Panel Borders – Panel Borders and other podcasts

First Graphic Novel Award 2025: In this month’s show, Alex Fitch hosts the launch event for the 2025 First Graphic Award. Available to any unpublished comics creator, the competition looks to providing the winner with a publishing contract for their first graphic novel. 2023 long listed and short listed artists Kelly Vassie and Myfanwy Tristram, […]

First Graphic Novel Award 2023: Alex Fitch hosts the presentation ceremony of the 2023 First Graphic Novel Award, featuring short interviews with shortlisted artists Cathy Brett, Gareth Cowlin, Mereida Fajardo, Alexander Taylor, Anna Trench, Myfanwy Tristram, and Corban Wilkin, presentations by Fitch and his fellow judges: Sabba Khan, Corinne Pearlman, Ayoola Solarin, Steve Marchant and […]

Drawing on Artistic Practice: In this month’s podcast episode of Panel Borders, Alex Fitch presents a pair of interviews about the connections between sequential art and fine art. Simon Wildsmith chats about the major exhibition in Barnsley which showcases the work of his father Brian Wildsmith, and Katriona Chapman discusses the use of her paintings […]

The Past and Future in Comics at LICAF: Alex Fitch chats to a quartet of comics creators about reviving old characters, and to Ivanka Hahnenberger about helping to launch a Comics Rights Market at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. In the ‘Mantles and Legacies’ Panel, Greg Rucka, Ram V, Michael Lark and Mike Perkins […]

Pricks, and Sea Sick: In an episode on provocation and sequential art, Alex Fitch talks to Fraser Geesin and Laurie Rowan, the creators of Purple Hate Balloon and Pricks, magical realist tales of toxic masculinty set in Worthing, recorded at Cartoon County. Also, in a panel discussion recorded at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Myfanwy […]

Young Graphic Novelists to Watch: In a special Summer episode that looks at up and coming graphic novelists, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of creators who are exhibiting at the inaugural Sequent’ull Comic Art Festival in Hull this month. Michelle Freeman chats about turning her interest in fine art to storytelling, expressed in a […]

Fantasy and Horror Locations: In an episode that looks at Fantasy and Horror Comics in memoriable locations, a trio of creators talk about their work in this area. Alex Fitch talks to John Dudley and Scott Gray about their kickstarted title Big Shoulders which mixes music and magic, dragons and immortal storytellers in contemporary and […]

Euro Visions: In a pair of interviews with European artists now working in English, Alex Fitch talks to Gigi Cavenago about his work on iconic characters such as Dylan Dog / Batman, and Spider-Man in Across the Spider-Verse, and to Lucie Arnoux about her autobiographical graphic novel Je Ne Sais Quoi and illustrating the comics […]

Learning from the Past and Future: Alex Fitch talks to creators whose work set in the past and future offer salient warnings about the present. Julian Hanshaw discusses his graphic novel Free Pass which tells the tale of a couple who let a robot join in their intimate relationships, while Sophie and Scarlett Rickard chat […]

Guest presenter Ivanka Hahnenberger talks to three comics creators whose work has been adapted for film and television. Writer Peter Hogan discusses the TV version of his comic Resident Alien, cartoonist Posy Simmonds chats about the adaptations of Tamara Drew and Fred, and Luke Pearson explores the Netflix adaptation of his children comic Hilda. Recorded […]

Life Drawing: In a pair of interviews recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of artists whose work is drawn from life. Nick Sayers discusses his projects Nick Draws Neighbours, and Nick Draws Nationals which see the artist pencil likenesses of people met locally and on zoom to compile vignettes of […]

Jewish Women in Comics: In a special episode looking at the work of Jewish Women in Comics, Alex Fitch talks to Sarah Lightman, one of the editors of a new book with that name, and to Sharon Rudahl, a veteran comics creator known for her strips in Wimmen’s Comix, who is featured in the anthology. […]

Transformers And Translators: In the first of this year’s autumn series of Panel Borders, Alex Fitch talks to Bryan Hitch, a comics artist renowned for his work on Transformers and super-hero titles, and to Ivanka Hahnenberger who has translated numerous award-winning European graphic novels into English, and works in promoting the medium at various events. […]

