The Art of The Avengers and Other Heroes (Society of Illustrators NYC)

From July 5, 2018 to October 20, 2018, the Museum of Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in NYC will showcase the largest selection of vintage & modern original Marvel art in the world! Come see significant comic book covers & pages from legends like Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Jim Steranko, Walt Simonson, and more…

Curated by comic art collector Rob Pistella (who organized the amazing The Art Of Spider-Man exhibition last year), some of these pieces are being displayed for the first time ever! So let’s take a look at some highlights from my visit and a video at the end of this post but as always, swing by the Society of Illustrators to get an up-close personal look at some amazing comic book history!

Focusing mainly on characters from The Avengers, the art in this exhibition displays many fan favorites like Thor, The Hulk, Black Panther, Captain America, and Iron Man. And being covered wall-to-wall on two floors of the museum, you’re bound to find something eye-catching!

Pictures don’t do the originals justice, and you just have to see them in person yourself because this is where you see the pencil sketching, the inking, and even white-out corrections! In fact, I even saw one piece where a Hulk face was completely re-done and placed over the original!

Curated by Pistella, the exhibition took approximately a year to be put together, with much of the art being from personal collections of avid fans or the artists themselves! I was blown away that I was able to see Walt Simonson’s original Doom cover from Thor #337, the first appearance of Beta Ray Bill!

In fact, Walt Simonson was present on July 12 for the opening reception of the exhibition. It was so fantastic to see his works up close.

Another iconic Thor issue, The Mighty Thor #373, is proudly displayed with a giant decal reproduction downstairs, where the exhibition continues:

He even contributed some sketches & drafts which can be seen in the video below.

There were also some autographed comic books on display, like this Amazing Spider-Man #317 signed by artist Todd McFarlane:

Or encased with other collectibles:

With pages and pages on display, you can easily spend hours admiring the iconic art that helped put Marvel Comics on the map, thanks to brilliant minds like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

So if you enjoyed last year’s The Art Of Spider-Man gallery, then you won’t be disappointed by this collection!

And with no shortage of eye-opening, jaw-dropping art, there are even photo ops with Avengers standees or wall decals like this Spider-Man:

Lastly, don’t miss out on a very special presentation in the Winsor McCay Screening Room!

“How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way” is a 1988 video featuring Stan Lee & John Buscema talking about what makes Marvel art… marvelous! They go over technique, style, posing, and so much more! And once you’re finished with that, don’t forget to swing by the gift shop for vintage comic books, an exclusive Secret Wars #1 comic book, or Society Of Illustrators souvenirs!

“The Art of The Avengers and Other Heroes” can be found at Society Of Illustrators (128 East 63rd Street New York, NY 10065) from July 5, 2018 to October 20, 2018. For more information and hours of operation, visit their website.