British Comic Art heads to Poland for stunning new exhibition

By John Freeman on September 13, 2017

Art by Ron Embleton for Look And Learn, 1962

An incredible selection of British comic art, including 2000AD pages, art from classic comics such as Eagle and Misty, form the Great British Comic Art Exhibition which opens in Łódź, Poland this weekend.

Supported by the British Council in Poland, the line-up includes an unpublished Misty cover by Shirley Bellwood – one of the few of her artworks commissioned for the girls comic known to have survived – along with art by Frank Bellamy, Dave Gibbons, Brendan McCarthy and more.

The Great British Comic Art exhibition, curated by David A. Roach and Bartosz Nowicki, is organised as a part of 28th International Festival of Comics and Games. It brings together original pages from some of the best talents Britain has produced, from the heydays of the 50s and 60s to today’s superstars.

Art by Duncan Fegredo for Hellboy – The Midnight Circus

Over the generations, Britain has produced many innovative and talented artists who have created some of the most memorable images in the comics medium. The show will include artwork from the full range of genres and eras, including the legendary boys comics such as Eagle, Lion, Roy Of The Rovers and Tiger, girls titles like Princess, Tina and Misty – along with more contemporary comics like 2000AD and Warrior.

Among the many artists featured in the exhibition are legends such as Dave Gibbons, David Lloyd, Simon Bisley, Jim Holdaway, John Bolton, Brian Bolland, Frank Bellamy and Don Lawrence.

In recent years, British talent has found great success working for top American publishers such as Marvel, DC and Image, and the show includes such internationally famous names as Alan Davis, Charlie Adlard, Duncan Fegredo, Ben Oliver and Steve Dillon.

Judge Dredd: digital art by Ryan Brown

“The exhibition will be a feast for the eyes showcasing the work of numerous fan favourites,” enthuses co-curator Bartosz Nowicki, “while also introducing many unfamiliar artists to an international audience for the first time.

“It will be a show not to be missed!”

“It’s great to see the British Council in Poland getting behind the Great British Comic Art exhibition,” says David A. Roach. “Bartosz and I have been so lucky in finding amazing art from collectors and artists across the country to make this a really incredible collection of original pages.”

Looking at the list of art on display, you’ll get no argument from me!

David will be at the Komiksfestiwal, along with fellow Brits David Lloyd and Simon Bisley and Northern Ireland’s Will Simpson. David will be signing comics,selling art and prints and taking part in a talk about Judge Dredd.

The event’s star guest is Thorgal artist Grzegorz Rosinski – who David describes as Poland’s greatest comics artist – and the line up also includes creators such as Howard Chaykin, Guy Delisle and Jim Lee and Sylvain Runberg.

• Great British Comic Art – an exhibition | Open: Wednesday – Sunday 10.00am – 6.00pm 15th September – 15th October 2017 EC1, ul. Targowa 1/3, 90-022 Łódź, Poland | Opening Night: Saturday 16 September from 7:45 pm | Web: http://komiksfestiwal.com/en

The Artworks

All artwork from the David A Roach collection unless otherwise mentioned;

Frame 1
1a) Frank Bellamy; “Only The Brave”, Eagle, 1961
1b) Ron Embleton; Look And Learn, 1962

Frame 2
2a) Don Lawrence; “Karl The Viking”, Lion, 1964
2b) John M Burns; “Magnum”, Look-In, 1982

Frame 3
3a, b, c) David Wright; “Carol Day”, 1958 (3 daily strips)
3d) Sydney Jordan; “Jeff Hawke”, 1971 (1 daily strip)

Frame 4
4a, b, c) Jim Holdaway; “Modesty Blaise”, 1960s (3 daily strips)
4d) Tony Weare; “Matt Marriott”, 1970 (1 daily strip)

Frame 5
5a) Harry Lindfield; “Belle and Mamie”, Princess 1964
5b) Leslie Otway; “Belle and Mamie”; Princess 1965

Frame 6
6a) Joe Colquhon; “Paddy Payne”, Lion, 1960
6b) Mike Noble; “TimeSlip”, Look-In, 1971

Frame 7
7a) Ian Kennedy; Air Ace #433, 1967- reprinted as Battle Picture Library 1640
7b) Ian Kennedy; “Dan Dare”, New Eagle, 1983

