Comic Boom - Comics in Education

Comic Boom - Comics in Education with Mollie Ray

• Lucy Starbuck Braidley/Mollie Ray • Season 5 • Episode 8

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In this episode Lucy chats to illustrator and graphic novelist Mollie Ray.

Mollie is a Lancaster-based comic artist and illustrator, her debut graphic novel Giant was published in 2024 with Faber and Faber. In 2019, Mollie graduated from The University of Edinburgh with a First-Class Honours degree in Illustration. Her work has been featured by Creative Boom, The AOI and Broken Frontier's 'Six To Watch In 2021'.She has also done work for the BBC in support of David Attenborough's Wild Isles series and self-published multiple short-form comics.

This episode of Comic Boom is sponsored by ALCS, The Authors Licensing and Collecting Society.

Find our more about the Lakes International Comics Art Festival here.

Mollie's recommendations:
Making Comics by Scott McCloud
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

Lucy's book post included:
A selection from Puffin Graphics. Read about the imprint here.

Titles mentioned:

Connect with Mollie:
Instagram/Threads: @mollierayillustration
Twitter: @themollierayway
mollieray.co.uk

Follow the podcast:
Insta: @comic_boom_podcast
Twitter/X: @Lucy_Braidley
Contact: comicboompodcast@gmail.com

Music by John_Sib from Pixabay

Hello, and welcome to comic boom, the comics and education podcast. If you're interested in hearing more about the crossover between comics and education, then this is the podcast for you. My name is Lucy Starbuck Bradley. And each week I'll be joined by a fellow educator and academic, a librarian or a creator of comics to discuss their journey into comics and provide some inspiration to influence your practice and hopefully shine some light. On some titles that you can bring into your libraries classrooms, and hopefully onto your bookshelves at home too. This episode of comic, boom is sponsored by ALCS the authors licensing and collecting society. And there's also brought to you in partnership with the lakes, international comics, art festival. I'm delighted to introduce our guest for this episode. Molly Ray Molly is a Lancaster based comic artist and illustrator. Her debut graphic novel giant was published in 2024 with Faber and Faber. It is incredible. in 2019, Molly graduated from the university of Edinburgh with a first class honors degree in illustration. Her work has been featured by creative boom, the AOI and broken frontier six to watch in 2021. She's also done work for the BBC in support of at David Attenborough's wild Isles series and self published. Multiple short form comics. The way back when, in the first ever episode of comic boom with Gemma Sosnowski, who was then a school librarian, she's now a university librarian. Gemma spoke with one of her past pupils who was in the process of creating a first graphic novel? And it was a really a brilliant story. I felt about What can happen? when you have that support in school, and that pupil was in fact, a Mollie Ray. And I'm delighted that this episode is a bit of a love letter to the impact that librarians can have on children. Young people. Here's what Molly had to say.

Lucy SB:

Hello Molly, welcome to Comic Boom.

Mollie Ray:

Hi, hi Lucy. Thank you for having me on.

Lucy SB:

I'm very excited to have you here. Can you tell me a little bit about your journey as a comics reader? Where did that all start for you?

Mollie Ray:

So I was actually really interested in animation when I was younger and it was all animation animation and I'd make little plasticine animations and then it was actually my, ex girlfriend in school when I was about 15 that got me onto, The Walking Dead graphic novels,

Lucy SB:

It's quite late then to start 15, for someone who's so young gone on to such great things.

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, I was, I was quite late to the comics and graphic novel game, but I was always interested in visual storytelling. I suppose that's why, I mentioned about animation because it definitely has played a huge role in what I'm doing now.

Lucy SB:

you see your work As moving images went, that you then put down in still images, sort of in your mind.

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So, it was almost like being, it was a brilliant, uh, medium to discover because, I can more quickly tell a story. And even then it took, you know, three, four years to make giant, but compared to animation, I could more quickly. like move a story that's in my mind into something that somebody could consume. So I definitely first picture it as a moving story in my head. and then it, it's, and then it's translating that onto the page.

Lucy SB:

We kind of got into a really deep question then straight away, um, about your visualization. But it seems, what was it that you said, walking dead? That seems quite far away from, from Giant in terms of genre, style. What other things were you, were you reading when you first started to explore comics?

