Our final 2025 Kickstarter is underway, and currently needs just a few more backers to reach its goal. We’re funding Was That Normal? by Alex Potts – a beautifully observed graphic novel about connection, confusion, and the spaces in between.
“It was like he’d missed the main part of the story and arrived between the big climax and the end credits. A new order had established itself and everyone, apart from him, was living happily ever after. Nothing interesting could possibly happen between now and the ending.”
Philip is searching. For meaning. For connection. For someone to share a moment with. By day, he works from a rented room. By night, he drifts through cafés and bars, dodging awkward chats with his landlady and hoping for something more. When he meets Gina, a local musician, things begin to shift. But relationships are messy, and Philip’s discomfort grows as he stumbles through miscommunications, emotional misfires, and the looming presence of Gina’s intense ex.
Add in a crumbling tower, gong baths (whatever they are), and the quiet ache of modern life, and you have a story that’s tender, funny, and deeply human.
In other news, our big exhibition of comic art has now opened at the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate! This has been years in the making, and it’s wonderful to see the results of all the hard work. Already feedback from visitors has been incredibly positive, and we’re really looking forward to the official launch which is happening next month at the Thought Bubble Festival!
Entry is free, and there’s so much to see! The exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into the work of leading comic artists, and an important snapshot of the UK comics landscape over the past decade.
On display in the exhibition will be original artwork by sixteen diverse Avery Hill artists, shown alongside the finished books. The exhibition will offer insights into the creative process of making comics, and the different working practices of each artist, including video footage of the creators at work. There will be photo opportunities with life size recreations of some of the book covers, and an interactive game designed by artist George Wylesol. The various design elements pulling it all together are by comics artist Kristyna Baczynski who has created infographics, including a description of the various stages of journey from the original idea of the creator to the finished physical book.
Visitors will come away with an appreciation of the talent and vision of the creators and a new understanding of the labour involved in creating the art and making the finished book!
If you’re heading to Harrogate for the Thought Bubble Festival, join us on opening night from 6.30-8.30! You can raise a glass with us, enjoy the exhibition, and also pick up your Thought Bubble pass while you’re there!
And if you’d like a real deep-dive into the exhibition, join us on one of the guided tours we’re doing on both the Saturday and Sunday of the festival. No booking required – just turn up at the gallery at either of the times shown below. We hope to see you there!
Finally, we were delighted that New York Public Library has highlighted both Kit Anderson’s Second Shift and Donya Todd’s The Witch’s Egg on their list of Best New Comics For Adults! Check out the full list here.
In this episode, Avery Hill’s Ricky Miller talks to Katriona Chapman and Kristyna Baczynski about their roles in creating our big new comic art exhibition that just opened at the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate!
The kickstarter campaign for The Corus Wave by Karenza Sparks launched last week, and it’s already funded which is amazing! However there’s still plenty of time to jump on board and get some of the amazing bonus items. There’s a signed bookplate, a behind-the-scenes zine, a tote bag, and signed/sketched copies available. There are only 16 signed/sketched copies left, so grab one while you can!
“A rambunctious roommate duo, a mystery in a quaint British town and a cat? A charming comic that truly has it all.” — Lucie Bryon, Thieves
“A lovingly told mystery around the classic archetype of a British historical weirdo. It made me long to walk by the shore and pick up pebbles, to slowly wander Chorksbury myself and puzzle over its strange buildings.” — B. Mure, Ismyre
Our advance copy has also arrived, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Karenza did an amazing job designing this book… all the little details and textures and the limited colours are just a joy to look at (before you even get started on the delightful adventure of the story itself!)
In other news, we have a really exciting announcement! A big exhibition all about the work of Avery Hill and some of the amazing artists we’ve been lucky enough to work with will run at the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate from 18th October 2025 until 26th April 2026!
Poster artwork by Kristyna Baczynski
If you’re attending the Thought Bubble festival this year, there will be two guided tours of the exhibition. Avery Hill’s Kat Chapman (Saturday) and Broken Frontier’s Andy Oliver (Sunday) will take you on a 30-minute walk through the exhibition, giving some extra insight into Avery Hill’s work as a publisher. They’ll be accompanied by several of the creators with work on display, who’ll talk about the medium of comics, their artwork, and their approach to making graphic novels.
Here’s some more info about what the exhibition will consist of!
Avery Hill recently celebrated their tenth year as a publisher, and this exhibition offers an in-depth exploration of their work. It’s an important retrospective that charts their early days publishing zines in the London small press scene, through to today’s carefully and lovingly produced high-quality graphic novels which are sold the world over. All achieved despite having no publishing experience, juggling demanding day jobs and major life-changes, in what was supposed to be a fun side-project that accidentally got out of control.
