In the latest episode of the long-running comics-dedicated radio show Panel Borders, host Alex Fitch chats to Katriona Chapman about her latest graphic novel The Pass, released in January by Fantagraphics.
Katriona Chapman
Katriona Chapman is a British, London-based graphic novelist, whose work explores the lives of characters navigating the contemporary world. Her books include Follow Me In, which won the Broken Frontier Awards Best Graphic Nonfiction Prize, and Breakwater, a New York Times Top Ten Graphic Novel.
In The Pass, Claudia, her early thirties, is fast becoming a sensation on the culinary scene. In the midst of putting her chic London restaurant, Alley, on the map, she decides to enter the upcoming Chef of the Year competition. All this, as she is also attempting to make a name for herself beyond the shadow of her famous chef father.
As the day of the competition nears, tensions simmer as the pressures of ambition, business, family, and friendship threaten to throw her world awry.
Katriona Chapman brings to life the fast-paced, high-pressure atmosphere of restaurant life, with a lived-in cast of characters including chef Claudia, her best friend and sous chef Lisa, and barman Ben. Chapman delves into themes of identity, the pains of expectation and success, and the allure of running from the life you’ve built…
What sets Breakwater and The Pass apart is their focus on multidimensional, sympathetic characters rather than dramatic plot twists, Jonathan Sandler notes in their Spotlight on the creator. Chapman was fascinated by the kinds of personalities the restaurant business attracts. “They’re very driven and ambitious, hardworking and obsessive, and also creative.”
• The Pass is on sale in all good bookshops | ISBN: 979-8875000652 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link | UKBookshop.org Affiliate Link
Terry Moore
Plus, Eisner, Harvey, Reuben, and Inkwell Award-winning cartoonist Terry Moore discusses his long running cult classic series Strangers in Paradise, plus venturing into other genres including zombies and superheroes.
Earlier this year, Dark Horse Comics and Terry Moore announced a partnership to form a new imprint, debuting in October 2026. The new imprint will launch with a hardcover omnibus edition of Moore’s Strangers in Paradise.
Strangers in Paradise Omnibus, Volume 1 will include the first three volumes of the book, as well as bonus content, plus newly designed pages, and a new cover by Moore.
For those unfamiliar, Strangers in Paradise is the compelling love story of three unlikely friends who find themselves bound together by their pasts…
Katchoo is a beautiful young woman living in the spare bedroom of her high school friend, Francine. Brash and outspoken, Katchoo makes no secret of her love for Francine, but that’s not an option for the shy, insecure woman who looks for Prince Charming in a series of bad boyfriends. Enter David, a gentle but persistent artist who seems determined to win Katchoo’s heart.
The resulting triangle is a touching comedy of romantic errors that takes the trio down a complicated road of murder, mayhem, and love, featuring an array of characters, including crime bosses, psychopaths, and well-meaning friends.
Dark Horse will continue its partnership with Moore and his Abstract Studio after this first release to repackage and reprint his entire body of work.
Strangers in Paradise Omnibus, Volume 1 will be available everywhere books are sold on 13th October 2026, and is available to preorder now.
The recipient of numerous industry awards worldwide, Indy powerhouse Terry Moore continues to create strong female characters in extraordinary stories that touch the hearts of readers around the world.
He began his career in comics with the critically acclaimed epic series, Strangers in Paradise, the compelling love story between three unlikely friends who find themselves bound together by their pasts. The long running series garnered many awards, including the coveted Eisner Award for Best Serialised Story and the National Cartoonists Society Comic Book Division Reuben Award. Strangers in Paradise has been translated into twenty one languages and is as popular today as when it was first published in 1993.
Terry launched his new series, Parker Girls, in 2022, a spinoff of the Darcy Parker story arc in Strangers In Paradise.
Moore has also created many award winning series including Motor Girl, the story of a wounded warrior and her imaginary best friend, Rachel Rising, a horror comic with a ten year old serial killer named Zoe, Echo, a science fiction thriller, Five Years, the series brings together characters from all of his series in one heart stopping story. He has also published a widely acclaimed How To Draw series, as well as a yearly Sketchbook.
Serial, his recently concluded series, brings Zoe back to hunt down the killer of her longtime friend.
In addition to publishing work under his own label, Abstract Studio, Moore has worked for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Boom! and other major American publishers throughout his twenty nine year career.
• Panel Borders: Drawing (on) Strong Women airs at 5.00pm, Wednesday 6th May 2026, repeat broadcast 11am, Sunday 10th May, Resonance 104.4 FM + DAB (London) / broadcast streamed at resonancefm.com / Resonance Replay stream on mixcloud.com / podcast after broadcast at panelborders.wordpress.com
• The Pass is on sale in all good bookshops | ISBN: 979-8875000652 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link | UKBookshop.org Affiliate Link
• Strangers in Paradise Omnibus, Volume 1 will be available everywhere books are sold on 13th October 2026, and is available to preorder now | ISBN: 978-1506756752 | AmazonUK Affiliate Link
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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