The Readers of the Lost Art are a group of oddballs and misfits who are drawn to Newcastle's Literary and Philosophical Society every fortnight by a common love of comic books (or 'graphic novels', for those with delusions of maturity). When asked whether we would be interested in Mapping the Necklace, our thoughts turned for inspiration to those comic books with a strong sense of location. Most notable among these was Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell, ostensibly a story about Whitechapel's 1888 Jack the Ripper murders, but also a study of the city of London itself. Moore uses principles of 'psychogeography', developed by writers such as Iain Sinclair, to weave together associations of placenames, historical evidence and stories, fiction and legends, into a work which gives a sense of the city's spirit. Our aim for Mapping the Necklace is to perform a similar exercise with Durham City and the Necklace Park. We are therefore going to 'map' the stories associated with Durham, teasing out tales and associations to form the basis of a comic book which gives a feel for the spirit of the place.

Our researches have already begun, and we have already homed in on one or two stories which have captured our imaginations, and I hope to write about some of these in a future blog post. For now, our team is looking for people who could help us with our project. We are looking for artists and writers who would like to unleash their imaginations upon Durham's rich history, as well as anyone with specialist knowledge of Durham's history, legends or folk tales. We are also seeking people interested in joining in with research.

More information to follow, but I hope that whets the appetite for now.