I can’t consider myself a comic fanatic. My experience thus far into comics includes Brian Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series, a few Manga, Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and more recently Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series (which by the way, is excellent).
I am a huge fan of the Batman/X-Men/Iron-Man/Avengers movie and game releases and would love to begin reading some of these in their original ink and paper format. I plan to research where to even begin with these and where I can source the comics from cheaply [or for free: *library dance*] over the summer.
So what did I, as a comic-amateur, think of the exhibition?
It was great. The exhibition was interestingly broken up into various themes, such as gender, politics, violence etc with an area on sex that was curtained off slightly, so you could bypass it if you visited with children, or were likely to find it offensive. When you first enter you’re met with a series of quotes speech-bubbled along the wall from various famous people, my favourite of which is below:
Sorry about the quality - it was very dark and I was trying to be sneaky.
These were great as the quotes were not all favourable of
comics and it introduced the idea right away the comics have always been a
controversial topic.
Unfortunately you can’t take pictures inside the exhibition
so you’ll have to imagine: A dark high ceiling that gave each illuminated
display an almost stage-like quality. Looming from the shadowy corners were groups
of mannequins, each sporting V’s mask
from V for Vendetta (a graphic novel written by Alan Moore – although the
film version is possibly more well-known), giving the eerie impression I
was being followed by a collective hidden gaze as I shuffled around.
Some of the series I’d heard of, so it was really
interesting to learn more about them – they had Judge Dredd’s mask, worn in the
most recent film by Karl Urban (I think
the mask was from the most recent film!) and it was amazing to see Neil
Gaiman’s handwritten letters and sketches for the Sandman series, and learn
about his earlier Punch and Judy works (very creepy). But what was really great was discovering
just how far back comics go. They had works from the Victorian times, and even
prior to that! Some in huge, bound volumes and some that would have appeared simply
in newspapers. Simple sketches and bold black and whites ran alongside
intricate, detailed colour work.
Looking at the themes of gender and race through comics was especially
fascinating for me. People tend to associate comics with white, male writers,
but this exhibition showed examples of when this began to change and who was
writing what, when Britain was undergoing different political and cultural
shifts. The exhibition remained very central to Britain’s history which was
great as well, as again, people tend to associate most comic work with American
writers.
There was some thoroughly disturbing viewing to be had in
the Sex section, including Penis monsters, anthropomorphic testicles and an
almost scarring take on Rupert Bear. I would suggest no-one younger than 15/16
venture there.
Apart from an embarrassing moment, where I leant so close to
the glass casing that I smacked my giant forehead on it, it was an excellent
trip. A great way to spend an hour or so, even for comic-book
novices. In fact, afterwards, I could recommend heading to Tottenham Court Road
tube station, as from there it’s easy walking distance to Foyles Bookstore
(they have dedicated manga and graphic novel sections) and the Forbidden Planet London megastore – their basement is any comic book or graphic novel fan’s
heaven. 
Entrance!
The exhibition at the British Library is open until the 19th
August 2014. It’s £9.50 for adults and £5 for concessions. For other prices and
to book tickets follow the link here.
Over and out.
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