Things to do in London in March 2019… if you like comics, of course. Exhibitions followed by events… let us know if we missed any.

Exhibitions:

Fearless And Fantastic Exhibition, until 31st March. Orbital Comics. In celebration of International Women's Day, Orbital Comics and DK Books are proud to host an exhibition of pages from DK's latest title "Fearless and Fantastic!" — a who's-who of female Marvel superhero character profiles. This fantastic exhibit runs for the entirety of March, but for the full experience, come on down Saturday 9th March to meet Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Ms Marvel and other costumed super-women of the Marvel Universe in person.. Copies of Fearless and Fantastic will be available in store, as well as a wealth of Marvel's greatest female-led graphic novels!

Journeys Drawn: Illustration from the Refugee Crisis, An exhibition telling refugee stories, both observed and experienced first-hand, Multi-media work by 12 contemporary illustrators will include Olivier Kugler's portraits from Calais and George Butler's reportage from Syria, animation by Majid Adin and manga by Asia Alfasi. House Of Illustration, to 24th March 2019.

In the Mind, Free Space Project, Kentish Town Health Centre, February 7th – March 20th. Monday-Friday.

An illustration exhibition exploring mental health by artists Elsbeth van der Poel and Kathryn Watson. Through their unique drawing styles each artist has created a fantastical world of monsters, friends, worries and hope based on their own lived experience.

Posy Simmonds: A Retrospective. The first major UK retrospective of the celebrated comic artist and graphic novelist. Posy Simmonds' sharp satire and progressive female characters have defined a career spanning 50 years. The exhibition will feature her early-career pastiches, iconic cartoon strips for The Guardian and children's books such as Fred, which became an Oscar-nominated film. It will also include the first ever British graphic novel, True Love, unseen pages from Tamara Drewe and drawings from Simmonds' new 2018 book, Cassandra Darke. Co-curated by Paul Gravett. 24th May to 15th September. House Of Illustration.

EVENTS:

Saturday, 2nd March.

London Film & Comic Con Spring 2019, Kensington Olympia

Newham Comic Factory: Workshops and Exhibition, East Ham Library

Seeing Sounds Workshop at 11am

Framing the Moment Workshop at 12:30pm

Making Comics Yourself Workshop at 3pm

Pen to Print – Comic Book Workshop, Barking Library. Join Wallis Eates at this fantastic workshop, whether it's learning new skills or to brush up on your talent, these workshops will give you the confidence to produce some great artwork. 10am-noon.

Sunday, 3rd March.

London Film & Comic Con Spring 2019, Kensington Olympia

Monday, 4th March.

Church Street Library Graphic Novel Club, Church Street Library, Marylebone, 6:30 – 8pm

Brompton Library Graphic Novel Reading Group, Upstairs in the Brompton Library Learning Space, 6:30 – 7.30pm

Adult Masterclass: Graphic Novel Your Life (A One Day Introduction). Join acclaimed graphic novelist Rachael Ball for an inspiring one-day workshop to help you develop ideas for a graphic novel based on your own personal experience or your family history. Using drawings and notes, we will work on developing an initial idea into a satisfying plot. Together, we will imagine and structure your graphic novel, plan and develop the essential characters and create a visual storyboard of key points.House Of Illustration, 10am-4pm.

Tuesday, 5th March.

Doctoral Research and Practice (in Comics Studies) A Comics Research Hub, London College of Communication Elephant & Castle, free, must book. 6-8.30pm

Shoe Lane Comic Forum, Shoe Lane Library, Little New Street. 5.30-7pm

Islington Comic Forum, North Library, Manor Gardens. 6.30-7.30pm.

Wednesday, 6th March.

Marylebone Graphic Novel Club, Marylebone Library 6:30pm – 7:45pm

'Touching Utopia', Deptford Does Art Gallery, 2-5pm. Graphic novel drawings and graphic illustrations by Ellie Petrova and S.J.Wyatt

Crossing Borders, Boundaries, and Cultures: Studies in Transnational Comics, London College of Communication Elephant & Castle, free, must book. 9.30am-8.30pm.

Luo Rongrong – Publishing Situation and Creative Practice of Bande Dessinée in China

Christopher Smith – Irrepressible Subculture: The Transnational Circulation of Subcultural Images and the Contested Construction of Japan

Martin de la Iglesia – Crying Freeman and manga reception in the Western world around 1990

Siolo Thompson – Depictions of the Latino experience in American Comics

Mark Hibbett – Cold War Latveria: US views of Eastern Europe in Marvel Comics

Tobias J. Yu-Kiener – 1940s Art History Comics: The beginning of a transnational project

Simon Grennan – Transnational transmedia: selling and reselling Manga and the Graphic Novel

Nina Mickwitz – El Volcán: forging global comics cultures through alliances, networks and self-branding

Ian Hague – Comics Without Borders? Digital Comics and National Cultures

Workshop – Comics and the UAL Special Collections

Catalina Millán- Masquerading nursery rhymes: the challenge of comic book intertextual translation

Barbara Margarethe Eggert – The Travelling [aɪ]: Picturing the self in the Japan Journals of European Comic Artists Igort, Inga Steinmetz and Dirk Schwieger

Claude W. Bock – Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Resistance in Canadian (Content) Comic Books and Graphic Novels

Katie Nairne – Journeys Drawn: Illustration from the Refugee Crisis

Harriet Earle – Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but… : Language Violence and Comics in Refugee Spaces

Gideon Remez – Discovering a Real-Life Hero Behind Superhero Comics

Introduction to the Comics Research Hub (CoRH) at the University of the Arts London – Lecture Theatre A

Keynote Dr Ian Horton – Donald Duck Goes Dutch

Thursday, 7th March.

