Reading list

This page contains a list of books, journals, articles, websites, blogs and other sources of information that I’m reading, watching or listening to that are informing my work and extending my understanding of broader visual
communication practice.

Information is organised into categories to make it easier to reference, and content will be added to this section throughout the duration of the project.

Self publishing

Title	Description	How this has informed my practice
Lulu book creation guide	Information describing from a fairly technical perspective the theory and specifications used in preparing a comic for print.	Useful theory. Explained basic concepts.
How to Set Up a Comic Book for Print in InDesign	A video explaining how to set-up pages, import content and export them printer ready in InDesign.	Filled a gap in my knowledge. Pitched perfectly for someone (like me) who has a working knowledge of InDesign but not specific experience of collating and exporting pages for print. Takes the theory and turns it into practice.

Publishers/indie publishers/agents

Title	Description	How this has information my practice
Dead Star Publishing	UK indie publisher, accepting submissions	Information that feeds into my marketing and distribution plan
Marcosia	UK indie publisher, books need to be at least 40 pages, we will print short form comics digitally, but our focus is on collected editions and long form comics or graphic novels.	Information that feeds into my marketing and distribution plan
UK literary agents – a complete list	This article explains how to engage with literary agents and lists the top 50 in the UK.	Information that feeds into my marketing and distribution plan

The practice of making comics

Title	Description	How this has information my practice
WIP Comic meetup	WIP Comics (or Work in Progress Comics, to give it its full name) is a group made to help aspiring artists, writers and comic creators move their ideas and projects forward.	Helped be gain an understanding of the processes, challenges, theory and practice of comic making from comic makers. A extremely valuable source of information and contacts.
Comics for beginners	A series of videos made by Danish comic artist Palle Schmidt. An insightful look into his processes and practice. Some handy tips.	Was most useful in informing the different visual design experiments.
Understanding Comics – The invisible art Scott McCloud	Essential reading – Guides the reader through the elements of comics style and words and pictures work together	Gave me a theoretical framework to understand how comics work and, most importantly who and where the type of comic I want to produce sits. I realised that within the context of making comics, having several different visual styles is an advantage that can play into the process.
WIP Creating Comics Online – Time: Tension, pacing & rhythm	A 2-hour online presentation and workshop	See visual notes below. A great presentation that described the concept of rhythm and pacing in comics. Perfect timing on the weekend that I’m starting layout design. The two practical exercises really brought it to life for me.
The essential guide to comic book lettering – Nate Piekos	Described as “a must read for anyone who wants to make comic books”. Packed with advice and practical examples.	Currently in the process of reading this book. Many learnings to be taken and put into practice as my project(s) develop
Drawing Words & Writing Pictures – Jessica Able & Matt Madden	A book full of tips/tricks and practical advice for creating comics	Referred to regularly as technical reference
99 ways to tell a story Matt Madden	Exercises in style	Referred to regularly as inspiration for layout and visual style
Expressive printmaking – Mary Dalton	Step by step experimental printmaking techniques	Reference used in the print studio as input to practice research.

Storytelling, writing stories

Title	Description	How this has information my practice
Into the Woods – John Yorke	A talk given by John Yorke in which he breaks down stories into archetypal components and explains why narrative works: story physics. (See notes below)	Provides a checklist of tools/best practice that I used to build an understanding of the main characters in the story, strengths, weaknesses, conflict and motivation.
Kurt Vonnegut lecture	A talk describing story arc at a macro level. (See notes below)	Helped me to think about overall pacing direction of the story.
How to tell your story so the world listens – Bobette Buster	A short and very readable book where the author outlines ten principles of storytelling through examples.	Provides a checklist of tools/best practice to ensure stories reach their audience in an effective/engaging way

Graphic novel/comic reviews

Title	Description	How this has information my practice
Broken Frontier	is an award-nominated web-magazine and a comics community hub. Contains articles, reviews news and events focused at emerging talent.	A great place to find out current information what’s going on in UK indie comic publishing
Pipedream Comics	Discover indie and small press comics in the uk	At the time of writing this site hasn’t been updated for some time. One to keep an eye on.
The Comics Journal	In depth interviews with comic creators/illustrators and reviews	Another place to find out current information, in depth interviews and reviews of what’s going on in UK indie comic publishing

Events/conferences/meet-ups

Title	Description	How this has information my practice
Thought Bubble	Thought Bubble is the Yorkshire Comic Art Festival that celebrates comics and the people who make them – November 12-13 2022	At time of writing, a future event that looks packed full of interesting people, presentation and events. To make the best of this opportunity it would be best to have something to show/share/sell.
The Self Publishing Show	The biggest indie author conference this side of the Atlantic	The place to find out about independent publishing and distribution. Many talks/presentations to select.

Sales, marketing and building an audience

Title	Description	How this has information my practice
Kickstarter UK Handbook	A guide for creating successful Kickstarter campaigns in the UK	This was core research informing my Kickstarter campaign
How to launch your kickstarter like A rocket — school of visual storytelling.	Podcast where three illustrators discuss how they have successfully used Kickstarter	This was core research informing my Kickstarter campaign

Artist reference

Title	Description	How this has information my practice
Cages – Dave McKean	Graphic novel	The experimental way in which McKean juxtaposes multiple visual styles/inventive layout is an ongoing reference point and inspiration
The Pill Box – David Hughes	Graphic novel	I love the visual style and humour in the work of David Hughes. His work is ongoing reference and inspiration.

References

Bibliography

Drummond, Scott (2018) How to Set Up a Comic Book for Print in InDesign [Video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gETRi346Nmk (Accessed: 02/10/22)

Lulu book creation guide [Website] At: https://www.lulu.com/publishing-toolkit (Accessed: 02/10/22)

Dead Star Publishing [Website] At: https://deadstarpublishing.co.uk/ (Accessed: 02/10/22)

Marcosia [Website] At: https://markosia.com/contact/submission-guidelines/ (Accessed:02/10/22)

UK literary agents – a complete list [Website] At: https://jerichowriters.com/uk-literary-agents/ (Accessed: 02/10/22)

WIP comic meetup [Meetup] At: https://www.meetup.com/wipcomics/ (Accessed: 02/10/22)

Palle Schmidt Comics for beginners [Website] At: https://comicsforbeginners.com/ (Accessed: 02/10/22)

McCloud, Scott (1993) Understanding Comics – The invisible art New York: First Harper Perennial

Piekos, Nate (2022) The essential guide to comic book lettering Portland: Image Comics Inc.

Yorke, John (2014) Talks at Google – Into the Woods At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0UZHUnB5pQ (Accessed: 02/10/22)

Kurt Vonnegut lecture

Buster, Bobette (2013) How to tell your story so the world listens UK: Works In Progress Publishing Ltd.

Broken Frontier [Website] At: https://www.brokenfrontier.com (Accessed: 02/10/22)

Pipedream Comics [Website] At: http://pipedreamcomics.co.uk/ (Accessed: 02/10/22)

The Comics Journal [Website] At: https://www.tcj.com/ (Accessed: 02/10/22)

Thought Bubble Comic Arts Festival [Website] At: https://www.thoughtbubblefestival.com/ (Accessed: 02/10/22)