An empire's great expectations: Museums in imperialist boy fiction

The mystery of museums in graphic novels

“…Published during a heightened period of intensity during the Cold War, it is plausible to see these stories of heroism in a cultural context that demanded tales of heroism and selfsacrifice, frequently in the face of an aggressive invading force. In this sense, the fictional Space Museum fulfilled many of the criteria that might be seen in relation to real-life museums (see Adams 2010;Black 1999). The empire building, of which museums were a key contributor during the later part of the nineteenth century in Europe, mirrors the way in which the Space Museum is used.…”