Mollie Ray:

Well, that's the funny thing cuz My ex introduced me to the medium really well not introduced me I'd obviously had to comic there were comics around but I've never really like got into it. Um But that was a genre that she liked so then now it was like, oh, well, what do I like? and then I really liked, The Arrival by Shaun Tan, which is so different. From The Walking Dead. and, I love The Walking Dead as well, just to, just to throw that in there. Um, for the record. Um, but, it was like, inspires me as a creative, the illustration style, and the topics and stuff. Um, I really liked, things that were, about maybe topics where people had, experienced something and then they were expressing it. Like, my friend Gemma, who you've actually interviewed,

Lucy SB:

was gonna ask you about Gemma in a little bit moment's time.

Mollie Ray:

she's a legend, but she was, she's a national treasure. but she was the, she was the librarian at my school and she was, actually a big. influence in that, you know, she would get graphic novels in for me, and we would sit and chat about comics, like that's how we ended up being friends, and we're still friends now, but she, would order them in and I, when I was a teenager, in sixth form, I was, I went through, an eating disorder and I had anorexia. And I asked her to order in Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Greene. And that graphic novel, if people haven't read it, it's just, it's extraordinary. but it completely made me realise that I had a problem. It was a huge, like, pinnacle moment in my recovery, and it also showed me the potential of comics.

Lucy SB:

Yeah.

Mollie Ray:

so yeah, I was reading heavy stuff. Even as a, even as a, as a ute. Um,

Lucy SB:

seems much more of a sort of clear line to where you've ended up creating Giant as well. so is it, I'm going to talk a little bit more about graphic medicine later on, but I, that's a really interesting theme that, that I want to pick up, but for now, can you tell, can you tell us a little bit about what you're reading now and the kinds of things that are piquing your interest that are out there in the comics world at the moment?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, well, I'm, I feel like, I'm in a world now where I'm like spoiled for choice because I'm at festivals, or I'm in, like, my life. When I visit the Faber offices, they just give me stuff.

Lucy SB:

Living the dream.

Mollie Ray:

even the dream, I know, like, they just, here you go. so I've got, like, piles of, of graphic novels and it just feels like in the period of time that I started getting into it to now, it's just so exciting how much scope there is, like it just, it feels like a really cool time to be in comics because you just, There is still new stuff that, like, there's so much to explore about what can be done with the medium. at the moment I'm reading Blanket, which is by, Craig Thompson.

Lucy SB:

It's a, it's a classic. It's a, it's a kind of seminal comics work, isn't it? Blankets. It's, it's beautiful. Yeah.

Mollie Ray:

I've always meant to read it. I think it's such a, a feat to read it., let alone to have made it. So I suppose I was, I was waiting for the right moment to read it., but that's like knocked me sideways. I'm also reading, A Journal of My Father. Uh, and it's by Jero, J E R O. Taniguchi and that's absolutely extraordinary. Really beautiful and poignant. I think there is a theme. I definitely still like reading graphic novels and comics that are about people's lived experiences and, um, how they've translated that. Into, like, beautiful visual narrative.

Lucy SB:

yeah. And that definitely comes across in your own work as well. I mean, Giant is beautiful, and very powerful. Can you introduce listeners to the book? It's relatively recently released. They may not have read it yet. can you give a little bit of a description, and maybe talk about the inspiration behind it?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, so, um, Giant is a silent graphic novel about when my brother was diagnosed with cancer. and he's alright now. I should caveat. but, The main character wakes up one day to find they've physically grown to the size of a giant and it's meant to be a metaphor for the physical mutation of cancer but also being the elephant in the room, literally. But also the giant strength that he takes away from the experience in recovery.

Lucy SB:

I love that. And why, why, why did you make it, a silent comic? Mm hmm. In particular, does that something that just happened? Was that a deliberate kind of mechanic, how did you end up with a silent comic?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, so, I The first drawing that I ever did, you know, the first thing that went on a piece of paper in relation to Giant was a sketch and it was during, my brother's treatment and I didn't, I didn't have the words to explain what was going on. I didn't, I felt like, it was too much to try to express. So, but I did have this image in my head of Him as a giant and we were all sat around the dinner table trying to have a normal meal. But there's, like, he was literally the elephant in the room. Um, and so I revisited that sketch when he'd got the all clear. And I felt like I could process it. but it always, it accidentally, well I don't know if accidentally, I think it was always meant to be silent. because. It was how it started, and there, it was the most natural expression of what was going on for me. I then recognised quite early on the benefit of that, is that it's easy to relate to and project your own experiences onto it, because it's silent, and it could be

Lucy SB:

Yeah, everyone's bringing their interpretation of what they see. Are there challenges as well associated? Were there times when you were like, oh, I just wish I could just write a little sentence here to sum up what's happening or, or, you know, yeah, is there a flip side to that?

