Citizendia

Escape Magazine

The cover to Escape Magazine #3. Art by Chris Long
PublisherTitan Books (issues 10-19)
FormatA5 (issues 1-7)
Magazine (issues 8-19)
Number of issues19
Creative team
Artist(s)Eddie Campbell
Glenn Dakin
Phil Elliott

Escape Magazine was a landmark British comic strip magazine founded and edited by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury. Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company established in 1981 A series Paper in the A series format has a 1\sqrt{2} aspect ratio although this is rounded to the nearest millimetre Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a Scottish Comics artist and Cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Glenn Dakin (b 1960 is a British Cartoonist and Author of children's books. Phil Elliott (1960- is a Comic book creator who was published in Escape Magazine. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A comic strip is a sequence of drawings that tells a story Currently in the Western world, most comic strips are written and drawn by a Comics artist Paul Gravett is a London -based journalist curator writer and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing and promotion for over twenty years Nineteen issues were published between 1983 to 1989. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Eddie Campbell, Phil Elliott and Glenn Dakin were amongst the many cartoonists published within its pages. Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a Scottish Comics artist and Cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Phil Elliott (1960- is a Comic book creator who was published in Escape Magazine. Glenn Dakin (b 1960 is a British Cartoonist and Author of children's books. A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing Cartoons Traditionally much of this work was and still is humorous and is intended primarily for entertainment purposes

Contents

Origins

Escape has its origins in the explosion of small press or minicomics that occurred in the UK in the early 1980's. British small press comics is a term used to describe Comic books self-published by Cartoonists and Comic book creators within the UK A minicomic is a small creator-published Comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Paul Gravett was running a stall at the Westminster Comic Mart in London called Fast Fiction where he would sell other people's self published comics for a small cut. Paul Gravett is a London -based journalist curator writer and broadcaster who has worked in comics publishing and promotion for over twenty years London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Fast Fiction was a market stall magazine mail order distributor and news sheet that played a key role in the history of British small press comics. These would generally be short-run publications, usually photocopied and assembled by hand, by creators who couldn't find a professional outlet for their work with many coming from an art school background with unique approaches to comic art.

At the same time awareness was growing of international developments in the medium. Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly's RAW magazine had started pushing the boundaries in the USA while European anthologies such as Métal Hurlant, Charie Mensuel and PLG showed not only radically different styles of comic art to the usual UK/US variety but a more mature and analytical approach to the medium. Art Spiegelman (born February 15, 1948) is an American Comics artist editor and advocate for the medium of comics best known for his Françoise Mouly (born 1955 is a Paris -born French artist and designer best known for her work with RAW, a showcase publication for cutting RAW was a groundbreaking Comics anthology edited by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly and published from 1980 to 1991 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Métal Hurlant is a French magazine of Science fiction and horror Comics, created in December 1974 by Comics artists

Gravett brought his knowledge and enthusiasm while his partner Peter Stanbury, employed at the time at Harpers & Queen, brought experience in print design and production and together they decided to publish, from their flat, a magazine featuring this home-grown talent along with showcasing examples of new and interesting comics from around the world. Harper's Bazaar is a well-known American Fashion Magazine, first published in 1867

The Importance of BD

Short for Bande Dessinée, BD became the ideological anchor for Escape. Franco-Belgian comics are Comics that are created in Belgium and France. Gravett wanted to apply the values of and respect attributed to French comics to his new breed of British artists. Visually this was reflected in the work of Phil Elliott and Rian Hughes, but it also infused the whole attitude of the magazine, that some comics at least deserved be taken seriously. Phil Elliott (1960- is a Comic book creator who was published in Escape Magazine. Rian Hughes is a British Graphic designer illustrator and Comics artist noted for his work on 2000AD, where he illustrated By identifying with the relatively exotic and beautifully produced volumes from Europe, Escape distanced itself from the action-adventure style of 2000AD and the American superheroes of Marvel and DC and established itself not only as something new, but something important. A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company

Pssst!

