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"Hypno-Sexism," by Carol Lay. Fantastic Voyage Art imitates life in 'Fantastic! The Art of Comics'. By Cicely J. Sweed As a kid growing up in the early '80s' I had a fleeting love affair with comics. Even as I consumed a regular diet of the greats like Marvel, The Peanuts, Archie, and Mad, fascinated by the brilliant colors and drawings that ran the gamut from the elegant strength in Spiderman, to the free, undefined style of the Peanuts, I couldn't help but have this nagging desire for the comics to go beyond the cliché. To go farther, and expose our societal flaws and handicaps from behind the intellectual disguise of seemingly innocent stories about superheros, children, rich teenagers, or off-the-cuff jokesters. It was not until high school, when I discovered RAW magazine, that I began to find comics that satisfied my quest for illustrated reading material that went beyond the cute Sunday morning strip. The comics in its pages challenged the status quo with controversial subject matter that explored the seedy underbelly of politics, sex, and life. And, with its high quality production and large-size format, RAW became more than a comic book; it was art. Although, comics had been in existence for well over a century, they had yet to be considered an artistic genre. RAW changed all that. Now, with the recent proliferation of comics-turned-movies like Waking Life, Ghost World, From Hell, Spiderman, and the upcoming Hulk, comics seem to be moving out of the underground, and growing in popularity. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is attempting to feed this growing awareness of comics with Fantastic! The Art of Comics and Illusion, an exhibition that showcases the work of contemporary comics artists. While the subtitle of the exhibit, The New Shape of Comics, seems somewhat vague, the show contained several interesting works that hint at the growing emergence of underground comics, and their ability to appeal to mainstream audiences. Strips like Joe Matt's "Tales from the Broom Factory" and Archer Prewitt's "Sof' Boy" offered satirical critiques on consumerism, homelessness, and unemployment, while artists Carol Lay and Mary Fleener took a more carefree approach to dealing with issues on sexism and life. Other notable works included Rafael Navarro's exciting large-scale Sonambulo series that fused Mexican wrestling and elements from horror flicks and superhero comics. Bay Area artist Keith Knight's K Chronicles feature"Smoking Crack With God"; and a series of comic book characters by youth in the Young Artists at Work (YAAW) workshop lead by local artist Sirron Norris. Whether or not the work shown in Fantastic! will appeal to a whole new generation of comic book lovers and non-lovers alike still remains to be seen, but what this exhibit does prove is that contemporary comics have the ability to free us from our restrictive views on what is or isn't art. By keeping it real, and depicting the harsh realities of life without loosing its sense of humor, comics deconstruct the distinction between art and life, allowing us to live with art rather than just looking at it. Fantastic! The Art of Comics and Illusion shows at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts through October 13. 701 Mission Street, SF. 415.978.2700. [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]