Home › Comics › Coming Soon, “HEROES: The British invasion of American comics exhibition” at London’s Cartoon Museum

Coming Soon, “HEROES: The British invasion of American comics exhibition” at London’s Cartoon Museum

By John Freeman on March 18, 2024

HEROES: The British invasion of American comics | Thursday 25th April - Saturday 19th October 2024 The Cartoon Museum, 63 Wells St, London, W1A 3AE

London’s Cartoon Museum has announced HEROES: The British invasion of American comics as their next major exhibition, examining how British and American comics have influenced each other over the last century, running from Thursday 25th April until Saturday 19th October 2024.

Co-curated by Steve Marchant and Museum director Joe Sullivan, the exhibition aims to put paid to the myth that comic books are as American as apple pie and Uncle Sam.

Discover how British artists and writers invaded America and made their mark on iconic superheroes and more, in a major exhibition that tells the story of early American comics such as Buster Brown, Miss Fury and Superman, how they influenced British artists and culture, and how the British took that influence and sold it back to America through legendary comics such as Watchmen and V For Vendetta.

Brian Bolland's Pencils and the final cover for Amazing Heroes #52, the pencils declaring a "British Invasion" of US comics — Brian Bolland’s Pencils and the final cover for Amazing Heroes #52, the pencils declaring a “British Invasion” of US comics. For some reason, the magazine changed its intended cover lines during the editorial process

HEROES: The British invasion of American comics shines a light on the many British creators who provided art for iconic superheroes including Batman, Spider-Man, Hellboy and Hit-Girl, including works by Brian Bolland, David Lloyd, Doug Braithwaite and Alison Sampson.

Hellboy by Alison Sampson — *Art by Alison Sampson*

Hit-Girl in India by Alison Sampson — *Art by Alison Sampson*

On the way you’ll discover British attempts to imitate American strips in the 1940s, find out the story behind the 1972 launch of Marvel UK, and enjoy stunning artwork by key figures from the history of British and American comics, including works by legendary names such as Jack Kirby, Jack Davis and Tarpe Mills. Plus, you’ll even get to see the costume of a real-life British superhero, Captain Civilian!

(No, we’ve never heard of him, either, so that’s another reason to be curious, right.)

• HEROES: The British invasion of American comics | Thursday 25th April – Saturday 19th October 2024 The Cartoon Museum, 63 Wells St, London, W1A 3AE | More information here

• Paul Gravett charts the course of various bids by British creators to take over US comic shelves here on his excellent web site

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.