Paul Cornell's Friday Newsletter

Mercer Gallery Exhibition Features Nessie!

Vision & Labour: Making Comics, The Art Of Avery Hill Publishing is an exhibition at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate which is going to be running between 18th October and 26th April. (Neatly over the weekend of Thought Bubble.) To quote from the press release:

“Harrogate’s Mercer Art Gallery has teamed up with indie publisher Avery Hill Publishing to create an exhibition showcasing some of today’s most exciting comics creators. Opening in October in time for this year’s Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival, 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 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, ranging from meticulous ink drawings to spectacular digitally created imagery, including video footage of the creators at work. There will also be photo opportunities with life size recreations of some of the book covers, and an interactive game designed by artist and designer 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.”

And included in the exhibition will be a display case featuring the process of Rachael Smith and I making Who Killed Nessie?!

I’m really looking forward to it, and I very much want a copy of Kristyna Baczynski’s poster below.

My Commando is out Now! (And you can order it by mail!)

'The Longest War', by myself and the great artist Steve Yeowell, Commando #5881, is now in many UK newsagents and superstores.

You can buy the digital edition direct from Magzter here!

Or you can order by post here at Mags Direct! (Only 7 copies left!)

And I’ll have copies to sell at Thought Bubble.

Gnomes of Lychford is Out Next Month but The Lychford Collection now isn’t!

On 9th September, Tor.com Publishing is releasing the sixth book in my Lychford series of rural fantasy novellas, Gnomes of Lychford. It’s a re-editing of the serial I ran on this newsletter, and I’ve taken the opportunity to sort out a couple of little plot problems. I think it’s my best Lychford book, and, weirdly, it’s a great jumping-on point, because everything about the series is explained at the start. You can read all about it here.

And you can now pre-order!

“An unlikely group of supernatural creatures terrorizes the sleepy village of Lychford. Okay, they're gnomes. That's not a spoiler: you worked it out it from the title. When an ancient prophecy clashes with an unfortunate modern design aesthetic, the people of Lychford must band together to put out fires (both literal and metaphorical) to save their town before the king of the Gnomes (King Greg, and it's dangerous to laugh at a gnome) calls in the terms of an old promise. Trouble is: no one knows what the promise is, nor how to fulfil it. It's going to be a long night.”

And also up for pre-order, but now coming out instead on 14th October is The Lychford Collection, which contains my first three Lychford novellas. (Cover design for both by FORT.)

The Man in Black is Out Next Month!

Liz Myles and I have a commentary track on one of the forthcoming Hammer 4k box sets: The Man in Black, which will be released on Monday, 8th September. It was a great pleasure to be asked to do our Hammer House of Podcast thing for what we found to be a great movie. We had lots to talk about. You can see all the details and pre-order the set direct from Hammer here.

Who Killed Nessie? is Out Next Month Too!

On 18th September, Avery Hill will be releasing a bookstore edition of Who Killed Nessie?, the graphic novel by myself and the great Rachael Smith.

You can read all about it, and see lots of sample pages, here.

And you can pre-order it here.

You can also pre-order it from Amazon UK and Amazon US. And from all good bookstores and comic shops.

The reviews are already coming in, including this lovely one from Monkeys Fighting Robots.

On Saturday, 20th September, from 1pm-2pm, Rachael and I will be signing the book (copies of which will be on sale) at Waterstones London-Piccadilly!

Those of you who backed the graphic novel on Zoop, don’t worry, you’ll be getting a unique edition with a different cover. (And you’ll be getting it first.)

“A cosy comedy murder mystery… with a monstrous twist! Lyndsay Grockle has just started her new job at an isolated hotel. She’s trying to get over heartbreak. She’s amazed to be left in sole charge just before a big convention. When the terrifying guests start to arrive, she realises why: this is a gathering of the fantastic beasts of myth and legend! The attendees ask her to stay in her room and let them be. But when the Loch Ness Monster is found dead, there’s nobody else they trust to solve the murder. She may not entirely believe in them… but they believe in her! Lyndsay is going to have to dig deep into her own fears and vulnerabilities to discover… WHO KILLED NESSIE?”

The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s

On November 13th, I’ve got a book coming out from Bloomsbury that’s part of a new range of popular studies of Marvel Comics! The Mighty Avengers vs. the 1970s is fully illustrated with panels from the comics, and is my journey through how Marvel’s main super team navigated that difficult decade. You can read the announcement here at AP News. This is very much a labour of love for me, a book I’ve wanted to find a way to write for the longest time.

And you can now pre-order it from the publisher (and from all good booksellers)!

Thought Bubble

Our application has been accepted, so I’m pleased to say that Lizbeth Myles and I will once more be tabling at the wonderful Thought Bubble comic convention in Harrogate on November 15th and 16th.

Of Intrigue and Espionage

I have a story in this just-announced forthcoming volume from Stars and Sabers publishing, which is due out in October 2026. I’m in good company, as you can see from the full announcement here.

Cosmic Lighthouse and Salvation’s Child

Cosmic Lighthouse is a new comics company, the brainchild of myself and Lee Harris, with Anthony Cronin helping out with the day to day business. I’m the Editor-in-Chief.

Our mission is to publish original graphic novels by bestselling SFF authors.

And here, via this news story at IGN, where you can see lots of preview pages, is our launch title!

Salvation’s Child is the digital graphic novel Prologue to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s best-selling SFF novel series The Final Architecture. (So new readers can start here!) It’s by Adrian himself, artist Mike Collins, colour artist Pippa Bowland and letterer Simon Bowland. We’re publishing it together with our partners ComiXology.

