Phill Hall (born April 1962) is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
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writer, editor, and publisher. He was a long-time editor and columnist for the British comics magazine ''
Comics International
''Comics International'' was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006, and then by Cosmic Publications Ltd. until 2010.
Over time, ''Comics Internation ...
'', as well as the creator and editor of the comics magazine ''
Borderline'',
He ran his own publisher, Borderline Press, from 2013 to 2015. In addition, he has worked for
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
,
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US-produced stories for the British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dill ...
, and a number of small independent publishers in both the UK and US.
From its inception in 1990, Hall was the copy, news, and features editor at ''Comics International'' and created a number of iconic comics magazine columns, such as "Movers & Shakers", "Hotshots", and "Networks," for the magazine.
He left ''CI'' in 1997, and in 2001 launched the online journal ''
Borderline''. ''Borderline'' was a cross between ''
The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...
'' and the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' with a heavy mix of mainstream American/British and international comic books. The magazine spotlighted comic books and creators from countries such as Brazil, Poland, and the Philippines, alongside American and British comic book icons; ''Borderline'' was, in part, responsible for a number of previously unknown cartoonists obtaining professional contracts. In the spring of 2002, ''Borderline'' became part of the
Cool Beans World
''Cool Beans World'' was a subscription website which published animated or partially animated webcomics. It was conceived by Cool Beans Productions, a design, animation and production company based in Sheffield, England. Contributors included, amo ...
network of websites. Despite winning the "Best Specialist Magazine or Website" award at the 2002
National Comics Awards
The National Comics Awards was a series of awards for comic book titles and creators given out on an annual basis from 1997 to 2003 (with the exception of the year 2000) for comics published in the United Kingdom the previous year. The votes wer ...
,
[Sutherland, Kev F. "NATIONAL COMICS AWARDS 2002: THE 5TH NATIONAL COMICS AWARDS RESULTS," 2000ADonline.org]
Archived at the Wayback Machine
Retrieved Nov. 30, 2020. however, ''Borderline'' ceased publishing in 2003.
Hall left comics in 2003 to pursue a career in
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
, but later returned to write a column for the comics website ''Comics Village''. Hall's book, ''My Monthly Curse — A Personal Comic Book History,'' mostly focusing on his time at ''Comics International'' and ''Borderline'' (culled from entries in his
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
, ''A Life in Comics''), was published in digital form in August 2011.
In July 2013, Hall launched Borderline Press Ltd., a registered company dealing with the publishing of new European comics talent. The press had distribution issues, however, which were alleviated when Hall reached a deal with Fanfare in 2015.
[Johnston, Rich]
"Borderline Pressed,"
''Bleeding Cool'' (May 5, 2015). But continued scheduling issues forced Borderline Press to go on hiatus in May 2015.
Borderline Press was sold to Fanfare in August 2016.
Hall currently lives in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, England.
Borderline Press titles (selected)
* ''566 Frames'' by Dennis Wojda (Nov. 2013, ) — autobiographical graphic novel
* ''Zombre'' (Nov. 2013, ) — anthology featuring a number of UK, US, and European comics creators
* ''Hunger House'' by J. M. Edenborg and Loka Kanarp (2014, )
* ''Zombies Can't Swim'' by Kim Herbst (2014, )
* ''Verity Fair'' by Terry Wiley (2014, )
* ''City of Crocodiles'' by Knut Larsson (Apr. 2014, )
* ''Spoko'' by Tomas Prokupek, et al. (Aug. 2014, ) — anthology
* ''Seth & Ghost'' by Jamie Lewis (Mar. 2015, )
Further reading
* Johnston, Rich
"Borderline Press And The Reputation Of Phill Hall,"''Bleeding Cool'' (November 13, 2013).
References
External links
Hall's "A Life in Comics" blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Phil
1962 births
Living people
British writers
British magazine editors