Comic Histories: the Panel Borders Summer Special – in a couple of public talks, a pair of academics discuss the early history of comics. Alice Loxton investigates the saga of 18th Century satirical prints, as made by Gillray, Cruikshank and Rowlandson in a talk recorded at The Cartoon Museum in conjuction with the launch of […]

Historical Comics: In a programme looking at comics from and about history, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of female creators about their work. Alice Loxton discusses her book Uproar! Satire, Scandal and Printmakers in Georgian London which delves into the lives of early cartoon satirists – Thomas Rowlandson, Isaac Cruikshank and James Gillray – […]

Exploring Human Behaviour: In a programme looking at non-fiction graphic novels that explore human behaviour, Alex Fitch chairs a panel discussion with a trio of comic creators about their work. Veronika Muchitsch discusses her book Cyberman which investigates a year in the life of webcammer Ari Kivikangas, plus Daniel Locke and Alex Frith chat about […]

Unusual City Dwellers: In a programme looking at comics which depict unusual city dwellers, Alex Fitch talks to artists Ellice Weaver and Robin Smith about their work. Weaver discusses her urban graphic novels Big Ugly and Something City which tell the lives of friends and neighbours in city environments, Smith chats about the kickstarter campaign […]

Challenging Lives: In this ‘feature length’ podcast looking at comics that detail some extraordinarily challenging lives in biography and autobiography, a pair of graphic novelists discuss with Alex FItch their work on this topic. Cartoonist and designer Eliza Fricker dicusses her book Can’t Not Won’t: A Story about a child who couldn’t go to school, […]

Junkyard Jack, Monster Fun and Street Noise Books: In this ‘feature length’ podcast looking at comics for young audiences, and a young publisher looking to widen audiences, Alex Fitch talks to editor Liz Frances about her imprint Street Noise Books, who publish a range of graphic novels about diversity and activism, and to artists Matt […]

Youth and Wellbeing: In this ‘feature length’ podcast looking at comics about youth and wellbeing, a quartet of artists discuss their work which touches on these topics. Former Comics Laureate Hannah Berry chats to renowned cartoonist Alison Bechel about her latest book The Secret to Superhuman Strength, as well as her classics Dykes to Watch […]

Guantanamo Voices: To discuss the 21st anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay, and the lives of the people still incarcerated there, Alex Fitch talks to writer Sarah Mirk about her graphic novel anthology Guantanamo Voices, which tells the tale of ten people associated with the prison, and to journalist Andy Worthington about his continuing […]

Local And Locas Stories: In this ‘feature length’ podcast, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of comics creators whose work is based around representation of marginalised people and cultures in specific times and places. Graphic novelist Susan Sainsbury discusses her Worthing based titles Kitty and Cheery Cak, about female lives lived on the South Coast […]

Curating and Creating Comics: As the start of a new season of Panel Borders, the UK’s only monthly broadcast radio show about comics, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of artists whose work includes autobiography, museum display, and responses to Covid and Lockdown. In a Q and A recorded at Cartoon County, Henny Beaumont chats […]

Greg Rucka – Desert Island Comics: In the second of a pair of podcast only recordings, Alex Fitch chats to comics writer Greg Rucka about the five titles he would want to have with him, if marooned on a desert island, including classics by Brian Bolland, Matt Wagner, Bill Sienkiewicz, Matt Fraction and Jen Van […]

The Writing Game: In the first of a pair of podcast only recordings, Alex Fitch talks to Simon Spurrier, Rob Williams, and Garth Ennis about their history of writing comics. The three writers discuss their techniques, the characters they’ve enjoyed working on including Judge Dredd and John Constantine, and their tips for collaboration in a […]

New Anthologies: In a pair of interviews recorded at Cartoon County online, Alex Fitch talks to a number of creators about their work on anthologies. Sarah Mirk discusses her work on political comics anthology The Nib with contributions from artists Myfanwy Tristram and Daniel Locke, talking about their strips created for the title. Ben Conan […]