Mollie Ray:

Oh yeah. Um, That was,

Lucy SB:

Those days when you had your head in your hands.

Mollie Ray:

Honestly, the most helpful thing that I did, though, was show it to people. And then, see if they could understand it, and they would go, Oh, what's that, um, you know, thing in the corner? And I'd be like, Oh, that's quite an integral

Lucy SB:

Thing? What Hmm.

Mollie Ray:

thing. Um, it's quite an integral thing that you know, how to read this. Otherwise I can't communicate. so that was really helpful because sometimes You know what you're trying to say, so you think that it comes across, but actually, when you have no words and it's just visuals, it's so important that it is like crystal, crystal clear. so yeah, there were a few, times where I would show it to people and they didn't know they were helping me by going, Oh, I, I, what is this? And I'd be like, Aha, you can't read that. I need to, I need to fix that. So yeah, That was a really tricky thing to navigate, but it was really rewarding because I had to kind of let my ego go a lot and, just be like, Nope. Okay. I didn't express that. So it was a good lesson in writing.

Lucy SB:

Did you do a lot of research into other silent comics and different approaches that different creators have? Or was that just something that's kind of in the background of your knowledge because you've enjoyed reading them in the past?

Mollie Ray:

example, the arrival, by Shaun Tan, I always understood that it was great. I didn't understand how he was doing it though. So I, I actually sat down with it and, went through it like page by page and made notes on how he was using silent comics, to convey a story. So yeah, I'm very shamelessly saying that. Like, um, it was a really important thing, that, that process.

Lucy SB:

It's really interesting. It made me think straight. Giant Earth is very, very different, not at all similar, to, the arrival, but it did make me think of it, I guess, the silent element and then also the kind of the single material used throughout. Um, and also, although very different, very, very different drawing style, you use very simple forms, but very detailed kind of texturally, it brought to mind, um, one of the guests on the podcast referred to, I haven't actually seen this interview myself, but Sean Tan saying that, you know, perhaps there were times, you know, Many times when he regretted his choice to do really detailed images in the arrival. Was that your experience as well? it's very much a labor of love, it seems. Is that always been your style? How did that style come about?

Mollie Ray:

uh, I, uh, I fully relate to that. So. I, I absolutely, it was a labour of love and I don't think I could ever do that again.

Lucy SB:

You're over it now.

Mollie Ray:

I'm, in terms of like, I'll be doing graphic novels but I think when every single panel is like just so meticulously done, it did, it was a lot. Like, I really enjoyed it. But, it, yeah, it was definitely a one time thing. I think one of the most helpful things I ever got told at uni was, stop trying to find your style and just do the stuff you enjoy and try stuff and your style will come. And I think that's so true because I kind of tied myself to I am the person who does ballpoint pen stuff. Um, and that's really limiting. So I also do stuff in color and I'll do it with colored pencils or I'll use black, uh, black colored pencils, if you will or I'll use like diamine inks or pastels or whatever it is. Or when I'm doing a mural, that's all in acrylic. And you can still tell it's mine. And I think that's the point is that you don't have to like wed yourself to one medium. so yeah, I think my next project will likely be in color, probably colored pencil and with words so yeah, it's exciting. I get to

Lucy SB:

and have you actually got a project in mind at the moment? Is there something brewing?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah. Yeah, I've got a project in mind, but it's like very early days. But I'm excited to, to explore something that feels very different to Giant. so yeah, we shall see. We shall see.

Lucy SB:

Leaping back to our conversation about silent comics, something that people might not be as familiar with, I think The Arrival is an amazing example. Do you have any other examples of kind of good silent comics that people listening could have a little look at, as starting points if they want to explore that? Yeah,

Mollie Ray:

Crushing by Sophie Burrows. It's a beautiful, quite simple story about people who are lonely, and around each other and like could be. a part of each other's lives. that's a very beautiful graphic novel, and that's in two colours, uh, it's just in red and, red and blue, and that's really, really gorgeous. The way she uses colour in that, is amazing. I like to draw the eye. Cormorants by Nick Hayes is a beautiful silent comic and it's got a, a fold out bit which I love.

