A new exhibition of “priceless” artefacts from the world of DC Comics is coming to London, featuring the first ever sketch of the Joker and the cape worn by Christopher Reeve’s Superman.
The curator of DC Exhibition: Dawn Of Super Heroes believes the exhibits have hugely influenced art and culture over the past 80 years, and their creation should be held in the same esteem as any other artform.
The collection took three years to collate and includes the Batpod from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, as well as costumes worn by Batman actors Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck.
Also on display are Jack Nicholson’s Joker outfit, the Catwoman costume worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992’s Batman Returns and Lynda Carter’s iconic Wonder Woman costume from the Seventies, as well as that worn by Gal Gadot in the new films.
The exhibition has just had a successful 10-month run at Art Ludique museum in Paris and will open at the O2 on February 23.
Curator Jean-Jacques Launier said: “We were given full access to the Warner archive. Many of these props and artefacts are priceless. Some of the sketches, like the first ever Joker sketch, would be worth millions. People have loved discovering the history behind these characters and the influence they have had on culture. For example, Superman was created by two guys when they were just 17.
Many of these characters were created during tough parts of our history — around the time of the Second World War and around the Cold War when people were afraid of the atomic bomb.”
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The exhibition includes more than 200 original comic book pages, 300 preparatory sketches and 45 original movie costumes and props.
Tickets go on sale on Friday from DCExhibition.co.uk.
