The New York Adventure Club and comic book illustrator/historian Arlen Schumer are teaming together to offer some the virtual webinars: ‘The Silver Age of Comics: Rise of the Flawed Superhero’ Webinar and ‘Superman: Analyzing the Fleischer Studios Superman Cartoons’ .
The New York Adventure Club is a community-driven club that curates unique experiences, with a focus on history and storytelling of NYC’s best-kept secrets.
Arlen Schumer is one of the foremost historians of comic book art, and was called by Comic Book Artist magazine, “one of the more articulate and enthusiastic advocates of comic book art in America.” Schumer got his break working with Neal Adams at his Continuity Associate and since then publiushed books on American Pop Culture such as The Silver Age of Comic Book Art; coffee table art book Visions from The Twilight Zone, a monograph about the great DC Comics letterer Ira Schnapp, and a coffee table tome on the famous Max Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1940s.
Schumer is also one of comic book art’s most idiosyncratic practitioners, creating award-winning illustrations for the advertising and editorial markets.
About the Webinars
‘The Silver Age of Comics: Rise of the Flawed Superhero
Thursday, May 20 9:30 PM – 11:30 PM EDT
The webinar will examine:
- The origin story of the superhero tradition and its personification of American ideals and values
- An overview of the Silver Age of comics and why the medium’s greatest artists and superheroes arose during this time period
- How comic book art was heavily influenced by the turbulent 1960s, from futuristic idealism of the Kennedy years to post-Vietnam realism
- A deep dive into eight of the most influential comic book artists, such as Steve Ditko (Spider-Man, Dr. Strange), Carmine Infantino (The Flash, Batman), and Gene Colan (Iron Man, Daredevil)
- A discussion around the political divide amongst superhero characters, from establishment conservatives like Superman, The Flash, and Green Lantern; to counterculture liberals like Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, and Green Arrow
‘Superman: Analyzing the Fleischer Studios Superman Cartoons’
Tuesday, May 25 9:30 PM – 11:30 PM EDT
The webinar will examine:
- A background of the Fleischer Studios, and why they first turned down the offer to make Superman cartoons for Hollywood studio giant Paramount Pictures (and what made them turn around and agree to do the job!)
- Why the cartoons’ version of Superman so closely resembles that of original Superman comic book artist and co-creator Joe Shuster’s version
- A behind-the-scenes look at the production art, advertising, and promotional materials
- The Superman cartoons’ relationship to the “real world,” and how they reflected, and “participated” in, the concurrent Second World War
Each session also includes a Q & A with Schumer.
Admission for the programs is only $10 and will be available to access the full replay for one week!
For more information and tickets visit the above links or check out The New York Adventure Club website or follow them on Twitter: @NYAdventureClub
More about comic book illustrator/historian Arlen Schumer can be found at his site and on Twitter: @arlenschumer