In 1981, having passed the Fast Fiction stall and distribution to Phil Elliott and before starting Escape, Gravett was employed as promotions manager for Pssst!, an attempt to publish a British equivalent of the lavish French Bande Dessinée magazines. Fast Fiction was a market stall magazine mail order distributor and news sheet that played a key role in the history of British small press comics. Phil Elliott (1960- is a Comic book creator who was published in Escape Magazine. Franco-Belgian comics are Comics that are created in Belgium and France. While disillusioned with the direction, or lack of, Pssst! was taking, his job brought him into contact with many more new and innovative cartoonists around the UK. To some of these, such as Glenn Dakin in Manchester, he introduced the concept of self publishing small press comics and sending them out to like minded souls, thus widening the net for Fast Fiction. Glenn Dakin (b 1960 is a British Cartoonist and Author of children's books. Fast Fiction was a market stall magazine mail order distributor and news sheet that played a key role in the history of British small press comics. Pssst! was forced to close after 10 issues leaving Gravet with a good idea of how not to run a magazine and a pool of talent.

The A5 years

The first seven issues of Escape were published between 1983 and 1985 as A5, or digest, sized booklets of between 56 and 84 pages in length with black and white interiors and colour covers. The covers were wrap-around and, for the first five issues, hand-separated by Stanbury until full-process colour became viable. The smaller size was chosen to physically differentiate it from other comics around at the time with a nod to the photocopied small press comics that usually came in this format. It was also easy to put in your pocket. The first issue had a print run of 2000 and had a disproportionate reaction from the music and style media bringing in subscribers and advertising, notably the NME and Time Out. The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a Popular music Magazine in the United Kingdom which has been Time Out is a Publishing company based in London, England. The company's best known product is the Time Out weekly listings Magazine

While the contents of each issue followed a pattern of running home grown talent alongside features on comics from around the world (with an emphasis on European BD and American "art comics") the roster of artists changed regularly with new creators being brought in every issue. Despite, or more likely, because of the wildly different styles and approaches embraced by the magazine Escape had a solid identity and loyal, if disparate, readership. As the landscape of the comics industry changed through the 1980s Escape was there to report it and try to influence where people should be looking.

The Titan Years

Example of the typography used for the Escape logo and interior headline text from issue eight. Designed by Peter Stanbury
Example of the typography used for the Escape logo and interior headline text from issue eight. Designed by Peter Stanbury

In 1986 Escape changed to the larger industry standard American magazine format (8. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) 25"x11") enabling them to reprint work by the international creators they'd previously only written about. Jaques Tardi and Gary Panter appear in issue eight and George Herriman's Krazy Kat became a regular feature. Gary Panter (born December 1 1950 in Durant Oklahoma) is an illustrator painter designer and part-time musician George Joseph Herriman ( August 22, 1880 &ndash April 25, 1944) was an American Cartoonist, best known for his comic strip Krazy Kat is a Comic strip created by George Herriman that appeared in U The logo also changed to a bold new design with extra prongs for the E and A and the magazine took on a more professional feel. Of the twelve issues published in this format eight had covers by non-British illustrators as Escape moved away from its small press origins and fully embraced a more international, Art-based ideology.

A year later, and after protracted negotiations, Escape became the first periodical to be published by Titan Books, a graphic novel repackaging house responsible for collections of Judge Dredd and American titles such as Swamp Thing. Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company established in 1981 For the 1995 film see Judge Dredd (film. For the Reggae / Ska performer see Judge Dread. The Swamp Thing is a Fictional character created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson for DC Comics and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy Gravett and Stanbury retained complete editorial control over the contents and direction of the magazine (despite some pressure from Titan). Despite a 60% sell through on predominantly London-based newsstands Titan were reluctant to push for wider national distribution and after two years and ten issues they parted company. A third, more ambitious, incarnation was planned but failed to find a backer and Escape folded in 1989. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)

Escape Books

Alongside the magazine itself, Escape served as an imprint for self contained graphic novels. These included the following:

Two exhibition booklets were also produced under the Escape banner:

Legacy

The influence of Escape on subsequent publications and movements is not in doubt, but somewhat hard to pin down.

