Montclair exhibit opens in July

POW!  Superheroes hit MAM this SummerThe Montclair Art Museum (MAM) has announced the July 14th opening of a first-of-its-kind exhibition, Reflecting Culture: The Evolution of American Comic Book Superheroes on view until January 13, 2008. The exhibition traces the way in which comic books have reflected an ever-evolving American culture through more than 150 original drawings, rare comic books and graphic novels from the Golden Age of comics (1938-1946) to the present. Never-before-seen original drawings and other work from the private collection of area resident Michael Uslan, producer of Batman and Batman Begins, will be the cornerstone of this exhibit, which unites seminal work of the genre from private collections around the country.

Curated by MAM’s Chief Curator Gail Stavitsky, with assistance from Curator of Native American Art Twig Johnson, and award-winning film producer and comic book collector Michael Uslan, Reflecting Culture: The Evolution of American Comic Book Superheroes examines the modern comic book, from its humble origins in 1934 as the reprinted pages of Sunday newspaper comic strips, to its ascent as a thriving industry that has fueled the American imagination, to the enormous successes of its contemporary offspring, the Hollywood blockbuster film.