Gareth Brookes

A foundational environmentalist text centuries ahead of its time, The Compleat Angler is one of the most reprinted books in the English language. From the ruins of the English Civil War to the challenges we all face today, Gareth Brookes’ highly original multimedia adaptation of Izaak Walton’s classic focuses on its instructional aspects, highlights its eccentricities and contemplative themes of nature and friendship, and draws parallels between today’s politically divided and ecologically endangered England and that of the 17th century. Following Brookes’ similarly ambitious The Dancing Plague, this adaptation is lovingly rendered in both linocut engraving and hand-drawn pen-and-ink to contrast the meditative and the instructional in Walton’s writing. As a guidebook on how to fish, this 350-year-old manual makes the perfect gift for any angling enthusiast, and its reflective writing connects with post-pandemic desires for calm, mindful pursuits and a return to nature.

Mild-mannered Myriam is diagnosed with macular degeneration in her right eye, but that doesn't explain the strange things she's been seeing: children in bright red helmets dancing on the doctor's ceiling, exotic vines growing from her television set, and thousands of colored castles forming patterns on her kitchen walls. Her husband Fred is certain that Myriam's visions are a bunch of nonsense, and her family dismisses her odd observations as the results of old age and an addled mind. So when Myriam begins to notice something "off" about the house next door, she has only her own instincts to trust: can she tell the difference between a trick of the eyes and a real crime? The surreal lives side by side with the everyday in this graphic novel about life with Charles Bonnet syndrome, a condition in which a person with partial or severe blindness has complex, often bizarre hallucinations. Gareth Brookes's rich, artistic crayon drawings pull the reader into Myriam's vibrant and unnerving world, showing the frustration and fear that arise as a result of this unique condition-and the moments of unexpected beauty.

Myriam is a woman who sees things a little differently from other people. Strange figures in garish costumes accompany her to the post office, wild exotic plants sprout from supermarket shelves and phantom walls rise up to block her path. Her husband Fred doesn't know what she's talking about. Whenever he looks there's nothing there, and besides it's no excuse for his breakfast not being ready on time. But when Myriam sees a young boy shut up in the house next door, who is apparently being held captive, she is determined to investigate, much to her husband's fury. Soon he brings in reinforcements - their daughter, Clare - who is concerned about her mother's state of mind, and the state of her inheritance. Myriam's only ally is her four-year-old grandson, Jack, who is more than happy to see things her way. A Thousand Coloured Castles is a graphic novel where the sleepy suburbs of southern England melt into a world of hallucination, taking the reader through the doors of perception into a life where the surreal co-exists with the banal. With his customary wit and unique artistic approach, Brookes conjures both sympathy and despair for his characters trapped by the routine of daily life. If only they could just see...

Getting yourself a girlfriend is easy, according to Richard. All you need is papier mache, string, soft material, a balloon, some old fashioned bellows, and a good pair of scissors. The difficult bit is keeping her secret. Set in an English suburb in the early 1990s, The Black Project by Gareth Brookes is the story of Richard’s all-consuming passion for creating ‘girls’ from household objects. But as his hobby begins to flourish, his real life friendships and family relationships deteriorate. Richard is an unreliable narrator, and the reader responds to his loneliness and his dogged attempt to find a companion, while being horrified by his warped creations. The novel’s focus is on the divide between childhood and adulthood; where sex, perversion, and the grotesque feature in their many forms.