Lucy SB:

Oh, that's, I'm just having a look at that. That, the art style looks quite stylised. It looks cool.

Mollie Ray:

yeah, it's, that's really beautiful, and just the way that different artists use even the silent medium is so different. You know, you'd think there would be like rules, um, because it's already quite limiting, but actually it's really, it's, these are all really different. Um, again, to the arrival as well. Oh, and also obviously the snowman by Raymond Briggs, um, which is a classic. So, and one

Lucy SB:

It has to be mentioned.

Mollie Ray:

well probably, a lot of people probably wouldn't even like think about that as a silent comic because of course it was, it was put in the children's section, which is awesome but it is also a silent comic and it's beautiful.

Lucy SB:

Yeah. stunning. so what are the sorts of, when you looked at that, uh, copy of The Arrival, what were the kind of takeouts? Were they too technical to kind of go into? Was there some main themes that you thought, this is really moving my understanding of the silent form, or one approach to using it, and what that can look like?

Mollie Ray:

I think one of the things that, I mean can be applied to illustration more broadly as well you. is using, like, limiting how many tones you use so that you're directing the eye, because it's almost if it's important in illustration, in a silent comic, it's the only, way that you can communicate a narrative, it's almost even more important that you are absolutely looking at the right thing. Um, so yeah, using limited tones and light to direct the eye, but also the different ways of progressing a story without words by having smaller panels with, sequences where it's, you know, just, That they're more intimate moments, or having much larger panels, or full page spreads that kind of zoom you out. So it's almost, it's almost like you're following the eye of, maybe a bird that's like

Lucy SB:

going through the scene, yeah,

Mollie Ray:

I actually did in Giant, so that must have been subliminal there is, you do follow the magpie between them.

Lucy SB:

Yeah, I like that, the magpie drawings are beautiful. I find that really interesting, like the, I love it when there's a lot of kind of that aspect to aspect kind of just taking like details of a scene and building up a kind of a sense of place without it necessarily being about driving the narrative forward, but when there's just moments to just be still in a, in a setting, in a comic. Yeah.

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, it's funny though, because even though it might seem to not drive the story forward, it's absolutely essential to have those moments, because you can miss stuff if you rush through a story. that was, a huge thing when I was making Giant was actually adding pages in or panels in, because you could too quickly go through it, and you need like a minute to process the scene and where you're, where you're at. And like my, my editor, Angus Cargill just said, If you need more pages, always use more pages. And I was like, okay, let's make this book huge.

Lucy SB:

That's really interesting. In terms of like making your first book I'm imagining that was a learning curve as well, that whole put the publishing process side of it as well. How, how was that for you?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, I was really lucky because I've had an amazing publishing experience. I've been very looked after. I also have an amazing agent, James Spackman. I felt very supported, but it is funny, like, when you're doing a big project, you need those, like, check in moments, because otherwise, you're kind of on your own with it. so it was really cool, like, I'd finish a chapter and I'd send it to my editor. So it felt like every time I finished a chapter, I had reached a new milestone. It was almost like I'd broken it up into six smaller comics, by doing chapters. So that was really helpful. Cause like, and you need milestones when it's such a big project. But yeah, they're very trusting. They kind of let me, go through the motions with it. And then they would editing tips, but like they were very trusting of my creative process. So it wasn't really until the end of like two years that they, would offer more, specific edits because they knew that I was going to reach a lot of those conclusions myself. so that was really cool actually. It felt, it felt like they put a lot of trust in my

Lucy SB:

yeah, that sounds brilliant. your work's been described as a graphic medicine, that might be a new term to some of the people listening. Can you, can you explain what graphic medicine is?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, so graphic medicine is using the medium to tell stories about the medical experience, and that might be, taking a look almost at the whole, the experience as a whole rather than just this is what happens when you go through this. could be more of a story of how the emotional effects on that as well. It's a cool phenomenon.

