‘Heroes, Villains and the American Zeitgeist’ opens at Northern Illinois University on January 21 at the NIU Art Museum and runs until until March 13.  The exhibit is chronological and touches on the history and evolution of comic books within the American cultural landscape.  The exhibit begins with the “Golden Age” and goes through the American comic book landscape up until the “Modern Age”.

Lynne Thomas, the head of NIU Libraries’ Rare Books and Special Collections department and curator of the exhibit, said her goal was to trace the history of heroes and the diversity of them.

The exhibit ends with the rise of independent and self-published comics as well as graphic novels.  There are specific displays on Frank Miller and Alan Moore.

Jo Burke, director of the NIU Art Museum, said she asked Thomas to produce this exhibit partly because she finds it unique that NIU Libraries even has such pop culture materials as comic books that date back to the first half of the 20th century.

There is a public reception for the three exhibits at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 21 at the NIU Art Museum. The exhibits will be on display until March 13.