Girls in Print: Female Figures in British Comics

Published On Tue 25 Jul 2017 by Cara Longmuir

Girl power is the focus of a new exhibition at the University of Dundee which takes a look at how women have been portrayed in comic books.

‘Girls in Print’ is now on display in the Tower Building Foyer and showcases original artwork from a number of DC Thomson titles such as The Topper, Bunty and Twinkle.

The exhibition has been curated by Louise Quirion, a recent graduate from the University’s MLitt course in Comics & Graphic Novels. 

Louise said, “When I began looking into this area, I was amazed at the range of stories covered by girls’ comics. As well as school and ballet stories, there are also sports stories, historical dramas, science-fiction and tales of the supernatural.

“This exhibition is a great opportunity to discover or re-discover the high school stories of the Four Marys or the space adventures of the Supercats, while appreciating rarely seen original art.”

To show how comics have evolved today, the exhibition also features work by current female comics artists such as Kate Charlesworth, Tanya Roberts and Gillian Hatcher, who share their own unique perspectives on womanhood through more adult-oriented work.

The exhibition features over 30 original artworks from DC Thomson’s collection and from contemporary artists, offering a broad range of interpretations of what female figures can be in the British comic culture.

‘Girls in Print’ is now open and runs until Saturday, 21st October. Opening times Mon-Fri 09.30-19.00 Sat 13.00-17.00. Admission is free.

The University of Dundee offers a Comics & Graphic Novels MLitt/MDes course. This is designed to help students gain an understanding of the comics medium and the industry, and how they relate to different genres, national cultures, and various media. For more information visit https://www.dundee.ac.uk/study/pg/comics-graphic-novels/

For media enquiries contact:
Cara Longmuir
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385243
Email: c.z.longmuir@dundee.ac.uk