Major comics exhibit at the British Library running this summer

Trials of Nasty Tales © Dave Gibbons

The British Library announces “Comics Unmasked: Art and Anarchy in the UK”, an exhibition running 2 May – 19 August 2014 (thus, it is scheduled to close the day after Loncon 3, the 2014 World Science Fiction Convention). The exhibit is co-curated by John Harris Dunning and Paul Gravett.

The British Library describes the exhibition thus: “Featuring some of the biggest names in comics, including Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta), Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Mark Millar (Kick-Ass) and Grant Morrison (Batman: Arkham Asylum), the British comics tradition stretches back to the Victorian era and beyond.

“The show will explore the full potential of the medium, demystifying the process of creating comics while presenting work that is challenging to the status quo. Its materials unflinchingly examine issues around gender, violence, sexuality, drug-taking and politics.

“Prepare for sensory overload….”

The BBC says the exhibition “will feature more than 200 comic books from 1825 to the modern day. Included in the exhibition is Dave Gibbons’ 1970s work focusing on the obscenity trial of the magazine Nasty Tales, charged over its graphic content.”

The Guardian notes that the British Library “holds the complete output of the British comics industry but said it had not in the past done the genre justice.”

They go on to quote Roly Keating, the library’s chief executive: “It is fair to say, if we are being honest, that we haven’t devoted to that sector of our collection the scholarly and curatorial effort we have devoted to some of the higher culture parts of our collection. This year we are addressing that with a vengeance.”

“Comics Unmasked” will be in the PACCAR Gallery of The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB. Free tickets may be required; see this page closer to the event dates.