Boxes of Books

Boxes Of Books

Big thanks to Stephen Marchant for donating his comic book collection.

What an exciting start to the academic year as we received an email from Stephen Marchant, Curator and teacher of the Cartoon Museum in London.   Steve was moving house and as a result he had to get rid of his extensive library of comic reference books. Hi comics he donated to GOSH comics in London, but where better to send such an excellent supply of literature, than the only Cartoon and Comic Arts course in the UK.

The books included those of Harvey Kurtzman, Robert Crumb, Jack Kirby, Eric Stanton, Will Eisner, Posy Simmonds, Andrew Loomis, Steve Ditko and Ronald Searle to name a few.  

London October 2017

1st Years in London 

this year as every year we headed off to London (the Big Smoke!)

We had spent a lot of time writing up a full itinerary for the students to make sure they got their moneys worth and it was definitely action packed!

Arriving in the city and booking ourselves into the Royal National Hotel, we quickly headed off to the British Museum. Here we encouraged the students to look at sequential art through the ages and also launched our new brief about students discovering Myths and Legends of the Big City. This could potentially include something from the Egyptian artefacts or any of the other collected in the place. 

After that we met up and headed off on a tour of the comics outlets and heading down to China Town for a meal.

first port of call was Forbidden Planet just off the Shaftsbury Avenue. After a fire alarm disrupted the visit we lost vital time getting to the other places we wanted to visit. 

This included Orbital Comics

And GOSH Comics where we arrived just as they were closing up, so making this the second year on the trot we got turfed out!

The meal in china town was good, then we headed off to The Champion Pub to meet up with ex student Rob Cureton from Orful Comics. Rob has worked on many animation productions and that is what his full time job is and he does comics in the evening and sells them at conventions up and down the UK

Day 2 Cartoon and Comic Museum

Going to the Cartoon and Comic Museum is one of the high lights of the visit to London. This year Steve Marchant, the man now in charge of the Museums lottery collection was a very busy man. But he gave up his time to have a talk to the students about the new comics the museum had brought and potential areas in which the collection was looking to buy.

After this we had a drawing challenge for the students in Covent Garden... Where was the garden?

We then headed up the road to Trafalgar Square and gave the Students a challenge to enter the National Gallery, and find a selection of images.

Day 3 MCM London Expo

                

 

Heading off early to London docklands this was going be a challenge but fun day. Once we got into the event it was murder to find anyone again till we met up at the location 

       

                 

what was good, a couple of our members of staff are also independent artist and they had stands at the event selling their work. Awkwardbex - Becci Such and Talburt Comics is our own Claire Smith. 

It all ended up with a mad dash for the train and a long ride home, which seems to be a reoccurring thing now on these trips!

London trip 2015

Cartoon & Comic Arts in London 2015 

Day One and Cartoon & Comic Arts headed down to London for their annual trip to visit the big smoke and to explore the world of comics. 

This year we booked into the Generator just a short walk from The British Museum.

After lunch we headed to the British Museum to see a Manga Exhibition and also how sequential art has been used throughout the history of mankind.

 

After that we headed off to various Comic Shops which held displays of ex students work – Forbidden Planet, Orbital Comics and Gosh Comics before hitting China Town for a bite to eat.

Day 2

Cartoon Museum – Association of Illustrators Exhibition – Drawing along the Thames 

At the Cartoon Museum, Steve Marchant, former Beano Comic Artist and Curator of the National Lottery funding which the university is part of gives a talk about the artwork that is on show and also about the Young Cartoonist of the year which some of the students entered while there. 

After lunch we made our way to Somerset House where the students viewed the Association of Illustrators exhibition of up and coming artist. We have created close ties with the Association of Illustrators and Fig Taylor the their portfolio reviewer comes in and gives talks to both Cartoon and Comic Arts and Illustration students.

 

Holly shows off what she brought at the shops yesterday and Lewis finds his true calling as a Egyptian Pharaoh surrounded by his slaves.   

 

Taking almost 30 students around London is a lot of hard work. But we think they enjoyed it with the drawing task and we headed to the National Portrait Gallery where there was a class the students could join in with. 

This was suppose be a drawing exercise along the Thames.

The students ponder the bigger meaning of what the London Eye is… Or isn’t!

DAY 3

MCM the UK’s largest Comic Con and Expo event. Last year the 2^nd years went to the May event to sell their work at the convention and it was a success with all students selling something and quite a few selling out of their work. The first years went to be a part of it and absorb the atmosphere and also catch up with some of the previous years Alumni.