markbradley.bsky.social
Children’s comic artist/writer.
Bumble & Snug graphic novels published by Hachette!
Represented by Lydia Silver of @da-childrens.bsky.social
Talks about comics a *lot*.
1,142 posts
1,273 followers
857 following
Regular Contributor
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Currently witnessing someone very close to me go down this rabbit hole (thankfully with nothing as serious, though I dread to think what will happen to them when that does someday come) and it’s horrible, horrible feeling. Just feel utterly powerless & consumed with anger in face of the grift.
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Felt like dancing dancing round like Gene Kelly on the way to the school drop off.
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I think the poster will have the same expression when they open up a history book for, what will apparently be, the first time in their life.
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Ooh, thanks so much, that sounds brilliant - ordering this now!
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My son has been endlessly shouting out lines from this episode of Gorebrah!
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As an aside: I got an e-mail this week about a project which went something along the lines of ‘We want this to be bigger, bolder and weirder’ and it was one of the happiest things I’ve ever heard :)
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Ha! I’d stupidly forgot that the person I was replying to literally has Hilda as their profile pic! Never get bored of reading it. Officer Clawsome is an absolute wonder of a book. You’ll love it!
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I love both these books so, so much - Front Desk is in my top 5 prose children’s books of all time. It’s utterly brilliant. And Amulet - what can you say!
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Aww, Marianne - thank you so much, you are too kind! I’m going to throw some in:
KS1: Johnny Boo by James Kochalka
Lower KS2: Officer Clawsome by Brian Smith & Chris Giarrusso (one of the funniest GNs I’ve ever read)
Upper KS2: Obvious choice, but Hilda by Luke Pearson
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(Both the celestial body, and the newspaper)
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Reminder: Comics are a form of visual language, and are a system of spatially communicating points of visual information, which are defined by the relationship between those points.
Skilled art is great, but visual storytelling ability is more important.
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If you’re a technically skilled artist but a rubbish visual storyteller, your comics will be rubbish.
However you can absolutely be a skilled visual storyteller, and a rubbish technical artist, and your comics will still be amazing.
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It’s always so cool when Kirby got funky with it
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I take a folding chair! I’m always super busy this time of year, so I need to try cram in work where I can.
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I’m a Castle/Fantasy collector, so I’m very much there with you on that (though Lego says there’s no children’s market for an original Fantasy/Castle theme). I’m a massive hypocrite, because I think that adults with arrested development are taking imaginative space from children.
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I think it says a lot about the state of storytelling in major entertainment industries that IP has essentially taken over this corner of children’s play. It’s a horrendously negative thing that kids can’t have their own original worlds to own for themselves.
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Since existing IP themes were introduce 25+ years ago, original themes have started to dwindle over time, to the point where we only have Ninjago, City & Friends (Dreamzzz & MK look to be cancelled) as story based themes.
IPs have replaced everything - they’re strangling the dreamspace of play.
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Lego owned are their original themes (currently: City, Friends, Ninjago, Dreamzzz, Monkie Kid, etc). Throughout its history, original themes have been its core, and it’s had a number of original themes running at anyone time.
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My editors reading this will be amazed it’s taken me this long to realise this about myself, being that forever banging on about constant movement.
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Exactly. I know it’s not exactly what you’re talking about here, but part of my ‘The Direct Market was necessary survival mechanism, but it was ultimately mistake and needs to end’ thought is that comics need to change focus & ambition. I love them, but I think comic shops became insular.