Paul Gravett: At Comica's Crossroads

"The cycle of renewal in art is peddled by the periodic influx of stuff from somewhere else. That’s why you need a man at the crossroads… He will be the purest, most fresh faced wee fellow you have ever met. His ingenuous enthusiasm will beam from his cheery countenance." -- Eddie Campbell on Paul Gravett, Alec: How To Be An Artist

Today’s guest is Campbell’s Man at the Crossroads, and he has been observing, studying, and directing comics traffic for over 40 years.

As this fellow’s understanding of its ebbs and flows has grown over that time, so has his endeavors in making sense of it for himself. And thankfully, Comics fans around the globe. 

He’s written at least seven books, including Mangasia: The Definitive Guide to Asian Comics, which has been transformed and translated into reality as the touring exhibition: ASIAN COMICS: EVOLUTION OF AN ART FORM.

The Barbican website describes the exhibit at The Bowers Museum in Los Angeles, CA as "with a team of more than 20 international advisors, ASIAN COMICS features over 500 works, the largest selection of artworks from the continent, including Japanese woodblock prints, Hindu scroll paintings, digital media, printed comics, and contemporary illustrations. This unique exhibition is a gateway to an unexplored world of graphic storytelling and its artistic value."

He’s also an accomplished editor and anthology curator. Among the books he’s assembled have been 2011’s 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die, which is a fantastic title, and The Mammoth Book of Best Crime Comics. He’s contributed to countless periodicals and documentaries about comics.

He’s published one of the best comics magazines of the 1980s, Escape, with partner Peter Stanbury, giving a platform to such creators as James Robinson, Dave McKean, and Neil Gaiman.

He started Comica, the London International Comics Festival with John Harris Dunning in 2003.

He gives lectures, he hosts panels, and he continues to be one of the most respected comics patrons of his generation. Frankly, it’s been exhausting just narrowing down his endeavors to a reasonable summary for this blog post.

He's Paul Gravett and he joins Greg today to talk about comics in all their wonderful forms and many varied locations.

[This episode is number 815 in a series.] 

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CHAPTERS

00:00 - Preamble

02:50 - Intro

05:40 - “I want to know about everything…”

06:17 - What was the first thing you learned that gave you your paradigm shift of what comics could be?

08:28 - Shonen Magazine / Fishing Crazy Senpai

10:32 - “No nostalgia, no loyalties, no limits”

12 36 - How do you keep all these perpendicular lines of comics in your head?

17:52 - "An unlimited multiversity to comics"

19:53 - Photo comics & Gregory Crewdson

22:11 - Jayme Cortez

24:18 - Comics 1964-2024

27:20 - Sawwaf Collection

29:31 - Lusanne / Taiwan

32:27 - Lodz Poland

33:19 - Posy Simmonds

35:40 - ASIAN COMICS

37:10 - Talk about your growing understanding of Asian comics as you were working on the books and the exhibition.

41:38 - Is the diversity of Asian comics and inspiration to you about the future of comics?

44:05 - Comics preservation in the Philippines and Mexico

50:41 - How important is humility (or lack thereof) when putting together an anthology or exhibition?

57:25 - Talk about your working relationship with your partner Peter Stanbury.