Unusual Buildings: In this month’s show, Alex Fitch talks to the creators of graphic novels set in unusual buildings… Former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen and artist Cole Henley discuss the comic book version of You’re Thinking About Tomatoes, in which a boy on a school trip to a country house gets embroiled in an adventure […]

Multimedia Comics: This month, Alex Fitch talks to comic creators about multimedia engagement with their sequential art. Chinese cartoonist Chihoi chats about his comic The Train, which is currently on display in the riverside window of the the Royal Festival Hall, London, and at Graphic Brighton, audio producer Lance Dann and graphic novelist Hannah Berry […]

Sporting Titles: In a pair of interviews recorded at Cartoon County, Alex Fitch talks to cartoonists whose recent work has been on sports themed comics. Ellen Lindner chats about her project ‘A History of Gender Rebellion in Baseball’ – which has generated the comic, Lost Diamonds and two issues of the zine The Cranklet’s Chronicle, […]

David Bramwell performs The Cult of Water at Brighton Festival 2018, Once Upon a Time by Danny Noble, Cover of Black Crown Quarterly featuring a fictionalised version of Will Potter (drawn by Philip Bond) Music, Comics, and Performance: In a pair of interviews recorded at Graphic Brighton Alex Fitch talks to a trio of performers […]

Interior art from Freedom Bound and Incognegro: Renaissance, drawn by Warren Pleece / covers of these books / cover and interior art from Basil & Victoria drawn by Edith Historical Adventures: Alex Fitch talks to artists Warren Pleece and Edith (Grattery) about their work on historical graphic novels. In a Q &A recorded at Cartoon […]

Drawn from Experience: Alex Fitch talks to creators of autobiographical comics and graphic novels inspired by life, about depicting their own experiences on the page. In a panel discussion recorded at the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival, Steven Appleby, Sayra Begum, Rachael Smith and Matt Smith talk about their titles Drag Man, Mongrel, Quarantine Comix, […]

Cover and Interior art from The Roles we Play and Roti, by Sabba Khan and photo from Khan Bonshek website Drawn from Memory: In this episode, Alex Fitch talks to Sabba Khan about her graphic novel The Roles We Play which mixes infographics, comics autobiography, and family history of forced migration from Mirpur in Pakistan, […]

Cover and Interior art from The Middle Ages: A Graphic History and Saxon Gold, illustrated by Neil Max Emmanuel and photo of the artist Drawn from History: In this episode, Alex Fitch talks to former ‘Time Team’ motion graphics creator Neil Max Emmanuel, who explores the various drawing styles he’s adopted to illustrate The Middle […]

Pages from Swamp Thing vol.2 #53 and Miracleman #16 by John Totleben and Alan Moore / Photos of Totleben, Fitch and JMKE / Pages from The Will o’the Wisp and P.S. by JMKE Superhuman Creatures: In a belated Halloween episode, Alex Fitch talks to a couple of artists whose work features mutated humanoid figures in […]

Telling Truths: Alex Fitch talks to a quartet of graphic novelists whose work reflects events from history over the last hundred years. In a panel discussion recorded at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Hannah Berry, Darryl Cunningham and Fumio Obata discuss how their work is based on recent culture and economics regarding graphic novels […]

Edible Ensembles: In the second of two early Autumn specials, Alex Fitch chats to the creators of graphic novels with diverse ensemble casts. Jenny Robins discusses her graphic novel Biscuits (Assorted), which presents a snapshot of the intertwining lives of modern women from diverse backgrounds; Scott Jason Smith explores his book Marble Cake, a magical […]

Diverse Superheroes: In the first of two early Autumn specials, Alex Fitch chats to the creators of superhero comics with diverse ensemble casts. Eve Greenwood talks about their superhero webcomic Inhibit and LGBT+ publishing house Quindre Press, in a Q and A recorded at Cartoon County. Also, former Eastenders writer Colin Brake discusses the history […]