Troopers, Guests Only, Location available to guests.

Learn to Adapt: Screening + Q&A of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse by Newham Word Festival, Stratford East Picturehouse 8.30-1030pm

Saturday, 9th March.

Fearless And Fantastic Launch Event, Orbital Comics.

V E Schwab signing The Steel Prince graphic novel, Forbidden Planet , 1–2pm

WIP (Work In Progress Comics), Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, 11.30am-3.30pm

SPINE Festival: Comic story workshop with mayamada, Queen's Park Library, London, 2-4pm. Free, book here – queensparklibrary@westminster.gov.uk

Sunday, 10th March.

Dr Sarah Lightman speaking about The Book of Sarah (Myriad Editions), Jewish Book Week, Kings Place, (1.30pm)

Tuesday, 12th March.

Jeremy Harding presents Guantánamo Kid: Jérôme Tubiana & Alexandre Franc by London Review Bookshop, 7-8pm. Jérôme Tubiana and Alexandre Franc will be in conversation with Jeremy Harding, a contributing editor at the LRB.

Peckham Library Graphic Novel Book Group, Peckham Hill Street, 6pm to 7.30pm

London Comic Book Club, The Sheaf, Southwark, 7-9pm

Tula Lotay signing copies of her limited edition art book, Largo!, Gosh Comics, 6-7pm

Wednesday 13th March.

Reads March 2019: The Umbrella Academy Vol 1, Gosh Comics, 7-9pm

Journeys Drawn Panel Discussion. Curator Katie Nairne in conversation with featured artists including Majid Adin, David Foldvari and Karrie Fransman. House Of illustration. 7-9pm. Iranian refugee and animator Majid Adin, reportage illustrators Olivier Kugler and David Foldvari and graphic novelist Karrie Fransman will discuss the unique power of illustration to communicate complex issues and share the human voices behind divisive news headlines about asylum seekers.

Thursday 14th March.

On Graphic Novels and Future Cities: A Cass Hothouse Visual Communication talk, London Metropolitan University, 1.15-2pm. Luke Jones and Anna Mill are the authors of Square Eyes, a graphic novel about robotic cities, augmented reality and digital memory, set in a future where the boundaries between memory, dreams and the virtual world blur. They will explore how their background as architects feeds into the speculative dimension of science fiction, exploring the process of developing story and artwork, over the eight years it took to complete the project. £5.

Friday, 15th March.

The Storyboard! Comic Story Workshop by Mayamada, Mayfair Library, 4-5pm.

Saturday, 16th March.

The Storyboard! Comic Story Workshop by Mayamada, Church Street Library, 1.30-3.30pm

Wednesday, 20th March.

The Power of Visual Storytelling: A Conversation. Paul Gravett and guests discuss innovative approaches to visual storytelling. Expanding on the themes of our current exhibition, Journeys Drawn: Illustration from the Refugee Crisis, the panel will consider how illustration can help us connect with difficult and politically-charged topics like the refugee crisis. With Illustrator Dan Williams, Author & graphic novelist, Andrew Donkin, Bloomsbury Group Editor-in-Chief, Alexandra Pringle, Positive Negatives Founder & Director, Dr Benjamin Dix. They will focus on three examples of alternative visual storytelling – a graphic novel, an illustrated letter and an 'infinite zoom animation' – which provide new insights into perspectives often made remote by conventional media. House Of Illustration, 7-9pm.

Thursday. 21st March.

Barbican Comics Forum, Barbican. 5.30pm-7pm. A fun and informal book group dedicated to the understanding and enjoyment of the multifaceted medium of comic books and graphic novels.

Saturday, 23rd March.

Hellboy Day Art Jam, Orbital Comics, from 3pm, comic artists of all backgrounds will be stopping by to collaborate on a massive Hellboy-inspired art piece, with specially-made pancakes and drinks, plus 10% OFF all Dark Horse graphic novels and a selection of collectable freebies.

Hellboy Day signing by Duncan Fegredo, Lawrence Campbell, at Forbidden Planet 1- 2pm

Christian Ward signing Invisible Kingdom #1 , Gosh Comics, 1-2pm

Monday, 25th March.

Dalston Comic (creators) Club, Dalston CLR James Library, Dalston Lane, 6:30 – 7:30pm

Tuesday, 26th March.

London Comic Book Club, The Vision and Asteriz In Britain, The Sheaf, 7pm

Detective Comics #1000 Midnight Opening, Forbidden Planet

Wednesday, 27th March.

Comics Social Club, Central Bar, Royal Festival Hall, 6pm

Thursday, 28th March.

Independent Comics in Brazil – Lecture and Discussion, Embassy of Brazil. Rafael Coutinho will be joined by Dr Edward King, Senior Lecturer in Portuguese and Latin American Studies at the University of Bristol. After presenting an overview of Coutinho's work, they will discuss the wider Brazilian comic scene and potential for expanding into international markets. There will then be half an hour for questions and an open discussion, followed by drinks. 6-9pm

Dr Sarah Bargiela and Sophie Standing launch party for Camouflage: The Hidden Lives of Autistic Women from Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Gosh Comics, 7-9pm

Saturday, 30th March,

Laydeez Day Festival 2019: Laydeez Do Comics Review Session, The Freeword Centre, Farringdon. On the first day of the Laydeez Weekend Festival 2019 on Saturday 30 March, we are offering 50 minute one-to-one sessions to critically review your work with a leading practitioner. £50-£75.

Sunday 31st March

Laydeez Day Festival 2019, The Freeword Centre, Farringdon.

Stephen Byrne signing Mera: Tidebreaker at Forbidden Planet,

If you have an event that needs listing, contact richjohnston@bleedingcool.com