The University’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art opened its doors Friday for an expansive exhibit of superhero comic book art.
“Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: The Art of the Superhero” features nearly 200 pieces of original comic book artwork, chosen from the most memorable, influential and rare pieces.
The exhibition showcases the greats — household names such as Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, Wonder Woman — as well as others that are more obscure to the general audience but nevertheless just as priceless to the diehard comics fan.
Exploring the evolution of the genre, the gallery includes a copy of Superman #1. Published in 1939, fewer than 200 copies of the book exist. The gallery also includes the first publication to feature Superman, Action Comics #1, which was published in 1938.
While rare and influential pieces have been loaned from the Library of Congress and private collectors throughout the country, these two works are from Eugene’s own comic store owner Darrell Grimes. Among his other generous contributions is Famous Funnies #1, a 1934 publication, considered to be the first successful comic book ever published.
“It’s freaking sweet … my jaw dropped,” said Kat Amick, a devoted Batman fan, sporting her hero’s T-shirt.
Seen by many as a children’s genre, comics are beginning to be recognized as an intellectual and multi-dimensional graphical medium, explained museum board member Dr. James Walker.
“It’s very stimulating, very informative,” he said. “It’s a tremendous way to bring young people into the museums.”
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art has been on a streak of modernistic exhibits in an attempt to draw appeal from a more diverse audience. The superheroes opening attracted a record 1,500 people, Walker says.
“I think it’s interesting how large an audience we have in the little community of Eugene,”
Walker said.
The exhibit was inspired and largely organized by Ben Saunders, associate professor of English at the University and curator of the exhibition.
“I’m interested in what the superhero fantasy reveals about the nature of the human being,”
he said.
Saunders teaches a course on the history of the superhero. One of the first things he stresses in his class is that the art of comics should be “subjected to the same kind of modes of study that we give high art with regard to form and content.”
Saunders illustrates how comic books emphasize small details of humanity in a big way, from awesome strengths and bizarre weaknesses to personalities ranging from dark to comical.
“Like all significant acts of human creation, these wild, weird, wonderful fantasies can actually reveal some profound truths … with all the artistic ambition and sophistication of the greatest works in any field or medium,” Saunders said during a lecture in his History of Superheroes class Tuesday.
The professor focuses on Renaissance literature, but he admits creating comics was his dream job at one point.
“I learned to read from comics,” he said, having published works of his own for a student
newspaper.
“It’s just fascinating,” said museum tour guide Diane Horgan, who was getting to know the exhibit before she begins introducing it to visitors.
Comics were a new phenomenon before Superman in the late 1930s, when the comic industry exploded and dozens of comic book companies spread across the country.
“The fact that he’s still around is special,” said museum tour guide Mary Smouch, who recalled going down to the comics store once with her monthly allowance when she was 10 years old. Back then, purchasing a comic was a question of nickels and dimes.
Superhero stories were often political and patriotic, born during a time of war, and written by largely by immigrants discriminated under Hitler’s regime. The most contemporary comic art carries on the tradition, both politically charged and exploring human nature through the elements of heroism.
“Faster Than a Speeding Bullet” also includes an academic conference titled “Understanding Superheroes,” which will discuss superheroes and villains, with guest local comic book writers who have written for Superman, Gotham Central and Wonder Woman.
The exhibit features a separate, dimly lit room with a powerful piece featuring super-human firefighters of Sept. 11, 2001. Only at a second glance does one notice the tiny red cape of Superman, who stands by a fence, gazing up at the super-human characters, as if showing
his respects.
“It’s very moving. We all understand exactly what it’s trying to say. We knew who the superhero was,” Horgan said.
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