Body of work: how the graphic novel became an outlet for female shame

The artform has allowed many female illustrators to confront how they see their bodies and how their bodies are seen by the men around them

Before emojis: the utopian graphic language of Marie and Otto Neurath

‘Pictures unite’ was the motto of two Viennese refugees who dreamed of a world where communication would be streamlined with universal symbols

On my radar: Deborah Levy’s cultural highlights

The author on her favourite tapas spot, wild swimming and the South African artist who excites her most

On my radar: Robert Icke’s cultural highlights

The writer and theatre director on OJ Simpson and Monet’s garden

Terry O’Neill on his best Bowie shoots: ‘David never needed coaxing’

He photographed the biggest stars on Earth but Bowie was his favourite. He recalls the star’s irresistible charm, his most outlandish outfits – and his druggiest shoot

Fights, festivals, fear: Sohrab Hura’s angst-ridden India

With his photographs of out-of-control hedonism, punch-ups and blood-letting rituals, Hura captures a nation in the grip of an angry new nationalism

Carry Franklin obituary

Other lives: Artist and teacher, and the founder of Little Free Libraries in Leeds

Karsten Schubert obituary

Gallerist who played an important part in promoting the Young British Artists

British Museum staff express support for trustee who resigned

Novelist Ahdaf Soueif quit role over BP sponsorship and artefacts repatriation

Dickens museum buys lost portrait 133 years after it went missing

London museum raises £180,000 to buy lost Margaret Gillies portrait of young author found in South African auction

Punk hellraiser Lydia Lunch: ‘I’m chronically misunderstood – but I get off on it’

The runaway, singer and counter-culture icon is hitting 60 – and is as incendiary as ever, touring and raging against polluters and politicians in a rip-roaring book

Ethnic diversity makes Britain’s culture great. It would be a disaster if we lost it

Figures show nearly 40% of our top cultural figures come from migrant or minority ethnic backgrounds – but barriers still exist, says Akram Khan

‘Finland’s Munch’: the unnerving art of Helene Schjerfbeck

One of her country’s most celebrated artists, Schjerfbeck is little known in the UK, but now her singular paintings will be seen in a major exhibition

Saving ‘woman hand’: the artist rescuing female-only writing

Kana let women express themselves freely and was used to write the world’s first novel – then it was wiped out. Meet the master calligrapher keeping the script alive

‘Like the centre of a wheel’: the eternal influence of Joy Division

Forty years after their debut album, the Manchester band continue to influence not just music, but graphic design, literature, film and more. Moby, the Killers, Jon Savage and others explain why