Ricky Miller on AVERY HILL PUBLISHING

There’s an ecosystem to comics publishing, like everything else. You’ve got your Marvel & DC/Big Two on one end of things, your single cartoonist stapling their first minizines that they ran 20 copies off of the printer at their day jobs at the other, and many points in-between. And it’s one of those intermediate options, Avery Hill Publishing out of South London, England, that is the focus of today’s show.

Going back to the earlier example, Avery Hill is probably much closer to the cartoonist than the corporations. And this makes sense when you look at their output. On their website, the publisher described itself as:

“Helping aspiring creators reach their potential and … a home to the geniuses that the mainstream has yet to recognise ... Our canon includes psychogeographical mappings, eco-anarchist wizards, boat-shaped coffins, an all-female/non-binary construction crew (in space), a bad canine named Greasy, and much more."

Avery Hill has positioned itself to be an option for up & coming creators, a model that has worked for them with many cartoonists, including Tillie Walden, who published the first works of an Ignatz- and Eisner-lauded career, THE END OF SUMMER and I LOVE THIS PART, at Avery Hill almost ten years ago. 

To find out more about Avery Hill’s place in the comics landscape, what that landscape looks like for them in 2025 and beyond, and to talk about their newest release, Kit Anderson’s sci-fi graphic novel SECOND SHIFT just out last month, today's episode is a chat with Avery Hill co-publisher Ricky Miller.

[This episode is number 817 in a series.] 

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CHAPTERS

00:00 - Preamble

01:37 - Early Days and Inspirations

05:50 - Transition to Publishing

09:15 - Discovering New Talent

18:05 - Kickstarter and Business Model

20:11 - Day-to-Day Operations at Avery Hill

22:30 - Balancing Creativity and Practicality

23:03 - Impact of the Internet on Talent Discovery

23:48 - Challenges of Social Media for Creators

24:37 - Finding New Talent in the Modern Era

27:52 - Kit Anderson's Journey with Avery Hill

30:19 - The Appeal of Sci-Fi in Comics

36:43 - Avery Hill's Editorial Approach

38:59 - Upcoming Projects and Future Plans

42:54 - Avery Hill at Comic Shows

44:46 - Outro