An interview with Bobby Joseph
Comics Laureate of the UK.
Originally published 1 July 2020.
This week I interviewed the amazing Bobby Joseph, credited in the 1990s as creating the first ongoing British comics magazine for and about a black audience, in the form of SKANK, aka “The Black VIZ”.
Nearly twenty years later, Bobby has written for the Guardian, his work has featured on the BBC and in 2015 his comic strips featured prominently in the ‘Anarchy in the UK’ comic exhibition at the British Library in 2015.
His SCOTLAND YARDIE graphic novel, co-created with Joseph Samuels, is a biting satire about the value of black lives in modern London, featuring diverse cameos by everyone from the clown prince Boris Johnson to the cast of DO THE RIGHT THING.
Currently, if you buy a copy of SCOTLAND YARDIE by following this link, all proceeds will go to Black Lives Matter causes in the UK.
1/ Which artist or piece of art has most inspired you in your life and why?
Gilbert Shelton's FREAK BROTHERS is just a revelation. I always find something new, just by combing through his work. If you want to write humour comics well, pick up anything done by Gilbert. His output is a masterclass of humour and satire. Alan Moore is another that ticks the boxes. Obviously, everyone adores his mainstream output, but as a humourist, I feel Alan is vastly underappreciated.THE BOJEFFRIES SAGA, MAXWELL THE MAGIC CAT, his piss-take of Frank Miller's DAREDEVIL from back in the day. Wow. He's on-point. At all times!
I am also a sucker for Jaime Hernandez's LOVE AND ROCKETS. Jaime knows narrative in such a way, that his books will stay with you weeks after reading. Which is an amazing feat in this disposable culture we live in, and something that we as creatives, should always be striving for.
2/ What have you learned through experience that you wish you had known at the beginning of your career?
Just be me. Do what I do best. Write. Drink more coffee.
3/ What does the creative process look like for you – from generating an idea to getting it down on paper and releasing it into the world?
Ideas take time. They percolate a lot. I am always interested in challenging a form, an accepted perception, skewing, and recreating narrative that is different and entertaining to me. The SCOTLAND YARDIE process took about three to four years of getting it right with the artist. Joseph still hasn't forgiven me for the hell I put him through with the graphic novel. That said, I am confident that his drawing hand will heal in another few years. Doctors have assured me.
4/ If you woke tomorrow and were no longer constrained by time, budgets or even skills that you haven’t learned yet, what would you make?
Fucking Death Star man! But only for humanitarian purposes.