This year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival was launched this morning and in amongst a programme full of novelists, poets, thinkers, journalists and musicians there is the odd graphic novelist too.
Unfortunately the festival has still to ask one or other or both of the Hernandez Brothers to make the journey to the Scottish capital (Graphic Content’s birthday wish every year), but overlooking that terrible faux pas what can we expect?
Well, how about comics turned into drama? On the opening weekend there’s a live version of Alpha, French cartoonist Barroux’s powerful graphic novel about the perils of migration, performed by the cartoonist himself, his translator Sarah Ardizzone and actor Thierry Lawson (Saturday, August 13). Graphic Content hopes this is the start of a new trend. We are looking forward to Mark Millar performing Kick Ass in Charlotte Square next summer. And we’ll expect him to do all his own stunts.
It’s always good to see Bryan and Mary M Talbot at the book festival. On their last appearance discussing their graphic novel Sally Heathcote, Suffragette, the event was “interrupted” by a suffragette choir (aka the Loud and Proud choir, which normally includes Sally Heathcote’s artist Kate Charlesworth).
That will be hard to top, but Graphic Content is hoping someone will get up and sing us some revolutionary songs during the discussion of their latest graphic novel The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia, the story of French revolutionary feminist Louise Michel, which we here at Graphic Content were very partial to when it was published earlier this year.
Edward Ross will be discussing his excellent graphic take on film theory on Saturday, August 13, while, as part of the children’s programme, Glasgow graphic team Metaphrog will be talking about their adaptation of Hans Christian Andresen’s fairy tales The Red Shoes on Monday, August 15.
The children’s programme is also home to a number of Phoenix Comic Workshops with cartoonists including Jamie Littler, Laura Ellen Anderson and Zak Simmonds-Hurn. The return of Supergran (in print form) is also being celebrated on Monday, August 22. Presumably the late Molly Weir won’t be making an appearance, though if she does that will be some story.
On Sunday, August 28, a Graphic Biographies event will see Fionnuala Doran discuss her book The Trial of Roger Casement, while Marcel Ruitjers introduces us to his biography of the artist Hieronymous Bosch.
But the first ticket we will be booking is one for Tom Gauld’s appearance in support of his new graphic novel Mooncop (Wednesday, August 24). Gauld’s stark, deadpan cartoons have been one of the highlights of the Guardian’s book review section for years now. Celebrating one of Aberdeenshire’s finest export has long been overdue in his home country. So let’s begin this August.
For more information visit edbookfest.co.uk
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