Lucy SB:

So is it a term that you, you would apply to your work?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, I would say so. I think. It was always my intention to create something that somebody going through a similar experience would feel like they were understood, and maybe help them find the words for their own experience. so yeah, it very much is a medical journey, but I suppose it's, the point being is that it's a medical journey, but it's also a emotional, family journey, um, it's, it focuses on the whole thing rather than just the, the medical aspect.

Lucy SB:

Yeah. And it is about the whole family's experience of that time as well, isn't it? how much did you speak to your brother about his kind of perspective on it? Or, or did you try and just tell the story from, from your own point of view?

Mollie Ray:

really good question because very early on, I put together my first draft and I, and I showed it to my brother and I was like, I've done, I've been doing this, um, and I wanted your, Perspective on it and and I showed my family as well And they basically all just like gave me a massive hug and went do it that was like the first draft so it's very early and They both they all kind of said After seeing the first draft and I suppose very luckily like by putting a lot of trust in me They were like you tell the story You know, we trust you with this story. But also, it has to be from my perspective, because I can't possibly pretend to be any of them. I can only talk about what I saw, and be sympathetic, and be honest, from my perspective. so yeah, it is, it is, It's my family's story and it's my brother's story, but really it's my story because it's about how I absorbed it. So I'd be interested to know what their, like if it was from their perspective, like what would stand out more on that journey. But I had to kind of go off. Like, my truth. Otherwise it wouldn't be authentic, I suppose.

Lucy SB:

Okay, that's really really interesting and it definitely, yeah, it definitely feels like authentic when you're reading it is that something that you hope to bring into future projects in terms of, do you think you will always, to a certain extent, be writing from your own experience?

Mollie Ray:

I think that compelling stories have an element of truth, that makes it believable. So having, like, interjected truth into a story Um, we'll definitely always play a part, but what I am excited about is, for example, with this, new project idea, not just telling something autobiographical, but choosing how much of my experience is in, is in there. Um, but also it gets to be, it's not tied to a plot that already exists. Like, it can be a little bit more moveable. So, I mean, yeah, I'm actually, I'm actually really excited to approach, cause this, it feels like a different approach already. it definitely is different project to project, like this, this naturally feels like it has words, which completely transforms it, again, it's like a whole different thing, but then also deciding on the plot. Like I actually can do that, it's not like I have to

Lucy SB:

you can change the ending.

Mollie Ray:

Exactly. It's not like I'm wedded to, um, it being biographical. It's, it, it could go anywhere.

Lucy SB:

I was at a talk by Gustavo Duarte at, Lakes International Comics Art Festival. And he said that although his comics are, tend to be silent, that he, Right. Starts them by writing the script. So there are actually a lot of words underneath them that you don't see, if you see what I mean, or did, what was your process? Did you just, you said you had a sketch first of all, and was that like, where you just building, building up image at a time? Or did you have sort of written notes about the structure of the story before you started? And I guess, how is that going to be different in this next one that, that does have words in it?

Mollie Ray:

it's a really good question. I feel like my process was quite, haphazard. so some of it, some of it was almost writing. With pictures, um, so just drawing the story out as it came to me, as really rubbish drawings, that I could understand and absolutely no one else could, but then I did, like, timelines, for each chapter, so that I could, you know, And that might be a combination of notes and sketches. If I had a particular visual in my mind that I was like, yeah, that needs to go in there. So, mapped it out quite loosely. and then would go in one chapter at a time and do like, just start roughing out thumbnails. It was almost like the process of, of writing notes, but with sketches,

Lucy SB:

Yeah, that's really interesting. And is that, you're going to do a similar thing this time, do you think?

Mollie Ray:

Yeah, so I actually It's a good question because I actually, I started writing it and it didn't feel very natural for me because that's just not how I've made comics so far. Um, and I've made, you know, But I suppose that's not true entirely. I have made comics with words and I think the reason that I started by writing is that I had, with previous projects, started by writing. so I did Two Stones, which is a little short form comic, and that started as a poem, and then I unpacked the individual lines, over the course of the panels, and then I'd take ones out that didn't need to be there anymore because of it was already saying it with the image. but that hasn't really worked so far with this new idea. So it's been a combination of I tried writing it out and I kind of wrote out a description for each chapter that has helped because then I can go back to each one and go right. Okay. This is. kind of ish what happens. and then I might draw a sketch, a little sketch that goes with each of those chapters, of things that stuck out visually when I was thinking about it. And then I've got like a little tiny notebook, That, you know, would like, rip out pages. And I'm just going through it in my mind and drawing it, not in panels. Almost, like note taking as sketches. And I'll like, dot in any words or text, or speech. throughout those. And now I'm hoping that I'll have to come back to you on whether or not this works.

