John Grieve on The Beast of Barton

John Grieve’s The Beast of Barton is an example of how a comic can be a solo work of art, with Grieve responsible for every aspect of creation and production. Steve Morris, on The Spire website describes it as ‘a rhyming tale of Mad Kings, monsters, kill-happy townsfolk and all manner of whats-else… a pretty solid bit of entertainment.’ It has also garnered him a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 2015 SICBA Awards.


Tell us about the book you're nominated for...

The Beast of Barton is a rhyming tale set in the aforementioned fictional town of Barton. It is a story of greed, murder and the balance of good and evil (told in as lighthearted a way as possible). Being the first in a trilogy, it serves as an introduction to the troubled town and a hint at things to come.

Tell us how you got into comicsI had always read comics as a kid and think my first half serious attempt at one was when I was about 11. As time went on, priorities changed and comics and art in general kind of got put on the back burner.Additionally, a lack of confidence presenting my art/writing to the public ensured that until recently things were not taken any further. 

A few years back, I attended some of Garry Mac’s excellent comic workshops and that kind of rekindled my passion for comic creation. Also my wife has been an amazing support and has pushed me to get stuff out there which has helped immensely.

How far is your work a collaborative process?

Not at all. I bounce ideas off of my wife occasionally and ask opinions from others, but in general I am a bit of a hermit when it comes to working.
It’s not that I’m averse to working with others and have done in the past but writing/drawing/colouring/editing everything myself means I’m working to my own timeline and enjoying the creative process to the full.

Who would you say your inspirations were?I’m a huge fan of everything Bill Watterson has ever done. Terry Pratchett, Dr Seuss, Lewis Carrol (The Hunting of the Snark) and Tim Burton (The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy) among many others.

What are you reading right now?
I kind of dip in and out of reading graphic novels nowadays to be honest. For instance I only got round to reading Maus last year!
That said, The Walking Dead is a pretty regular read for me.
There are no pictures, but I’m also reading Terry Pratchett’s A Slip of the Keyboard at the moment.

Sicba: Best Newcomer

Best Newcomer is a new award for 2015: since its foundation in 2011, SICBA has aimed to promote exciting comics and support the rise of original talent. The past decade has seen a surge of artists and writers in Scotland who, either in collaboration or as auteurs, have adopted the comic format to their creative needs.

The nominees for Best Newcomer reflect the diversity of contemporary comic content. From the creepy cuteness of Claire Hubbard's The Cats that Stared through to Letty Wilson's explosive colouring on Cosmic #1, the shortlist is evidence that Caledonia's comic community is pushing the art form into new territory. 

The Shortlist

Claire Hubbard (Writer, Artist for The Cats that Stared)
Emma Beeby (co-writer for Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter)
Gary Chudleigh (writer for Plagued: The Miranda Chronicles)
John Grieve (Writer, Artist, Colourist, Letterer, Designer, Editor for The Beast of Barton)
Norrie Miller (Writer, Artist, Colourist, Letterer, Designer, Editor for Duality)
Letty Wilson (Artist, Colourist for Cosmic #1)

The Cats that Stared  is a charming, short tale of an invasion of mysterious cats and how one human deals with what appears to be a threatening and frightening feline presence. Influenced by classic children's illustration but with an adult subtext - which is never unsuitable for all ages, however - Hubbard combines a clarity of line and a gentle wit, that allows the story to come to a happy conclusion without sentimentality. 

Emma Beeby's writing on Robbie Burns: Witch Hunter looks at a mythical episode in the life of Scotland's great Bard - the mysterious years before his poetic success when he took up with a posse of witch hunters. Apart from providing material for Burns' famous Tam O'Shanter poem, these adventures taught Burns about wit - a constant theme in the graphic novel is his inability to pick the right words, suggesting he stole many of his best lines from the supernatural avengers.

Set in a science-fiction dystopia - which has nothing in common with Gary Chudleigh's home city of Glasgow - Plagued has already settled into a comfortable groove that suggests Chudleigh has plenty of stories to tell within this reality. A society where magic and science are not simple categories but markers of political division and ideology, Plagued is a mixture of playful humour - usually provided by a talking dog - and philosophical conflict.

John Grieves takes on all of the roles for his Beast of Barton - whether the myth is a folk tale or his own invention, it has the structure of stories that have lasted around campfires since humans first started making stuff up about the past. His graphic style is approachable, his writing nonchalant and sparse, but he injects enough dramatic tension and wry humour to ensure that this Beast is not easily banished.

Norrie Miller is another auteur: Duality would not be out of place as an episode of The Twilight Zone, and Miller performs writing and art duties to blend together a philosophical reflection with some science fiction drama. Covering emotional domestic scenes and majestic outer-space action, Duality takes advantage of the comic form to switch between the epic and the intimate, and enjoys playing about with time and expectation.

Letty Wilson's art and colouring on Cosmic #1 is a dynamic response to Erin Keeper's story of super-powers and self-discovery. Although perhaps closest to the heroic norm of mainstream comics, Cosmic alternates between intense psychedelia and more gentle scenes of urban life: Wilson has a faux naive style that settles between realist and cartoon styles, bringing a world to life that is both familiar and decidedly alien.