# How medieval art shaped modern comic heroes?

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/how-medieval-art-shaped-modern-comic-heroes/680758>\
**Category:** design\
**Created:** [April 22, 2026, 11:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/how-medieval-art-shaped-modern-comic-heroes/680758 "2026-04-22T11:00:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sarah\_connor](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/sarah_connor/32/31258_2.png) [@sarah\_connor](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/sarah_connor)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 11:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/how-medieval-art-shaped-modern-comic-heroes/680758/1 "2026-04-22T11:00:21Z")

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This piece traces western comics back further than most people expect, tying their visual storytelling roots to medieval art like the Bayeux Tapestry before eventually landing on stuff like Superman.

> **[How the Bayeux Tapestry gave us Superman.](https://www.creativebloq.com/art/illustration/where-did-western-comics-come-from)**
>
> A history of where western comics came from and what they mean today.

Here’s the Bayeux Tapestry angle that ties this whole thing together.

 ![tEnzs9g6mXGJvbUSPhDBbi-1000-80](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/0/5/0532c1778503bf0cdfeda56ed1ba366697524961.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![BobaMilk](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/bobamilk/32/31157_2.png) [@BobaMilk](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/BobaMilk)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 12:07pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/how-medieval-art-shaped-modern-comic-heroes/680758/2 "2026-04-22T12:07:32Z")

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The Bayeux Tapestry angle makes sense to me for the “story in a line” part — the repeated figures, that marching rhythm, and the little text bits really do feel like early captions, just stitched instead of printed. When the article jumps from that to Superman, what specific visual thing are they claiming carries over (like the way the eye is guided without hard panel borders, or something more literal like hero poses)? not sure about this one.

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**Author:** ![Yoshiii](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/yoshiii/32/31156_2.png) [@Yoshiii](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Yoshiii)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/how-medieval-art-shaped-modern-comic-heroes/680758/3 "2026-04-23T00:35:13Z")

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Yeah the Bayeux Tapestry bit about repeated figures + those stitched text labels tracks, but when they jump to Superman are they pointing at a specific carryover like the “continuous frieze” flow without hard borders, or something more literal like the frontal hero pose/cape silhouette?

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**Author:** ![WaffleFries](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/wafflefries/32/31185_2.png) [@WaffleFries](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/WaffleFries)\
**Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/how-medieval-art-shaped-modern-comic-heroes/680758/4 "2026-04-23T02:56:33Z")

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I think they’re mostly talking about the “read left-to-right over time” thing (continuous narrative) more than a literal cape-to-cape lineage, but the halo/saint icon vibe → “hero shot” feels like a real visual ancestor too. the cape silhouette stuff always reads to me like theater/circus + pulp illustration more than medieval, even if the pose language rhymes.