About

'Comics are a gateway drug to literacy'.
Art Spiegelman, creator of the Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir Maus: A Survivor's Tale 1972-1991.

The Gallery's Australian Cinémathèque presents films exploring the crossover between the drawn narrative and its adaptation to animation and live-action films. From classic comic serials to graphic novels, the program brings together over 60 films from around the world that chart the shift from the printed page to screen and the way comic genres and themes challenge personal and cultural expectations. From morally complex superheros through to satirical reflections of the mundane, these films capture our imagination, engage our empathy and prick our social consciousness.

COSPLAY
12noon 26 January, 2012

From anime warrior to Disney princess, superhero to steampunk, recreate your favourite anime, manga, comic and film characters at the Gallery of Modern Art's first ever Cosplay event.

QAGOMA acknowledges the generous assistance of the National Film and Sound Archive Australia, Canberra and George Eastman House, Rochester, NY for providing film prints for the program. Program curated by Amanda Slack-Smith, Australian Cinémathèque.

List of Works

• Pulped Fiction
• 'Pulped Fiction' brings together a selection of early film adaptations of comics and comic strips, as well as comic serials made for television. The program features early silent cinema and television favourites.
• Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House 1921 | Director: Winsor McCay
• The Kid Stakes 1927 | Director: Tal Ordell
• Popeye the Sailor with Little Swee' Pea 1936 | Director: Dave Fleischer
• Blondie 1938 | Director: Frank R Strayer
• A Bout with a Trout 1947 | Director: Izzy Sparber
• San Mao liu lang ji (The Winter of Three Hairs) 1949 | Directors: Gong Yan, Ming Zhao
• Gasoline Alley 1951 | Director: Edward Bernds
• Footrot Flats: the Dog's Tale 1987 | Director: Murray Ball
• For Better or For Worse: Crazy Little Thing Called Love 2000 | Director: Troy Sullivan
• Pelswick: Inherit the Wheeled 2002 | Director: Charles E Bastien
• Afro Samurai 2007 | Director: Takashi Okazak
• Gods and Monsters
• 'Gods and Monsters' celebrates and challenges the mythology of superheroes, presenting heroes of derivations divine and damnable. The program explores the often-complex line between god and monster.
• Superman 1978 | Director: Richard Donner
• Akira 1988 | Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
• Metoroporisu (Metropolis) 2001 | Director: Rintaro
• X2: X-Men United 2003 | Director: Bryan Singer
• Hellboy 2004 | Director: Guillermo Del Toro
• Spiderman 2 2004 | Director: Sam Raimi
• Immortel Ad Vitam (Immortal Ad Vitam) 2004 | Director: Enki Bilal
• Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence 2004 | Director: Mamoru Oshii
• Iron Man 2008 | Director: Jon Favreau
• The Dark Knight 2008 | Director: Christopher Nolan
• Watchmen 2009 | Director: Zack Snyder
• Rebels and Outcasts
• 'Rebels and Outcasts' examines deeply personal stories of betrayal and retribution. These films chart our fascination with single-minded vendettas carried out by vigilantes who cloak their actions in ideals of justice.
• Sin City 2005 | Directors: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
• The Crow 1994 | Director: Alex Proyas
• A History of Violence 2005 | Director: David Cronenberg
• Kozure ôkami: Ko wo kashi ude kashi tsukamatsuru (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance) 1972 | Director: Kenji Misumi
• Shurayukihime (Lady Snowblood) 1973 | Director: Toshiya Fujita
• Death Note 2006 | Director: Shusuke Kaneko
• Road to Perdition 2002 | Director: Sam Mendes
• Oldŭboi (Oldboy) 2003 | Director: Park Chan-wook
• V for Vendetta 2006 | Director: James McTeigue
• Koroshiya Ichi (Ichi the Killer) 2001 | Director: Takashi Miike
• Gǔ Huò Zái (Young and Dangerous) 1996 | Director: Andrew Lau
• Fung wan: Hung ba tin ha (The Storm Riders) 1998 | Director: Andrew Lau
• Stranger than Fiction
• 'Stranger than Fiction' features a wide selection of live action and animated films that contemplate questions of love, life and adventure, highlighting hopes, frustrations and dreams from everyday life.
• When the Wind Blows 1986 | Director: Jimmy Murakami
• Kurenai no buta (Porco Rosso) 1992 | Director: Hayao Miyazaki
• Mimi wo sumaseba (Whisper of the Heart) 1995 | Director: Oshifumi Kondō
• The Bloody Olive 1997 | Director: Vincent Bal
• Ghost World 2001 | Director: Terry Zwigoff
• American Splendor 2003 | Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
• Persepolis 2007 | Directors: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
• Son Osmanlı Yandım Ali (The Last Ottoman: Knockout Ali) 2007 | Director: Mustafa Şevki Doğan
• The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch 2008 | Director: Jérôme Salle
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 2010 | Director: Edgar Wright
• Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec) 2010 | Director: Luc Besson
• Tamara Drewe 2010 | Director: Stephen Frears
• Guilty Pleasures
• 'Guilty Pleasures' celebrates cult classics and fan favourites. Fabulous for their flaws and excesses, these films have an indefinable quality that transforms them into popcorn-munching escapism.
• Barbarella 1968 | Director: Roger Vadim
• Diabolik (Danger) 1968 | Director: Mario Bava
• Tales from the Crypt 1972 | Director: Freddie Francis
• Fritz the Cat 1972 | Director: Ralph Bakshi
• Flash Gordon 1980 | Director: Mike Hodges
• Heavy Metal 1981 | Director: Garald Potterton
• Swamp Thing 1982 | Director: Wes Craven
• Weird Science 1985 | Director: John Hughes
• Kondom des Grauens (Killer Condom) 1996 | Director: Martin Walz
• Under the Radar
• 'Under the Radar' showcases hidden gems from around the globe, drawing attention to the work of artists and filmmakers working outside the mainstream.
• Technotise - Edit i ja (Technotise Edit & I) 2009 | Director: Aleksa Gajić
• Iggi (Moss) 2010 | Director: Kang Woo-suk
• Gainsbourg: Vie héroïque (A Heroic Life) 2010 | Director: Joann Sfar
• L'ultimo terrestre (The Last Man on Earth) 2011 | Director: Gian Alfonso Pacinotti
• Le chat du rabbin (The Rabbi's Cat) 2011 | Directors: Antoine Delesvaux, Joann Sfar
• This Comic Life
• 'This Comic Life' pays tribute to films that, while not directly drawn from the graphic page, pay homage to the medium through the blending of life and art.
• Chasing Amy 1997 | Director: Kevin Smith
• Unbreakable 2000 | Director: M Night Shyamalan
• S.P.I.C.: The Storyboard of My Life 2004 | Director: Robert Castillo
• Mirrormask 2005 | Director: Dave McKean
• Writing Pictures
• 'Writing Pictures' considers the life and work of artists and writers whose visionary work has changed the way the comic medium is viewed today.
• Crumb 1994 | Director: Terry Zwigoff
• The Mindscape of Alan Moore 2005 | Director: Dez Vylenz
• Touch Me Someplace I Can Feel 2007 | Director: Simone de Vries
• Le