May 30, 2024
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How to Destroy the Internet
Hey Amateur! ‘How to Destroy the Internet’ Written by Gail Simone Art by Cathy Brett
More illustrations (and a cover design) from the Howl’s Moving Castle Book Illustration Competition 2019. You can vote your favourite here.
My two pence on the Howl’s Moving Castle Book Illustration Competition:
Cathy Brett’s. Oh my goodness. These images. Such a unique and interesting take that, and one that immediately caught my eye and also my heart in a wrench that I simply couldn’t not talk about.
One of the key aspects of HMC that I am always drawn to and return to is the reality of the fantasy that it depicts. On a surface level, there’s the relationship between the fantasy world of Ingary and the real-world of Wales that already suggests that magic is all about perception and belief, and it will always be there if only you know where to look. But there is also the way in which the fantasy world is constructed. From the outset it makes it clear that this is a land of fairytales and seven-league boots, but then it also almost immediately begins to deconstruct those fairytale tropes through characters within these tropes that refuse to adhere to them. These aren’t your archetypal characters that appear in stories throughout the ages, these are characters that are a whole lot closer to the realities of personality - with their flaws, their histories, their problems, their motivations and their priorities. They have secrets, they interpret things wrongly, they see the world through their own eyes at the detriment to those around them. At it’s core, it’s a story about the difficulties of finding and realising the truth when the world is much bigger and complicated than what you expect, and that finding that truth is wholly dependant on your own ability to read the outside world through your own misconceptions.
And this is where Cathy’s illustrations come in. Formally, they reflect these layers of the story in the physical layering of the drawings, prints, inks and paints to build up multiple aspects that could exist independently - but they don’t, because it’s the construction of a whole from many parts that reflects the themes of the book. Highly detailed drawings merging into and melding out of washes of dark, blocked out textures, and strong, washed-out retro patterns, to me, recalls the fluidity of the castle, itself an embodiment of the fluidity of perception and identity. The neutral, monotone palette - that stands out against many of the other magical, fantastical illustrations which I truthfully also love - reflects the gritty darkness that also exists throughout the book in terms of mental health, secrets, and mystery, but also in the mundanity of daily life - be it in Wales, following your destiny, or relentless cleaning. In contrast, those bright bold graphic patterns - asides from immediately placing the story in its period of publishing and the childhood of the title character - appear like the magic that runs through the entire book, flowing through the backdrop and landscape, and peeking through windows and doors and inviting us to step through.
Fundamentally, Cathy’s illustrations are completely embedded in the story that they match, and show an incredibly deep understanding beyond the surface, pretty, fairytale story that we all wholeheartedly love and which many of the other illustrations have focused on. By illustrating the book thematically, she has also enabled a complete departure from the - gorgeous, wonderful - aesthetics of the Ghibli adaptation, which I don’t think all of the other entries have committed themselves to as fully as they could (should?) have done.
Essentially. Look at this. Look at these beautifully constructed and thought-out images. Howl’s Moving Castle is an architectural masterpiece, and these illustrations are visually it’s equal.
The First Graphic Novel Award winner announced tonight
The winner of The First Graphic Novel Award will be announced tonight at a special sold out event at Waterstones Piccadilly, London
The winner of The First Graphic Novel Award will be announced tonight at a special sold out event at Waterstones Piccadilly, London, and you can find out who online. Selected from a shortlist of seven – Alex Taylor, Cathy Brett, Anna Trench, Corban Wilkin, Gareth Cowlin, Myfanwy Tristram and Mereida Fajardo – the winner will be getting their debut graphic novel published by SelfMadeHero. The…
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Who Killed JoJo? #1 (2018)
Coming Up: An Evening Of Creepy Comics at London's Cartoon Museum
Coming Up: An Evening Of Creepy Comics at London’s Cartoon Museum
The nights are getting longer, there’s a chill in the air, it’s the time of year when we all feel strangely drawn together. So why not draw together around the Cartoon Museum fire* in London, to talk about the ghostly, the ghastly and the eerie? Yes… It’s time for … An Evening Of Creepy Comics!
Cartoon Museum: An Evening Of Creepy Comics – poster by Mark Stafford
On the Wednesday 11th December,…
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2018 Myriad Editions First Graphic Novel Competition Short List Revealed
2018 Myriad Editions First Graphic Novel Competition Short List Revealed
Myriad Editions has announced the shortlist for its First Graphic Novel Competition 2018: Cathy Brett, Sabba Khan, Clarrie Pope and Blanche Pope, Jenny Robins, Zara Slattery, Anna Trench and Sarah Ushurhe. Find out more about some of the creators…
The winner, to be revealed at an event in London on 5th July, will get the chance to develop their work with Myriad, with a view to contract and…
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