Comics on My Radio

By John Freeman on April 30, 2008

How do cartoonists choose the words for their speech bubbles? And – although we call them “speech” bubbles or balloons – how close are they to real speech?

The language of cartoons, comics and graphic novels was the subject of BBC Radio 4’s Word of Mouth this week, and the ever entertaining writer and poet Michael Rosen began his journey in Bloomsbury, central London with a visit to the Cartoon Museum. From there, he covered the comics form from James Gillray to Steve Bell via Punch and the Beano, joined along the way by the Museum’s curator, Anita O’Brien, and Guardian cartoonist and graphic novelist, Martin Rowson.

Also in the programme are the creator of Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, Posy Simmonds, and some of the next generation of cartoonists now pushing their wares at Camden Market with the help of London Underground comics: Oli Smith, Alex Fitch (of resonance FM) and David Baillie.

• The episode will be available to “Listen Again” for the next few days.

About the Author
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John Freeman

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.