I’ve read comic books my whole life. I still read them. It’s the only magazine I read cover to cover. My all time favorite superhero…Daredevil. I’m sure I screw-up the marketing department at Marvel Comics when I type 42 yrs. old and female when renewing my yearly subscription.

It’s lonely though, this adult fascination of comics and superheroes. I try to explain the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel to my girlfriend, to no avail, and venture into comic books stores alone. I wave at my gay-adult-female friends who point at Pottery Barn where they will be when I finally emerge, and look at their straight-teenage-male counterparts that have their noses in comics just like I will for the next hour or two.

I can talk about the art of comics until I turn blue and fly in tights, but no one will listen…until now.

Because someone at the Metropolitan Museum of Art likes superheroes…and they’ve just opened a new exhibit:

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. On exhibit at the Met until September 1st

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From the website:

Since the first appearance of Superman in 1938, the superhero has exercised a powerful influence over our collective imagination, serving as avatars or conduits for our hopes, dreams, and desires. Until relatively recently…superheroes have often been dismissed as frivolous and superficial, but their apparent triviality is the very thing that gives them the ability to address serious issues.

Through the years, the superhero has been used to embody…our social and political realities. At the same time, it has been used to represent concepts reflective of sexuality and corporeality through idealized, objectified, and hyperbolic visualizations of the human body. Constantly redefined and reworked according to popular canons of beauty, superheroes embody the superlative.

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Also on the Met’s publication site are some books that might be interesting:

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“Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” By Andrew Bolton, with an essay by Michael Chabon

Fashion designers have always been fascinated by the idea of how clothing can transform the body, and even the perceived character of the wearer.This volume explores the symbolic and metaphorical associations between fashion and the superhero. The power of fashion, like the power of the superhero, lies in its ability to transcend the humdrum and commonplace. This volume examines the influence on fashion of the costumes of superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Captain America, and Spiderman, as represented in comic books, film, and television. The suits and capes of these superheroes not only proclaim their amazing powers, but also provoked new designs in avant-garde haute couture, ready-to-wear, and high-performance sportswear. Included are movie costumes as well as radical fashions in which designers go beyond iconography to explore issues of identity, sexuality, and patriotism. The introductory text features an essay entitled Secret Skin: An Essay in Unitard Theory by Michael Chabon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

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“DC Comics Covergirls” By Louise Simonson, foreword by Adam Hughes

With the introduction of Wonder Woman in 1941, DC comics offered up the first of many comic book heroines, who have no trouble being both beautiful and strong willed. Tracing their evolution from Wonder Woman to female-driven spin-offs such as Supergirl and Catwoman to today’s girl-power series like Birds of Prey, this book is a smart, fun, and in-depth look at the greatest super heroines of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

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For me finally the respect I deserve and possibly new graphic novel, and for my girlfriend…spring napkins from Pottery Barn.

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