Jenny Robins interviews Kate Charlesworth, comic artist behind the LGBTQIA+ must-read of 2019, Sensible Footwear.
BF: As someone that’s lived in London, grew up somewhat north of the capital and has also been long based in Scotland, how do the comic (and queer) scenes compare?
CHARLESWORTH: To be honest, a combination of decades working more or less in isolation, plus that generational thing hasn’t left me in the best place to properly comment. As a freelance cartoonist (and illustrator) I was on the indie fringes for years, and my involvement in comics has only increased over the last couple of decades. I know there’s a flourishing zine and comics scene here in Scotland, so I presume the same for London. And there’s LDComics, who are terrific, not women-only, and not just London-centric.
I was in Finland a few weeks ago at the Helsinki Comics Festival with Myriad’s Corinne Pearlman. We loved it, but we were both blown away by the vibrancy and quality of the indie zine scene there. So many young women involved, too.