By LAUREN SOVISKY
staff writer
The Erie Art Museum has always lived up to its mission of providing art education and development in the Erie area.
The museum encourages art in all its forms, and that statement shines through in the new “Art of the Comic Book: Original Works from Klaus Janson, John Totleben, and the Museum’s Collection,” exhibit, which will be on display until Feb. 7.
For years, comic book pictures and covers were not considered art. Very few people viewed comic book art as a financial investment or fancy collection.
Critics considered this form of art pretty low, and it definitely was not regarded as art museum worthy.
However, John Vanco, past director of the Erie Art Center, believed the works of comic book artists deserved to be marveled and exhibited in a museum.
Vanco spent a long time searching for original comic creations. From the time Vanco attended Comic-Con, where he met and acquired an original cover of “The Spirit,” from the artist Will Eisner, he has been able to collect works from the 1940s to the 1980s creating the museum’s small collection of comic book art.
The “Art of the Comic Book,” exhibit displays pieces of earlier comic book art, with original works from Totleben and Janson.
Totleben was well-known for his artwork in the DC comic book story “Swamp Thing,” but he also created the artwork for Marvel’s famous “Spiderman.”
Janson was an artist for both DC and Marvel Comics, but is best known for his inking abilities. He added the final touches to each comic by using ink pens or brushes to embellish the outlines of each picture before it was copied and distributed.
The museum has a variety of classic comic book tales, from genres like horror and crime, to famous superhero stories.
Everyone is sure to find a comic they know. Katie Getson, a freshman physician assistant major, said she enjoyed the exhibit, and seeing how the comics have changed since the 1940s.
At the end of the exhibit is a “create your own” comic station. Rachel Loper, a freshman criminal justice major, said it was her favorite part of the exhibit because it helped to get her creative juices flowing.
Her comic, “The Adventures of Rachel Women,” was a short one-page journey of Rachel Woman’s rise to being a hero.
Heidi Maule, a freshman criminal justice major, said that it was harder than she expected.
“You don’t realize how much creativity goes into just one page of a story,” Maule said. “I expressed my own thoughts and that’s when I really started to enjoy it.”
The Erie Art Museum is located on East Fifth Street between State and French streets.
The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Admission is free on Wednesdays, or $5 for students on every other day. More information can be found at erieartuseum.org.
LAUREN SOVISKY
