New Article: The Books and Exhibitions of Maurice Horn

Poster for 1967 exhibition, courtesy of Maurice Horn.

"How the French Kickstarted the Acceptance of Comics as Art in the US: the Books and Exhibitions of Maurice Horn" will be published in the Fall 2016 issue of the International Journal of Comic Art, and is currently available on Academia.edu.

Overview of the career of the French/American comics pioneer Maurice Horn. Discussion of the French interest in US comics, and the exhibitions Bande dessinée et figuration narrative (Paris 1967), AAARGH!: a Celebration of Comics (London 1970), and 75 Years of the Comics (NY 1971). Books discussed are A History of the Comic Strip (1968), World Encyclopedia of Comics (1976), Women in the Comics (1977), and several others. Includes a short history of American comics in France, and the 1960's groups, Club Bande Dessinée, and SOCERLID, that championed the idea of comics as "the ninth art" through their exhibitions and publications. Horn was a contributing member of these groups, moving on in the 1970's to edit an important string of comics reference books.

Article includes interviews with Maurice Horn, Rick Marschall, John Lent, Brian Walker, Denis Kitchen, Trina Robbins, Steve Leialoha, and Art Spiegelman.