Gareth Brookes studied printmaking at the Royal College of Art. Known for an unusual approach to materials, which include, embroidery, linocut, monoprint, pressed flowers and pyrography, he has published two graphic novels with Myriad Editions. The first of these, The Black Project, won the Myriad First Graphic Novel Competition in 2012, was featured in the ‘Comics Unmasked, Art and Anarchy in the UK’ exhibition at the British Library, London and was nominated in the Sélection Officielle at the 2018 Festival de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême. Gareth’s second graphic novel, A Thousand Coloured Castles, was published by Myriad in April 2017, and his third, The Dancing Plague, is published by SelfMadeHero.
In 2017 he took part in the British Council Korea’s Storytelling City exchange project to Seoul, South Korea, culminating in an exhibition and webcomic. He has been a guest speaker at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, The Manchester Literature Festival, The Bradford Literature Festival and The Toronto Comic Arts Festival. He is a Tutor in Foundation Studies at City and Guilds of London Art School, and a regular visiting Lecturer on Illustration at Lincoln University.
Gareth has produced a number of self-published books, including The Land of My Heart Chokes on Its Abundance. His work is also published by collectives such as The Alternative Press and The Comix Reader, while his two-comic collaboration with artist Steve Tillotson, Manly Boys and Comely Girls, is available from Avery Hill Publishing.
Gareth has been a visiting lecturer at Wimbledon School of Art, the University of York St Johns, Staffordshire University and The Royal College of Art. He runs regular workshops in embroidery, printmaking, comic and zine making, most recently running workshops in embroidery at Bradford Literary Festival and in monoprint printmaking (with Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants) at The ICA, London. He also organises the South London Comic and Zine Fair, an annual book fair featuring small press publishers and artists, which encourages new artists to exhibit their work.
–Work-in-motion: Gareth working on his graphic novel, A Thousand Coloured Castles–
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Interviews and Features
Must Read Graphic Novels
Gareth Brookes’ graphic novel, A Thousand Coloured Castles, features on author Una‘s list of must-reads for 2019. Read the entire list over on her blog.
Herald Scotland
‘Unlike any other graphic novel we can think of, although Brookes has previous in that regard.’ Teddy Jamieson quizzes Gareth Brookes on method and macular degeneration.
The Black Project on Waterstones.com
‘To a lot of people illustrating a graphic novel using techniques like linocut and embroidery might seem like a strange idea. For me it came out of a long process of questioning what I had been doing in previous comics. Why was I using a pen, when I had picked up so many other techniques during my time in art school?’
Gareth discusses The Black Project for Waterstones, detailing his methods and influences while working on it.
Interview with Paul Gravett
‘I think things that are made using a certain level of physicality have an aura about them that really communicates strongly at a time when most things are done on computers. At the same time, modern technology means you can now take the results and convert them into different formats like comics…’
Gareth Brookes talks with Paul Gravett about embroidery techniques, suburban life, and winning the First Graphic Novel Competition.
Podcast interview with Panel Borders
As part of a month long series of 
shows on horror and fantasy comics, Panel Borders’ presenter Alex Fitch talked to Gareth about making The Black Project. Originally broadcast in October 2013, on London’s Resonance 104.4 FM, you can listen again to Gareth’s interview.
Interview with Young Arnolfini
‘Sometimes you have to be idle, which isn’t the same as being lazy. Being idle is a creative form of laziness.’
Read about how Gareth first began making comics, his working process and his relationship with social media, in this interview by Nicola Pearce for the Young Arnolfini collective in Bristol.