Anyone who saw Sin City can tell you comics have changed a bit since the saccharine days of Superman and Dick Tracy. I don't remember the last time I saw as much as a nipple from Dilbert or even that ho, Cathy. But if you still need proof, then look no further than the Slought Foundation's newest exhibit, "Comicology: The New Magical Real," which opens Saturday night with a free reception. The exhibit's name, which echoes other important hipster proclamations such as "pink is the new black," or "Wednesday is the new Thursday," is meant to announce the arrival of a new wave in American comic art.
This new wave is represented in the work of artists like Kim Deitch, Charles Burns, Dame Darcy, Marc Bell, Anders Nilsen, and Ron Rege, Jr. These artists aren't likely to have their work in the Philadelphia Museum of Art any time soon, but that isn't to say their work is done with anything but unbelievable skill, technique and drafting. In fact, that's part of the reason for bringing "Comicology" to Slought, the Foundation's Aaron Levy explains. "With so much discussion today about technique, people tend to focus on painting," but this exhibit aims to show that today's most masterful art is "not always appearing on canvas."
Put simply, the art from "Comicology" is a whole new type of comic, a combination of fact and fiction, at once graphically realistic or disturbingly surreal. You can find a variety of different topics and styles in the exhibit. The exhibit includes samples from some of the artists' most recent works. Some are reminiscent of Sunday morning cartoons, others are new takes on superhero serials. All of them are almost overwhelming in their attention to detail. It's nearly impossible to put these works into words or to categorize them by genre. To be sure, they each come across as totally original and visually innovative, sometimes funny, but almost always dark and creepy.
Ultimately, if you spend enough time in the gallery you'll leave with a feeling not unlike reading the Sunday funnies on acid. Be sure to take the trip.
