There are certain places one expects to see comic books — stuffed under a kid’s bed, preserved in Mylar in a collector’s trophy room — but on the wall at an art gallery?

If that sounds more far-fetched than the inability to figure out Clark Kent is Superman, you’d be surprised at what’s currently on display at The Trunk Space, a gallery in Phoenix.

“Comic artists don’t get a chance to show off,” says Brandon Huigens, guest curator of “Bam! Sequential Art and Comics in the Post-Post Modern Era,” an exhibit that is giving local and national comic creators an opportunity to do just that.

It’s not just the pictures that are getting a chance to shine. Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe is starting a monthly club focusing on the written aspect of “graphic novels,” or longer, more mature-minded “sequential art” stories published in bound editions, such as “Sandman,” “We3” and “Sin City.”

“Graphic novels at this point are more literature than they are comic books. There’s a lot that goes into the writing, so we wanted to pay attention to that,” says Bill Terrance, organizer and moderator of the discussion group.

People are paying attention, if the response at The Trunk Space is any indication.

“We’ve gotten more calls leading up to this than any show this month, and an excellent flow-through,” says JRC, co-owner and operator of The Trunk Space.

The exhibit focuses mainly on more esoteric artists, such as the Valley's Eric Mengel (“Blind Mice”) and Rob Osborne (“1,000 Steps to World Domination”), as well as some mainstream names such as Steve Rude and “X-Men” penciller Lenil Francis Yu.

About 100 pieces from more than 30 artists are on display. JRC says the exhibit has a personal significance.

“My first art experience was with comic books and pop art, and that is why I set out to do this show,” JRC says.

NO LONGER DISPOSABLE

Comic book art exhibits may seem unconventional, but they are going a long way in changing the idea that comic books are an inherently disposable creative medium.

“People used to think, ‘Comic books, you roll them up and stick them in your back pocket.’ That’s not really the case any more,” says Osborne, whose comic was recently published nationally by AiT/PlanetLar.
“Hanging it up in a gallery is obviously a different take than what people are used to.”

Efforts such as these are making progress in seeing comics not just as a place to see buff men in tights beating the holy heck out of each other, but simply as another way to tell a story.

“The medium of comics is just words mixed with pictures — the story can be anything at that point, from Teletubbies to Einstein’s theory of relativity,” says Todd McFarlane, creator of “Spawn.,” McFarlane, an East Valley resident, spoke at last week's introductory meeting of the discussion group at Changing Hands.

“There’s truly something out there for everyone,” JRC says. “Comics art is just as valid as any other art.”

This mind-set has allowed the entire audience for comics to diversify beyond the stereotype of the “Comic Book Guy” from “The Simpsons.”
“The majority of our customers with graphic novels are not kids. It’s people in their 20s, both guys and girls,” Terrance says.

Another factor causing greater awareness of the medium is the segregation between mainstream and more independent comics dwindling in recent years. Small press standouts like David Lapham (“Stray Bullets”) work on Batman and “Captain America” writer Ed Brubaker published the semi-autobiographical graphic novel “A Complete Lowlife.”

ACCESSIBLE MEDIUM

“Every customer here picks up a little mainstream, a little small press,” says Drew Sullivan, owner of Ash Avenue Comics and Books in Tempe. “People have a real diversity of tastes and in the genres they pick up.”

Jim Mahfood, a former Valley denizen who now lives in Los Angeles, represents this blurring line by working on icons such as Spider-Man while still publishing his own creation, “Stupid Comics.”

“It’s common knowledge with people working in indie comics that the sky’s the limit — autobiographical, humor, we can do whatever we want,” says Mahfood, whose work is part of the Trunk Space exhibit.
Although these artists strive to provide something different from the mainstream, the importance of Superman and Batman to the history of the medium is not forgotten.

“None of this would have been possible without superhero comics,” Huigens says, himself an aspiring cartoonist.

He adds that another appeal is accessibility; that theoretically anyone can get involved.

“You can get far just giving out your minicomics to people,” he says, citing as an example Osborne, who originally photocopied and hand-distributed his comics.

“It’s an accessible medium to get into,” JRC says, “Write, draw — you’re in the comics industry!”

Although perceptions toward comics are changing, some attitudes are still trapped in Wonder Woman’s lasso.

“I just wish I could get the stereotype that comic books are for 8-year-olds changed,’’ McFarlane says. ‘‘Get people back into a comic book store and say, ‘Look! It’s like when we were kids and there were only three channels, but there are hundreds of cable channels today.’’’

“Bam! Sequential Art and Comics in the Post-Post Modern Era”
When: 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: The Trunk Space, 1506 N.W. Grand Ave., Phoenix How much: Free
Info:

Graphic Novel Book Club
When: 4 p.m. Sunday (second Sunday of every month)
Where: Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S. McClintock Drive, Tempe How much: Free
Info: