{"id":18093,"date":"2026-06-06T17:39:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T21:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=18093"},"modified":"2026-06-06T17:39:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T21:39:40","slug":"episode-678-paul-gravett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-678-paul-gravett","title":{"rendered":"Episode 678 – Paul Gravett"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 678:
\nPaul Gravett<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_678_-_Paul_Gravett.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nHappy Pride! Let’s get Queer As Comics! Writer, critic, curator, and publisher Paul Gravett<\/a> rejoins the show to talk about curating a fabulous new exhibition, Queer As Comics<\/a>, to help launch the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration<\/a>! 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<\/a> and Tove Jansson<\/a>). 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<\/a> come to life and to see Quentin<\/a> still making art in his 90s, and more. Give it a listen!<\/a> And go check out Queer As Comics<\/a> at the QBC!<\/p>\n

Also, I couldn’t resist sharing this pic of Quentin Blake’s watercolor palette from an exhibition at the QBC:<\/p>\n

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“So much of the curation process is searching and searching, and connecting, and trying to dig deeper into archives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n