The Comic Book Project was an initiative that brought together the panoply of talent of Edinburgh in August, produced by the Collective in association with Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Traverse Theatre. The project was a celebration of contemporary comic book art, uniting comedians with artists, words with the visual arts, film with publishing and performance with pictures.

The project aimed to examine the relationship between modes of performative practice within visual art, theatre and comedy, commissioning a series of new works produced collaboratively by a diverse range of practitioners. The programme emerges thematically from a new publication titled Our Comic Book, edited by curator Mel Brimfield. Theatre makers, comedians, writers and cartoonists are invited to contribute works based loosely on generic comic strips, such as Romance, Superhero, Football and Horror. The exhibition and subsequent events comprised of a works by contributors to the book.

Events

The Yellow Jacket by Brian Dewan, performed by John Hegley, Sir Gideon Vein and Christine Entwisle, Traverse Theatre, 6 August 2007, 7.30pm
A comic-based drama for this live public recording event.

Discussion Event and Performance, 10 August 2007, 4.30pm
Panel discussion at Collective with Kirsten Norrie, David Ryan and Sally O'Rielly in association with Art Monthly. This event was followed by a performance by Doug Fishbone.

Lost and Found – from the collection of Mark Newgarden, Edinburgh International Film Festival, 23 August 2007, 8pm
This was a unique event combining the first UK screening of selections from Mark Newgarden’s eclectic silent film collection with an unlikely cabaret of theatre, visual art, music and comedy accompaniments.

Suzanne Andrade, Brian Dewan, John Hegley & Simon Munnery, Edinburgh International Book Festival, 26 August 2007, 8.30pm
Series of readings and performances hosted by John Hegley, featuring stories performed with projected animations.

Download the exhibition information here

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