Who Lives Here?: Interview with Kent illustrator Bex Glendining
Ramsgate illustrator and colourist Bex Glendining on drawing clutter, slice-of-life inspiration and emailing Marvel
The legacy of a famous personality or favourite character weighs heavy on those who try to interpret heritage in a new way. Over the years, actors have often talked about the pressure of taking on the role of a James Bond, portraying a Marylin Monroe or donning the Batman cape. There is a worldwide attachment to them.
Fans will argue whether they prefer Star Trek original or Next Generation or whether the Game of Thrones series is representative of the books. I can’t imagine the pressure that Ramsgate comic artist Bex Glendining (@lgions) would have been feeling while producing a fully illustrated cover to Marvel’s ‘The Avengers Assembled: The Origin Story of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ book by David Betancourt in 2023.
“They’re just such famous characters,” says Bex. “I think it’s the amount of people in it as well. They wanted to pay homage to the traditional costumes and character designs while also keeping them recognisable to the movies! I think we got there! I’ll always be proud of that.”
“I just really love clutter!”
A scan down Bex’s client list reveals work for the likes of Netflix, Huffpost, DC Comics, Penguin Random House and Entertainment Weekly. Having studied graphic design at Canterbury Christ Church University in 2018, Bex flew out of the blocks and quickly landed a job with the now-defunct Dungeons & Dragons comics. Having posted fan art on Tumblr for some time, Bex’s talent was spotted online.
“I did a couple of covers for them. And I was like ‘Oh, wait, that’s actually a career option?’, because I found the whole world of graphic design quite daunting as a career. I started posting more on Twitter and gained quite a few followers on there, which seemed to open me up to the American audience, which is where most of my work comes from.”
While illustration has always been in Bex’s consciousness, the arrival to creating comics and drawing for graphic novels came later.
“I was lightly into comics,” says Bex. “It was more in the beginning of my career rather than beforehand.”
Of course, the comic behemoths of Marvel and DC grab the headlines for good reason, but Bex has also been commissioned for high-profile pieces across numerous platforms.
“I did a couple of pieces for Netflix,” says Bex. “One with We The Urban and Dear White People [2021]. That was actually featured in the show in the final season. I went on Netflix and was like ‘Oh, it’s in the show!’.
And while Bex suggests that a lot of the high-profile work has been based on chance, “the right place at the right time” or “the right person seeing your work”, the efforts put into the personal pieces show potential clients exactly what they’re getting.
From single-page comics about a particular subject through to one-off artworks, Bex’s eye for detail and character creation is obvious.
In the piece The Hoard [2020], Bex has taken a 2D-piece very much into the real world, from the Art Deco light fixture through to a decorative vase high on a shelf. Or in Kitchen, where Post-it notes adorn the refrigerator while a pair of slightly battered unlaced trainers slump in the corner. The items on show and structure of the room give the viewer a flavour of the personality sitting within.
“Yeah, so The Hoard was actually part of a personal series. It’s like modern Gods and Monsters, so she’s like a dragon woman,” says Bex. “She’s collecting just a bunch of trinkets and shiny things - that’s why there’s not one kind of decade or theme or anything.
“None of them are like existing rooms. It either starts with a person and maybe how they’re feeling, who they are, what they like. Or I’ll start with a room and, say, I want to make a bedroom, I’ll ask ‘Who lives in this bedroom?’. What do they have? Is it like a busy bedroom? Is it techy? Is it like old-timey? And just kind of build it up. I take a lot of inspiration from slice-of-life and I just really love clutter.
“I grew up with my mum studying architecture and interior design, so I still have memories of looking through those books and catalogues. I think a lot of that stuck with me.”
Being commissioned to produce the covers of various graphic novels, the jumping-off point can be extremely varied. It could be led by the writing of the author, it could be a firm brief on what the client wants to see, or it could be a complete blank canvas, allowing Bex to give a personal interpretation.
“Most of my inspiration comes from everyday life. I love to try to capture small quiet moments: the way light flows through a window or a moment of peace in someone’s comfortable habitat. I’ve always been drawn to slice-of-life in different media, be it novels, video games or movies.”
Bex’s artistic inspirations vary from traditional artists like Monet, Van Gogh and Rembrandt to modern artists Choo Draws, Samantha Mash, Cassandra Jean, Barbara Walker, Elise Schuenke and Steffi Walthall, to name a few.
“I’m constantly getting inspired by different artists on social media,” says Bex, whose debut graphic novel Indigo Port is scheduled for a 2025 release with Abrams Books in among the commissions for Marvel, DC and even editorial illustrations for HuffPost.
“I think it helps because I’m quite open to different kinds of jobs. I don’t specifically want to do just book covers or just comics. I’m more interested in the individual job itself.”
Though it does make something of a difference if the word ‘Marvel’ is attached to the email commission request.
“I believe they went through my agent but, yes, they dropped an email over, saying ‘Hi!’. Then I’d have a little freakout and then have to rein myself in and act very cool and professional.
“‘I suppose I can fit it in’.”
INFO: www.lgions.com
