Laura Howell

Laura Howell is a comic artist, occasional writer and educator working in Birmingham, UK. She turned pro in 2006 after eight years working as an editor in children’s publishing but, like almost all cartoonists, she’s been drawing for as long as she can remember. She like cats, spooky things, peanut butter and chocolate (but not peanut butter on its own), and animation. And she’s suspicious of horses and koalas.
 

Laura’s major claims to fame are being the first female artist to produce a regular strip in The Beano in its 80+ year history, and also the first woman to draw for Viz. Oooh! From 2015-2016 she was the lead artist for BOOM! Studios’ monthly Regular Show comic, and also drew two original Regular Show graphic novels – Wrasslesplosion and The Meatening – in 2017 and 2018. Her client list includes Egmont Publishing, MAD Magazine, David Fickling Books, Studio Press, Harvard University, Ilex Press and more. She also regularly undertake personal and corporate projects and privately-commissioned pieces. A book of Laura’s award-winning silly comic The Bizarre Adventures of Gilbert & Sullivan was published by Soaring Penguin Press in 2015. In 2017 she was named one of Creative Black Country’s 100 Masters, a project created to “profile the experts of today, in order to inspire the pioneers of tomorrow.”
 

Her fields of particular expertise are funny, cute or bizarre illustrations. Laura’s worked extensively on existing media properties (e.g. Cartoon Network characters, Angry Birds, Beano, The Dandy), as she’s very adaptable to different art styles.