For the first time in Germany, and Europe for that matter, a museum is devoting an entire exhibition to the comparatively new topic of “queer” comics: comics that include LGBTI characters and tell LGBTI stories. The exhibition focuses on “heroes & heroines,” covering not only the various X-Men, Bat- and Catwomen who experienced coming-out stories in US mainstream comic series in recent years. The show is also and consciously about the heroic everyday-lives of LGBTI people, as mirrored in the many underground comics presenting their daily struggles in a hetero-normative world.
In the exhibition, stories of everyday heroes and heroines from Europe are juxtaposed with those from the USA, while mainstream superheroes are put in opposition to underground super-heroines such as Glamazonia. In addition, there are subversive anti-heroes defying comic codes and conventions with their sexuality, as well as LGBTI characters that conquered hetero-dominated bastions such as cowboy, cop and adventure strips. They all prove: gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans and inter characters can be fully convincing in any of these genres.
A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to the topic of AIDS, showing how superhero characters battle against HIV: from the 1980s “Condom Man” to 2015s “Stigma Fighters.”
Many authors of queer comics accepted the risk of professional suicide when they originally published their work. Within the context of the exhibition these authors (some of them well known, such as Tom of Finland, Alison Bechdel, Ralf König, Wolfgang Müller, Gengoroh Tagameh, Nazario or Howard Cruse, other less familiar, like Megan Rose Gedris, Erika Moen and Kylie Summer Wu) are portrayed as “heroes” in their own right, and as LGBTI pioneers.
“SuperQueeroes” is curated by an international team of experts who bring very distinctive and individual perspectives to the superhero topic. Various lectures, readings and workshops are scheduled at the Schwules Museum* for the time of the exhibition.
Curators: Michael Bregel, Kevin Clarke, Natasha Gross, Hannes Hacke, Justin Hall, Markus Pfalzgraf, Mario Russo – Research Assistant: Maria Genz
Posterdesign: Swen Marcel – Design of the exhibition: Matthias Panitz
The exhibition includes the following artists: Gwendolin Altenhöfer, Heike Anacker, Tara Avery, Alison Bechdel, Elizabeth Beier, Theo Van Den Boogaard, Simon Bosch, Craig Bostick, Tom Bouden, Tony Breed, Jennifer Camper, Colleen Coover, Howard Cruse, Jennifer Cruté, Scott Cunningham, Dave Davenport, Mike Diana, Blue Delliquanti, Diane DiMassa, Dylan Edwards, Luca Enoch, Youssef Faksh, Joyce Farmer, Naomi Fearn, Bill Ferenc, Richard Fiala, Flo, Ellen Forney, Yori Gagarim, Alexander Gellner, Nicole Georges, Melanie Gillman, Sina Grace, Diana Green, Roberta Gregory, Justin Hall, Anna Heger, Victor Hodge, Helena Janecic, Phil Jimenez, Jiraiya, Joe Johnson, Ross Johnston, G. B. Jones, Kai-Boom, Gina Kamentsky, David Kelly, Rupert Kinnard, Robert Kirby, Beata “Beatrix” Cymerman, Birgit Kiupel, Ralf König, Christian Kranich, Thilo Krapp, Katrin Kremmler, Mike Kuchar, Suskar Lötzerich, Ed Luce, Steve MacIsaac, Jon Macy, Fiona Mallratte, Mana, Swen Marcel, Lee Mars, Stefan Merkt, Erica Moen, Wolfgang Müller, Nazario, Sven Oliver, Eric Orner, Charles Ortlieb, Kevin Pyle, David Quantic, Carlo Quispe, Brad Rader, Henna Räsänen, Trina Robbins, Joey Alison Sayers, Imke Schmidt-Sári, Ka Schmitz, Martina Schradi, Bil Sherman, Jeremy Sorese, Sina Sparrow, Hannes Steinert, Gengoroh Tagameh, Tom of Finland, Dax Tran-Caffee, Robert Triptow, Ivan Velez, Michael Vogt, Kirsten Walther, Mary Wings, Rick Worly, Stefan Zeh.
guided tours on request: kontakt(at)schwulesmuseum.de