The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration has announced an online six-week Creating Comics with Purpose course with award-winning comic creator Cathy G Johnson, author of the graphic novels Jeremiah, The Breakaways, and the forthcoming Fox River Comics Camp.
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, which opened recently, is the UK’s new public space for illustration, located in Clerkenwell, London, and alongside its other work this new online course is just one of many educational opportunities they are offering, with many more to come.
It offers the UK’s only illustration Library, public artworks and newly planted gardens plus all-age illustration activities. Its three galleries in a former waterworks showcase the breadth and dynamism of illustration through regularly changing exhibitions which can be booked in advance or on the day.
By the end of the Creating Comics with Purpose course with Cathy G Johnson, it’s hoped, you’ll have created your own original comic pages and gained the skills, clarity and momentum to continue your cartooning journey.
Spaces are limited, and the course is for Over 18s only, so book your spot now to avoid disappointment, and discover a creative community from wherever you are.
You’ll begin by finding inspiration in the world around you, exploring the basics of comics, and building a creative sketchbook practice through brainstorming and observation.
As the course continues, you’ll experiment with visual storytelling, develop your narrative through research and feedback, and learn essential comic-making skills like scripting, thumbnailing, pencilling, and inking.
“Along the way, you’ll collaborate with peers, strengthen your creative voice, and gain confidence in telling stories that matter to you,” say the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration team.
“By the end of the course, you’ll have created your own original comic pages and built the skills, clarity, and momentum to continue your cartooning journey.”
Cathy G. Johnson (she/they) is an award-winning cartoonist, printmaker, and educator from Providence, Rhode Island, on occupied Wampanoag and Narragansett land.
Her published graphic novels include Jeremiah (2015), the foreboding story of a teenager whose struggle with self-discovery may bring on the end of his world; Gorgeous (2016), in which trouble-avoiding Sophie meets anarchist punks in a crack-up of metal and emotion that proves sometimes the freedom of youth causes damage along the way; and The Breakaways (2019), in which quiet, sensitive Faith starts middle school already worrying about how she will fit in. To her surprise, Amanda, a popular eighth grader, convinces her to join the school soccer team, the Bloodhounds, a ragtag group that’s way better at drama than at teamwork.
You can read her comic Black Hole Heart, her self published horror story of female friendship for readers teen ann older, online here.
Her newest book, Fox River Comics Camp, to be published by Abrams Fanfare in October 2026, is an early-reader graphic novel that follows five young artists who are excited to learn all about comics. Each camper encounters different challenges and finds creative solutions by working together – from Fawn, who’s a skilled artist but struggles with finish their drawings, to Ducky, who falters when their art doesn’t look exactly like the comics they love to read.
Join the campers as they bring their ideas to life on the page with the help of their instructor, Puma, who is always ready with a helpful tip or explanation. With plenty of games and activities for kids and adults along the way, Fox River Comics Camp is both a fun story and an interactive guide that is sure to delight readers and engage their imaginations!
Cathy is also a printmaker, who regularly exhibits silkscreen prints in juried exhibitions throughout North America. She creates work at Binch Press x Queer.Archive.Work, a cooperative studio centring on queer and trans artists. Johnson is also an educator and scholar, teaching workshops throughout New England and courses in the MFA Visual Narrative program at Boston University, Center for Cartoon Studies, and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
She earned her master’s degree from RISD, where she wrote her thesis on the benefits of teaching comics creation in arts classrooms.
• Creating Comics with Purpose with Cathy G Johnson | Every Wednesday | 9th September – 14th October 2026 | Book now | Over 18s Only | Adult Price: £378.00 | Concession: £340.00
• Find Cathy G. Johnson online at cathygjohn.net, and her education work is documented at comicarted.com
• Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, 1 Myddelton Passage, London EC1R 1AG | Open Wednesday to Sunday, 10.00am–5.00pm | Online at qbcentre.org.uk | Facebook | Instagram
All images: © Cathy G Johnson
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.
Categories: Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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