Situating World War 3 Illustrated

When the comics World War 3 (WW3) Illustrated appeared in 1979, Lucy Lippard was already deeply experienced in New York City’s political art movements. Subsequently she became increasingly active as a critic, curator, organizer, and a devoted promoter of women and their art. Originally, she was oriented toward minimalist and conceptual art, but under conditions of increasing war, strife, poverty, pending doom—and expansive resistance—she reoriented toward social justice art. And especially toward WW3 and radical comics. Over these years, she contributed to and reinforced the direction of WW3, and her own development (including her writings of some two dozen books) was shaped by WW3.