FESTIVAL FEATURES | Stripped LAID BA
JOHN FARDELL Edinburgh cartoonist and writer John Fardell is a favourite with two very different audiences. Many know him for his work on adults only comic Viz where he draws The Modern Parents and The Critics amongst others, skewering the pomposity of the self-righteous middle classes. His other readers are signii cantly younger, with his series of children’s books including Jeremiah Jellyi sh Flies High, The Day Louis Got Eaten and Manfred the Baddie still exhibiting his cheeky humour and highly detailed art style. At this year’s Book Fest he’ll be talking about his comic heroes and inl uences from Tintin to Dan Dare. MELINDA GEBBIE Gebbie started work on underground feminist comics in America during the 70s contributing to Wimmen’s Comix, Tits & Clits Comix, Wet Satin, Anarchy Comics and more. She moved to the UK in 1984 to work on the animated adaptation of Raymond Brigg’s harrowing tale of nuclear fallout When the Wind Blows. Once in Britain she started work on the controversial sexually explicit Lost Girls with Alan Moore (who she would later marry) which details the erotic adventures of various children’s characters (Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Wendy from Peter Pan).
GRANT MORRISON
Like so many great British writers this Scot i rst made an impact at 2000AD. He then moved to DC writing seminal works including Batman: Arkham Asylum and Doom Patrol. 1996 saw Morrison take his brand of cosmic weirdness to the mainstream as he took over writing Justice League of America before jumping ship and joining Marvel to take control on the X-Men before once again moving back to his spiritual home at DC. Even with these big gigs Morrison still had time for bizarre tales like We3, The Filth and Happy as well as writing his personal history of superheroes, Supergods. He received an MBE in 2012. Key Work: The Invisibles (1994–2000) a tale of psychic terrorism that mirrored his own life.
Key Work: Fardell’s i rst illustrated novel The Seven Professors of the Far North (2004). Insider information: Fardell used to provide a regular comic strip for The List.
Charlotte Square, 0845 373 5888, 22 Aug, 6–7pm, £4.50.
14 THE LIST FESTIVAL 15–26 Aug 2013
Key Work: Lost Girls with Alan Moore which was started in 1991 but due to various legal wranglings wasn’t released until 2007.
Insider information: Her i rst comic Fresca Zizis (1977) was seized by HM Customs in 1985 and is still banned in the UK. Insider information: Plays the villain in the videos for ‘Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)’ and ‘SING’ by emo punk rockers My Chemical Romance.
Charlotte Square, 0845 373 5888, 23 Aug, 4–5pm, £10 (£8). Charlotte Square, 0845 373 5888, 23 Aug, 8–9pm, £10 (£8).