We’re very proud to announce our line-up for spring 2024!

The Scrapbook of Life and Death by J. Webster Sharp
Adrift on a Painted Sea by Tim Bird

The Scrapbook of Life and Death by J. Webster Sharp – Out 3rd September 2024

88 pages, paperback, black and white, 210 x 297mm

The monstrosity of life explored through the strangeness of Edwardian England and
the cartoonist’s own mental illness.

‘Dentist Robs Women of Teeth’ — ‘Death Chair for Nice Old Man’ —
‘Mother Feeds Son Like Bird’
The British newspaper clipping collection of egalitarian George Ives, collected between
1892 and 1949, ranged from murder and theories of crime to cricket scores. He was
fascinated by the unusual, the gothic, the sexual, and the melodramatic.
In this graphic novel, acclaimed cartoonist J. Webster Sharp shares some of the most
bizarre stories from his archives, in silent comics form. With often shocking, visceral black
and white artwork, the strangeness and eccentricity of the Edwardian era then provides a
backdrop for Sharp’s own struggles with mental health. The Scrapbook of Life and Death
is a fascinating, personal window into forgotten historical views of eccentric and socially
transcendent and disturbing behaviours—and their resonance in life today.

Adrift on a Painted Sea by Tim Bird – Out 1st October 2024
84 pages, softcover with French flaps, full colour throughout, 168 x 239mm

A poignant, thoughtful graphic memoir that explores family, loss, and art through the
author’s relationship with his mother, who painted as a hobby throughout her life.

Sue Bird was always painting: botanical art, landscapes, still lifes, and especially the sea.
She took classes, kept countless sketchbooks, and filled the house with art. From their
neighbourhood to their family trips, all the moments of her life were memorialized in her
artwork. Throughout her life, she never sold a piece—she gave art to family and friends,
and shared her work online, but never received wider recognition for her work.
This graphic novel by her son, Tim Bird, explores their family life and her creative
explorations through a mix of her paintings and Tim’s comics, depicting their relationship
and her life from teenagehood to her struggle with cancer at the height of the covid
pandemic. After her death, this graphic novel at last showcases her work.
At its heart a book about creativity and family relationships, Adrift on a Painted Sea tells a
story about the things we overlook in the people closest to us.

Press Coverage!

• Kerry Vineberg reviewed Safer Places by Kit Anderson for The Beat: “Each individual story stands strong, leaving me enriched with insight, deep emotions, and sometimes a knowing laugh. It’s everything I could wish for in a collection.”
• Infinite Wheatpaste vol. 1: Catalytic Conversions by L. Pidge was reviewed on Comicon: “A wonderful comic, full of invention and great characters with a light, fluidy art style that’s packed with colour and attitude. Infinite Wheatpaste is 280+ pages of great, great comics that take us into some far-out places of wonder.”
• Curses by George Wylesol was reviewed on Slings and Arrows: “It’s deliberately disorienting yet magnificent for the sheer power of Wylesol’s imagination. His is a unique voice to be cherished.”
• Slings and Arrows also reviewed Barking by Lucy Sullivan: “Barking is powerful as both mental illness testament, and graphic story-telling.”