Panel Borders: Collecting comics at the National Art Library

Continuing a month of shows looking at the presence of comics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Alex Fitch talks to Jan van der Wateren (former chief librarian and Keeper of the National Art Library,) and Ian Rakoff (founder of the Rakoff Collection) about the collecting and acquisition of comics at the V & A. Jan and Ian talk about the history of the Rakoff collection, how it relates to other comic book collections in the archive at the National Art Library – such as the Krazy Kat Arkive and Walt Disney comics collection – and various efforts over the years to highlight their existence. Also, Julius Bryant, Keeper of Word and Image at the V & A, talks about the museum’s cultural remit and how that relates to comics, periodicals and popular culture.
Originally broadcast Monday 9th September 2013 on Resonance 104.4 FM (London)

For more info and a variety of different formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at www.archive.org

Links: Info about the comic book collections in the National Art Library / Victoria and Albert Museum

Ian Rakoff’s blog
Alex’s previous interview with Ian

Recommended Events:

Resonance FM comedy gig

Don’t miss Resofit on Wednesday 11 September 2013 at the Bloomsbury Theatre. An all-start comedy gala to raise funds for Resonance FM. Starring Simon Amstell, Baconface, Stewart Lee, Shazia Mirza, Rob Newman, Lewis Schaffer and Rosie Wilby.
A great line-up for a great cause – help fund the UK’s best community arts radio station…

More info / tickets at: http://www.thebloomsbury.com/event/run/1839

Graphic Justice

A one-day symposium on the intersection of comics and graphic with the concerns of law and justice. Speakers include Paul Gravett, Ian Rakoff and other experts from the study of law and comics.

St Mary’s University College, London

11 September 2013, 9am – 5pm FREE

More info at: http://graphicjustice.blogspot.co.uk

Sequential City

Sequential City explores the depiction of London in comic book narrative, as both a source of inspiration for writers and artists, and as a ‘character’ in its own right. The exhibition brings together original artworks and prints depicting the physical, cultural and sub-cultural sides of London (part of the 2013 London Design Festival).

Contributing artists include an impressive raft of Brit comic creators, from emerging talent to established names. Contributors include 2012 Costa biography prize-winner Bryan Talbot, Hannah Berry, Woodrow Phoenix, Rian Hughes, Gary Northfield, Sarah Mcintyre, Garen Ewing, Robert Ball, Simone Lia, Paul Duffield and Kate Brown.

Sequential City runs from the 16 – 22 September, and will feature an evening live comic jam event plus a children’ comic workshop.

Baxter and Bailey, 6 Hoxton Square, London, N1 6NU

More info: http://www.londondesignfestival.com/events/sequential-city

Gosh! signings and launch parties

The Day the Crayons Quit, debut author Drew Daywalt and Jeffers is team up to create a colourful solution to a crayon-based crisis:

Poor Duncan just wants to colour in. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit!

The battle lines have been drawn. What is Duncan to do?

Oliver Jeffers will be at Gosh! to sign for one hour on…

Saturday, September 14 from 3pm – 4pm

City lit: John Miers – the first Fast Forward talk at the famous Gosh Comic Book store in the heart of London. John Miers, an award winning contemporary comic book artist will be giving a talk on Visual Storytelling techniques, addressing the question: Are comics art or literature- or are they both, neither, and something else entirely all at once? This is your chance to find out how image, text, abstract symbols and composition combine in the most innovative medium around.

Tuesday, September 17, 7 – 8.30pm

The Best of Milligan and McCarthy: on Wednesday the 18th of September Gosh! have not one but TWO classic British comics guys in the house talking comics. Peter Milligan (Hellblazer) and Brendan McCarthy (Zaucer of Zilk) will be here doing a talk and Q&A about their new book from Dark Horse that collects the very best of their hard-to-find collaborative work from years ago: Freakwave, Paradax!, Skin and Rogan Gosh and more. That’s 20 years worth of their finest work from Vanguard Illustrated, Strange Days, 2000 AD and Vertigo!

Wednesday, September 18, 7.30 – 9pm

Gosh!, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR

More info at www.goshlondon.com




Sophie’s World – unseen photographs by Steven Cook

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, Orbital Comics is proud to present this special exhibition featuring rare and unseen of photographs of Sylvester McCoy’s companion Sophie Aldred (Ace). Originally taken by photographer Steve Cook in the late 1980s, a lot of the negatives were just recently recovered (not unlike the rumours of lost episodes being found).

The photos show Sophie’s versatility in a number of scenarios and guises, including that of The Doctor’s beloved companion Ace. The exhibition starts with a private viewing on September 5 and will run through until the end of the month. Sophie and Steve will be in-store signing prints of the photographs on Saturday, September 7 between 12 and 3pm.

September 5th – 30th

Orbital Comics, 8 Great Newport Street, WC2H 7JA

More info: http://www.orbitalcomics.com/sophies-world-the-unseen-photographs-by-steve-cook/