• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search
  • About
    • Areas and Programs
      • Architecture
      • Ceramics
      • Comprehensive Design
      • Digital Art
      • Fashion Design
      • Fibers
      • Graphic Design
      • Interior Design
      • Merchandising
      • Metalsmithing + Jewelry Design
      • Painting
      • Photography
      • Printmaking
      • Sculpture
    • Facilities
      • Virtual Tour
      • Fabrication Labs
        • Fine Arts Fabrication Lab
        • Kirkwood Hall Fabrication Lab
        • Wood and Metal Shop
        • Columbus Fabrication Lab
      • ArtShop at Eskenazi School of Art
      • Museums + Libraries
    • Centers and Collections
      • Eskenazi Technology and Innovation Lab (ETIL)
        • Members
        • Research
      • Center for Innovative Merchandising
      • ServeDesign Center
      • Sage Collection
    • Accreditation
    • History
    • Careers/Opportunities
      • Part-time Position Descriptions
    • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access
      • Community and Student Success Committee
      • Cultivate and Create Scholarship
      • IDEA Impact Fund
      • Kudos Corner
    • 2030 Strategic Plan
    • Emergency Preparedness
    • Staff Directory
    • Contact
  • Faculty
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Faculty Research
  • Undergraduate
    • Majors
      • Comprehensive Design B.S.
      • Fashion Design B.A.
      • Interior Design B.S.
      • Merchandising B.S.
      • Studio Art B.A.
      • Studio Art B.F.A.
    • Minors
    • Creative Core
    • How to Apply
      • Laptop Requirement
    • Scholarships + Financial Aid
    • Visit/Contact Us
  • Graduate
    • M.Arch (Architecture)
    • M.F.A. in Studio Art
    • How to Apply
    • Graduate Student Funding
    • Schedule a Visit
  • Current Students
    • Career Preparation
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Resources
      • Curricular Forms
      • Academic Advising
      • Career Advising + Internships
        • Talk to a Career Advisor
      • Student Emergency Relief Fund
        • Eskenazi School Student Emergency Relief Fund Application
      • Applying to the B.F.A. Program
        • Studio Art B.F.A. Application
      • Scholarship Awards
        • Scholarship Application
      • Studio Art Thesis Exhibitions
      • Graduation
      • Eskenazi Ambassadors
      • Student Special Project Fund
      • Undergraduate Teaching Assistant/Intern (UTA/UTIN) Application
    • Overseas Study Programs
  • Exhibitions
    • Grunwald Gallery
      • Call for Entries
      • Exhibitions
      • Archive
        • 2024
        • 2023
        • 2022
        • 2021
        • 2020
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
        • 2012
        • 2025
      • Online Exhibitions
        • MFA / BFA Thesis Shows
        • Alumni Exhibition
    • Miller M.Arch Gallery
      • Exhibitions
      • Archive
    • Sage Collection
      • Archive
      • Exhibitions + Events
  • News
    • 2025
    • Eskenazi School News
    • Vision Magazine 2023-24
  • Events
    • Speaker Series
      • McKinney Visiting Artist Series
        • Archive
          • Folder Name
          • 2023-2024
            • Barbara Tannenbaum: Photography
            • Brad Vetter: Graphic Design
            • David Hytone: Painting
            • Reinhold Engberding
            • Lauren Fensterstock: Impermanent Conditions
            • Nina Sarnelle and Selwa Sweidan: Touch Praxis
            • Theresa Ganz
            • Roos van Haaften: Shadow Laboratory : light works based on Bloomington’s Astronomy Glass Photographic Plate Collection
            • Endi Poskovic: Dream and the Paradox of Image
            • Curtis Hidemasa Arima
            • Daniel Vlček and Tom Kotik
            • Sunshine Cobb
          • 2022-2023
            • Saša Bogojev: Painting
            • Thomas Madden: Metals
            • Kei Ito: Photography
            • Yuri Kobayashi: Creative Core
            • Akirash: McKinney International Artist in Residence
            • Christopher K. Ho: Sculpture
            • Tiare Ribeaux/Jody Stillwater: Digital Art
            • Ben Cuevas: Fibers
            • Wuon-Gean Ho: Printmaking
            • Nicole Dotin: Graphic Design
            • Paul S. Briggs: Ceramics
          • 2021–2022
          • 2020–2021
          • 2019–2020
          • 2018–2019
          • 2017–2018
          • 2016–2017
          • 2015–2016
      • Miller M. Arch Lecture and Exhibition Series
        • Archive
          • Folder Name
          • 2023-2024
          • 2022-2023
          • 2021–2022
          • 2020–2021
          • 2019–2020
      • Design Speaker Series
        • Archive
          • 2023-2024
          • 2022-2023
      • Bill Blass Speaker Series
        • Archive
          • 2024-2025
          • 2022-2023
          • 2023-2024
      • ETIL Noon Talk Series
        • Archive
    • Special Events
      • Archive
        • 2024-2025 Events
        • 2023-2024 Events
        • 2022-2023 Events
        • 2021-2022 Events
        • 2020-2021 Events
        • 2019-2020 Events
        • 2018-2019 Events
        • 2017-2018 Events
        • 2016-2017 Events
  • Alumni
    • Alumni Connect
  • Giving
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Staff Directory
    • Community + Collaboration

