I amsterdam - Superheroes

The exhibition Superhelden en sjlemielen (‘Superheroes and schlemiels’) showcases the heroes and anti-heroes of artists including Will Eisner, Joe Kubert, Ben Katchor and Rutu Modan.

 Everyone knows Superman, the comic-strip hero created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel and launched in 1938. In this exhibition the ‘man of steel’ is joined by a motley assortment of comic-strip figures from 1910 to the present day. Original drawings, printed matter and film material show how forty leading comic-strip artists from the United States, Europe and Israel have developed their vision of history.

The first comic strips from the period 1910 to 1940 appeared in Yiddish and English-language newspapers. They make clear the ordeals faced by Jewish immigrants in their attempt to integrate within American society. In the following period, around 1940, we see the emergence of the phenomenon of the American superhero in comic strips. The integration of Jews was by now well under way and various comic-strip writers focussed on the creation of superheroes with a national character.

More information: www.jhm.nl