Publications such as Deadline and Heartbreak Hotel shared the combination of comic strips by relative newcomers and lifestyle articles designed to reach a non-comics audience. Deadline was a British magazine published between 1988 and 1995. The term lifestyle was originally coined by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929

There are notable influences too on Fleetway's experiments with comics for more mature audiences. Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a publishing company mainly producing comic magazines for the UK. Later issues of Crisis featured Paul Grist and reprinted European work while the short-lived Revolver employed Escape regulars Rian Hughes and Julie Hollings amongst others. Paul Grist (born September 9, 1960 in Sheffield, England) is a British Comic book creator, noted for his hard-boiled Rian Hughes is a British Graphic designer illustrator and Comics artist noted for his work on 2000AD, where he illustrated

While, with the exception of Eddie Campbell, the core group of artists associated with Escape did not necessarily go on to great riches. Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a Scottish Comics artist and Cartoonist who now lives in Australia. The magazine did publish early work by notable creators including Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, Paul Johnson, James Robinson and Rian Hughes. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and David Tench McKean (born 29 December 1963 in Maidenhead, Berkshire) is an English Illustrator, Photographer, Paul Johnson is a British Comic book artist. Biography Paul Johnson orbited the peripheries of the British comic book industry in the early Eighties self-publishing Rian Hughes is a British Graphic designer illustrator and Comics artist noted for his work on 2000AD, where he illustrated

For the British small press scene Escape, along with Fast Fiction, had been an important focal point both artistically and socially. British small press comics is a term used to describe Comic books self-published by Cartoonists and Comic book creators within the UK Fast Fiction was a market stall magazine mail order distributor and news sheet that played a key role in the history of British small press comics. This continued into the 1990s with the magazine holding a pivotal place in the history of the scene.

International distribution brought Escape artists American exposure, most notably to the cartoonists informally known as the Highwater Books scene. Highwater Books was a small but influential independent Comic book publisher based in Somerville MA, noted for its arty editorial direction and production values Highwater publisher Tom Devlin and cartoonist Tom Hart both cite Escape, and Glenn Dakin in particular, as influential in forming their attitudes towards comic art. Tom Hart (b 1969 Kingston New York) is an American comics creator best known for his Hutch Owen series of Comics. Glenn Dakin (b 1960 is a British Cartoonist and Author of children's books. Canadian cartoonist Seth has recently written about the influence Chris Reynolds had on him. Seth is the Pen name of Gregory Gallant (born September 16, 1962) a Canadian Comic book artist and writer Chris Reynolds (born 16 August, 1986) is a Welsh DJ. The Chris Reynolds Show is aired in the drivetime slot between 1 pm and

It should, however, be remembered that Escape was part of a wider and at the time quite vibrant environment in British comics and that artists did move freely from publication to publication. While the magazine did carve out an important niche and break new ground, the work of Knockabout and Warrior and aspects of the Harrier comics line should be taken into account. Knockabout Comics is a UK publisher and distributor of underground and alternative Comic books. According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings

The Escape Artists

The core group of artists featured in Escape came mainly from the British small press and Underground comics scenes of the late 70's and early 80's. British small press comics is a term used to describe Comic books self-published by Cartoonists and Comic book creators within the UK Underground comics (or comix) are Small press or self-published Comic books that began to appear in the US in the late 1960s

See also

References

External links

Ed Pinsent is a British cartoonist artist and writer born 1960 in Liverpool. Chris Reynolds (born 16 August, 1986) is a Welsh DJ. The Chris Reynolds Show is aired in the drivetime slot between 1 pm and
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