Our Titles

Signals From The Hill #45 – Tom Humberstone on ‘Suzanne’

In this episode we talk to Tom Humberstone, the creator of Suzanne, which came out last week. We do a deep dive into ideas about storytelling and writing, and find out about Tom’s early small press work creating (among other things) the well-loved UK comics anthology Solipsistic Pop.

Latest Avery Hill News

We now have our autumn 2022 titles available to pre-order in the shop:

Suzanne – The Jazz Age Goddess of Tennis by Tom Humberstone

Sennen by Shanti Rai

Both have limited signed bookplate editions available while stocks last.
Check them out in the shop here!


Hardcover, 212 pages, Full Colour


The incredible story of Suzanne Lenglen, a woman who changed the face of sport and
society in the trailblazing jazz age, but who few even remember.

One of the greatest tennis players the world has ever seen was a woman few even remember. A championship player by the age of fifteen in a Europe overshadowed by impending war, Suzanne Lenglen broke records for ticket sales and match winning streaks, scandalised and entranced the public with her playing outfits, and became a pioneer, making friends and enemies throughout restrictive tennis society in the trailblazing jazz age.

With stunning art and an astute eye, and featuring a foreword by founding co-secretary of the Women’s Tennis Association and International Tennis Hall of Fame member Françoise Dürr, Suzanne explores how a figure both enormously influential and too-often overlooked battled her father’s ambition, bias in sporting journalism, and her own divisive personality, to forge a new path – and to change sport forever.


Softcover, 104 pages, Full Colour

A beautiful coming of age tale, packed with adventure and magic with a backdrop that
outlines the importance of family.

Sennen’s life is mostly perfect – spending her days tending the fields in her idyllic village and her evenings with her beloved family, all tucked into the crook of a green and beautiful valley. If it wasn’t for the masked figures descending from the hills with increasing regularity to take their harvested food to deliver to their Gods, she’d have no worries at all.

But when the demands for tribute strike closer to home Sennen is forced to flee the paradise of her valley and venture into the home of the Gods to save her family and their way of life – only to discover that those we worship are not always what they seem and the lives we lead are not always so simplistic after all.

Sennen, the debut graphic novel from exciting new British author and artist Shanti Rai, tells a timeless tale of adventure and the discoveries we make as we explore beyond the boundaries of our childhood into the uncertainty of the adult world.


We have three events coming up next month: two signings with Tom Humberstone to launch Suzanne in London, and one in Edinburgh. At Gosh Comics in London, Tom will be doing a window illustration, so look out for that! At the Portobello Bookshop in Edinburgh, Tom will be in conversation about the book with tennis podcaster Claire Stanley. Come along and join us in celebrating this amazing book at one of the following:

Signals from the Hill #44 – Taki Soma on ‘Sleeping While Standing’


In this episode we talk to Taki Soma, the creator of Sleeping While Standing which comes out in July 2022. We talk about why Taki loves editing, the balance of darkness and humour in her writing, and how she narrowly avoided a career in advertising.

Latest Avery Hill News!

We now have all three of our spring/summer books back from the printers and we’re so happy with how they’ve turned out. These are all available to buy in our shop here!

Some reviews of George Wylesol’s 2120:

“Fascinating… something that has a deep and dark mystery at its heart… something that will reveal its secrets slowly and perfectly through all of the 500 pages.” – Comicon

“Absolutely incredible. I’ve never seen this kind of thing tackled this way before; an eerie, compelling, crazy ride that you’ll want to revisit time and time again.” – No Use Crying Over Spilt Ink

Some reviews of Claire Scully’s Outer Wilderness:

“Every single page is pregnant with undiscovered meaning and frightening awe, which is exactly what I want from sci-fi landscape explorations. I couldn’t get enough of it, it was great!” – Ace Comicals Podcast

“A visual treat, packed with Scully’s strong, mysterious imagery and bold colour choices, something to take in slowly, letting the visuals imbue their own meanings to you, something to relax into and enjoy for the journey it will take you on.” – Comicon.com

Some reviews of Taki Soma’s Sleeping While Standing:

“Soma’s bracingly frank solo debut handles incidents great and small, traumatizing and uplifting, with the same gentle, questioning touch.” – Publishers Weekly

“A really significant piece of work. Powerful, beautiful, traumatic. Like swimming in someone’s memories… but each one informs the next, and it’s all connected.” – Ace Comicals Podcast


We still have some signed bookplate editions of Sleeping While Standing, and postcard editions of Outer Wilderness (copies will come with this special postcard while stocks last!)

