She is one of those cool feminists. She paints strong, multi-faceted women and tells funny, yet truth-baring stories with her comic strips. Posy Simmonds was born in 1945 as Rosemary Elizabeth “Posy” Simmonds and started off her career after art school in London rather quickly.
Her first ever exhibition is currently (until 25th November !!!last weekend!!!) at the Comic Museum in Brussels under the charming title Essentially English. Go see it. You have to have visited the Comic Museum at least once in the comic country that is Belgium. Even if you cannot think of yourself as enjoying exhibitions and exhibits of graphic picture stories, the more the reason, because Simmonds stories are witty, intelligent and wonderfully life disenchanting! And not to forget the beautiful Art Nouveau inside of the museum’s Horta building!
Belgian Comic Strip Center (Tue-Su 10am until 6pm)
Rue des Sables 20 (pretty close to Gare Central)
I just couldn’t resist and bought her modern classic graphic novel Tamara Drewe. The novel which was turned into a movie a couple years back has just as wonderful characters as Simmonds’ weekly strips for the Guardian. In the movie Tamara is being played by one of the Daniel Craig Bond girls: Gemma Arterton (loved her as Tess of the D’Urbervilles and in Lost in Austen). Another one of Simmonds books will soon move from my wish list into my cart: Gemma Bovery. It’s about an expat girl (!) in the Normandy and draws a lot of lines to the classic Madame Bovary of Gustave Flaubert. Even her book cover is punchy, I can hardly believe Simmonds is already 67!