CEO's MessageComic books are perhaps the most ephemeral way of telling a story - often printed cheaply, sold in their hundreds, designed to be read once, then disposed of. Their cheek, drama and pathos might easily be lost, if not for collectors and libraries.
And what a loss that would be! When we look at comics of ten, 30 or 50 years ago we can see what made people laugh, what they most feared and how they imagined a future to be. Comics are like paper dreams and nightmares - brightly coloured, sharply drawn, full of grotesques and impossible beauty. They reflect a world in imagination and tell us much about the world in reality.
The State Library of Victoria is delighted to present the exhibition Heroes & Villains: Australian comics and their creators, to bring to light the great tradition of graphic storytelling in Australia.
The Library is immensely grateful to the exhibition curator, Kevin Patrick, an Australian comics expert, collector and fan. Many of the items on display are drawn from Kevin's own former collection, which he recently gifted to the Library, and which includes nearly every Australian comic published from 1975 to 2005 (other exhibits are from the Library's pre-existing collection and on loan from private collectors). Kevin's passion and generosity have helped to ensure that this rich publishing tradition is preserved.
I hope you enjoy Heroes & Villains.
Anne-Marie Schwirtlich |