Frame 8
8a) Shirley Bellwood; Misty, 1979, unpublished cover
8b) Mike Hubbard; “Jane Bond”, Princess Tina, 1969

Frame 9
9a) Carlos Ezquerra; “Strontium Dog”, 2000AD #428, 1985 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)
9b) Carlos Ezquerra; “Judge Dredd”, Poster Prog 2, 1994 (Rufus Dayglo collection)

Frame 10
10a) Mike McMahon; “Judge Dredd- The Cursed Earth”, 2000AD #85, 1978

Frame 11
11a) Dave Gibbons; “Dan Dare”, 2000AD #107, 1979 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)
11b) Dave Gibbons; “Rogue Trooper”, 2000AD #229, 1981 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)

Frame 12
12a) Garry Leach; “Judge Dredd – Jaxon Prince”, 2000AD #513, 1987
12b) Ron Smith; “Judge Dredd”, 2000AD #154, 1979

Frame 13
13a) Kevin O’Neill; “Nemesis The Warlock”, 2000AD #305, 1983 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)
13b) Ian Gibson; “Judge Dredd”, 2000AD #27, 1977 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)

Frame 14
14a) Cam Kennedy; V.C’s Pin Up, 2000AD 2001 (Rufus Dayglo collection)
14b) John Stokes (with Paul Neary layouts); “The Black Knight”, Hulk comic, 1980

Frame 15
15a) Brendon McCarthy; Judge Dredd Annual 1987 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)
15b) Steve Dillon; “Judge Dredd”, 2000AD #325, 1983 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)

Frame 16
16a) David Lloyd; V For Vendetta #9, 1989 (courtesy of the artist)
16b) John Bolton; “Prester John”, Warrior #1, 1982

Frame 17
17a) Mike White; Roy of The Rovers, 1990s

Frame 18
18a) Jock; 2000AD #1258 cover, 2001 ( Rufus Dayglo collection)
18b) Colin McNeill; “Insurrection”, Judge Dredd Megazine, 2009

Frame 19
19a) Alan Davis, Captain America #6, 2012
19b) Alan Davis; Wolverine #10, 2013
19c) Ben Oliver; Uncanny X-Men #499, 2008
19d) Mike Collins (pencil) and Al Williamson (ink); Classic X-Men #42, 1989

Frame 20
20a) Duncan Fegredo; Hellboy – The Midnight Circus, 2013 (Courtesy of the artist)
20b) Laurence Campbell; BPRD #120, 2014
20c) John Watkiss; Conan the Barbarian #264, 1993
20d) Charlie Adlard; Walking Dead #31, 2006 (from the Rufus Dayglo collection)

Frame 21
21a) Henry Flint; Judge Dredd versus Aliens: Incubus, 2003 (from the Bartosz Nowicki collection)
21b) Arthur Ranson; “Button Man”, 2000AD #789, 1992 (Courtesy of the artist)
21c) Doug Braithwaite; Thor God Sized Special, 2009 (Courtesy of the artist)
21d) Dylan Teague; 2000AD cover #1348, 2003 (Courtesy of the artist)

Frame 22
22a) Simon Bisley; Slaine: The Horned God, book 2, 1989 (from the Andy Brown collection)
22b) Glenn Fabry; “Slaine”, 2000AD #853, 1993 (from the Andy Brown collection)

Frame 23
23a) Brian Bolland; Judge Dredd, Print of original art (courtesy of Joseph Melchior)
23b) Simon Davis; Slaine: The Brutania Chronicles: Primordial, 2016 (from the Bartosz Nowicki collection)

Frame 24
24a) Chris Weston; “Judge Dredd”, 2000AD, 2017 (Courtesy of the artist)
24b) David A Roach; “Judge Anderson”, 2000AD #2000, 2016

Frame 25
25a) Will Simpson; Aliens: Rogue #2, 1993 (Courtesy of the artist)
25b) Sean Phillips; Fatale Deluxe Edition vol. 2 cover, 2015 (Courtesy of the artist)

Plus digital images by Ryan Brown, Dave Kendall, Rufus Dayglo, Tiernan Tevallion, Dylan Teague, Lee Carter

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.