The SEQUENT’ULL Interviews: Shane Melisse

By downthetubes Guests on August 12, 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 independent comic creator Shane Melisse, selected by Broken Frontier in 2021 as “One to Watch”…

Could you talk a little about yourself and your work?

I’m a comic artist based in London, I’ve been self publishing comics for 10 years now. My work has evolved a lot over the years, tapping into different styles and genres. Recently, I’ve been creating a series of illustrations I call Road Knight, creating a fantasy London by combining street wear and armour, highlighting London life with a fantasy aesthetic.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on an old comic which I started back in 2019 called living with the living, a supernatural comedy about these sisters having to live with an unpleasant couple, who have moved in and are mistreating the house. As well as realising what being dead means for them and what comes next. I’m working on this comic with a friend, John Lynott, edited by Kale Robinson.

As well as this, I’m developing the next Road Knight side quest comic.

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

Comics is a medium that has almost no restrictions you can literally tell anything and its up to you how detail and how much time you want to spend on it.

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 would say so, despite how exhausting it is just creating a comic and leaving it there for someone isn’t a great idea. Social media and events are definitely key parts to a comic career, I don’t think you have to excel at both but finding which one works best for you and pushing that direction will definitely create more opportunists for yourself.

Do you feel connected to a comics scene in anyway?

Yeah, I feel very connected to the community, and I’m especially fortunate to live in London, where there’s great comic shops such as Gosh, Mega City and Jam. That really helps in connecting comic creators together with events such as small press day and book launches.

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

Nanami Takeuchi makes awesome Risograph comics about Japanese folklore called kaigyo. Ewan, aka ewanagain is an amazing painter and illustrator who makes comics such as Gunviking and Death Fist, and Lucia, aka kitsuneart, makes stylish romance comics. Starlit lovers.

Have you visited Hull before?

Nope – it would be my first time visiting, looking forward to it.

• Shane Melisse is online at shanefaced.com | Facebook | Instagram | X

• 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