Schnitzer: Speeding Bullet, Superhero

Through Jan. 3, 2010, visitors to the UO’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art can dive into the world of superheroes.

Mapping the path of the American superhero through a history of comics, the “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: The Art of the Superhero” exhibition addresses the subject from many perspectives, including aesthetic achievements. Guest-curated by Ben Saunders, a professor in the Department of English, the exhibition features Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and others, and features original art by the masters of the genre.

The exhibition includes a rare copy of “Action Comics #1,” published in 1938 and featuring the first appearance of Superman. The issue included in the exhibition, on loan from Darrell Grimes, a private collector and owner of Nostalgia Comics in Eugene, Ore., is considered to be one of the best preserved. Fewer than 100 copies of the original print run of 100,000 are known to exist today.

Also featured in the exhibition are “Superman #1,” the first issue of the character’s own comic book from 1939 and “Famous Funnies #1,” one of the first nationally distributed comic books in 1934, consisting of reprinted newspaper strips.

The exhibition and accompanying symposium also examine the larger processes of social change through narratives and visual expressions of age, gender, race, religion, culture and nationalism.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation, the William C. Mitchell Estate and JSMA members.