Panel Borders: Drawing The Beano

By John Freeman on December 30, 2015

Laura Howell draws Minnie the Minx (photo by Coventry Express and Star) / excerpts from Ratz, Little Plum and Freds Bed

In Drawing The Beano, the latest Panel Borders podcast, Alex Fitch talks to writers / artists Laura Howell and Hunt Emerson who have contributed a number of strips to The Beano since 2002, including “Little Plum”, “Ratz”, “Minnie the Minx” and more, in an interview recorded at Caption comics festival, Coventry.

Laura discusses moving from the small press to mainstream comics, and Hunt talks about the challenges of drawing kids comics after a career of adaptations of adult literature.

Originally broadcast as the second half of a Clear Spot on Resonance 104.4 FM, 8th December 2015, this is the fourth of the 12 Podcasts of Christmas.

• For more info and a variety of formats to stream or download this podcast, visit archive.org

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.