Above: Michael Chaney, associate professor of English at Dartmouth College, on how to read a graphic novel.
The Cartoon Cafe is now up and running in Eastbourne, following a successful opening earlier this month. Established and run by Timothy Benson, the cartoon historian and author, the venue is open seven days a week, combines a gallery space and coffee shop, and will be showing a wide variety of political cartoons. Click here for more details, and follow this link to read some local coverage from earlier in the year.
It’s About Time, the selling exhibition of original cartoon artwork and high-quality prints that was first shown as part of this year’s Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival is now going on tour.
First stop will be Ludlow Assembly Rooms from 1-28 July. Roger Penwill, Shrewsbury festival chairman and a member of Procartoonists.org, will be giving a talk there from 7pm on 12 July. Entitled The World of Cartoons, Roger describes it as “an illustrated talk recounting my experiences of cartoon events and cartoonists outside the UK”. You can find out more and book your place (for a very reasonable fiver) by following this link. The exhibition will later travel to Wem Town Hall from 1 August until 30 September.
The latest Asterix adventure will see our plucky Gallic hero visiting these shores for the second time when he arrives in Scotland in October. Read more via the BBC. We say the Gaul’s chosen destination is highly appropriate.
Staying north of the border, Frank Boyle, cartoonist for the Edinburgh Evening News, has an exhibition running at present. Click here for more details.
Downthetubes.net draws our attention to The Oink! Blog, set up earlier this year by a fan of the anarchic 1980s comic that was co-created by Procartoonists member Tony Husband.
And finally, big names from the world of comics, among them Joe Sacco and Chris Ware, will be appearing at Stripped, a strand of events at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival. Read more here.