Monkton Arts, an arts hub in Ryde on the Isle of Wight has announced an upcoming exhibition of art by Look-in and Roy of the Rovers artist Barrie Mitchell.
Comic Cutz: The Art of Barrie Michell will feature a range of his art from various comics across the decades.
“I’m hoping we can display my work chronologically, from Bunty in 1961 and finishing with Wendy in 2011,” Barrie tells downthetubes, “both published by DC Thomson; and as many as we can get in the middle!”
Now retired, but still drawing, Barrie’s comics career spanned adventure, science fiction and girls comics, including strip work for 2000AD, Bunty, Doctor Who, Mandy and Roy of the Rovers.
He was the final artist on Roy of the Rovers, drawing the strip between October 1992 until its cancellation in March 1993, returning to draw the strip in 1997. His many credits also include completing the Doctor Who story “Age of Chaos”, written by Colin Baker, and drawing episodes of the Daily Mirror football strip, “Scorer”.
The exhibition will include some of Barrie’s recent art, too
“I have about a dozen illustrations of vehicles and boats, all done recently for friends in the local car club, just to have something different,” he reveals.
A special treat in the exhibition will be Barrie’s art created for “Attack of the Killer Comics”, an episode of South of Watford, an episode of the offbeat Channel 4 documentary series featuring entertainment, art and leisure around London.
The episode sees John Lloyd looks at the phenomenon of comics becoming more mainstream in 1987 and features interviews with artists Dave Gibbons, Myra Hancock, and Dave McKean, writer Neil Gaiman, comedians and collectors Alexei Sayle and Lenny Henry, plus Wendy James and Duncan McAlpine, publisher of the Comic Book Price Guide between 1989 and 1998, now online).
“I did three pages of artwork for Channel 4,” Barrie tells us. “It’s a touch weird!”
• Comic Cutz: The Art of Barrie Michell, Thursday 5th – 28th February 2026 | Monkton Arts 11 East Street, Ryde PO33 1JP | Exhibition Page
With thanks to John Caro
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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: British Comics, Comic Art, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Exhibitions
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