Comic Soapbox Scotland

The Comic Soapbox Scotland project showcases politically engaged comics created in Scotland. This project is non-pastisan and wants to hear from everyone! Submit via [email protected] Logo and banner design by Chris Baldie. http://chrisbaldie.com/ Banner artwork by MJ Wallace. www.facebook.com/MJWallaceComics

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Scotland by Claire Hubbard 

As we close the chapter of pre-referendum comics on this blog, here's a fantastic illustration by comics creator and illustrator Claire Hubbard (aka Emseeitch). Claire says:

"I have always been a yes, ever since there was a whiff of the possibility of an independent Scotland. Ever since the 2010 general election, as I watched red and yellow sweep the election result graphic but somehow end up under Tory rule, I felt so powerless - my vote didn’t matter. It became increasingly clear that the wants and needs of the people of Scotland were being ignored, and Westminster just didn't care about that silly wee country north of “the North”.

I drew this map as a banner for Yestival - a tour organised and orchestrated by National Collective (a fantastic grassroots organisation for artists who support independence). While researching and drawing the map I realised how little I really knew Scotland; the geography, outline, architecture, culture… but the more I drew, the more knowledgeable I became, and my need to experience more of this beautiful country grew.

Being on the side of Yes has been fantastic. I have met and had conversations with so many lovely, intelligent and passionate people. There is a real sense of hope and desire for change…it’s electric. I think a lot of us have become incredibly politically charged. Soon it will all be over but whatever happens, I can envisage the people of Scotland becoming more active in protests, marches, petitions etc. Whatever the result, we are not going to just accept social injustice and corruption lying down."

You can see more of Claire's work on emseeitch.com, and follow her on facebook, tumblr and twitter. 

The campaigns may be coming to an end, but we hope that Scotland will continue to engage in politics through the medium of comics. The submissions we've received over the past few months have been fantastic, and we'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Comic Soapbox project so far. See you on the other side!

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'It's the Question of the Moment...' by Jef Sinclair

In today's submission, Glasgow comic artist Jef Sinclair explains why she'll be voting yes on Thursday. 

"It's now just a couple of days until Scotland will vote in the Independence Referendum. The tension is palpable and the anxieties of a whole nation are coming to the forefront. 

It's taken me a while to really express why my vote will be for an independent Scotland, though not as long as the two years I've spent researching, assessing my views and coming to my decision. My comics are always quite wordy, but I felt this one really took the biscuit! It's been amazing to watch the outpouring of creativity and talent that we've seen over these last few months and I've been inspired by everything I've seen. I wanted to make my tiny mark and give my future children something to look back on.

There's not much left to do now except hope that in the aftermath, we can all pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and work together to build a better country. Whatever the outcome."

You can read more of Jef's comics on her tumblr, and follow her on twitter. 

Jef would also like to thank Neil Slorance for helping out with the editing of this comic :)

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Coralie Bouguerra

Today's submission is by Glasgow based comic artist Coralie Bouguerra. There can be no doubt about which side of the fence she's on! Here's what Coralie has to say about it:

"I rarely watch the news but the past few weeks the TV has been on to follow the Scottish referendum and the Yes/No campaigns. I had the inspiration for this comic strip from watching STV and ITV news back to back. I always knew the news were edited and TV channels and newspapers are politically oriented but I was shocked to see the differences between Scottish and English news; same events, same channel, different worlds. STV showed, David Cameron talking to a small audience of employees of a big corporation while Alex Salmond spent the day with concerned mothers and cute toddlers answering questions about childcare, economy and the future. Then 15 minutes later ITV showed a tearful David Cameron addressing an audience of "workers" while Salmond made a short and dry comment on independence. Then I switched channel to the BBC hoping for some objectivity only to see English journalists depicting Salmond as a power thirty nationalist and the Labour party as just a joke. Thank you BBC for this impartial analysis. Seeing the world from an English perspective made me realise Westminster, our current government, considers Scotland as an annex: not an equal part of a union but a colony, a British colony. I took an old etching you can find in history book depicting the colonisation as reference for my strip. I wanted to show this English point of view I witnessed while watching the news which shocked me so deeply. Britain is great but so is Scotland and we deserve to be represented by people we elected and who respect and love the country, the culture and the people of Scotland. Scotland is a country, not a colony. Now, it is time to tell the rest of the world."

