From comic strips and political cartoons to comic books and graphic novels, the events of May 4, 1970, have been inked by numerous illustrators over the years. The exhibition Graphic Content: Comics of May 4 will examine graphic art depictions of May 4 from three generations of acclaimed artists, including Chuck Ayers, Derf Backderf and Katherine Wirick. The exhibit will be on display from March 12 through June 7 in the May 4 Visitors Center, 147 Taylor Hall, Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.

Each artist contributes a unique component to this emotionally stirring exhibition. Ayers’ illustrations, which were published in the Daily Kent Stater and the Akron Beacon Journal, are drawn from his personal experiences as a Kent State student in 1970. Backderf’s graphic novel “Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio” was produced through laborious research of Kent State’s Special Collections and Archives’ extensive May 4 Collection. No One is Safe, Wirick’s poster-sized storyboards are a cathartic account inspired by her father who took a ROTC exam next to Bill Schroeder on May 4, 1970, just hours before he was killed. 

MAY 4 VISITORS CENTER