Lucy SB:

You can, you can come back on when that book's done in however many years time. Come back onto the podcast and tell us if this was a good plan or not. It does sound very, it sounds very organic. Sounds very, very arty and organic. And I, I think it's, I think it's good for you. I think it's good. It's a good fit. Yeah.

Mollie Ray:

I stick with this, but, then I can go back through and read that and start mapping it out as panels on a page. It has been funny trying to get back into it. It was so long ago that I started the process of Giant and it was a different project with different variables, that it has been funny like going, right, okay, how do I do this again?

Lucy SB:

This is a special, episode for Lakes International Comics Art Festival, and I know that you're quite local to that. You, what role did having a festival like, like that, not too far away, how important was that do you think in your development as, as a creator having that kind of access?

Mollie Ray:

yeah, I was really lucky, cause I went to school, not. like 15 minutes away from where, from Kendal, where the festival used to be. It's now in Windermere and Bowness, which is awesome because it's like a whole comics village. Uh,

Lucy SB:

Yeah, it's brilliant.

Mollie Ray:

it's really cool. But I was, I was really lucky because Gemma, introduced me to Julie, who runs the festival. And I was only like 17 at the time, and she gave me a table for free and, got, the local Costa, the guy from the Costa locally in Kendal, to pay to have my first comic printed to sell.

Lucy SB:

Amazing. Sponsored by Costa.

Mollie Ray:

I know. Um, specifically Kendall Costa. Um, yeah, it was really cool. Cause it made me, I don't know. It made me feel like I could do this.

Lucy SB:

Confidence

Mollie Ray:

yeah, it really was. So they were amazing. Like that was such a cool experience. And then since then, they've just fired opportunities at me. Left, right and centre. I've done workshops with them, I did, the Wild Escape project where, I made a comic and I was filmed for BBC Bitesize and going around Keswick Museum doing observational drawing, which was all in celebration of David Attenborough's Wild Isles series.

Lucy SB:

Brilliant.

Mollie Ray:

That was Julie, like she, she got sent that and they were like, do you know anyone? And she sent it to me and she's done stuff like that for me for so many years. Like I'll always be grateful. They're taking me to the Philippines. feel very, very privileged and it's such a cool festival. I've met so many people, really brilliant people. And I, I go every year.

Lucy SB:

And what are you planning to do this year? Are you tabling again? Are you going to be speaking? What's, what's, have you got, do you know yet

Mollie Ray:

I, I don't know yet, but I know that, there will be a sort of celebration of giant in some form, but I don't actually know a hundred percent what I'm doing at the festival. But I am, I am gonna be there um, definitely.

Lucy SB:

Well you very kindly sent me the PDF of Giant, but I definitely do need it on my bookshelf. So maybe I'll hold off and then I can get one at the festival and you can, you can sign it for me. That'd be good.

Mollie Ray:

thank you, definitely will sign it.

Lucy SB:

so at the end of the podcast, I usually ask guests to gimme some takeouts, that maybe educators can use to influence their, their practice. And I really thought that it would be, obviously you can elaborate and say whatever you like, but I'm really interested in unpicking the role that having a, a librarian at school passionate about comics, able to access for them for you. So, first of all, really like to unpick just how much influence that's had on you and, and how important that was.

Mollie Ray:

I am so unbelievably grateful that I met Gemma. Yeah, she's always like, since I met her, um, been really passionate and excited about comics. and about me doing comics and tried to get opportunities for me even like in school she took me out of lessons to things like she was just yeah she was she was extremely important and still is extremely important in my confidence with comics and showing me different things, and sort of opening up that world. Because that isn't really it's not really in any part of the curriculum. So I did English and I did, art and comics, comics didn't really have a place. So. She was my source of comics, and discovering this, this medium. So yeah, I think just having someone like that who can offer something slightly different outside of the curriculum and is really, recognises that you're passionate about it and want to drive that forward, Yeah, she's amazing and she's like my big sister.

