Super heroes and Himalayan monasteries seem to go hand-in-hand.
In the Golden Age, next to exposure to something radioactive, being raised from childhood or trained after you crash-landed as an adult by Tibetan lamas was
the primary factor in the creation of superheroes (and more than a few supervillains)!
For more than sixty years Tibet has figured in comic books from around the world, at times creating and at times perpetuating notions of an otherworldly land roamed by the yeti, inhabited by wise and powerful lamas, or full of dark magic.
Characters as diverse as
Mickey Mouse, the historical Buddha,
Tomb Raider Lara Croft,
Amazing-Man,
The Flame,
Wonder Man, and
The Green Lama have either been trained or had major storylines set in that remote land.
The exhibition
Hero, Villain, Yeti, currently running at
New York's Rubin Museum of Art features the most complete collection of comics related to Tibet ever assembled, with examples ranging from the 1940s to the present.
More than fifty comic books from the Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and the United States reflect on the depiction of Tibet, tracing the historical roots of prevailing perceptions and stereotypes and their visual and narrative evolution over time.
Tibet—both real and imagined—appears across comic book genres, including fantasy comics about superheroes and villains, mythical creatures, and the search for mysterious lands, people, and objects; biographies of holy figures like the Dalai Lama and the Buddha; political comics; and educational comics.
Visitors are invited to read dozens of original comic books—a number of which have been translated into English for the first time—at a reading station in the exhibition.
And, on Friday, January 13th, 2012, there will be
a multi-media presentation of a new production based on one of the
Green Lama's comic book stories!
The Rubin Museum is at 150 E 17th Street, between 6th & 7th Avenues.
We at
Atomic Kommie Comics™ would suggest, if you go, go clad in appropriate garb like a t-shirt or sweatshirt or a canvas tote bag from our
Lost Heroes of the Golden Age of Comics™ collection...
or the classic comic characters' kool retro logos on
