Sue Grant, partner to the late comic writer Alan Grant, was a freelance graphic designer with over 40 years of experience, and a champion for her local community Moniaive, comics and creativity in general. John McShane pays tribute…
Once upon a time, Sue and Alan Grant were driving to Scotland and decided to take a route through the hills near Dumfries. This took them through the lovely village of Moniaive, and discovered that Glenluairt House (built 1900) was for sale. So, what’s a person to do after discovering such a beautiful place? They bought it.
Alan had massively improved the sales of DC’s Batman and so many of us visitors would come to refer to the house either as “Wayne Manor” or “The House that Batman Built”. What always remained a bit of a mystery was how the full-size snooker table managed to (just about) fit in the basement.
Then in 2001, BSE (often referred to as Mad Cow Disease) hit the area really badly. In order to encourage tourists back, Sue got involved with the local community and they put together various initiatives. There had always been music in the village, but soon bands from all over, including abroad, played there. And then there was the magnificent Comic Festival. Guests from all over, art exhibitions, a comic mart, costume competitions for the youngsters… As a result of all that activity, businesses stayed open and the school role even increased.
The Moniaive Comic Festival was centred on the Craigdarroch Arms Hotel, with occasional events down the road at the George. Sue insisted on a quiz at night. It was full of questions about comics history. At first, we modelled it after The Weakest Link. But this encouraged John Wagner to vote off Vin Deighan (Frank Quitely) on the grounds that “he knew too much!”
Comic creator Jim Stewart, creator of Ganjaman, was a regular guest.“I’m really shocked to hear about Sue Grant’s passing, a wonderful and caring woman,” he says. “Sue never missed my birthday on Facebook or I hers, since we were both Geminis. Alan and Sue invited myself and my fellow Northern Lightz comic creators to their home in Moniaive, at first for music festivals. Sue loved her ceilidh and got us up to do the Gay Gordon and other dances. And then, when the town was hit with foot and mouth disease, we got called up for the Moniaive comic festival.
“One of my fond memories was Sue cooking breakfast one morning, eggs, beans, toast and bacon. I had a hangover, but still managed to scoff the lot. Sue said ‘Did you enjoy the bacon, Jim?’ ‘Yes, it was lovely.’ She replied, ‘It was Linda McCartney bacon.’ I was gobsmacked. Both Alan and Sue were strict vegetarians as I found out, and I believe that planted a seed that day, because now I am a vegan.
“I was asked to contribute to two comics in the village which became like a second home to me, and when the Moniaive v COVID comic was complete, Sue messaged to say it would be on The Tonight Show. I watched it with my mum, who was alive back then and that is a precious memory to me.
“Alan and Sue really worked as a couple, always visible, always side by side, for as many years as I can remember,” he adds. “Up until the point Alan was taken away from us in 2022 and now Sue has followed to resume that wonderful partnership somewhere in some corner of the sky.
“I got to know Sue through Alan. In my mind she will always be inextricably linked to Alan, but in our many conversations she was always her own person. She was a formidable character, fiercely protective of the ones she loved, a brilliant sense of humour. She was one for the cards, was Sue, and I remember one time we went for dinner in Aberdeen and she told me she’d spent a large proportion of the night before at an Aberdeen casino, taking a small fortune at the expense of offshore workers on a break back on the mainland. ‘More money than sense,’ was how she affectionately described them. She always enjoyed her various sorties up to that part of the world.
“I remember one time when she told me with a twinkle in her eye that Alan had this habit of giving away their furniture in the pub and at Cons to fans and casual acquaintances. ‘You need a coffee table? A chair? A jacuzzi? Just turn up at the house and take it, it’s yours.’ If anyone did show up, it was down to Sue to politely but firmly see them off. (Not that, now I think of it, they owned a jacuzzi, but anyway, you take my point.)
“There was one time at the Moniaive Comic Festival where she had organised a table for me to sell my books, but I was having too much fun at the actual event, so I put my comics on display and wrote out a note saying take whatever you want but leave a donation, and I put out a bucket. I wasn’t to return until late on the second day. I donated the proceeds to Sue’s charity supporting the local community and didn’t think any more of it. I had a few books left and after participating in the final talk of the festival with Alan and Ferg Handley, Sue announced what I’d done and ordered the audience to approach and buy a book from me, which many of them duly did.
“So many memories. The world is a poorer and less colourful place without Sue Grant. She will be missed. She will be remembered. I am grateful for having known her.
“Rest in peace Sue. Say hello to Alan for me.”
And this from the Paul Trimble at Enniskillen Comic Festival: “It has been such sad news for all of us at ComicFest HQ to learn of Sue’s passing. Sue came over with Alan for our very first ComicFest back in 2016, and they were so patient, enthusiastic and supportive of the event as it proved to be a steep learning curve for us all. They were simply wonderful and we owe both of them so much.
