On July 17, Dark Horse Comics announced that acclaimed writer/artist Bryan Talbot (The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, The Tale of One Bad Rat) has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Sunderland in recognition of his many works -- in particular the widely praised graphic novel Alice in Sunderland.

The university is conferring the honorary doctorate upon Talbot for his “outstanding contribution to the Arts as [a] writer and graphic artist” at its annual award ceremony at the Stadium of Light. Prior honorees in the comic field have included Charles Schulz (in 1966) and Art Speigelman (in 1996).

Bryan Talbot's work includes:

The Adventures of Luther Arkwright
978-1-59307-725-9

The Tale of One Bad Rat
978-1-56971-077-7

Alice in Sunderland
978-1-59307-673-3

and the upcoming Grandville (978-1-59582-397-7) due this fall from Dark Horse.