Superheroes to Land at the New-York Historical Society

New York City is basically superhero central. It has been written that Superman’s Metropolis is NYC during the day, and Batman’s Gotham is NYC after the sun has set. The city is also home to the Marvel Comics’ HQ and where DC Comics was situated for many years, as well as home base for classic comic book characters including Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers and Iron Man. To celebrate this incredible heritage, The New-York Historical Society will feature a new exhibit titled Superheroes in Gotham, opening October 9, 2015, and running through February 21, 2016.

According to the Society’s site, the exhibit “will tell the story of the birth of comic book superheroes in New York City; the leap of comic book superheroes from the page into radio, television, and film; the role of fandom, including the yearly mega event known as New York Comic Con; and the ways in which comic book superheroes, created in the late 1930s through the 1960s, have inspired and influenced the work of contemporary comic book artists, cartoonists, and painters in New York City.”

Some of the most interesting items featured in the exhibit will be a copy of Action Comics #1 from 1938 (with the classic image of Superman hoisting a massive green 4-door sedan), drawings by Steve Ditko of Spider-Man’s debut in Amazing Fantasy #15 and, my fave, a Batmobile used in the 1966 television show. If you’re going to be in Gotham while the show is open, don’t miss an opportunity to examine the incredible impact the world’s great city has had on one of the greatest pop-culture art forms.