The SEQUENT’ULL Interviews: Michelle Freeman

By downthetubes Guests on July 24, 2024

Ahead of the free SEQUENT’ULL Comic Art Festival taking place in Hull on Saturday 31st August 2024, organiser and fellow creative Sean Azzopardi chats with guests at the event, continuing with comic creator Michelle Freeman…

The SEQUENT’ULL Interviews: Michelle Freeman

Could you talk a little about yourself and your work?

I grew up in Hull and am now settled in Liverpool with my three children and grey tabby cat Teela (named after the Sorceress in He-Man). I am a visual storyteller working in the tradition of ‘new wave’ of graphic novelists, many of them queer and female. Themes of gender, feminism, social justice and social history run through my work which often has the feel of a dark fairy tale.

In 2021, I won the LDComics prize for best graphic novel in progress in England and Ireland by a female artist. The last time I had won a prize for something creative was for a recorder duet at Hull city Hall in 1992 (where we were the only entrants).

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently doing a lot of observational drawing on the streets of Wavertree in Liverpool where I live. The area is, as with many northern cities “cheek by jowl”. There are beautiful period houses on leafy drives. Then, the high street is very diverse and working class, with nail bars, takeaways, car garages, betting shops, pubs… My drawings capture a real bit of social history. I’m planning on developing them into a short comic, Postcode Lottery, which aims for the feel of Black Mirror meets Raymond Briggs.

Why comics, what are the core reasons for working with this medium?

The beauty of comics is their immediacy and individual expression. As a medium rife for experimentation, they allow me to channel diverse interests and influences –from sci fi, children’s literature to social history, to take creative risks to make something completely unique. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t!

As a vibrant form of visual arts, they tell stories from often unusual angles that engage many types of audiences who may not, for example, go to contemporary art galleries. It’s a democratic medium through which any subject could be covered. Anyone can have a go with as little as a pencil and piece of paper.

Wavertree Mini Market - art by Michelle Freeman

So much creative time is absorbed by engaging with social media, conventions and other publicity tasks. While necessary to a degree, is it worth it?

I think one of the reasons I stopped making art when I left art school in 2000 was the lack of community, equal opportunity and social media. The internet wasn’t what it is now and personally I have found Instagram really motivational in terms of being able to find out about opportunities, share work and build creative community internationally. It breaks down isolation and shows what is possible.

That being said, I don’t take it too seriously and have a fairly small following which removes pressure. I’m aware I’ll probably need to up my game in terms of social media in next few years, which I’m not especially looking forward to. I don’t use X either, as it totally baffles me.

I only exhibit at two or three comics fairs a year due to cost, time and energy. As an introvert they can take a while to recover from! However, I do go to Thought
Bubble and the Lakes International Comics Festival as a visitor. Without pressure to sell, these are probably the most impactful for me in terms of networking and gaining new opportunities.

Graphic Medicine - art by Michelle Freeman

Do you feel connected to a comics scene in anyway?

Yes! The Liverpool comics scene is really starting to come together with thanks to Prints ‘n’ Tha, Crooked Neck Press, Community Print Station and Metal Liverpool. We had our first zine fair earlier this year, and the vibes were immaculate. I also feel connected to the feminist comics scene, or at least I know where it is when I want to tap into it.

I think LDComics is a groundbreaking organisation for showcasing diverse international talent. I’ve made quite few friends and collaborators through that, as well as through the excellent graphic novels courses run by Royal Drawing School. I am also more than happy just to start chatting away to comics makers whose work I admire on Instagram.

Could you recommend some current creators that are making good stuff?

I think World of Crow is making really interesting, quiet, thoughtful yet powerful work. Isabelle Keen (aka billy_ruffian) has made some really striking work, gaining recognition at AOI illustration awards last year. I also love Sophie Burrows, who released her graphic novel Crushing in 2021. And Lizzie Stewart and her latest graphic novel, Alison. Often, I am drawn to graphic novelists who also make picture book as both of the last two do.

Have you visited Hull before?

Oh yes! I was born in Hull Royal 14th August 1977 and left in 1996 to go to Glasgow School of Art. I visit a few times a year as my parents still live there and I have (dear) old friends in the avenues.

Back in the day, I was a regular at A Silhouette’s alternative night on a Tuesday (from age 14 thanks to make up!) and Spiders.

My graphic novel in progress is seeped in memories of Hull, and also reflective of my time there under Thatcher’s industrial and education policies.

• Michelle Freeman is online at michellefreemanillustration.co.uk

• SEQUENT’ULL Comic Art Festival 2024
11.00am – 6.00pm Saturday 31st August 2024 | Free Entry
Jubilee Central, 62 King Edward Street, Hull HU1 3SQ
• Facebook Event Page

Independent comic artists and publishers, selling comics graphic novels and prints.

Exhibitors Include: Breakdown Press, Colossive Press, Footprints Workers CoOp, Michelle Freeman, Sarah Gordon, Gareth Hopkins, Jake Machen, Shane Melisse, Douglas Noble, Alex Potts, Scarborough Zine Library, Mark Stafford, Lucy Sullivan, James Webster Sharp, Dan White and Lilly Williams