On display will be original art from the books, glimpses into the creative process of making comics, and fascinating information about the artists they work with. Additionally, there will be video, prints, books on display and interactive elements, including a game designed by another of their discoveries, the highly talented and idiosyncratic comics creator and graphic designer, George Wylesol.
The exhibition gives insight into their development and philosophy, with deep-dives into some of the books that have been milestones in their catalogue. As the audience goes on this journey through the history of the publisher, they will witness the development of some of the most interesting and important creators working in comics, and an important snapshot of the UK comics landscape over the past decade.
Out 10th October 2025 180 pages, paperback, full colour throughout, 168 x 239mm
Witches and angels aren’t allowed to have children. When Urfi defies this, it’ll take her life’s work to make it right.
It was a spiderweb moon And the imps did wonder What dark delights wouldst the cat-witch conjure
By the Sardine Queen, by salt and the devil, by blackwormy earth, and by the deep, dark sea, the catwitch Urfi conjures an angel to love her and have children with her. But angels aren’t meant for love, and with the embryonic egg of their unborn children, Urfi flees from her partner’s violence, enduring terrible trials to find a new and safe home in the faery forest.
As her children, Isobel, Batzel, and Mazel, grow up with her, they find the horrors their mother endured during her flight to the forest returning to their lives — this time for the three of them to defeat for good. With secret magic, solemn bonds of friendship, and sisterhood, they can at last stand against the threat of the angels’ terror and insanity in this dark fairytale of motherhood, magic, and apocalyptic romance.
A gorgeous intergenerational family story of promises made, promises kept, and a mother who would do anything to protect her daughters.
***
Out 21st October 2025 144 pages, paperback, black & white, 168 x 239mm
Adventures . . . and finishing her thesis . . . await Lorelei as she’s plunged into an exploration of the mysteries in England’s fossil history in this graphic novel caper.
Lorelei is just trying to finish her BA thesis. Then her research into an obscure star- shaped Devonian-era cephalopod fossil drags her into a scavenger hunt that indicates her subject may be hiding some of the central secrets of the universe. Or at least, that’s what 19th century polymath Havius Corus thought.
Careening through libraries, churches, botanical gardens, and stone circles with her roommate Eddie (and their trusty cat Raisin, who travels with them via backpack), Lorelei explores the puzzles and the mysteries the polymath has hidden from the world . . . unseen in the architecture and the nature all around her.
Can Lorelei find the solutions to the secrets of fossil history? And will her thesis advisor think her hard work is a legitimate dissertation topic? Lorelei, Eddie, and Raisin are on the case!
We’re excited to announce our next graphic novel release for Autumn 2025 – Who Killed Nessie? by Paul Cornell and Rachael Smith.
Out September 2025!
104 pages, paperback, full colour throughout, 168x239mm
The Loch Ness Monster has been murdered . . . it’s Lyndsay’s first day on the job, but it’s up to her to solve the crime!
It’s Lyndsay Grockle’s first day as the manager of the Lakeview Hotel. Her boss has handed her the keys and departed for vacation. And then the convention attendees start showing up, each more peculiar than the last. Lyndsay’s a confirmed skeptic—so she’s surprised to be woken up in the middle of the night by her convention attendees, telling her that there’s been a murder . . . of the Loch Ness Monster. The guests at the hotel are all cryptids from around the world, and now one of them is dead. Which means that one of them must be the murderer.
And it’s up to Lyndsay to solve the case!
Avery Hill Publishing Co-Publisher and Commissioning Editor Ricky Miller said of the new title:
“Rachael Smith and Paul Cornell want to do a book with us..? Hell yes!” We were absolutely delighted to be able to work with Rachael on what is now our third book with her (after The Rabbit and Artificial Flowers). She’s a tremendous talent in British comics and also one of our favourite people. Whilst we’ve always considered her to be a great writer, working with Paul Cornell has allowed her to fully concentrate on the art and we think she’s levelled up with this book, especially in her line art and colouring, which are both the best tI’ve seen from her. As for the writing, Paul’s script is both hilarious and touching. I’ve been a big fan of his for some time and I’m not going to lie, one of the major attractions of doing Nessie was the opportunity of having chats with THE Paul Cornell about Doctor Who and Captain Britain!
ACID BOX is a brand new graphic novel from writer Sara Kenney, artists James Devlin, Emma Vieceli, and Ria Grix, with colours by Sofie Dodgson, and lettering by Hassan Otsman-Elhaou: a darkly comic adventure through club culture, spanning space and time.
A massive paperback with over 200 pages of comics from some of the most exciting UK comics creators working today, ACID BOX will be a banger you don’t want to miss.
