Phil Hall (author)

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Phill Hall (born April 1962) is a British pop culture writer, editor, and publisher. He was a long-time editor and columnist for the British comics magazine Comics International, as well as the creator and editor of the comics magazine Borderline,^[1] He ran his own publisher, Borderline Press, from 2013 to 2015. In addition, he has worked for DC Comics, Marvel UK, 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 and the NME^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} In the spring of 2002, Borderline became part of the Cool Beans World network of websites.^[2] Despite winning the "Best Specialist Magazine or Website" award at the 2002 National Comics Awards,^[3] however, Borderline ceased publishing in 2003.

Hall left comics in 2003 to pursue a career in 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 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.^[4] But continued scheduling issues forced Borderline Press to go on hiatus in May 2015.^[4] Borderline Press was sold to Fanfare in August 2016.^{[citation needed]}

Hall currently lives in Northampton, England.^{[citation needed]}

Borderline Press titles (selected)[edit]

• 566 Frames by Dennis Wojda (Nov. 2013, ISBN 978-0-9926972-0-4) — autobiographical graphic novel
• Zombre (Nov. 2013, ISBN 978-0-9926972-2-8) — anthology featuring a number of UK, US, and European comics creators
• Hunger House by J. M. Edenborg and Loka Kanarp (2014, ISBN 978-0-9926972-4-2)
• Zombies Can't Swim by Kim Herbst (2014, ISBN 978-0-9926972-6-6)
• Verity Fair by Terry Wiley (2014, ISBN 978-0-9926972-8-0)
• City of Crocodiles by Knut Larsson (Apr. 2014, ISBN 978-0-9926972-5-9)
• Spoko by Tomas Prokupek, et al. (Aug. 2014, ISBN 978-0-9926972-7-3) — anthology
• Seth & Ghost by Jamie Lewis (Mar. 2015, ISBN 978-0992697297)

Further reading[edit]

• Johnston, Rich. "Borderline Press And The Reputation Of Phill Hall," Bleeding Cool (November 13, 2013).

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Hall's "A Life in Comics" blog