Eskenazi School
of Art, Architecture + Design

  • Home
  • About
    • Areas and Programs
    • Facilities
    • Centers and Collections
    • Accreditation
    • History
    • Careers/Opportunities
    • Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access
    • 2030 Strategic Plan
    • Emergency Preparedness
    • Staff Directory
    • Contact
  • Faculty
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Faculty Research
  • Undergraduate
    • Majors
    • Minors
    • Creative Core
    • How to Apply
    • Scholarships + Financial Aid
    • Visit/Contact Us
  • Graduate
    • M.Arch (Architecture)
    • M.F.A. in Studio Art
    • How to Apply
    • Graduate Student Funding
    • Schedule a Visit
  • Current Students
    • Career Preparation
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Resources
    • Overseas Study Programs
  • Exhibitions
    • Grunwald Gallery
    • Miller M.Arch Gallery
    • Sage Collection
  • News
    • 2025
    • Eskenazi School News
    • Vision Magazine 2023-24
  • Events
    • Speaker Series
    • Special Events
  • Alumni
    • Alumni Connect
  • Giving
  • Search
  • Connect
  • Home
  • News
  • 2022
  • The Deep End

Grunwald show wades into "The Deep End" of comic book collecting

By: Alex Chambers

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Underwater comic-book imagery in the Grunwald show, The Deep End. courtesy Malcolm Mobutu Smith

Listen to this story at its source: Indiana Public Media  

In 1940, the latest superhero movie wasn’t a movie at all. It was a comic book. Superman got his start in Action Comics Number 1 in 1938. His popularity, along with Captain Marvel, Batman, Green Lantern and more, made comic books a lucrative new medium. And they continue to be a major influence in American culture, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to literary graphic novels like Fun Home.

A new exhibition about the Golden Age of Comics opens this Friday, January 13, at the Grunwald Gallery at IU’s Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture and Design. “The Deep End” showcases the theme of underwater imagery in comic books from 1938-1961, and it’s drawn from Malcolm Mobutu Smith's comic book collection. Smith is an associate professor of ceramics here at IU who’s collected around 20 thousand items related to comic books. We talked about how he got started collecting, why he decided to focus this exhibit on underwater imagery, and what we can learn from Golden Age comics today.

The Deep End: Golden Age of Comic Books runs January 13-March 4 at the Grunwald Gallery at IU’s Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design. Smith will be giving an opening talk at noon on Friday the 13th, followed by a panel discussion at 5 o’clock that evening, and an opening reception from 6 to 8.

  • 2025
  • Eskenazi School News
  • Vision Magazine 2023-24

Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design resources and social media channels

  • Faculty & Staff Intranet
  • COLLEGE OF ARTS + SCIENCES
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University