Nick Burton: Our Plague Year

Our Plague Year is an alternative retelling of the Eyam Plague of 1665-66, conceived and created by artist Nick Burton in response to a provocation by curator Bren O’Callaghan.

Let us take you back to 1665. A plague creeps ever towards a rural English village, Eyam, in Derbyshire.

Sounds familiar?

An isolated village in lockdown brings out the worst and the best in its people (mostly the worst).

Wise woman Granny Dankworth, speaks a muddled truth but holds no authority within the village hierarchy. Village gossip, George Gribble, blames the fairies for all misfortune. Young Godfrey Berrycloth, confined to a wheelchair, could be best positioned to ride out the inconvenience – his rich interior world within a moment’s reach…

New Episodes Every Week

Read Our Plague Year now

Click the icon in the bottom right-hand corner to enter full screen display

Subscribe to Our Plague Year

Subscribe to receive Our Plague Year, a free weekly webcomic by Nick Burton, direct to your inbox every Wednesday

Email address

ABOUT OUR PLAGUE YEAR

Our Plague Year is an alternative retelling of the Eyam Plague of 1665-66, conceived and created by artist Nick Burton in response to a provocation by curator Bren O’Callaghan.

This contemporary narrative explores the many facets of human behaviour in the midst of a crisis – fear, anger, paranoia, bravery, and hope.

In which characters will you recognise yourself? What similarities exist between their world and ours?

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nick Burton is a Manchester-born illustrator and storyteller. He spent the majority of his life in Canada (Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto), but for the past eight years has been living in Salford, England. His illustrations and comics have featured in Wired Magazine, The New York Times, Ride Journal, GQ and others. He was a finalist in HOME’s first Manchester Open and updates his Instagram feed on a frustratingly intermittent basis. https://nickburtondraws.com

Follow on Our Plague Year on Instagram: @plagueyearcomic

Support us

Your support makes it possible for us to create a HOME for people of all ages and backgrounds, including the communities on our doorstep and Manchester’s next generation of creative talent.