Lucy SB:

It's great to have someone that's that, that, you know, really powerful mentor and yeah, to, to be able to, yeah, be there as a support system as well, throughout everything is amazing. And I think it just highlights the impact that, you know, and you're very, you know, very eloquent, you're able to, to, to express your gratitude and the impact you have. And I'm sure there's lots of other people that. The Gemma's influence in her role as librarian, and likewise other librarians in the country, you don't always hear it back. So I just think it's really nice to, yeah, to be able to shine a light on, just how impactful school librarians can be in their role.

Mollie Ray:

Honestly, I, she's amazing and I know for a fact that she's taken other, comic artists under her wing. I actually had one of them come up to me and go, I'm the new you. Uh, I was like, well, what is, what? Hello. Nice to meet you.

Lucy SB:

You're out. It's the next gen now.

Mollie Ray:

He was like, I'm, I'm the new, I'm the new Molly. And I was like, hell yeah.

Lucy SB:

That is, that is creepy.

Mollie Ray:

is, but on it, to be honest, I loved it. I was like, yes, that means, that means that, you know,

Lucy SB:

Yeah, it goes

Mollie Ray:

She just goes on and on. Yeah, she's

Lucy SB:

Yeah, no, that's brilliant. Have you got any other takeouts that you'd like to leave educators, librarians thinking as we end the show?

Mollie Ray:

I think not underestimating the, the power of comics in, in improving literacy and encouraging students to read for pleasure. You know, if kids want to read comics, they're not gonna read. pros, if you tell them they can't read comics, you know, they're just, they're just, they're just, exactly, they're just gonna, they're just not gonna read. And I'm actually not thinking of it as an inferior source of literature and storytelling,

Lucy SB:

I mean even, you know, if you think even of a silent comic, I mean that is a perfect example because you can't deny the impact of narrative, character, pace, all these things that are really important parts of writing in words are there in when you're telling a story in images as well. And I just feel it's so transferable. I think, just think it's really important not to, not to understand the importance of visual storytelling.

Mollie Ray:

I'm nodding.

Lucy SB:

Yeah, yeah, hell yeah.

Mollie Ray:

Yes. Absolutely.

Lucy SB:

the podcast, can you give us one comic or book about comics to add to our to be read piles? If we're going to add one extra book to the ever growing pile, what would you recommend that we looked at?

Mollie Ray:

the comic that sprung to mind is, making comics by Scott McCloud is amazing. and people, people probably have already got that on their pile, but it's, it's incredible because it tells, it tells a story of how to make comics by, like, as a comic. So it's, it's like, it's, you can really, you can literally see what he's explaining.

Lucy SB:

that's probably the first kind of comics theory type book about comics that I read, and it blew my mind. I was hooked from then. I think that was what really made me go, this isn't just something I like reading every now and again, but I'm, this is something I'm really passionate about.

Mollie Ray:

did Understanding Comics as well, which, they kind of both meld together.

Lucy SB:

yeah, companion texts, aren't they?

Mollie Ray:

they're both incredible, like, read them both.

Lucy SB:

Yeah.

Mollie Ray:

They're extraordinary and really helpful if you want to make comics.

Lucy SB:

Brilliant. Thank you for that recommendation. That's a really good one. and thank you so much for coming on to the podcast. You are, you're, you're name dropped in the first ever episode of Comic Boom, which features Gemma, who's much been much discussed today. And, um, she said, Oh yeah, I, you know, I said, you know, have any of your students gone on to be creatures? Oh yeah. There's this person called Molly and she's got a book coming out. Hopefully she's going to have a book coming out.

Mollie Ray:

Woo!

Lucy SB:

I didn't have low expectations. That's not what I'm saying. I had high expectations, but I didn't think it was going to be a work of genius. Um

Mollie Ray:

thanks.

Lucy SB:

it turned out to be, so yeah, I have no right to be proud, but I feel proud. I feel proud on behalf of Gemma, and just, it's great to hear that the theory works. Like, give young people comics, give them access to being creative, and they create, you know, brilliant works of art. It's a great end to that. Well, not end, but it's a great next chapter to that story that, uh, Gemma was telling about what happens in her school. So, yeah, thank you for being the next Gen and thank you to the new Molly. Uh, the new Molly can come on next season.

Mollie Ray:

There's probably three or four of them now, so, uh, so

Lucy SB:

I don't know. I have to search around for another guest again.