“Alan and Sue were delighted to return to Enniskillen the following year as part of the 2000AD 40th Anniversary and I was hoping they’d come again in 2019 before Covid scuppered the plans.
“After Alan passed away in 2022, we offered to create a t-shirt tribute featuring Johnny Alpha and Judge Anderson and donate the proceeds to a charity of Sue’s choosing. The funds went to Revitalise Moniaive, and I’m proud to say that a new stage was built in the village (she named it the Alan Grant Stage) and various work was carried out to benefit the local children.
“Sue was a dear friend to all of us here and we have so many memories of her times in Enniskillen. Our deepest condolences go to her family, friends and the local community.”
Farewell from Across The Pond
“[Sue’s] husband Alan Grant was one of my favourite writers for my favoirite comic, 2000AD,” notes her friend, Michael Toth, “and when I sent him a fan letter around 1991, he shockingly replied with a letter longer than the one I sent him, beginning a genuinely close, unorthodox pen pal friendship that extended across dozens of letters during the 1990s.
“I first met Alan and Sue in person at the 1994 Chicago Comic Con, and amazingly, when Alan was a guest at the 2016 Akron Comicon, I saw them again and got to hang out together on my home turf.
“Knowing Alan was in poor health, I was determined to not miss the chance to visit Alan and Sue at their home in the charming Scottish village of Moniaive in June of 2022. Sue was an outrageously gracious host during my weekend stay, and it was a magical weekend. In no small part because Sue was seemingly the most beloved gal in the village, the locals in turn treated me like royalty because I was Alan and Sue’s friend from the States. Shockingly and tragically, Alan died only three weeks after I saw him.
“… While I’m truly saddened, more than anything right now, I feel blessed and privileged to have shared the times that I did have with that kind, generous, sweet woman. Godspeed, great Queen of Moniaive…”
Many more tributes have been received. As mentioned, Sue was also a designer, and an important part of The Bogie Man, originally published by my Fat Man Press, too. She did the marvellous Fat Man Press logo. All Alan, John Wagner, and Robin Smith did was write and illustrate the stories. But without Sue’s logo?
Decades have gone by when Sue was always there. It was a great pleasure to know her. I’m missing her already.
John McShane
Sue Grant (nee Susan Walker), 1956-2026
Sue’s funeral will be at 12 noon on Wednesday 17th June in the lovely surroundings of Roucan Loch
Our thanks to Kim Ayres and Michael Toth for kind permission to use their photographs in this tribute
Moniaive Community Memories of Sue
Moniaive, the ‘Hill of Streams’ (from the Gaelic monadh-abh), nestles in stunning countryside where the three glens of Craigdarroch, Dalwhat and Castlefairn meet. It’s usually a bustling village with a long history and strong community spirit. It has always been popular and notable visitors over the centuries include King Robert the Bruce, King James IV, Bonnie Prince Charlie and Robert Burns.
The village is home to a wide range of talented and highly skilled individuals including designers, builders, computer experts, joiners, artists, foresters, doctors, writers, teachers, photographers, farmers and musicians. They all have one thing in common – they enjoy life. That’s probably why the village usually has so many activities and events!
“Sue was such a warm, welcoming and generous person. Jack’s birthday always fell on the weekend of Moniave, and the one year we didn’t drive, Sue nipped into Dumfries and picked up a birthday cake especially for Jack. She was over the moon, and it made the weekend so much more special for both of us.”
Marie-Anna Gruber
“Sue was so kind and supportive when I came to work in the area. When I first came to the village I was told to visit as she was probably the most important person.
I gave her a resume of my experience and skills from fighting international terrorism to being village policeman, and then asked if there was anything I could do for her “You couldn’t get me 500 yellow plastic ducks, could you?” Two days later I arrived at Glenluart with a sack of 500 yellow plastic ducks for the duck race. She recognised that I would fit into the Moniaive community. Sue knew Moniaive so well and everyone in it, no matter how diverse. Alan was also extremely tolerant, given that he had ‘issues’ with authority. Sue and Alan made a lovely pair and they are sorely missed. We could learn a lot from Sue.”
Rolf Buwert
“Dear Sue, Just as we always remembered one another and asked how life was going, I will continue to carry you with me. Even though you are no longer in this world, I will think of you often and keep asking after you in my heart.
“I will always remember your bright smile beneath the cherry tree in the village. That is how I will remember you – full of warmth, kindness, and light.”
Digital Creator Cheon Woo Yeon
• Visit Moniaive
Surely, now, a creative place of comic creator pilgrimage
• Glencairn Gazette
Formerly edited by Sue Grant
• Sue Grant’s Award-Winning Video promoting Moniaive
This video Sue edited won her village a £50,000 arts grant
- About the Author
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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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