animation, comics, exhibits, events, etc!

Every Wednesday, Jared Gniewek discusses what feeds his fires as an author of comics, screenplays and radio dramas.

by Jared Gniewek

So you’re planning your big vacation overseas and you can’t wait to see all that England has to offer the discerning world traveler. You’ve booked your tickets for The Mousetrap and purchased your poncho for the rain during your open-top bus tour. You’ve read the guide books and even figured out where Watership Down is. Only one question remains though… What about the comics? How are the shops in London? And is there an arts institution over there that simultaneously informs one of the publishing history of UK comics, a history of the medium itself, and showcases a national treasure of a cartoonist?

Having recently returned from just such a trip, I have answers.

As far as the shops went, I hit two very different places and avoided one due to premonitions of upcoming unemployment rumbling from the back of my brain — like a quivering rabbit to an insect. I’m sure there are even more shops than what I saw and the taste I got from just those two made me feel safe and at home for at least as long as I was perusing the shelves.

At Gosh!, I picked up a discounted reprint of some awesome 1950s British science fiction mystery comics starring a gentleman named Rick Random. I was pleased to see such a wide variety of artfully drawn books from our Cross-Atlantic cousins. The shop was gorgeous and they really understood the changing needs of the modern discerning comic fan. They had art books and boutique editions exclusive to the store, some awesome animation art as well as Showcase Editions of Legion of Super Heroes. I loved the wide gamut they ran between art and trash culture. I like a little blood in my stew if you know what I mean.

I later found that there must be some kind of economic crisis going on in England related entirely to Judge Dredd collections penned by Garth Ennis. There were stacks of ‘em running nice and cheap at Forbidden Planet. I nabbed two of those and a couple grab bags of new books. I don’t tend to keep up with the super heroes so I like to get lost trying to decipher what’s going on in the books when they’re on discount. I liked Forbidden Planet and they had an amazing selection of books and toys, but I’m more the type who will go to the comic store for comics and the toy store for toys. There is something about the proliferation of toys in the comic shops that has bothered me since the mid nineties. I don’t mean to be a hater as so many of my friends love love LOVE the toys but for me it’s all about the comics and the toys just get in my way when digging through quarter bins.

Let me also say that I’ve read my share of Judge Dredd over the years, being that I was a bit of an Anthrax fan in my youthful metal head days. Ah, Spring, a time when a young man’s fancy turns to thrash metal. Alas, Alack. Anyway, aside from the metal connection, I loved the lunacy of the book and the hilarious social commentary that went along with it. Judge Dredd was the ultimate fascist authority figure, in that he was RIGHT most of the time. Like Batman, it’s easy to get behind a brute that seems to have the right idea about things. I never let myself believe that it was the greatest or sharpest comic export from the UK. I figured that they must have a long proud tradition of excellent comics, especially when one looks at some of the amazing comic creators to make the leap to being published in the States.

In fact, here are huge gaps in my knowledge of UK Comics. I could spend a few lifetimes learning about all the wonderful illustrators and cunning wordsmiths that they have to offer. One thing to help fill in the gaps was their Cartoon Museum. It’s just around the corner form that lair of antiquities, The British Museum. Most tourist maps will show you the way. It has three galleries spread out over two floors. So if you go to visit, be sure to allot plenty of time.

Their featured exhibition was on a single panel cartoonist called Giles.  The man was blessed with a gorgeous line and a wicked sense of humor. Many of his gags were quiet little jabs at the self important and the powerful…even his own publisher. It was interesting that in the well written informational placards he was quoted as saying that he didn’t believe that production art belonged in a gallery because it was drawn to ultimately be reduced for print. I felt a little spasm of ghoulish guilt as I spent the afternoon staring at his brush strokes and defiantly giggling at the dead man’s over-sized cartoons.

The second gallery on the main floor was a history of the cartoon and the rise to prominence of caricatures. Some gorgeous Hogarth pieces were on display and it ran up until an original Addams. That’s a LOT of history, kids. My poor brain needed candy.

So up the stairs I went and saw what I had really come to see: comic book production art. One thing I love at an exhibit is when I have a book that the art on the wall ended up in. I was not let down as there were a few pages of Charley’s War (which is a hell of a realistic war comic which is well worth the praise it receives) as well some David Lloyd art from V for Vendetta. The upstairs gallery showcased British comic books and I reveled in the culture shock. They make good funny books over there.

Cheerio!

Jared Gniewek works in the music industry as a back line technician, performer, and promoter. He is also a freelance writer whose work can be seen in the recent re-launch of Tales from the Crypt and heard on The Dark Sense, an audio anthology of the macabre for which he is also the story editor — http://www.earstage.com/darksense.htm.

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