You can see more of Coralie's work on her tumblr, and follow her on twitter. 

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Mutually Assured Discussion by Mark Brady

Today we have a fantastic piece by illustrator and undecided voter Mark Brady. Mark says:

"Being Entirely Unsure how I intend to vote in Scotland’s upcoming Independence referendum conveniently means not having to win over others with reasoned and well-thought out argument, a field in which I am not skilled. Still, while the above ‘arguments’ For or Against are entirely made up, they’re also probably not, in that they come from a place…"

You can see more of Mark's work on his website, and follow him on tumblr and twitter. 

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'Manbags and the Invention of Tradition' by David Kerr

Today we have another great submission about Scottish culture and nationalism from Glasgow artist David Kerr. Here's what he has to say about this comic:

An excerpt from a new collection of short comic stories titled 'Enjoyable Conversations in Glasgow.' This story is called 'MANBAGS AND THE INVENTION OF TRADITION,' Don’t get me wrong I am in the Yes camp as regards Scottish Independence, hopefully my last submission to Comics Soapbox about Scrapping Trident was quite clear about that, I just think it's healthy to be able to critique manifestations of cultural and political nationalism and still be a Yes supporter. You can read a lo-resolution preview of the entire book via my website here: http://wordpress.davidpeterkerr.com/enjoyable-conversations-in-glasgow-work-in-progress/

You can see more of David's work on his website, or follow him on Twitter.

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Today's piece is by Gemma Ingram an Edinburgh based artist.

"This is a vote that I feel incredibly proud to be part of.  I'm lucky to be here at this time to be a part of it, regardless of my personal choice.  That's the message that I'd like to spread, seize this opportunity to vote and make a genuine difference.  Whatever the outcome, change is inevitable and something in this country has shifted.  We are witnessing our own personal bit of history and I want to tell my kids about how we changed Scotland/the UK. Actually I don't have kids but I will find some and tell them."

You can see more of Gemma's work, and follow her, on Twitter.

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Today's Independence Referendum comic comes from Stephen Goodall, whose series of pieces about the referendum have been both funny and thought provoking.  Here he takes on the discourse surrounding the choice between 'Yes' and 'No' in a characteristically intelligent and humorous manner.

You can see more of Stephen's work here, and follow him on Twitter here.

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Today's comic is by writer Emma Lennox and artist Holley McKend.

Holley says: "I've been a firm Yes for many months now, and although I haven't heard any reasoning from the Better Together campaign that has swayed me, I do appreciate that there are arguments for both sides and your right to choose is vital. I think one of the best things to come from the debate, over the last year or so especially, is that so many people who would not normally engage with politics are becoming passionately involved! Whatever the result, the most important thing is that your opinion is informed and researched, and I hope that this level of political engagement continues in future elections." Holley co-creates the webcomic Never Ever After (www.nevereverafter.com ) with her partner in crime, Chris Baldie. You can also follow her on twitter. Emma says: "I really wanted to do something for the undecideds, something that wouldn't terrify or bully them, but let them understand that they have the power to make a difference. The comic was mostly written before patronising BT lady became a hash tag, so it's heartening to see the issue of women and politics take such an inspiring role.  One thing that really irritates me is when women are treated as a homogeneous demographic, as if we're not individuals with as much diverse thought as the male population.  With this comic I want to free people from the fear-mongering, reveal some of the ideological influences and say to voters- this is a democratic process, and you're free to choose!" Emma is a scriptwriter and researcher.

You can also follow her on twitter.

[msgitha]

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Today we're reblogging the above GIF from artist msgitha, an image inspired by the phenomenally unsuccessful Better Together advert now known commonly as #PatronisingBTlady.

