As mentioned in Part 1 of this special blog post.... Saturday February 21st, 2009 was opening weekend for this Zap! Pow! Bam! Exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.   Opening Day had been earlier in the week on Thursday the 19th.

I have previously mentioned that it was my wife Tina, my Great Uncle Howard, and I that attended this exhibition, first as a walk-thru, and then later at 2:30 on a docent guided tour.

However, I hadn't mentioned why this exhibit was chosen to be shown here.  Skirball Cultural Center also presents works that help explain the Jewish culture to those that visit the center.   It was "in the midst of the economic and political turmoil of the 1930s and 1940s that comic books offered America champions who shaped the values of an entire generation.  It is the exhibit 'ZAP! POW! BAM!' that examines the creative processes and influences that drove young Jewish artists to express their talents through the storylines and art of comic books".

Additionally... "Through never-before exhibited art and objects culled from private and institutional collections, ZAP! POW! BAM! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938-1950 explores the genesis of cultural icons such as Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and Captain America".  For those that are not aware of the beginnings of these characters... it was Jewish-Americans that created them!

  After first doing the walk-thru of this first exhibit, the three of us went to lunch at Ziedler's Cafe on the premises. Now I know why that several patrons actually come here just for lunch!  Tina and I shared two different lunches after my reading another blogger's take on the restaurant!  Tina and I definitely recommend the blintzes plate, and also the salmon pastrami sandwich plate. Plus choose the gaufrette potatoes if you've never had those!  I also had a cup of chilled Borscht with sour cream and onions prior to our main plates arriving, delicious! BTW, the lunches we chose are more than enough, you really don't need to order salad or soup!

Enjoying our day so far, we next took in Audrey's Museum Store.  Definitely worth looking at.  Besides the usual fare of Superheroes books and toys, there were some items that were superhero themed that I had not seen before, i.e. Superhero Kippah and Superhero Mezuzah, and of course the exhibition's souvenir booklet.

After next going on the docent led tour of the main exhibit, we then went on to the next hall, where the second exhibit I most wanted to see was being shown.  Smaller in size, it still had several items that complemented the first exhibit.  This was the 'Lights, Camera, Action - Comic Book Heroes Of Film and Television'.  The highlight of this exhibit for the mainstream public would have to be the Batcycle from the Batman 1960's TV Show.  It was actually Tina's favorite piece at either of the two exhibits!

However, you should allow time to see the rest of this hall, especially if you are a Marvel Comics fan!  There are several Spider-Man, Captain America and Fantastic Four items that would be of interest to you!

For those that are into non DC and non Marvel comics, there are multiple other pieces in both exhibits that would be of interest to you.  Green Hornet, the Captain Marvel family of comics, Golden Age Harvey Comics that don't feature Casper, Wendy, or Hot Stuff, and other pieces to name a few.

My Great Uncle Howard McIntosh, who was born in 1916, and along with his wife Marge, were the ones that got me started in reading 'funnybooks' as they were quite often called back in the mid to late1950's, kept exclaiming that he had never known there were so many comics!  The original art was what caught his eyes the most, as there would be the original cover artwork and right below would be an actual copy of the comic book it was printed in!

Tina had also heard about Skirball from a friend, and it was suggested that she take in 'Noah's Ark' while we were there.  It was close to closing time, but Tina managed to view some of that large exhibit.  There are more than just comic book related exhibits at this Museum, so to get most of the Museum in, you should try to be there for opening hours at 10:00 AM if you can!

My personal thanks to Jerry Robinson for sharing items from his personal collection and curating this exhibit including items from other collections.  All three of us had a ZAP! POW! BAM! day at Skirball !!

For those not able to go to a Comic Convention near them, but are in the Los Angeles Metro Area any time up until August 9th, 2009, this would be a place to go see with your family.   It is varied enough in exhibits to entertain the young through older in years, and not too 'geeky'!