24 Hour Party People meets The Wizard of Oz, join us as we follow Jade and her friends as they take you on the trip of a lifetime.
200 pages, paperback with french flaps, full colour throughout, 156 x 239mm
Jade Nyo just wants to party, but how is she supposed to enjoy herself when the world around her is falling apart?
It’s 2026 and Jade’s out clubbing in Glasgow when she runs into a trio of mysterious women in the toilets. They tell her they’re Liminals: guardians of portals that let you travel through space and time. They give Jade something called an Acid Box and tell her she needs to use it to avert a global disaster. No pressure or anything.
But the Acid Box is broken, and Jade must travel back to 1994 in a quest to fix it. As she tries to change the future, the work and pressure of making friends and saving the world might just prove to be too much for her messy and imperfect brain…
A celebration of rave culture through history, ACID BOX explores what it means to be human. Balancing joy and anger, scientific theory and creative response, the unbearable weight of responsibility and the drive to make change – and how exhausting and exhilarating it can all be.
Wondering if ACID BOX is for you? Here’s a handy checklist to help you figure it out:
Is your happy place a bouncing dance floor? Are you nostalgic for the parties of the ‘90s? Are you a fan of the power of friendship? Even across time and space? Do you enjoy well-researched, scientifically accurate sci fi adventures? Are you determined to have fun even on the brink of disaster? Do messy main characters give you life? Is supporting art communities and youth access to those communities important to you? Do you just love comics? If you answered YES to any of those questions, then yes, ACID BOX is for you, friend.
“Dancefloor history meets family history via psychic reality-skipping quest. Take your brain to another dimension. Pay close attention.” – Kieron Gillen, The Wicked + The Divine
“It’s a monster of a comic.” – Alex Paterson, The Orb
“I was too young to go out raving in the 90s, so I soaked up club culture via things like 2000ad and characters like Milton and Bradley, or through artists like Jamie Hewlett or Robert Bliss, and writers like Peter Milligan. The link between club culture and UK comics was such that 2000ad even had their own club column, so UK comic book culture will always be inextricably linked to the broader outsider dance music phenomenon that I’ve devoted my life to. Acid Box feels like a long-overdue return to that tradition, and it’s a really fun read.” – Man Power, DJ & Producer
“Fun, insightful, off the beaten track, resonant, meaningful, original and skilful. Would match a Coldcut sound track. ;)” – Matt Black, Coldcut & Co-Founder Ninja Tune
“Love this—as addictive as a TB303 bass line, hits all the right notes.” – Jon More, Coldcut & Co-Founder Ninja Tune
“A welcome depiction of the transcendental nature of electronic music culture where transformation is always possible and hope is carried by the poetry of sound.” – Justin Robertson, DJ, Broadcaster, Artist
Our Kickstarter for Kit Anderson’s Second Shift has just gone live and we’re really excited to share this dazzling sci-fi story with you!
This is the first full-length graphic novel from Safer Places creator Kit – if you enjoyed her contemplative, magical stories in that collection we think you’ll love this book.
There’s a handful of signed and sketched copies of the book available, and Kit’s illustrated some really lovely additional rewards too, so read on…
From the time when the station wakes her up, Birdie Doran is on the clock. It’s just her and one or two others on Terracorp’s isolated outpost, processing comets. So she slips into virtual reality, with the station creating adventures for her as she does repairs, routine maintenance, and checks the status on all the systems.
But when Birdie discovers another abandoned station just within walking distance of her own, she begins to question her isolation, and her own memories of what her job-and her life—really is. And at every turn, she starts finding the things the station has been hiding from her.
Ignatz Award-nominated author Kit Anderson presents a psychological science fiction exploration of the lines between reality inside and outside the mind.
“Moving, eerie, and contemplative, these short comics zero in on the experiences of loneliness and the subsequent longing for connection across a dizzying array of genres.” – Booklist, Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2024
“Settle in with a cup of tea and an open mind… you’re in for a treat.” – The Beat, Best Graphic Novels of 2024
About Kit:
Kit Anderson is a cartoonist from Boulder, Colorado. Her short stories have been published by Parsifal Press and collected by Avery Hill in the graphic novel Safer Places. Kit lives near Zürich with her partner and tiny dog where she enjoys walking in the woods and making comics about memory, nature, and wizards sometimes, too.
Check out this trailer for the project:
There is also a wonderful selection of extras and add-ons that you can get when you back the various reward tiers! Kit has drawn this stunning signed bookplate and this gorgeous signed print:
Kit was also offering some original sketches, but these sold out very fast. Thank you to everyone who pledged for a sketch already!
As usual we’ve created a special bundle of Avery Hill books that complement Second Shift. The bundle gets you a great discount on this excellent selection of sci-fi/space-themed items, including some stickers and postcards!
