Britain Bray, who has been working on this project since February, has a vested interest in the materials since the genre ultimately informs her work as an illustrator.
“Comics are a Unique Storytelling Medium”ĭue to the size of the collection, it was decided that an MFA-IVC (Master of Fine arts in Visual Culture and Illustration) fellowship student would be hired to work on the rehousing and description of the comic books. The original comic sleeves are beginning to plasticize, which is demonstrated here by the ripple effect. Some of the original comic boxes were stored in the Special Collections vault. Since the materials have been heavily used during their tenure in special collections, it was decided by both myself and the DMGHL curator that a complete rehousing was necessary. Over time, the boxes and comic sleeves and backings have started to degrade because the original housings were not of the highest archival quality. The items arrived from the Center for the Humanities in boxes and housings that were immediately labeled and made available for use. The scope of the collection is so broad that a patron could easily browse over five decades worth of publications from both Marvel and DC alone. Furthermore, a study of the various comics shows stylistic trends, relevant color schemes, and even how specific printing processes and papers either enhance or detract from the overall aesthetic of the book itself.
Because the materials were curated around Early’s interests, the comics are full of characters, themes, and narratives rich in historical and cultural significance.Ī number of titles feature a wide array of superheroes, both famous and uncommon, with each cover just as fascinating as the previous one. The Center for the Humanities Comics Collection is appealing both academically and personally and the materials provide diverse research opportunities in both content and form. Preserving the Comics CollectionĬomics featured in the 2015 exhibition Material Culture: Highlights from the Center for the Humanities Over the years, the materials have been heavily used for research, open houses, classes, and exhibitions. The bulk of the materials consists of comic books spanning the second half of the twentieth century through the 1990s. The acquisition has since paved the way for other significant comic and cartoon archives, including two recent additions, the Craig Yoe Teaching Collection and the Archie Collection. Called the Center for the Humanities Comics Collection, it comprises over 100 boxes containing various formats: books, periodicals, LPs, and comics. It is especially valuable to scholars because the collection’s creator, Gerald Early, professor of English, African, and African-American Studies at Washington University, built it around his research and teaching interests. Skye Lacerte, curator of the DMGHL, notes that the collection was the first notable comics acquisition for the DMGHL. A portion of the collection, which contained thousands of comics, landed in the holdings of the Dowd Modern Graphic History Library (DMGHL). Ten years ago, the Center for the Humanities transferred ownership of some of its materials to the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections.
Scholarly Publishing & Digital Scholarship.West Campus Library & Conference Center.Kenneth and Nancy Kranzberg Art & Architecture Library.