GraffitiFish by Mal Earl launched

By John Freeman on December 23, 2023

GraffitiFish is a new anthology title from Mal Earl, a hugely talented creator whose comics work includes strips for Aces Weekly, and the upcoming 1900 title from Peter Duncan.

For those unfamiliar, Mal’s Jigsaw Project is a new ongoing set of works, which Mal says will offer everything from comix to pulp novellas, from Steampunk to 1950s fetish, from Poetry to 1970s horror tales, from psychedelia to Spaghetti Westerns… and all points in between.

GraffitiFish is the first part of this project: a unique, inspiring A5 24-page zine, offering Mal’s astonishing blend of storytelling and art.

Offering Mal deserved praise just this week, independent publisher Peter Duncan says of GraffitiFish, “I’ve come to appreciate just how much thought and inspiration he puts into everything he does. [GraffitiFish offers] some stunning art and a unique storytelling style that somehow puts me in mind of the great Metal Hurlant magazine.”

“It’s one of the most inventive and unusual small-press comics I’ve seen for quite some time – well worth anyone’s time and money.”

GraffitiFish is available here from Mal Earl’s Big Cartel site

Lured back into the fields of art, comics and illustration in 2012, Mal Earl has stacked up an impressive list of work in the subsequent years.

His personal projects have included designs based on the graphic sensibilities of Weimar Period Berlin, and a print series capturing the mood and excitement of the Jazz greats.

His comic work appeared in publications alongside such luminaries as Bill Scienkiewicz, David Lloyd, Glenn Fabry, Marc Hempel and Shaky Kane, and he has been a regular contributor to David Lloyd’s online Comic, Aces Weekly with his creator owned serials, “Bullhawk”, “Scars”, “The Bridge” and “JIGSAW”.

In 2017, in collaboration with Manchester’s underground icon Kermit Leveridge, he presented the duo’s ‘graphic poem’, “Lies and Other Fools”, as a 48-page full colour book – the culmination of a process which also included the production of art for a vinyl release of the poem read by the late, Howard Marks.

He has produced art for Greg Wilson’s Super Weird Substance and the 14 Hour ‘Happening’ at Liverpool’s Florrie on the 1st April 2017, with the legendary Alan Moore.

From November 2018 until 2019 he exhibited his digital prints at the Barrow Dock Museum with the South Lakes Art Collective. In 2019, he was asked to contribute to The ‘77, a new, british anthology comic, for which he created the story – PRODIGAL. In 2020, he was commissioned to produce painted covers for an aborted series of Western novels by the US publishers, Wolfpack.

Through 2021, Mal worked on various projects, primarily a series of poetry pamphlets, including a collaboration with poet Sam Smith.

Mal’s creative interests are diverse. He enjoys writing as much as illustrating, poetry as much as pulp; but comics are his abiding passion.

Consolidating these interests into 2022 his projects have begun to concentrate on the little explored medium of ‘Graphic Poetry’.

He was asked to contribute work for the San Diego based “The Mission”; for which he produced a three page strip interpretation of the poem “The Stars”, among others.

Moving forward and into 2023, more Graphic poetry followed with Will Vigar, and the self-penned urban surreality of Navarro Spar is on the horizon, an #0 launched in 2022, a project Mal has described as “Salvador Dali by way of Les Dawson and Gurney Slade”!

• GraffitiFish is available now from Mal Earl’s Big Cartel site

• Mal Earl is online at malearl.com

John Freeman

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.