In Maria's words:

"I made this cereal, BT lady gif thing as the whole advert faux pas has been my recent source of comic delight and I felt the need to prolong my revelling in it after running out of new youtube parodies, remixes and memes to giggle at. The clip really doesn't mean anything. And in a warped sense that means it has pertinence to a lot of the sensationalised, factually-ineffective political advertising we've seen.  The fashionable, low-brow-tv-show aesthetic reminds us that politics is not anchored in the hands of the serious and official but belongs to the public also. It's really a testament to the power and enjoyment social media is having with it, reshaping, redistributing, 'liking' and commenting on political motifs with ever surprising creativity, playfulness and humour."

You can see more of Maria's work here.

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'No Plan B' by Gill Hatcher

Today we have another short comic strip by Gill Hatcher. Gill says:

"I drew this quick comic while at last week’s Drink n Draw, a fortnightly gathering of comic creators in Glasgow. It was an exceptionally busy meet, and as well as the usual drinking and drawing, there was much talk of the referendum, in particular the latest TV debate and the rather disastrous Better Together advert targeted specially at women, which I’m sure everyone has seen by now.

One of the things that irritated me most about the second debate was Alistair Darling’s repeated insistence that the Scottish public weren’t being given a clear ‘Plan B’ if a currency union agreement should fail. This might have been a valid point at the first debate, but, without trying too hard, I’ve understood what the currency Plan B is for weeks now. It feels like an attempt at brainwashing!" 

You can see more of Gill's work on her website, or follow her on facebook and twitter. To see Gill's longer submission to the Comic Soapbox project go here. 

Gill will be taking part in a Comic Soapbox Q&A this Saturday in Glasgow, alongside Stephen Goodall. Free to attend but book ahead here. 

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Andy Herd

Today's post comes from Dundee comic artist Andy Herd. You might have seen this comic doing the rounds on twitter last week, and being featured on websites like The Guardian.

Andy says:

"This was a knee-jerk reaction cartoon I doodled after viewing the the Better Together broadcast "The Woman Who Made Up Her Mind", available to watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLAewTVmkAU

Like most people, I found the tone objectionable on various levels. Mostly the implication that we should just vote nonchalantly and accept political narratives at face value rather than do a bit of research ourselves (providing cereal consumption is at a satisfactory level of course). There's a sinister sort of head-in-the-sand attitude it promotes, and alludes to change as a Bad Thing rather than an opportunity. Our lives are like a weird meandering path and it's comforting to walk it facing backwards and look at where we've been, but it probably makes more sense to turn around and see where we're going.

Anyway, that's all a bit philosophical maybe, basically it was terrible so I did a better one. Better Together have not hired me yet but I'm crossing my fingers."

You can see more of Andy's work on his Pandyland website, and follow him on twitter here.

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Thinking Straight by Steven Fraser

Today's submission combines comics with poetry. Writer and artist Steven Fraser says:

For this strip I didn't want to present one particular opinion or perspective. An independent Scotland will mean different things to different people and I wanted to convey this without being didactic.  With my work I try and combine comic book storytelling and poetry. With "Thinking Straight" the text takes the loose form of a poem while the visuals make use of sequential art. Personally I feel that the abstract nature of comics has more in common with poetry, as opposed to the linear narrative storytelling traditionally found in cinema and literature. This is something I explore in my webcomic Comic Book Poems (www.comicbookpoems.com) and is something I attempted to convey in "Thinking Straight".

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I Believe in Independence by Terry Anderson

Today we have an indyref comic from the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio's Terry Anderson. As Terry says:

“My strip isn’t meant to suggest that the SNP and UKIP are the one and the same; that would be idiotic.  The joke is about how disparate chains of thought can begin in much the same well-meaning spot and how people largely get along fine until they start pinning colours to their sleeve.  Party politics is wasteful, unhelpful and often destructive in my view.  What’s been most encouraging about the last couple of years in Scotland is the number of spontaneous, creative and non-affiliated groups and projects that have sprung up in response to the referendum, Comic Soapbox being one of them. I hope that regardless of the outcome in September the people of Scotland will continue to engage in politics and the question of identity in the same way.”

