In Persona: Steven Appleby

Steven Appleby talks about his student days in London. There he learned from his teacher Quentin Blake that it is not important to be able to draw brilliantly. It is more important that the pictures have their own personality. Steven Appleby’s drawings have this personality of their own: their absurd humour.

Appleby was born in 1956 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. After studying graphic design at Newcastle Polytechnic and illustration at the Royal College of Art in London, Appleby achieved his international breakthrough in the 1980s with the comic series ‘Rockets Passing Overhead – the Annals of Captain Star’. The comic was born out of his love of science fiction, the artist explains. But his own experiences and passions often flow into his other multifaceted works as well, such as his latest comic ‘Dragman’ (2020), whose protagonist turns into a flying superhero as soon as he dons women’s clothes. In this tragicomic examination of gender and role models, Appleby also draws on his own experiences as a transgender person.

In 1997, the comic series ‘Rockets Passing Overhead – the Annals of Captain Star’ was made into an animated series in collaboration with filmmaker Pete Bishop. Appleby has often worked with Pete Bishop over the years, such as on ‘How to catch flu’ (2014). The short film was created as part of a research project on flu viruses and aims to educate the general public about the dangers posed by flu. With filmmaker Linda McCarthy, the artist realised his latest film project ‘BOB BOBBIN and the CHRISTMAS STOCKING’ (2021). Steven Appleby’s artistic and personal guiding principle ‘Be yourself and don’t be backed into a corner’ shines through in all his work – whether as a filmmaker or as a comic artist – and that is great inspiration for all of us.

Tickets on: https://www.innenstadtkinos.de/programm-und-tickets/festival.html