Episode 678 – Paul Gravett

Episode 678 – Paul Gravett

From Virtual Memories Show by Gil Roth

June 6, 2026 · 1h 8m

About this episode

Paul Gravett discusses the exhibition 'Queer As Comics' and the unique aspects of comics as an art form.

Virtual Memories Show 678: Paul Gravett “We’re so used to organizing society by male/female and other binaries and age, and so many things that slot you into places, and comics perfectly avoid those things. They’re a maverick medium or art form that’s never been respected.” Happy Pride! Let’s get Queer As Comics! Writer, critic, curator, and publisher Paul Gravett rejoins the show to talk about curating a fabulous new exhibition, Queer As Comics , to help launch the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration ! We talk about what makes comics queer (it’s not just an issue of sexuality), the artists and comics he wishes he could have included in the show, the challenges of exhibiting comics as opposed to paintings, and why Queer As Comics’ survey of 65 artists covering 80 years of history “starts with the Finnish” (as in Tom of Finland and Tove Jansson ). We also get into the endlessness of Tove Jansson’s life & creativity (and why Paul’s committed to writing a big book about her anyway), his first exposure to queer comics (and again, why all comics are queer), how it feels to see the Quentin Blake Centre come…

People in this episode

Host: Gil Roth

Guest: Paul Gravett

Topics covered

  • queer comics
  • art curation
  • comics as a medium
  • LGBTQ representation
  • Tove Jansson
  • Paul Gravett's work

Keywords

  • queer comics
  • Paul Gravett
  • Tove Jansson
  • Quentin Blake
  • art exhibition
  • LGBTQ
  • comics history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration

Books & works: Queer As Comics, Tom of Finland

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