Good Comics: Alex Fitch looks at the output of small press publishing house Good Comics, in a pair of interviews with two of their creators. Editor / co-publisher Paddy Johnston talks about the founding of the imprint based on the success of their initial title Dead Singers Society, and artist Rozi Hathaway discusses her collection […]

Anticipating the Future: In the 501st episode of Panel Borders, Alex Fitch talks to a couple of creators who work on Science-Fiction Comics. In a Q and A recorded at Cartoon County, writer Alex DeCampi discusses her YA serial Full Tilt Boogie serialised in 2000AD and recently collected as a book, and working with director […]

Discerning The Past: In the 500th episode of Panel Borders, Alex Fitch takes a nostalgic look back at important moments in the history of comics. Alex discusses anthology title The Inking Woman with two of its editors – Dr. Nicola Streeten and Cath Tate – and how they compiled the book’s survey of 250 years […]

Fantastical Visions: In an episode celebrating great comic book art, Alex Fitch talks to three artists who bring wonderous visions to the page. In a Q and A recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, Zara Slattery discusses her graphic novel Coma which depicts her experiences of extreme medical intervention as a journey through a fantastical dreamscape. […]

Defensive Animals: In the second of two programmes looking at anthropomorphic comics, Alex Fitch talks to a pair of comic creators about their titles featuring combative animal characters. Leomi Sadler discusses her strips about insects, gargoyles, bacteria and other creatures battling against adversity, featured in a new collection – Tummy Bugs – published by Breakdown […]

Melancholic Animals: Alex Fitch talks to a pair of creators of anthropomorphic comics whose work features stories of animals in melancholic situations. Richard Short discusses the various publications featuring his popular feline character, including the latest graphic novel Haway Man, Klaus, published by Breakdown Press. Also, in an interview recorded at the Lakes International Comic […]

Retro Anthologies: In a pair of interviews, Alex Fitch talks to comic book editor Steve MacManus about his new retro comic book anthology Blazer, plus his tenure on 2000AD and other classic titles, and to Julie Hollings and Hunt Emerson about their work on music themed comics such as Revolver and Hot Jazz, plus anthology […]

Educating Comics: In a 2 hour Panel Borders Winter Special, comics creators discuss using the medium as an educational resource. Comics academic Elle Whitcroft introduces Ottilie Hansworth and her students Charlotte Semlyen, Catherine Moran, Tania Suryabandara, Judith Biddlestone and Nick Cannan regarding their creation of a strip anthology about The Theatre Royal, Brighton featuring untold […]

Dramatising the Real: In a pair of interviews looking at comic creators who dramatise real life events, Alex Fitch talks to Bryan and Mary Talbot about their graphic novels Sally Heathcote: Suffragette and The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia on French revolutionary Louise Michel in a Q and A recorded at Graphic Brighton, […]

Eclectic Horrors: In a belated Halloween special, Alex Fitch talks to three creators of very different horror themed comics. In a pair of interviews recorded at Copenhagen Comics Festival 2019, legendary creator Toshio Maeda explores his grotesque erotic manga Urotsokidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, and John Kenn Mortensen discusses his Edward Gorey inspired sketches of […]

Vectrexians: In a Clear Spot looking at the continuing good fortunes of the Vectrex games console, an arcade style machine distributed in the UK by Milton Bradley in 1983, Alex Fitch talks to programmers Chris Malcolm and Kristof Tuts about their new games for the console, and to graphic novelist Zara Slattery about her experiences […]

Ladies of the Lakes: In the first episode of a new series of the monthly radio show about graphic novels and sequential art, Alex Fitch talks to two female creators working in the comic book industry, in Q and As recorded at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Deborah Tate discusses her role as editor […]

Uncanny Landscapes: In the 2 hour Panel Borders Autumn Special, Alex Fitch talks to three comic creators whose work explores uncanny locations. In a pair of Q and As recorded at Cartoon County, Brighton, Chris Reynolds discusses the retro-futuristic aesthetic of his Mauretania Comics, set in post-industrial landscapes, and Sarah Gordon chats about the evocative […]