By Andrew Hamlin
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Photo credit: Elizabeth Russell
An exhibit called “Asian Comics” might make the average American think of the Japanese manga which has become so popular in this country in recent decades.
But, stated co-curator Paul Gravett, balance between Japan and other countries was crucial from the start.
“Manga is a major element of course, because of the sheer volume of their production,” said Gravett about the exhibit currently running at MoPop (the Museum of Pop Culture). “But we also present many other kinds of comics, both in printed form and in rare original artworks from the other represented countries.
“Often these pieces have never been shown [in an exhibit] previously, not even in their country of origin. We managed to locate, for example, comics creators and publishers in Mongolia, who had never been exhibited internationally before this.”
Photo credit: Elizabeth Russell
The show presents graphic art from 20 countries, ranging from giants like China and India, to smaller states such as Singapore and Bhutan. The focus is mainly on comics printed in magazines and books, but also features other forms of visual storytelling, from traditional Indian scrolls, from India, to the new wave of South Korean digital webtoons, which scroll vertically on personal devices.
“From China, we show, amongst others, various versions of the famous [Chinese classic novel] ‘Journey to the West,’ from small palm-sized lianhuanhua (miniature picture books) to dazzling digital graphic novels. From Cambodia, we show original art from an autobiographical comic about the author’s terrible ordeal as a slave trapped on a Thai tuna fishing vessel. And from Vietnam, we show the stages of a page by one of the leading graphic novelists, from his first sketches to the final version.”
Gravett grew up in Shenfield, Essex, just outside London, and attended first the prestigious Brentwood School at Essex, then Cambridge University for a law degree. But the rod-puppet TV shows of the UK’s Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (“Thunderbirds” and “Captain Scarlet”) fascinated him, as did the American live-action “Batman” show, and the “Adventures of Tintin” cartoons.
Photo credit: Elizabeth Russell
“I learnt about different aspects and their creators from several connoisseurs and collectors I befriended, all of [my learning] deepened by admiration and fascination for the comics medium.”
The current “Asian Comics” grew out of another exhibition, focused on British comics, and co-curated in 2014 by Gravett for the British Library in London, “the first devoted to their extraordinary [comics] collections, for which I also co-wrote an accompanying book.
“The Barbican Centre [in London] visited the exhibition and asked me what I was researching next. This [next project] was a new book, about manga or comics not only from Japan, but also other comics from the whole region, over 20 in all. The Barbican were keen right away to develop this also into an exhibition. Both the exhibition and the book, in four languages, including Korean, were launched in Rome, Italy in October 2017 at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni. The exhibition went on to tour to Milan, Italy, then Nantes in France, and, post-pandemic, resumed at Bowers Museum in Orange County.”
Photo credit: Elizabeth Russell
Asked what his biggest surprise was in assembling the exhibit, Gravett replied, “The dynamic diversity of styles and subjects across Asia, and also some recurring themes, notably in folklore. The medium of comics puts pictures and works together in so many original and exciting ways, its potential is still being discovered and unleashed today.
“Manga from Japan and webtoons from Korea and elsewhere are the most familiar here in the West, but I hope this exhibition can lead to many more Asian comics being translated and enjoyed around the world.”
“Asian Comics” runs through Jan. 4, 2026, at MoPop, 325 5th Avenue North at Seattle Center. For more information, visit https://www.mopop.org/exhibitions/asian-comics.