David Shenton

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David Shenton
David Shenton.jpg
Shenton sitting on a bed with his dogs
Born (1949-05-20) May 20, 1949 (age 76)
Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire
Alma mater Leeds University
Occupation Cartoonist
Years active1970s–present

David Shenton (born May 20, 1949) is a British artist and cartoonist who specializes in queer comics. His work has addressed LGBTQ-related social issues including same-sex marriage, the AIDS crisis, and Section 28. His comic strips have been featured in the collections Strips Aids, No Straight Lines , and AARGH , his strips have been published most prominently in The Guardian and Gay News, and his more recent non-comics work has appeared in Sheringham Museum and the Cartoon Museum.

Contents

Early life

Shenton was born on 20 May 1949, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. [1] He was taught to knit by his grandmother at age five, though his father was opposed to the hobby and burned these first creations. [2] Shenton went to Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School from 1960. [1] He has stated that he knew he was gay at 14 years of age. [3] In 1965, he moved to Ashton-under-Lyne College of Further Education and in 1967 he studied printed textiles at Loughborough College of Art. He received his teaching certificate at Leeds University in 1971. [1]

Career

Shenton has been an illustrator of LGBTQ comics since the 1970s. [3] His work was published in the gay press in general from 1976, [4] and began to appear in the publication Gay News in 1981. This was followed by appearances in Him and Capital Gay . Sina Shamsavari has stated that Shenton was likely the most prominent gay cartoonist in the 1980s, with Kate Charlesworth being his lesbian equivalent. [5] His book Stanley and The Mask of Mystery was published in 1983 by Gay Men's Press. [4] Over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, three of Shenton's close friends were killed by HIV/AIDS, prompting him to create a one of his most personal comics about visiting them in hospital. [3] Shenton's work appeared in The Guardian in 1998 with the strip "The ScAvengers", a parody of the TV series The Avengers featuring pigeons. [3]

Shenton's work also appeared in Building Design , Solicitors Journal , Disability Now , and Optician. [3] In addition to his art career, Shenton has taught literacy at Norwich Prison, Hackney College, and the Education Department of the London Zoo. [6] Shenton is involved in LGBTQ+ meetings, marches, and events in London and Norwich. As of 2013 he is a patron of Norwich Pride and Norwich Arts Centre, was publishing his comics through Facebook, and continued to volunteer at London Zoo. [4] Shenton created a "Duvet of Love" in 2020, made up of his own badge collection which he had amassed from the 1970s onward. [7] [8] For February 2020, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Norwich City F.C. footballer Justin Fashanu's Goal of the Season against Liverpool, Shenton designed a large banner with Proud Canaries. Fashanu was the first professional footballer to come out as gay. [9] In June 2023, Sheringham Museum unveiled a large bearded puppet wearing a 1.72-metre (5.6 ft; 68 in) gansey, both designed by Shenton. The gansey featured 22 motifs including a lavender rhino, bisexuality symbol, trans rights unicorn, and Progress Pride flag. [8] In 2024, Shenton founded a Men's Knitting Group in Norwich, which meets in the city's Millennium Library. This was praised by the UK Hand Knitting Association as "special". [2] In 2025, one of his works depicting his cat was featured in the Cartoon Museum as part of its Cats in Cartoons exhibition. [10]

Artistry

Shenton's work has addressed LGBTQ-related social issues including same-sex marriage, the AIDS crisis, and Section 28. [3] A central character of his cartoons has been Stanley, a mustachioed gay man who had his heyday in the 1980s. [4]

Bibliography

Publications

Contributions

Personal life

Shenton has stated that he and his partner registered as partners under Ken Livingstone, then later became civil partners. Later, David and John finally married. [3] John regularly appears in Shenton's work published on Facebook. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "David Shenton". British Cartoon Archive. The University of Kent. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 Silk, Steve (14 February 2024). "Norwich cartoonist's 'mission' to get more men knitting". BBC News . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Norwich Pride: Gay cartoonist David Shenton on the decades after Stonewall". BBC News (Video and text). 27 July 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "David Shenton. These Foolish Things". Meer. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  5. ↑ Shamsavari, Sina (2017). "The History of Gay Male Comics in America from Before Stonewall to the 21st Century". International Journal of Comic Art . 19 (2): 163–201.
  6. ↑ "David Shenton". British Cartoon Archive. The University of Kent. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  7. ↑ Battersby-Tooke, Ruth (6 February 2020). "The Duvet of Love". Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  8. 1 2 "LGBTQ+: Giant fisherman's jumper celebrates inclusivity". BBC News . 19 June 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "Justin Fashanu: Fans remember Norwich City star's wonder goal". BBC News . 15 February 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  10. ↑ Murphy, Siobhan (7 April 2025). "Cats in Cartoons review — artists having fun with our feline friends". The Times . Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 "David Shenton". Grand Comics Database . Retrieved 20 October 2019.
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