Mollie Ray:

Oh, bless you, thank you. My, my, uh, my head's gonna be too big to get through the door after that.

Lucy SB:

Oh, thank you. Thanks so much for coming on.

Mollie Ray:

Aw, thank you so much for having me. It's awesome.

Thank you so much to Molly for taking the time to chat to me. I love the episode so much wisdom. I thoroughly thoroughly recommend giant. I'm a massive fan of silent comics and graphic medicine to have the two combined, a beautiful, beautiful thing, and just absolutely gorgeous. Really stunningly paced. You can tell, I think from the interview that Molly is somebody with just a very calming. I find it very calming. and just really measured. And the story kind of unfolds in a way that feels really aligned with how she comes across. And there's very poignant. A brilliant story and definitely want to, I recommend, especially maybe if you haven't, come into contact with much graphic medicine or even silent comics and you don't know much about it. A great starting point. It's a beautiful story with lots of visual metaphor in there to delve into, and really spend some time looking at. What am I even reading this week? When I was very lucky to receive, from the team at Puffin some book post. I love book posts, of graphic novels that have been released this year. So they've got a new imprint called puffing graphics. And they sent me a selection of the titles that they've released this year. This year that focusing on bring out American titles to the UK market. And then next year we'll continue, but more focused on British creators, which is really exciting. So can't wait to see what's coming next year as well. A few of the things that they sent me, in the news recently saw that Francine Pascal who wrote the sweet valley high series sadly passed away. And it was in that same week that they sent these books across to me. And then there is a graphic novel version of sweet valley twins. I haven't read these yet. I'm going to take them on holiday with me this week. and I absolutely loved sweet valley high when I was in primary school. That was a really big series for me. So I can't wait to have a trip down memory lane to have a look at those. They also sent two books when the max Meow cat Crusader series, which my. Sons who are seven and 10 every day at the moment. And they're really enjoying those and enjoying drawing some of the characters. They look really accessible and fun stories. And another one that I'm looking forward to reading is blood city rollers, because I love that roller Derby. I used to play roller Derby and, roller girl, obviously, Victoria Jamieson. Is a classic. Graphic novel also published by Puffin. so looking forward to seeing what they add to the very niche roller Derby graphic, novel genre, but I'm here for it is made for me. So very much looking forward to reading that on my holiday too. So thank you button. Then for sending those through. I'll also share some of those details on social media as well, but I'm on holiday next week. So I went probably there might be some limited posts about this episode and I'll pick up the week after. That is it for me, but we do have a little bit more of our chat Barbara Hayes, from ALCS, our sponsor for this episode. So you may remember last week you had a little bit, bit of an introduction with Barbara talked about ALCS' as work. And this week we're talking about the impact on AI, on authors and illustrators, which I think is a really interesting and topical subject. Thanks so much for Barbara for joining me for these chats. The last part of Barbara's interview will be in the next episode of comic. Boom. I do think it's so interesting how AI and the Dawn of AI is rapid rapid development as presenting so many issues for us to deal with so many opportunities as well. I'm not somebody who thinks it's all negative, but definitely when it comes to creative ownership, I think there are some real issues that need to be. Sorted out. Some real work to be done, to protect the rights of illustrators and writers for sure. In the future. Thank you to Molly and to Barbara, of course, for joining me and ALCS for sponsorship of this series of comic. Boom. We've got two more episodes left. Two fantastic guests come this season. So I really would look forward to those over the next month. We will continue to have fortnightly episodes. If you'd like to follow the podcast on social media, you can do that by following me on Twitter at Lucy underscore Bradley, and by following the podcast on Instagram at comic underscore boom underscore podcast, you can contact me directly through both of those platforms. You can also message me through the website. Comic boom.co.uk. There's a function where you can message the podcast on each episode on the website. So that's another way to get in touch with us. I've had a few people contacting me about coming onto the show. That is absolutely brilliant. I love that. I have recorded all the episodes for the season though. And then I will be taking a little bit of a break. So if you're thinking of throwing your name into the ring, please do, but be aware that it won't be soon. It'll probably be towards the tail end of the year, this year or the beginning of 2025, that the next season will Comic Boom comes out. My name is Lucy Starbuck Bradley. I'm the producer and host of comic. Boom. Thanks for listening.

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Lucy Starbuck Braidley

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