Episode 678 – Paul Gravett

Virtual Memories Show 678: Paul Gravett “We’re so used to organizing society by male/female and other binaries and age, and so many things that slot you into places, and comics perfectly avoid those things. They’re a maverick medium or art form that’s never been respected.” Happy Pride! Let’s get Queer As Comics! Writer, critic, curator, and publisher Paul Gravett rejoins the show to talk about curating a fabulous new exhibition, Queer As Comics, to help launch the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration! We talk about what makes comics queer (it’s not just an issue of sexuality), the artists and comics he wishes he could have included in the show, the challenges of exhibiting comics as opposed to paintings, and why Queer As Comics’ survey of 65 artists covering 80 years of history “starts with the Finnish” (as in Tom of Finland and Tove Jansson). We also get into the endlessness of Tove Jansson’s life & creativity (and why Paul’s committed to writing a big book about her anyway), his first exposure to queer comics (and again, why all comics are queer), how it feels to see the Quentin Blake Centre come to life and to see Quentin still making art in his 90s, and more. Give it a listen! And go check out Queer As Comics at the QBC! Also, I couldn’t resist sharing this pic of Quentin Blake’s watercolor palette from an exhibition at the QBC: “So much of the curation process is searching and searching, and connecting, and trying to dig deeper into archives. “We have to find our identities somewhere.” Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes! Lots of ways to follow The Virtual Memories Show! iTunes, Spotify, BlueSky, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, and good ol’ RSS! About our Guest Paul Gravett is a writer, critic, curator, publisher and broadcaster who has been working in the comics industry since 1981. He is author of many books about comics, including Mangasia: The Definitive Guide to Asian Comics, Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life and Comics Art, and was general editor of 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die, and has also written on Tove Jansson and Posy Simmonds. He is co-director of Comica, the London International Comics Festival. Listen to my 2014 and 2017 conversations with Paul! Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration on a pair of Shure Beta 58A microphones feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4 digital recorder & interface. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photo of Paul by Etienne Gilfillan; photo of Queer As Comics display by Rich Johnston, from his article about the opening of the QBC. It’s on my instagram.