We’ve been in a frenzy of deadlines for the art for Wilomina Book 1 but are also already writing the synopsis for Book 2. Which gave us the idea for this newsletter: A strong synopsis is essential for pitching a graphic novel, but also part of writing comics. metaphrog.substack.com/p/10-ways-to...

Warning! These AI scams are getting more elaborate.

That’s why comics are a medium, not a genre.

Text and art are inseparable in comics. Looking at the art in a comic is completely different from reading the text/art, as the combo creates a completely new level/ experience.

With it being Halloween I guess we need a spooky #KidsBooksFriday. But I am also a total scaredy cat so I’ll be sticking to cosy spooky books thanks. The kids do seem to love a bit of horror though, so do recommend - just don’t expect me to read any! 🙈 👻 #UKKidLit #KidLitUK #KidLit

Here it is! It's #bookbirthday for CREATIVE WRITING WITH MISS MARY MAC, a graphic novel designed to help and inspire YOUNG and NEW writers at the beginning of their creative journey from @01firstsecond.bsky.social with narration by Mary McInerney and visuals/art by @rivkahlafille.bsky.social 😄💖

Watched Wayward this week after seeing @okaychloegreen.bsky.social 's post. A brilliant mini-series. Mae Martin is really charismatic in a slightly troubled/vulnerable way, the rest of the cast really stands out, and the evil cult leader is really creepy. Hope there will be more to come!

We love reading the Hilo series by @juddwinick.bsky.social ! It’s full of fun, it’s got the spark, it’s outstanding! And now there’s a box set! #KidsGN📚😎💬 #KidLitUK

And people wondeer why I bothered getting dual citizenship after happily living and working (and paying taxes and never claiming a benefit) with ILR in the UK for 35 years...

This week we’re reading the Supa Nova graphic novel by @heychante.bsky.social We love the environmental message. It’s about a young girl who creates a plastic eating monster but things get out of hand. @nosycrow.bsky.social #KidsGN📚💬 #KidLitUK

It's official then: X sinks as Insta and Bluesky spike. www.thebookseller.com/news/x-sinks...

Announcing the title and presenting the cover of mine and Angela Watson’s forthcoming book, #MyBelovedOther #comics #graphicnovels #BookSky #book #books #book2026 #antiracism #BlackSky More info and links: www.nickabadzis.com/blog/2025/10...

JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. All three children must endure harrowing journeys. All face unimaginable dangers. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. Refugee: The Graphic Novel is out now.

A new Baby-sitters Club graphic novel! Hurray!

With the IBC Excluded Voices report making for sober reading this week, let’s use #KidsBooksFriday to celebrate brilliant books from global majority writers. #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit www.inclusivebooksforchildren.org/excluded-voi...

Currently reading Bumble & Snug and the Shy Ghost by @markbradley.bsky.social . Cute and fun and a perfect October read. #KidsGN📚💬 #KidLitUK

Still making the art for the 1st Wilomina graphic novel + already writing the synopsis for Book 2. Just got the notes back from our editor, so we’re on draft 2. Loving the input, it’s great to have a third pair of eyes to highlight bits that can be improved and it’s really strengthening the story.

🚨FINAL FEW DAYS!🚨 The UK Comics Creator Survey will close forever at midnight on Monday 6th! Have you submitted your response yet? Or were you, like me*, waiting for the last minute? The last minute is now, lads! Get in there! ukcomicscreators.org.uk *I thrive** on pressure **Exist painfully

It’s #DyslexiaAwarenessWeek in Scotland this week and in the rest of the UK next week. As a dyslexic reader myself I wanted to use #KidsBooksFriday this week to celebrate brilliant, accessible and super-readable texts of all kinds. #UKKidLit #KidLitUK #KidLit

Happy birthday Peanuts!🥜🥜🥜

We signed up for this webinar at Frankfurt Book Fair: Comics on the Rise, with speakers David Saylor (Graphix), Doug Headline (Dupuis), Luis Martinez (Norma), Dr Joachim Kaps & @comixace.bsky.social Tuesday 7 October Register here. www.buchmesse.de/en/timetable...

Now reading City of Dragons: Rise of the Shadowfire by Jaimal Yogis & @superrisu.bsky.social . It takes you to Paris to uncover a mystery in the Louvre and the Catacombes. Book 3 is actually already out but we don’t have it yet. Looking forward to it. @scholasticuk.bsky.social #KidsGN📚💬 #KidLitUK

When you work for yourself, you have to troubleshoot your own IT with no training.

Yes! We managed to troubleshoot our PC not enrolling to ESU. The PC was seen as a commercial device because there was email addresses associated with it that had been set up by schools when we did Teams workshops. We deleted those and it made our PC eligible. Just enrolled it to the Windows 10 ESU!

