Akira has been in the news a lot in the past few years, thanks in part to the live-action film that was originally set to be helmed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and the shocking announcement that a new animated series was in the works that would follow the manga source material closely, and now, the legendary anime franchise will be hitting a new art exhibit in New York City. With the exhibit already landing in the Big Apple, anime fans can have the opportunity to relive what is considered by many to be the greatest anime movie.

If the Angoulême International Comics Festival is any indication, comic art in Europe, especially France, is having a moment. Last year’s festival drew record crowds and a cameo from French president Emmanuel Macron, and celebrated a surge of political reporting in the form of bandes dessinées, or comics.

Philippe Labaune Gallery inaugural exhibition, Good for Health – Bad for Education: A Tribute to Otomo will showcase illustrations by 30 international artists in homage to Japanese artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s seminal 1982 manga series: “Akira.” Featuring a selection of new work, the exhibition builds upon the 2016 tribute curated by Julien Brugeas at the Angoulême Festival hosted by France’s Ministry of Culture and Galerie Glénat, which honoured Otomo’s distinct aesthetic contribution to the genre. A Tribute to Otomo will be on view from April 8th – May 8th, 2021, with an opening on April 8th from 11AM to 9PM.

Created almost a century ago by the Belgian artist George Remi, better known as “Hergé,” Tintin’s adventures have taken the intrepid boy reporter and his companions from the jungles of South America to the surface of the moon and back -- all without ever appearing to be on deadline or even file a story. But these comics are more than just children’s stories: for many Europeans, where comics have long been considered fine art, Hergé’s work is foundational to the medium. Now, a pair of his original pages are on display at Gallery Danese/Corey in Manhattan, the first time they have been shown in the U.S.

After 27 years working in finance in New York, Frenchman Philippe Labaune has reconnected with his biggest passion, comic books. He is curating the first European comics exhibition in America at the Danese/Corey gallery from February 28 through March 14.

With its roots being traced centuries, comic art took the world by storm during the 20th century. Its culture began developing on three major soils on a global scale, the United States, Western Europe and Japan, first as a lowbrow form and then as a proper art form at the advent of the new millennium. It has been long considered to be fine art, especially among European enthusiasts, a sentiment that is quickly gaining traction in the United States.

Interest in comics art is rapidly growing among American collectors new and old, and a new art exhibition is opening this month to drive the point home.