America’s Monsters, Superheroes & Villains

The Sacramento History Museum is proud to present “America’s Monsters, Superheroes and Villains: Our Culture at Play,” an engaging exhibition of vintage toys and more from SuperMonster市City!, opening August 9, 2024, and continuing through January 7, 2025.

This uniquely engaging exhibition will be filled with more than 400 vintage and original toys, comic books, games, posters, packaging, television commercials, movie trailers and more, featuring iconic monsters, superheroes, and villains of American popular culture. This expansive exhibition will be displayed throughout the museum’s ground floor and in the third floor R. Burnett and Mimi Miller Gallery.

This eclectic display of toys, comic books, games, posters, packaging, media and more, are derived from collector and SuperMonster市City! co-founder David Barnhill’s private collection of an estimated 200,000 objects. Featured are iconic monsters, superheroes, and villains such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Black Panther, The Joker, Storm, Green Goblin, Captain Marvel, as well as Star Trek, Star Wars and more.

Exhibit curator and SuperMonster市City! co-founder Stephen Rueff’s informative didactics highlight how these characters became symbols of America’s global identity and touchstones for American youth as they navigated social tensions, from post-World War II, through the 1960’s and into the Cold War Era.

Appealing to all ages, the exhibition profiles many creators, designers, and artists such as: Stan Lee, Bob Kane, and Todd McFarlane, along with vintage toys from Mattel, Hasbro, Aurora, Marx, and more.

The “America’s Monsters, Superheroes and Villains: Our Culture at Play” exhibit will be included with museum admission.