Cartoonist Hunt Emerson – widely acclaimed for his brilliant graphic novels, his creation, Calculus Cat and work for titles as divers as BEANO and Fortean Times – is working on a new memoir with journalist Rory Milne.
Planned for release next year, 50-Odd Years of Big Noses, which will be the focus of a Zoop crowdfunding campaign, is “a sort-of memoir, sort-of interview, sort of biography,” says Hunt.
“It’s a book full of pretty obscure and – dare I say it? – rare comix and cartoons,” he teased this week. “It has a lot of laughs, little-known facts about the Largecow Comix years, and it’s like not many other books like it.
“We are going to crowdfund it, and there will be all sorts of extras and goodies for subscribers. Sign up early – like, now – for access to Early-Bird specials and limited items.”
Hunt Emerson is a comics artist and cartoonist who’s been writing and drawing comics since the early 1970s, and he’s still doing it! His comics are published regularly in The Beano, Fiesta magazine, and Fortean Times, and sporadically in many other publications. He’s published over 30 comic books, mostly with Knockabout Comics. Recent titles include Story Planet and Story Store, written by Ian Billings, Phenomenomix, and Lives of the Great Occultists, written by Kevin Jackson.
His illustration work has included music CD design and marketing; magazine, book and publicity illustration; public art projects; and community art and involvement.
“In 2023, journalist/ writer Rory Milne contacted me to ask if I was aware that it was 50 years since my first comic strip (of sorts) appeared in print, and suggested we do an interview,” Hunt expands. “I agreed, and we had a 90 minute phone chat, which barely got us started. So we went on to have five more long chats, Rory transcribed them, and by this time we decided we were possibly looking at a book. I began designing and laying out the book – at that time tentatively titled “50 Years Underground”. Well, I was doing this work in my downtime, so 50 years have now become 50-plus years, but the book is well on towards completion.
“Our phone calls covered a lot of ground, from my earliest attempts at comix, through many years and many pages, and seemed to involve a lot of laughing. I’m including as much illustration as I can, using comix and illustrations that have not been widely seen, and the book is now pushing 210+ pages.”
If you’re as big a fan of Hunt’s work as many of us at downthetubes, you will definitely want to check this project out. Why are you still here?
• Head to Zoop for full information and sign up details about 50-Odd Years of Big Noses
• Hunt Emerson’s Largecow Comix
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
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.
Categories: British Comics, Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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