Image: Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, London
The exhibition’s dates are 5 June–1 November 2026. Queer as Comics traces comics, strip cartoons, graphic novels and zines that have represented LGBTQIA+ perspectives since the 1940s.
The exhibition presents stories of fantasy, identity and resistance as told by queer comic-makers. It is described as the first exhibition of its kind.
Highlights include drawings from Tove Jansson’s 1954 ‘Moomin’ cartoon strip for the London Evening News, alongside works by influential creators such as Kate Charlesworth, Rupert Kinnard and David Shenton. Most artworks are being shown for the first time, while the exhibition chronicles how comics have provided a voice for queer communities.
Its historical scope extends from the UK’s first published gay comic strip and the first gay Black superhero to today’s self-publishing scenes and webcomics.
Queer as Comics was created by guest curator Paul Gravett, with support from an Advisory Board whose members include Leo Fox, Ollie Hicks, Rachael House and Seena Shamsavari.