It’s 110 pages of comics, plus extras, at what we think is quite the wonderful price. (Under a fiver!)

Check out these pre-order links at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

You can read more about the company and the project, with biogs, blurbs and histories, in our press release here.

And you can find Cosmic Lighthouse at these links on BlueSky and Instagram.

Salvation’s Child will be released by ComiXology Originals in 2026!

Telefantasy Time Jump

The new podcast from me and Lizbeth Myles covers the history of SFF on TV, from 1953 onward, with our regular episodes (on the 14th of every month) covering a show released that year in the UK, and the Patron Bonus episodes (on the 28th) covering a show from the rest of the world. The shows for August (covering 1960, with a new theme tune!) are Pathfinders in Space/Pathfinders to Mars and Thriller. The main episode is available free wherever you get your podcasts. To get the bonus episode, you need to follow us on Patreon at £3/$3 or above. (And you get access to seven years of Hammer House of Podcast bonus episodes!) You can find all the info here.

My Ko-fi and eBay Stores

Here’s my Ko-fi store, where you can buy my books and comics, signed and personalised, for shipping worldwide. And here’s my ebay store, full of Bronze Age Marvel comics at bargain prices.

My Linktrees

You can now find all my social media links, my website/blog and links to where you can buy my books, in one place here, thanks to Linktree! And here’s the one for Cosmic Lighthouse!

The Work of Friends

The great novelist Charlie Jane Anders has a new book out!

“Lessons in Magic and Disaster is about a trans witch named Jamie who is also a PhD student in English lit. Jamie's mother, Serena, has been hiding from the world in an old one-room schoolhouse ever since her life fell apart, and Jamie decides to help her mother get over her depression... by teaching her how to do magic. This is my most personal book yet. It's about healing and unconditional love, and learning to understand both your birth family and your chosen family in all their complexity.”

Charlie is on tour in the USA right now. You can read all the details here, and find ordering links for the book here.

I’ve recently had the great pleasure of reading these two very useful volumes from Matt Garvey.

If you’re considering creating and/or Kickstarting your own comic, here’s everything from the ground up, told to you very simply and directly. You can find them at these Amazon UK (Comic/Kickstarter) and US (Comic/Kickstarter) links.

The great Tade Thompson has a new Doctor Who novella out now, For One Night Only, in which the Fourth Doctor (a splendidly-realised Tom Baker) meets jazz legend Fela Kuti. I’ve read this, and it’s enormously good on the Doctor/Sarah/Harry trio while telling a unique story. (And I see they’ve used my quote in the publicity!) You can find all the sales links here.

And Russell Hillman’s Freaktown Comics imprint is back with a new publication!

“Inspired by early seventies contemporary British horror cinema, especially the portmanteau films of Amicus, DEAD MEN TELL TALES is a 150 page retro anthology graphic novel featuring ten great artists based in the UK. And one from Spain - because what's a seventies UK anthology comic without at least one Spanish artist?

Dead Men Tell Tales features ten tales of terror, and a wraparound story linking everything together, and is priced at £15 for physical copies or £10 for digital.

Dead Men Tell Tales is scripted by Russell Hillman, with art by Sergio Calvet, Elliot Balson, Phoebe Marshall, Jim Laverey, Izzy Hatherell, Maria Radulescu, Yaya To (JU5T), Bevis Musson, Dave Metcalfe-Carr, Cai Howells and Adam Balson, letters by Sergio Calvet and additional colours by Harry Saxon.”

You can find the Kickstarter and sign up to be notified when it launches here.

My Week(s!)

So, yes, I just forgot the Newsletter last week! I find it hard to believe. Caroline, Tom and I went to see the in-laws that morning, which knocked me out of my routine, that’s the best I can offer. Thanks to everyone who asked what had happened, or was concerned. And my apologies again.

It’s been a strange sort of routine, with Thomas on school holidays. I’ve been trying to take him out for some sort of outing almost every day. We’ve discovered we like bowling, I think because (with barriers along the lane on his turn) he can compete with me on a pretty level basis. As you read this, Caroline will be joining us for a three-player game. I’ve been trying to fit some work in, during whatever hours Caroline’s job leaves me, and at 2.45pm I’ve been loving having the Women’s 100 Cricket on, a steady scheduled item of enjoyment in this rather rough August. It’s my last cricket match of the season on Sunday, in a seven-a-side tournament. I’ll miss the exercise (I’ve been putting on weight with so few hours in the day to do anything but work and childcare) and the feeling that I’m actually getting my batting (if not my bowling) back together.

The Caption comics festival was small but lovely, with a bunch of familiar faces, plus I got to meet some newbies who might have big careers ahead of them. (Check out artist Sar Cousins and writer David Haller.) Sarah Miles did her usual excellent job of interviewing me and artist Alison Sampson about networking in comics, and I think we covered the subject pretty well. With a sunny drive home it was a cool way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I also had a couple of big Zoom meetings this week, and it was lovely to take delivery of a big box of my Commando issue, which I’d bought from the publisher, to sell at Thought Bubble, but also, notably, to hand out in my little town. I’ve been anticipating having these small gifts in hand for the longest time, and this afternoon I’ll be taking them down the pub.

To Be Continued

Next week it’s the final full week of school holidays, so my routine’s about to change again. And I get to see if the local car boot sale is the wonderland of Bronze Age back issues it was last year.

And I hope to see you all again too!