GENTLE FOKE

Publishing Company:
THE BKS AGENCY
Imprint:
Format:
ONE SHOT
Creator(s):

HANNAH BERRY (AUTHOR)
V.V. GLASS (ILLUSTRATOR)
Number of Pages:

120
Publication Date:
Age:
YOUNG ADULT
Fiction/Non-Fiction
FICTION
Key words:
ADOLESCENCE, MYTHOLOGY, ADVENTURE,
Summary:

A period coming-of-age urban fantasy

… realised in an ambitious 3-part graphic novel series, set in blandest middle-England in an era when teens were vilified as hooligans, when Section 28 had been law for nearly a decade, and before the term neurodiversity even existed; when ableist, homophobic and misogynistic slurs were everyday banter; and when Oasis stalked the earth (the first time). Into this period of swaggering, aggressive conformity, GENTLE FOKE borrows from folklore the concept of Changelings: perfect human children stolen away and replaced with beings that are broken or inferior.

It’s tough enough to be 16, trying to reconcile the world around you with this ungainly, unfamiliar version of yourself; it’s even harder when you have no access to like-minded communities online, no language to explain yourself with, and all the self-awareness of a McNugget. Older readers may identify with the protagonists’ clueless fumbling for identity and meaning; younger readers might finally have some insight into why their parents are such messes. GENTLE FOKE is a search for acceptance that goes beyond social convention, beyond the law, and beyond our own reality, but ultimately it’s a funny story about idiot teenagers from a time when nobody knew any better.

HANNAH BERRY is an award-winning comics creator, scriptwriter and campaigner, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and UK Comics Laureate 2019-21. Editions of her books have been published in the USA, France, Holland, Serbia and Italy, and she has been a guest of and speaker at over 150 comics, literature and arts festivals and events around the world.

V.V. GLASS is a transmasc visual artist, ARTS FOUNDATION FUTURES AWARDS-nominated illustrator, and occasional writer. Their work focusses on the application of traditional art & literature mediums to sequential storytelling. Trained in portraiture at an art school that’s since been shut down, they have worked in the comics industry primarily as a cover artist since 2012, producing almost 100 cover illustrations with publishers including Image, Boom Studios, and Titan Comics.

Their work has been featured in anthologies from Rebellion/2000AD (JUDGE DREDD, SCREAM, SMASH, MISTY) and Boom Studios (JIM HENSON PRESENTS) as well as indie projects such as AFTERLIFE INC, SAVE OUR SOULS, and KNIFEPOINT, and multiple charity art anthologies.

They have had two graphic novels published to date, AT THE END OF YOUR TETHER (2019) with Adam Smith, and miniseries THE LAST WITCH (2020-2025) with Kill Shakespeare’s Conor McCreery. They have also produced promotional material for MTV, Worldcon 2014, and musician Professor Elemental.

SCREEN RIGHTS controlled by Viv Loves Film

ALL OTHER RIGHTS controlled by The bks Agency