Posted in: Comics | Tagged:

Is Shrewsbury The Portland Of British Comics? Christian Ward Opens His New Exhibition

Published Sun, 01 Oct 2017 09:00:17 -0500

Last updated Sun, 01 Oct 2017 09:06:44 -0500

Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, England and lies on the River Severn. A population of approximately 72,000, it is a market town whose centre has a largely unspoilt medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings, including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. The town is the birthplace of Charles Darwin. Horticulture remains popular, and the Shrewsbury Flower Show is one of the largest horticultural events in England.

And for some reason it is rapidly becoming a new hotspot for British comics to rival London, Brighton and Dundee. Which begs comparison to Porland in the USA, to which many comic book creators and publishers have flocked of late.

The latest is Christian Ward, who is holding an exhibition at the Shrewsbury Coffeehouse as a kind of "hello" to the town. And one might expect the like of fellow residents Charlie Adlard, Deborah Tate, John Wagner and Robbie Morrison to pop along. It's not far from Shrewsbury's Peach Tree Restaurant which inspired the name of Peach Trees Tower in the Dredd movie. Redan Publishing, which creates comic book content for Disney US is set up in the town by Robert Sutherland and empolys Wagner's partner Jenny O'Connor at the publisher. Might all be in attendance?

There will be a private view, ironically, open to all from 6pm to 8pm next Sunday. Then the shows will remain open until November 26th.

Ward will be printing one-off big giclee prints for the show, some A1 in size, and ODy_C pages in A2 size, so he will be showing off work bigger than it's previously been seen. Well, it is Shrewsbury after all.

Here's a peek of what'll be there …