About Kim A. Munson (author, curator, art historian)
Kim A Munson (MA SFSU) is the editor of the Eisner Award-nominated anthology Comic Art in Museums (University Press of Mississippi press release) the first academic book to explore the evolution of thought about comic art 1930-present as manifested in art exhibitions. Kim is an art historian, author, artist, and curator living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has contributed essays on comic art, museum exhibitions, labor emblems, and other topics to numerous books and journals including The Cambridge Companion to Comics, The Comics of R. Crumb: Underground in the Art Museum, Source: Notes in the History of Art, International Journal of Comic Art, and Places Journal. She was a 2022 Eisner Awards Judge and the curator of Women in Comics (NY, Rome, Napoli), Colleen Doran Illustrates Neil Gaiman (NY, San Diego), and Beautiful Monsters: The Art of Emil Ferris (NY). Denis Kitchen: Conversations and Trina Robbins: Conversations are forthcoming from UPM in 2025.
Beautiful Monsters: The Art of Emil Ferris
Two galleries of original art by Emil Ferris will be on view at the Society of Illustrators, NY 7/31 - 10/19, feeaturing a large selection from My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book 2. Forbes | Vulture | SOI Hall of Fame Pix
Colleen Doran Illustrates Neil Gaiman
65 beautiful drawings by Colleen Doran were on view at the San Diego Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park through April 2024. Doran/Gaiman projects represented in the show include Chivalry, Snow Glass Apples, Troll Bridge, American Gods, Norse Mythology, Sandman, and Doran’s latest project, the official adaption of Good Omens. The exhibit was developed by Kim with the Society of Illustrators in NY, where it was shown from March to July 2023. Exhibit photos from San Diego.
My essay on “Colleen Doran Illustrates Neil Gaiman” is now available in Source: Notes on the History of Art, Volume 43, Number 2 (Winter 2024). Special issue on the Scholarship of Comics: In Memoriam David Kunzle (1936-2024).
Documentary: Lichtenstein and Comics
Art Spiegelman, Françoise Mouly, & Jeff Smith at CXC Columbus 2024.. Schedule.
San Diego Comic-Con 2024
Tribute to trina rorrins - Lee Marrs, Heidi McDonald, Kim Munson, Roberta Gregory, Casey Robbins, Barbara Mendes. Photo by Michael Dooley.
7/25 - Tribute to Trina Robbins - On April 10, we lost our beloved Trina Robbins, feminist, cartoonist, herstorian, curator, tap dancer, vintage fashionista, and cat mom. Old friends Barbara “Willy” Mendes (Queen of the Cosmos Comix), Roberta Gregory (Naughty Bits), Lee Marrs (Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp), Heidi McDonald (The Beat), and Casey Robbins (Trina's daughter) will share their memories. Stories from the audience are encouraged. Moderated by Kim A. Munson (Conversations with Trina Robbins). Room: 7AB
A transcript will be published in the International Journal of Comic Art. Tribute articles: Forbes by Rob Salkowitz | CNN | NYT | WaPo | Today Show | Comics Journal | Heidi McDonald Oral Histories.
Mutts halloween strip by patrick mcdonnell.
7/26 - Patrick McDonnell's Super Hero's Journey - Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell’s The Super Hero’s Journey is a celebration and reinvention of the Marvel Comics drawn by Jack Kirby he loved as a kid. McDonnell will discuss this book and his upcoming SDCC Museum exhibit with Kirby experts Glen David Gold (Carter Beats the Devil), Charles Hatfield (Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby), and publisher Charles Kochman (Abrams ComicArts). Moderated by Kim A. Munson (Comic Art in Museums). Room: 24ABC
WonderCon 2024
Spotlight on Colleen Doran, Wondercon, Saturday, 3/30/24. I was also on Comic Culture in Museums: Pop Culture on Display! moderated by Patrick Reed. Photo by Danny barer.
Upcoming Publications
SDCC Memory: Denis Kitchen and Trina Robbins on a panel about underground comix, 2010.
I have agreed to edit books on Denis Kitchen (submitted) & Trina Robbins for UPM’s Conversations series, forthcoming 2024, 2025.
I’m guest editing a symposium on Emil Ferris’s “Monsters 2” for the American Book Review Journal, in conjunction with Paul Buhle.
New Books
I contributed a chapter on exhibitions to the Cambridge Companion to Comics, edited by Maaheen Ahmed. Ahmed article & podcast. I was honored to be included with such a great list of international scholars.
I contributed a chapter to this book about George Lucas, which is now available. It's an overview of various elements of his life and business. My chapter, "George Lucas in Museums," is about the creation of the Lucasfilm Archives, and how exhibits connect with the fandom, reinforce his creative vision, and expand the transmedia universe of Star Wars.
Eisners - Comic Art in Museums
Comic Art in Museums, edited by Kim Munson. University of Mississippi Press, 2020. Nominated for Best Scholarly/academic Book, 2021 Eisner awards.
Alas, I didn’t win in 2021.. Congrats to Ms. Wanzo. It was an honor to be nominated. (video of show | List of Winners)
