In the six years since their founding, UK publisher Nobrow Press has quickly established an international reputation for putting out the very best in graphic art, illustration books and comics, marked by high quality production values and a singular aesthetic. In addition to collaborating with Japanese fashion house Comme des Garcons on a project involving Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo, last year also saw the publisher open a New York office, and hire Tucker Stone —managing partner of Bergen Street Comics and noted Comics Journal critic—as sales and marketing director.
As well as harnessing international talent—bringing, among others, Mikkel Sommer and Blexbolex to wider audiences—Nobrow has a keenly developed focus on the home-front, and have been instrumental in the careers of British cartoonists Luke Pearson, Jon McNaught, Jack Teagle and more. That tradition is set to continue this September with the release of the debut graphic novel from British artist Jamie Coe, Art Schooled. Coe is a recent illustration graduate from London's Central Saint Martins, whose most notable previous work is House of Freaks, a comic published on his website which garnered him the interest of the comics community. It's easy to see why: his style is a mix of Crumb sinew and arresting texture, his vivid colours providing an off-setting beauty to proceedings.
Set to be one of the year's more note-worthy releases, Art Schooled is the tale of small-town everyman, Daniel Stope, who dreams of becoming an artist. When Daniel is given the opportunity to enroll at art school, it sounds like his dreams have come true, but the subsequent move to the city finds him struggling not only with the possibilities he's been presented with, but his newfound independence, along with the politics of dating and making new friends.
Art Schooled is for mature readers.
