The art of the comic book has never garnered the kind of critical respect lavished on other artistic disciplines, such as sculpture and oil painting, but things appear to be changing, writes Will Gore.

From Batman to Spiderman, cinema is teeming with comic book super heroes and the rise of the graphic novel has also helped the medium to gain some deserved kudos.

Artist Phillip Marsden has dedicated his career to producing comic books and is hoping to benefit from this re-assessment of the art form’s value.

“It has started to grow as a medium over the past 10 years, finding a place in international galleries, and I hope it continues to grow,” he says.

“I’m trapped in an awkward position because comics are traditionally seen as ‘low art’ and I’m trying to come at it with some of the values from my fine art education and with what I like about contemporary art to make sure my work means something and has some depth to it.”

After having some of his work featured in previous open exhibitions at Richmond’s Riverside Gallery, Marsden is now the subject of a retrospective at the same venue.

The show, entitled True Stories by PM, features work from Marsden’s latest publication of the same name in which the Liverpool artist recreates memorable incidents from his own life, including his spotting of a pizza delivery man wearing an oversized foam head and his experience of being abused on the street because of his resemblance to Jarvis Cocker.

“The True Stories are one-page comics about unusual things that happen to me and, usually, the ending has a surreal twist,” he adds.

The exhibition also includes plenty of his other work, such as a selection of Aesop’s Fables, his attempt at a 24-hour comic and his Noteworthy series, an absurd look at the people who figure on British banknotes.

Marsden developed his love for comics reading the Beano and the Dandy as a youngster but put his passion to one side when he studied fine art at Newcastle University.

Upon leaving higher education in 2003 he returned to the medium and has been releasing comics on his own Compromise Comics imprint ever since.

His attempt to gain more exposure for himself and his art form has also been helped by a stint on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth as part of Anthony Gormley’s One and Other project.

“It was an unusual and terrifying experience,” he says.

“My idea was to draw some pictures and throw them out and it grew organically from there.

“There was a heckler and to shut him up I drew a picture of him and sent it down to him.

“Everyone else latched on to that and asked me to draw them too. The first half an hour dragged on but once I got into it it really flew by.”

True Stories by PM, Riverside Gallery, Richmond, until November 28, richmond.gov.uk/home/ leisure_and_culture