We also have a special signed print that accompanies George Wylesol’s 2120, which you can grab here.


In other news, there’s a new trailer for Tom Humberstone’s Suzanne, which comes out in September. Watch here:

Keep an eye out in our shop… pre-orders for Suzanne will start soon! In the meantime there’s more info here.

Finally, we’ll be at the wonderful South London Comic and Zine Fair on the 10th July. Come along and say hello!

Signals from the Hill #43 – George Wylesol on ‘2120’


In this episode we talk to George Wylesol, whose book ‘2120’ has just come out. We discuss how George arrived at his unique, dark and compelling style of storytelling, and his journey through the various books he’s published with Avery Hill.

Latest Avery Hill News!

We’re very excited to be able to announce two new titles for autumn 2022:
Suzanne – The Jazz Age Goddess of Tennis by Tom Humberstone
and Sennen by Shanti Rai!

Suzanne – The Jazz Age Goddess of Tennis


Tom Humberstone

Out 01/09/2022 (UK) – 08/09/2022 (North America)
208 pages, softcover, full colour throughout, 168 x 239mm

The incredible story of Suzanne Lenglen, a woman who changed the face of sport and society in the trailblazing Jazz Age, but who few even remember.

One of the greatest tennis players the world has ever seen was a woman few even remember. A championship player by the age of fifteen in a Europe overshadowed by impending war, Suzanne Lenglen broke records for ticket sales and match winning streaks, scandalised and entranced the public with her playing outfits, and became a pioneer, making friends and enemies throughout restrictive tennis society in the trailblazing Jazz Age.

With stunning art and an astute eye, Suzanne explores how a figure both enormously influential and too-often overlooked battled her father’s ambition, bias in sporting journalism, and her own divisive personality, to forge a new path — and to change sport forever.

Tom Humberstone is an award-winning comic artist and illustrator based in Edinburgh. His work has appeared in Phonogram (Image), Doctor Who (Titan) and the Eisner award-nominated Nelson (Blank Slate). He writes and draws non-fiction comics for the Ignatz award-winning The Nib, as well as the New Statesman, Vox, Buzzfeed and others.

Sennen

Shanti Rai

Out 20th October 2022 (UK) – 27th October 2022 (North America)
100 pages, softcover, full colour throughout, 168 x 239mm

Sennen’s life is mostly perfect – spending her days tending the fields in her idyllic village and her evenings with her beloved family, all tucked into the crook of a green and beautiful valley. And if it wasn’t for the masked figures descending from the hills with increasing regularity to take their harvested food to deliver to their Gods, she’d have no worries at all.

But when the demands for tribute strike closer to home, Sennen is forced to flee the paradise of her valley and venture into the home of the Gods to save her family and their way of life – only to discover that those we worship are not always what they seem, and the lives we lead are not always so simplistic after all.

Sennen, the debut graphic novel from exciting new British author and artist Shanti Rai, tells a timeless tale of adventure, and the discoveries we make as we explore beyond the boundaries of our childhood, into the uncertainty of the adult world.

Shanti Rai is a London-based illustrator who graduated from Camberwell in 2017. Her work has appeared in Day Dreams, KO and Persephone. She was one of Broken Frontier’s
Six To Watch In 2018.

Signals From The Hill #42 – Karen Shangguan on Quiet Thoughts

In this episode we talk to Karen Shangguan, the creator of Quiet Thoughts, which came out in autumn 2021. We talk about how Karen makes her poetic, contemplative comics.

Signals From The Hill #41 – Lord Hurk on Jinx Freeze

In this episode we talk to Lord Hurk, the creator of Jinx Freeze, which came out in October 2021. We discuss tying lots of ideas together into one big story, the London small press scene, dreams… and lovingly-rendered biscuits.

Signals From The Hill #40 – Clio Isadora on Sour Pickles

In this episode we talk to Clio Isadora, the creator of Sour Pickles, which came out in October 2021.
We talk about how Clio approaches making comics, the economic inequalities that affect people hoping to make a living in the arts, and how the pandemic has affected people in the industry.