As previously posted, Clishmaclaver popped down to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum’s exhibition, Frank Quitely: The Art of Comics, this Easter weekend – and it was every bit as good as anticipated. 😀 More than just a breathtaking portfolio of Quitely’s amazing skill and range, and the seldom seen craft – scripts, proof sheets and original sketches – of comic-making, “The Art of Comics also shows influence and context for this genre from the historical, with the universal structure of the heroic myth and the Scottish tradition of storytelling, through to the modern, with current affairs and technological development.” – Kelvingrove AGandM.

“Frank Quitely is the alter ego of Glasgow born artist Vincent Deighan. Deighan took on the mantle of Frank Quitely in his early career to hide his identity while he drew for the Scottish publication Electric Soup. Now the name Frank Quitely is synonymous with iconic characters such as Superman, Batman and the X-Men. A world renowned artist in hot demand he’s currently finishing off the epic story Jupiter’s Legacy with fellow Scottish comic book legend, writer Mark Millar.

The exhibition at Kelvingrove will be the largest collection of his work ever displayed. You can get up close and personal with the painstaking detail in every iconic frame. There will also be original artwork from titans of the comic book industry such as Frank Millar and Neal Adams as well as an original Batman comic strip by Batman creator Bob Kane. And of course the exhibition wouldn’t be complete without including the strip that inspired it all, The Broons!” – Kelvingrove AGandM.

I just loved this exhibition! It is an absolutely mesmerising display of the development of Quitely’s unique style, curated across an array of the most famous comic book characters of all time: Batman and Robin, Superman, Judge Dredd, Wonder Woman, The X-Men, etc. It was a shock for me to discover that Quitely had even illustrated a ‘Destiny’ story for Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Endless Nights graphic novel, back in 2003! 😮 I read – and loved – all the Sandman comics back in the day, but that Gaiman was included in Quitely’s body of work just hadn’t clicked with me!

And, I confess I made use of the gallery’s superhero props (!) to pose for photos, but I’m definitely not sharing any of those here! 😀

Frank Quitely: The Art of Comics is on until October. If you’ve got the time and means to go see it, I highly recommend it to you. You don’t have to be a comic book aficionado to get a lot of pleasure out of viewing this exhibition – or engaging with the interactive digital displays that accompany it –  you just have to be someone who appreciates art, and storytelling. Oh, and maybe The Broons too!

Art credit: The Daily Record; The Evening Express; a mate’s camera! 😉

@Kelvin.GlasgowMuseums  @KelvingroveArt