We need more hours in our days. Making a 256 page graphic novel + content for socials + a newsletter is taking up way more time than a full time job.. Every half hour counts.

Question for tech folk: Our old PC doesn’t have the option to enrol to ESU to extend the life of Windows 10 updates (when we go to Windows/Settings/Updates&Security). We just enrolled our laptop to ESU and both devices share the same One Drive. Any idea why and how to get the PC to enrol? HELP!

Looks like you can extend Win 10 for a year at no cost! Just did it just now. That's a relief for a while.

Great news! We just extended Windows 10 on our laptop for another year. The Windows 10 security update is now free and our laptop was eligible. Our PC on the other hand was too old and doesn’t have this option, it turns out (but we bought a new one last week)

Reflecting on 25 years since our first Louis graphic novel, the state of the world, the comics scene in the early 2000s. Read and subscribe to our newsletter here. substack.com/@metaphrog/n...

This is my Lokifesto #KidsConf #UKkidlit #edusky lokibooks.com/lokifesto/

Good heavens! @jesselonergan.bsky.social - this is mind blowing out-of-this-world work! Inspiring use of the grid in relentless innovation - really blown away by it page after page. Bravo!! 1/2

LOVED Hilda and Twig: Hide from the Rain, by Luke Pearson. It’s our favourite Hilda so far. It’s short and simple and expertly told, very witty and full of twists and delightful surprises. A great example of comics at their best! @flyingeyebooks.bsky.social #KidsGN📚💬 #KidLitUK

It’s time for our annual rewatch of Night of The Demon by Jacques Tourneur (1957). We never tire of it.

Our laptop will have to wait. It’s on Windows 10 and is too old to upgrade, so we’ll just have to not go online with it. It’s still working brilliantly and is really powerful so we don’t feel like ditching it.

Just bought a new PC. Now all we need is to find a time to set it up before Windows 10 expires in October.

Looking forward to this webinar on Saturday 27 Sept! It's free and you can register at the link below.

Great to see 2 comics on the #WorldBookDay list! Here’s some of our favourite fantasy graphic novels. 3 of them are series, so plenty to read here. #KidsBooksFriday #KidsGN📚💬 #KidLitUK

I’m thrilled to see 2 comics on this year’s #WorldBookDay lists. A lot of folk don’t know where to start with comic books, so for this week’s #KidsBooksFriday, what kids comic books might folk not already know about but should definitely go and seek out? #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit #KidsGN📚💬

We have an author visit today which means getting up extra early to get some colouring done before we go. Luckily it’s fairly local so won’t affect our comic page quota too much.

It can be a long road indeed to pitch and find an agent. And then once you have an agent there’s more hoops to jump through to find a publisher. Making and selling your own comic regardless is quicker but equally difficult.

Happy belated publication day, Andi!

A UK Comics Fund would be amazing. Funding from organisations is increasingly difficult to access, and comics have been underfunded for decades (or should we say, hardly funded at all until fairly recently).

We just filled the UK Comics Creator Survey. This survey is so important! Comics need a better infrastructure and support. To do this, understanding the comics community is one of the most important things.

One of our favourite movie lines is from The Sting. Not from Robert Redford, but from Paul Newman: "Sorry I'm late guys, I was taking a crap." Genius acting. www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ1s...

RIP Robert Redford. A giant of the screen. Here's three iconic movies that made their mark and would never have worked without him: 3 days of the Condor The Sting (the Butch Cassidi and the Sundance Kid

This is getting too weird: every day for over a month now (maybe two) we receive an email, from a different email address each time, going into elaborate detail about our books. Obviously a scam powered by AI, possibly analysing pages of our website. Please stop it! It's wasting our time (and yours)

Absolutely great to see two brilliant comics in the 2026 World Book Day line up, especially considering that there’s only been two comics in total for the last 10 years of WBD.

Really enjoyed Timid, the graphic novel by Jonathan Todd. It’s semi autobiographical and about moving to a new school, being anxious to make friends, making comics. #KidsGN📚💬 #KidLitUK #comics #graphicnovels

Why are they still banning books in 2025? Graphic novels are seen as a threat because they are so effective. LGBTQ+ is seen as a threat because it undermines the Patriarchy. The Patriarchy has been oppressing women and minorities for centuries, and it needs to be gotten rid of.

We've signed up for this: a free masterclass on launching your graphic novel. There's also a more in-depth 6 week course. We've seen many of Janna's webinars, she is GREAT! @kidscomicsunite.bsky.social kidscomicsunite.com/how-to-launc...