Superheroes in Court! Comic Book Exhibition at Law Library through Dec. 16; Discussion Sept. 30

Comic books in a law library? That is indeed what you’ll find at Yale Law School’s Lillian Goldman Law Library now through December 16. They are part of an exhibition, “Superheroes in Court! Lawyers, Law and Comic Books,” depicting the role lawyers, laws, and courts have played in the 80-year history of the comic book industry.

The exhibit is the work of guest curator and Washington, D.C., attorney Mark Zaid, a comic book collector and co-founder of the Comic Book Collecting Association. Most of the items on display come from his personal collection. Zaid will give a talk on the exhibition on Thursday, September 30, at 1:00 p.m. in Room 129 of Yale Law School.

Among the funnies in the exhibit—Superman found guilty by a jury of Bizarro Supermen, and Batman on trial in front of a Joker judge. Other courtroom scenes are depicted on the covers of such classics as Young Romance, Teen-age Temptations, Crime Detective, and Secrets of Sinister House.

The exhibition is located in the Rare Book Exhibition Gallery, Level L2 of the Lillian Goldman Law Library. It is open to the public. Highlights of the exhibition can be viewed on the Yale Law Library Rare Books Blog.