Terry Anderson is co-ordinator at the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio, celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The Auld Acquaintance exhibition, featuring caricatures, editorial cartoons and comic strips on the Scottish independence referendum, will be shown at Leiper Fine Art, West George Street, Glasgow, 22nd Aug-19th Sep; it will also be shown in London, Lleida and Limoges in the autumn.

You can find out more about The Auld Acquaintance at the Cartoon Art Studio website, and you can follow Terry's work on twitter. 

Gill Hatcher and Stephen Goodall will be talking about Comic Soapbox Scotland as part of the Auld Aquaintance programme on Saturday 6th September. It's a free event but please book ahead here. 

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'The Lion and the Unicorn' by Bob Turner

Today we have another indyref comic, by Bob Turner. He says:

"Going into this referendum my main concern is that the information is not being presented to the people of Scotland in a way that ensures we are able to make an informed decision.

Unfortunately for some reason it has been left to the politicians to ‘educate’ us on the facts and figures we need to know.

  Whether it’s Better Together’s ‘Project Fear’ or the sunny optimism of the Yes campaign what we end up with is a spun out, simplified version of the ‘truth’ and some of the arguments have now descended into nonsense.

  And that’s where my comic came from…..the nonsense.

  Voting YES on the day,

Bob Turner

  (oh and I used the rUK version of the royal coat of arms for the basis of this as I wanted the Lion on the left and for no other reason)"

You can follow Bob on twitter.

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'Scrap Trident' by David Kerr

Today's comic is about the UK's Trident nuclear weapons programme, by Glasgow illustrator and comics artist David Kerr. David says:

"A short illustrated pamphlet on the Subject of Trident originally commissioned by Stir to Action (http://stirtoaction.com/) magazine. Excerpts from the sequence have subsequently been publicised by Scottish CND and will be exhibited at an upcoming touring exhibition on the subject of Scottish Independence at the Guardian News and Media Gallery in London and the Leiper Gallery in Glasgow organised by the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio. 

Trident is due for renewal at a cost of 83.5bn, the pamphlet argues that this is an excessive waste of tax payers money at a time when austerity measures are forcing thousands of people into poverty across the UK. The pamphlet also argues that Trident is a public health risk and suggests that if Scotland becomes independent Trident could be scrapped. At present the only political parties coming out against Trident in Westminster are SNP, the Greens and Plaid Cymru. For more information read Trident: Nowhere to Go: http://www.cnduk.org/information/briefings/trident-briefings/item/1324-trident-nowhere-to-go The pamphlet is free to download via my website:  http://wordpress.davidpeterkerr.com/scrap-trident/ "

Although we've largely been focusing on the referendum so far, the Comic Soapbox project welcomes submissions created in Scotland that cover all political issues. Keep them coming!

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A better look at Gzaltan Gonéra's comic...

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Gzaltan Gonéra

Today’s comic is by Gzaltan Gonéra, giving us the perspective of a French student living in Glasgow.

Gzaltan says (in what he calls his ‘authentic french englishy text’):

So, what can I say about this strip. I saw all the others paragraph from all the others (wonderful) artists, and I’m like “well, what I’m doing here ?”. Like I said, I’m just arrived on Glasgow, and begin to really hear about independence or not. It’s incredible the difference of information about this subject here than in France (it’s normal too). When Gill purpose to do something, I wanna be honest and draw a comic not about an inside vision, but an outsider view. I ask directly to other people for argument about independence. The difficult stuff was, everybody around me was for independence, so we should try to think about arguments against independence. It’s for this, I used one of my character (Fatkachu) to read the “against independence” … like a reflect of reality … this argument was not totally real because I don’t ask directly to someone on the other side (may be for that this character read a text and not say it simply).

Hope you will like this little strip, and hope to see more on this tumblr.

You can check out more of Gzaltan’s work on his blog.