Comic-Con Museum presents Colleen Doran Illustrates Neil Gaiman, an exhibition of original art by the award-winning artist Colleen Doran featuring her illustrations of stories by Neil Gaiman including Chivalry; Snow, Glass, Apples; The Sandman; Troll Bridge; American Gods, Norse Mythology; and Good Omens.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is 20 lush hand-painted pages from Doran’s Chivalry (Dark Horse Books), telling the story of Mrs. Whitaker, a British widow who finds the Holy Grail in a thrift shop and the knight who offers her priceless relics in exchange so he can win the Grail and end his quest.

In the midst of a long career drawing comics for such titles as Wonder Woman, Amazing Spider-Man, and her own creator-owned title A Distant Soil, Colleen Doran has found her artistic Holy Grail in her series of adaptations of Neil Gaiman short stories published by Dark Horse, including her latest masterpiece Chivalry, the Eisner and Bram Stoker Award-winning dark fantasy Snow, Glass, Apples, and Troll Bridge, a spooky coming-of-age story.

A lifelong enthusiast of Arthurian mythology, Doran longed to adapt Gaiman’s 1998 short story Chivalry. Doran’s pages for Chivalry are full of symbolism taken from her personal life, world history, and Arthurian legend. Her color palette of iridescent jewel tones, rich golds, and detailed drawings make viewing the original artwork a special experience.

Also on view are several pages from Snow, Glass, Apples, Doran’s version of Gaiman’s chilling retelling of the Snow White story, drawn in an intricate style influenced by the Irish artist Harry Clarke, as well as works from other Doran/Gaiman titles such as The Sandman, American Gods, Norse Mythology, and her new adaptation of Good Omens.

Colleen Doran Illustrates Neil Gaiman opens at Comic-Con Museum on October 4, 2023, following a successful run at the Society of Illustrators in New York. The exhibition is curated by Kim A. Munson, editor of the Eisner nominated anthology Comic Art in Museums and 2022 Eisner Awards Judge.

About the Artist: Colleen Doran is a cartoonist/illustrator whose recent adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s short story Snow, Glass, Apples received the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel and the Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium, as well as the Ringo Award for Best Graphic Novel. Her adaptation of Gaiman’s beloved short story Chivalry has been nominated for the Eisner and Reuben Awards and has won the Locus Award for Best Illustrated and Art Book. Her work also appeared in Gaiman’s Sandman, his graphic novels American Gods and Norse Mythology, as well as The New York Times bestselling adaptation of his story Troll Bridge. Doran created the artwork for Stan Lee’s bestselling graphic novel autobiography Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible Stan Lee. She has also illustrated work for musicians The Doors, Tori Amos, Blondie, and Melissa Etheridge, and the fashion house Balmain.

About the Curator: Kim A. Munson is the editor of the Eisner Award-nominated anthology Comic Art in Museums, the first academic book to explore the evolution of thought about comic art 1930-present as manifested in art exhibitions. She was a 2022 Eisner Awards judge and the curator of Women in Comics at the Society of Illustrators (NYC), the Palazzo Merulana (Rome), and the Foques Corte dell’Arte (Naples).