Regular readers will know I enjoy the occasional copy of Commando, and comic art in general. So I was pleased to hear about the exhibition Into Battle! The Art of British War Comics. Open now and running until 30th April 2024, at the Soldiers Museum near Oxford in the UK. The location is about seven miles north of Oxford, a town which is well served by train services.
The history of British war comics through the archives of classic comic titles such as War Picture Library and Battle Action. These men’s comics have been publishing continuously in Britain for over 130 years.
They remain a viable popular ‘pocket-money priced’ genre, even in the face of piracy and a multitude of other entertainment time-sinks such as videogames and sprawling TV series. As evidenced by the ongoing Commando series.
The exhibition has original art and appears to be free entry. It could be combined with another free museum in Oxford itself. Though 30 minutes of searching reveals an unappealing bunch of possible combinatory options in the town for autumn / fall 2023. Unless perhaps an exhibition on ‘colour in the Victorian period’ interests. However, note that right next door to the museum is Blenheim Palace which has a “blockbuster” Icons of British Fashion exhibition opening on 23rd March 2024. There’s a month’s overlap there with Into Battle!. If you also had an overnight stay, then the Into Battle! / Icons of British Fashion combo could be combined with ‘doing the Ashmolean’ the next day and perhaps also an evening peep at some of the Tolkien sites. However, that would be springtime, so you’d need to book things well in advance and also anticipate the likely pre-election ramping up of the train strikes.
Meanwhile, in New York City, a “small” exhibition titled ‘The Museum and Laboratory of the Jewish Comics Experience’ opens 9th October 2023 and runs until the end of 2023. The Center for Jewish History in Manhattan survey the history of Jewish comics and the Jewish creators of many of the most iconic American comic-book characters like Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four and more. Along with comics-creation workshops and a cosplay booth, which sound like they’re aimed at under-16s.
Unpublished cover for the famous Amazing Fantasy #15 (first Spider-Man)…
