Comics publisher based in London.
Breakdown Press is run by directors Tom Oldham and Simon Hacking, and art director Joe Kessler - who also authored Breakdown Press' first comic Windowpane.
What interests me most about them is that their business stems from a personal interest in the comics and illustration medium. They only put out work that they deem as interesting or important.
Extracts from It's Nice That article:
Is there anything in particular, aesthetic or narrative style for example, that you consider when looking for and working with comics artists?
No, it's really simple I think, we aren't looking for a particular aesthetic; its more work that we think is great, really, and different.....it's just stuff that we think is important. So artists that have a unique, defined voice who are formally pushing stuff, and a personal vision that is eloquent, accessible, engaging and just good. People like Antione Cosse, Connor Willumsen, Ines Estrada, Conor Stechschulte, Richard Short, Lala Albert
Comics are an inherently personal medium, and so, hopefully, the work we champion is difficult to categorise...In terms of a Breakdown aesthetic, as well as quality of craft and vision and everything, it's artists who have the idea of the whole book in their heads. You can feel that they're thinking about everything, not just the surface of the drawing or the story but the whole shebang
Could you tell us a bit about your role as art director? (Joe Kessler)
Tom and Simon are the directors of the company, but I'm more opinionated when it comes to the visuals, and maybe more knowledgable in terms of production stuff. I discuss the design of the books with the artists but mostly the artists are good designers and do all the work. I just offer opinions which they ignore.
Could you tell us about Safari Festival, the comics fair you run?
Tom and Simon curated it, there wasn't unlimited space and we wanted it to be consistent in terms of quality. I find some of these shows can be totally inconsistent and we wanted to buck that trend. There's really quite a vibrant scene in the UK at the moment with lots of different strange people making comics and we wanted to bring them all together and get an idea of what contemporary British comics could be. It's so disparate and mixed up that it's not exactly clear. Which is healthy I think.
"Breakdown is the UK's most ambitious, progressive, and editorially risk-taking comics publisher, so it was logical to partner with someone we considered a kindred spirit" said Fantagraphics President Gary Groth. "We look forward to getting their books and authors the wider readership in the US that they deserve"
"Fantagraphics are known for working with the best cartoonists in the world and so Breakdown's books will be a perfect fit" said Breakdown Press editor Tom Oldham "We're excited to be working with Fantagraphics to bring our books to a wider audience in North America".
The Comics Journal interview [link]
Breakdown Press partnership with Fantagraphics article [link]
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