Almost every young person is introduced to the wonders of reading through illustrated works. For many, the marriage of words and images remains an intoxicating and seductive mix, even as one's reading tastes mature. That will often mean graduating to comic books. But comics themselves will often reflect that increasing maturity by providing sophisticated and dense stories with exciting visuals. Stories, in other words, that are not necessarily geared soley toward young readers.
This month's display features an array of visual works from the Fisher's collections: from graphic novelist Chris Ware's format-busting "book" Building Stories, to a visual retelling of The Handmaid's Tale, along with early and important Canadian comics and "wordless" narratives from one of the inventor's of the genre. Lynd Ward, to more recent examples from Canadian artists George A. Walker and Wesley Bates.
This exhibiton was co-curated by Liz Ridolfo and John Shoesmith, and installed by Linda Joy.