A new comic book art exhibit examining the history and evolution of comic books opened at The University of Tampa’s Scarfone/Hartley Gallery. It’s called Zooming Superheroes from Dyes to DPI: The Visual and Technical Evolution of Comic Book Printing. The exhibit will run until Friday, October 6, in the gallery at 310 North Blvd.
More about the comic book art exhibit
This interactive exhibition will take two paths, one tracing comic book history, and one detailing the evolution of color printing. First, following and noting the rise of key superheroes from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse and CrossGen, visitors will trace their favorite characters as the genre responds to the socio-cultural changes in American culture. All the way from the 1930s to the present. Visitors will watch the metamorphosis of comic book style, color, and feel as the media transforms with new advancements in materials, technology and artistic styles.
Visitors can also try their hands at comic production and explore how the inking and coloration process has changed over the past 85 years. This path will highlight pivotal technological shifts, including Craftint paper, the use of photography for color separation and offset printing, and the rise of the Adobe Suite and Wacom Tablet as an all-in-one digital production system.
By engaging in hands-on examination of the books, interactive engagement with processes and learning more about the journeys of iconic characters, visitors will leave with a sense of the artistic universes that have and will continue to be the source material for numerous blockbuster films and TV series.
The Scarfone/Hartley Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, contact Jocelyn Boigenzahn, director of the College of Arts and Letters galleries, at jboigenzahn@ut.edu.
