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Mercer Gallery and Thought Bubble Festival team up for Hilda comic exhibition in Harrogate

By John Freeman on November 5, 2019

Harrogate’s Mercer Gallery has partnered the Thought Bubble Festival to stage an exhibition of work by the creator of an award-winning comic character and Netflix series.

Karen Southworth, curator of the Mercer Gallery, with Hilda

The stories of Hilda, a young girl living in a Scandinavia populated by mythical folk creatures, have seen creator Luke Pearson recognised as one of the UK’s most talented comic artists and story writers.

Now a taster exhibition of his work, including personal notebooks and sketches, is running at the Mercer Gallery, in conjunction with the forthcoming Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival at Harrogate Convention Centre.

Karen Southworth, curator at the Mercer, said: “This is a small exhibition but it’s more than just pieces of art, it’s a great way to see the creative process, from ideas in notebooks, to sketches, early page designs through to the finished comic books.

“We’re staging the exhibition in our newest studio which we’ve created especially for more intimate exhibitions like this. But we definitely want to forge stronger links with the people at the Thought Bubble Festival and I’m looking to open up the whole of the main gallery to a comic book art exhibition for next year’s event”.

The Hilda books have won several awards since appearing in 2010 and the stories were turned into a critically acclaimed Netflix TV series last year.

Regie Rigby, owner of Destination Venus, Harrogate’s independent comic store, said: “Hilda is a fantastic piece of work. The books are brilliant – I love them.

“Luke Pearson is a great story teller and his art work is simply fun – it’s fun to look at. If you haven’t seen the show or read the comics then you must check them out. Go and see this exhibition at the Mercer because it’s amazing.”

The exhibition is open now and runs until Sunday 24th November 2019. It is one of many fringe events in Harrogate taking place alongside the Thought Bubble Festival which is over the weekend of 9th – 10th November at the Convention Centre.

Thought Bubble has established itself as the UK’s leading, annual comic book art event, attracting thousands of visitors and welcoming the top creators in the world. This will be the first time the event has been staged in Harrogate, following a successful run of 12 years in Leeds.

• For more information on the Luke Pearson exhibition, head to www.lukepearson.com

• To find out more about Thought Bubble, and to buy tickets for the event, head to www.thoughtbubblefestival.com

• More about the Mercer Gallery here on the Harrogate Council web site | Follow the Mercer Gallery on Twitter @MercerGallery

• Hilda books by Luke Pearson on AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

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.