Independent publishers Avery Hill – the South London with a strongly independent ethos whose titles we’ve regularly plugged here on downthetubes – has just agreed a distribution deal with Turnaround Distributors, who have been distributing books into the UK and overseas markets since 1984. This is yet another significant step on the road for this much-admired small publisher, and a further indication of the quality of some independent British comic publishers work.
Avery Hill’s motto “To help aspiring creators reach their potential and is a home to the geniuses that the mainstream has yet to recognise” – describes their particular interest in fostering new talent and bringing interesting and unusual comics/art books to a wider audience.
Avery Hill developed out of the UK small press/zine scene about five years ago. They started out making zines and then as more and more comics creators became interested in what they were doing, comics anthologies. The first book they published was Tim Bird’s Grey Area: While the City Sleeps – a title which has developed into an award-winning series.
The fourth volume, Grey Area: Our Town, was recently published, and we reviewed it here on downthetubes..
Over the last five years, Avery Hill’s catalogue has grown rapidly and this small, vibrant comic company continues to reach new heights, notching up numerous international award nominations and wins along the way. In 2014, they had our first British Comic Award nomination, and by 2015 they were the most-nominated publisher in the British Comic Awards, with Grey Area: From the City to the Sea winning Best Comic.
In 2015 they published two graphic novels by a young American creator Tillie Walden, whose work quickly took the comics world by storm. This year, her book I Love This Part was more than deservedly nominated for both Eisner and Ignatz Awards in the US, with Walden taking home the Ignatz Award for “Promising New Talent”. Walden also won the Ignatz Award for “Outstanding Artist” for her debut Avery Hill book The End of Summer, which has recently been re-released.
This weekend’s Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds will see the launch of Untitled Ape’s Epic Adventure by Steven Tillotson, which we previewed here on downthetubes.
“We’ve seen significant developments in terms of our distribution partnerships in the last couple of years,” say Avery Hill. “Internationally, we’ve partnered up with US publisher Retrofit/Big Planet Comics, to distribute each others books and also with Floating World Comics who we distribute for in the UK. We’re looking forward to announcing details of our 2017 books and are delighted to have them represented by Turnaround.
“We’re looking forward to working with their excellent team to get our books to a wider audience.”
“We’re all very excited at Turnaround to be working with amazing new comics publisher Avery Hill,” say Turnaround. “Their list of books is nothing short of incredible, and is sure to make any lover of comics and illustration weak at the knees.”
• Find out more about upcoming Avery Hill comics by visiting their site here or finding them on Twitter @AveryHillPubl
• Find out more about Turnaround Distributors at www.turnaround-uk.com | Read their blog |Follow them on Twitter @turnarounduk
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “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.
Categories: British Comics - Current British Publishers, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News