketching. All the copies of The Book Tour are sold out. It has gone much better than I could ever have hoped. I have a grin on my face as I make to leave.
I don't get far. The nice lady from Rai TV is waiting for me. The technical issues have been resolved. A working mic is handed to me in front of a screen displaying the festival's logo. The cameraman hoists the camera onto his shoulder and adjusts the lens. I smile. I'm on a high after the success of the signing. I could talk for hours about my book and the festival and the my thoughts on the ability of the comics medium to cross borders, languages and bring people together.
The nice lady from Rai TV consults her iPad, smiles and asks her first question, "How did you first learn of the Queen's death?"
I take the check list out of the bin at the back of my brain.
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Manifestations
I rarely leave the house, in fact I rarely leave my seat, but when invited I will attend:
LICAF. 14th-16th October.
Sunday 16 October Noon - 1pm Old Laundry Theatre
The Comedy of Anxiety with Matthew Dooley and Andi Watson
Andi Watson is the acclaimed creator of ‘Book Tour’ and ‘Breakfast After Noon’, both bleak but brilliantly comic tales of anxiety and depression. Matthew Dooley’s debut ‘Flake’ was the first graphic novel to win the Wodehouse Bollinger Prize, and is a tale of ice cream wars in North West England. Between them, Andi and Matthew are masters of tragic banality, the Alan Bennett's of graphic literature. Join them as they draw live and explore the humour that twinkles on the fringes of the wasteland of the human soul. Presented by Paul Gravett.
Followed by a signing session in the festival bookshop
Shameless capitalism
Paris, the fairy tale romance beautifully drawn by Simon Gane and written by me is out now from Image comics The handsome hardcover features twenty new pages of art and extras from Simon. If you enjoyed the book please leave a positive review online. That really helps us.
Order from the fine folk at OK Comics and you get an exclusive bookplate signed by Simon and me. Thx to OK for the photo.
Books signed by us both can be bought directly from Simon and from me.
Sunburn is the next book from Simon and me. Due out at the end of November. Please pre-order online or from your local comic shop or indie bookstore to avoid disappointment. Simon has done gorgeous work on the colours of this book and I hope everyone who wants a copy can get their hands on one.
Order from OK Comics and you will get the book with a signed exclusive bookplate.
Order from Page 45 and you will get the book with a (different) signed exclusive bookplate.
We're very lucky to have wonderful retailers who support our (and many other authors) books so please support them if you can.
Patreon
I have a patreon which I update regularly. Tuesdays and Saturdays I post sketches and behind the scenes stuff such as Punycorn colour pages. Thursdays I post a one page comic story (the most recent was a gripping four-part Tap Quest story). And this year I am posting a review of the book I have read that week every Sunday.
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I still have books out in the world, Kerry and the Knight of the Forest & the awards nominated The Book Tour. Support my efforts through my store – digital comics – patreon or by leaving a positive review online