You can add this bundle at check-out. It includes:
A choice of a signed A3 print, by Tillie Walden or Claire Scully!
The Hard Switch, by Owen Pomery
The Wilderness Collection, by Claire Scully
Infinite Wheatpaste Vol. 1 – Catalytic Conversions, by Pidge
Goatherded, by Charlo Frade
Each of these books is also available to add on individually at check-out!
We’re absolutely thrilled that Tim Bird’s Adrift on a Painted Sea has been named as one of the best graphic novels of 2024 by both NPR and The Guardian!
Safer Places by Kit Anderson was also named a best graphic novel of the year by Booklist, who featured the cover art on their ‘Graphic Novels for Libraries’ Guide this year!
Tim Bird’s Adrift on a Painted Sea exhibition at the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate will continue to run until the 5th January. It’s free entry, so definitely pop in while you can!
A huge thank you to everyone who’s supported Avery Hill’s books this year, whether it’s by buying a book, backing a crowdfunding campaign or posting about/reviewing our books online. See you next year!
We’re excited to announce our first graphic novel release for Spring 2025 – Second Shift by Kit Anderson.
Out 5th June 2025
132 pages, paperback, full colour throughout, 160 x 220mm
Birdie Doran’s life on the station is the same routine every day… until she starts finding secrets in this science fiction graphic novel.
From the time when the station wakes her up, Birdie Doran is on the clock. It’s just her and one or two others on Terracorp’s isolated outpost, processing comets. So she slips into virtual reality, with the station creating adventures for her as she does repairs, routine maintenance, and checks the status on all the systems.
But when Birdie discovers another abandoned station just within walking distance of her own, she begins to question her isolation, and her own memories of what her job- and her life—really is. And at every turn, she starts finding the things the station has been hiding from her. Ignatz Award-nominated author Kit Anderson presents a psychological science fiction exploration of the lines between reality inside and outside the mind.
Events!
Avery Hill creators have been involved with all sorts of events lately! Tim Bird and Kat Chapman spoke about their work at P&G Wells Booksellers and the Cartoon Museum respectively. Kit Anderson will be on a panel on the 14th November at LibraryCon, talking about Sci-Fi and her upcoming book Second Shift. You can register to take part in this online event here.
Dates for your diary
It’s November – Thought Bubble month! You’ll be able to find us at table C39 in the Travelling Man Hall. As usual we’ve created a handy map to help you locate all the Avery Hill creators who’ll be at the festival later this month!
B. Mure will be taking part in an excellent-sounding panel about folklore in comics. Don’t miss this on the Saturday!
Also, a reminder for all those arriving in Harrogate on Friday the 15th before the festival – Tim Bird will be launching his beautiful book Adrift on a Painted Sea at the Mercer Gallery that evening. It’s also the opening night of an exhibition showcasing paintings by Sue Bird and artwork from the graphic novel. Join us on the 15th from 6-8pm for a glass of fizz and a chance to get a copy of the book signed by Tim! The exhibition will then continue until 31st March 2025.
In other news…
We had a great time at the SPX comic festival in Maryland in September. Two Avery Hill artists took part in panels this year, and the panels are now available to watch on YouTube! Check them out here:
Tim Bird wrote a wonderful piece on Electric Lit where he recommended 8 graphic novels about parent-child relationships. Check it out here!
Finally, we have a treat for you from our own podcast Signals from the Hill! Kat speaks to Tim Bird about family, memory, loss, art… and making quiet comics, in celebration of his new graphic novel Adrift on a Painted Sea. The podcast is available to watch below or listen here!
The Scrapbook of Life and Death by J. Webster Sharp was reviewed on Four Color Apocalypse: “2024’s most VITAL, most CONFRONTATIONAL, most PERSONAL, most DARING work is here.”
Adrift on a Painted Seaby Tim Bird was reviewed on Publishers Weekly: “An elegant and eclectic tribute to art as antidote to grief.”
Adrift on a Painted Sea was also reviewed on Shelf Awareness: “With obvious admiration and poignant longing, British comics maker Tim Bird memorializes his late mother, artist Sue Bird. Mother and son produce a lingering homage to family, creativity, and the everlasting power of art.”
It was also reviewed in the Herald Magazine: “Tim Bird is the cartoonist of British domesticity; his comic strips are a symphony of street lights and motorway service stations, supermarkets and seaside towns. This sweet, sad story is a quiet marvel, one that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.”
The Hard Switch by Owen D. Pomery was reviewed on Solrad: “Striking. An interesting blend of two science fiction standards: post-apocalypse and space opera… I appreciate playing with tropes, especially if they’re done in a way that makes me wonder why they haven’t been done before.”
