London Cartoon Museum exhibition and call for suggestions

[Eamonn Clarke]

I visited the Cartoon Museum in Little Russell street, London today (£7) to see the graphic novels exhibition and the Doctor Who target novel covers in the upstairs gallery. Not a lot of 2000AD stuff, two Carlos pages owned by the museum, and Colin MacNeil's classic America cover "from the collection of John Wagner" (which was news to me). The Charley's War pages were fab as were the two Watchmen pages and two V for Vendettas.

A little bird on facebook tells me that there is a 2000AD artwork exhibition coming next year to tie in with the 40th.

And there was this flyer which calls for suggestions as to what comic artwork they should spend their lottery grant on. You might want to email them projectcurator@cartoonmuseum.org.uk

I noticed that they had lots of battered comics around for the kids to read but no Toothys so I might donate them a few old kid friendly Progs next time I'm there.



If you're interested in the Doctor Who stuff you might want to head over to the British Invaders podcast facebook page (it's all about British TV SciFi) where I'm just about to post details of a raffle for a signed Chris Achilleos print of the Curse of Peladon cover featuring Jon Pertwee as the the best Doctor there ever was or will be (fact). £1 a ticket and all to Cancer Research UK as ever.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/51005290944/

[Colin YNWA]

Well I did not know that existed. As it goes in three weeks I'm in London at a friends wedding. I'm travelling down with a few friends who are going to the day do and I'm only going to the Reception sooooo I've got the afternoon to potter. Wasn't sure what I was going to do, now I do!

Cheers

[Eamonn Clarke]

Fair warning, the museum is not a big place for £7 (that London pricing). Just a downstairs exhibition room and then an upstairs sort of gallery loft, plus the gift shop which does have some 2000AD books on their bargain shelves at the moment (Devlin Waugh, Red Seas, Some Sinister Dexter)

It is only a short walk from Forbidden Planet which is good, which in turn is a short walk from Orbital, which is a slightly longer walk to Gosh if you want to play a sort of comic shop dominoes like I did today 😉

[CrazyFoxMachine]

I've been there a few times - there's even a surviving copy of my earliest anthology (Dr WTF 1) in their gift shop I think!

But yes, the price is shocking - however the things within are glorious. There was a history of satirical art on in their recently and some early Brit comics pages that are tremendous in the flesh. So much nicer on display than locked in a cabinet somewhere...

[SuperSurfer]

I don't think £7 is that much for central London. It does rely on volunteers so I guess it doesn't have the luxury of being able to ask for a lower entrance fee.

Indeed, it's great seeing artwork in the flesh by artists such as Leo Baxendale and Joe Colquhoun.

I attended a life drawing class there a few years ago, surrounded by brilliant Ronald Searle exhibition.

[Mikey]

I visited the Cartoon Museum on Friday and I thought the exhibition was fantastic. Yes it's a small space, but I think there's a great variety of work on show and it's been well planned and focused if you ask me. I like the fact it really did take you through the development of them funny books and how the style and subject matter has always been diverse. A highlight for me was seeing some Luther Arkwright pages in the flesh, as well as Charley's War, that America cover, the Oscar Zarate pages and the Dave McKean sculpture Sandman cover. I'm not a big Who fan, but the covers exhibit was great plus the Bolland 'sketches' from the Batman page were brilliant too. And seven quid was a bargain - I'd been in London a few days and I think it was the cheapest thing we did.

[Large48]

Some of the talks given there are brilliant one of the best was Brian giving his Sunderland one it was like sitting in his front room! 

[Dunk!]

It's a lovely little gallery space and definitely run with passion - the Ronald Searle exhibition a few years back was excellent.

Look forward to seeing if they can get any iconic pages for any 2000ad exhibition - which is a great excuse, if we ever needed one, for a Southern Meet Up

Dunk!

[Dandontdare]

It is a lovely, if very small, museum. I can't remember what the theme of the exhibition I saw was a few years ago, but the they had one of those early Belardinelli Dan Dare colour spreads.