The time has nearly come! After years of dreaming and scheming, the Cartoon Library’s new home in Sullivant Hall is just a few short months away from being ready for our expansion. We’ll be closing our doors to the public in the coming weeks, and readying our collection for the big move through the summer.

During the preparations, the Cartoon Library & Museum will need to temporarily stop services for our patrons. Here is a list of important dates to be aware of if you plan a visit to the library or use our reproduction services:

Currently: No longer accepting requests for group tours through the Summer

May 31: Last day we will accept digital image requests and photocopy requests

May 31–July 12:  Reading room will be open to researchers by limited appointment only (please contact the library: cartoons@osu.edu) and to view the exhibition, Alternate Views: Perspectives on the American Civil War

July 15–September 6: Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is CLOSED to all visitors and patrons

We can’t wait to see you again in the Fall! If you have any questions about the dates above, please contact us at cartoons@osu.edu.

…and don’t forget to mark your calendars for our Grand Opening Festival of Cartoon Art, November 14th-17th 2013!
Details coming soon.

But before becoming the prince of propaganda, Chick worked alongside writer P.S. Clayton on the feature Times Have Changed? which ran from November 16, 1953 through 1955. This earlier, softer form of cultural criticism revolved around the intertwined lives of humans and dinosaurs (perhaps some foreshadowing here of later themes), and how little our ways have changed over time.

P.S. Clayton and Jack T. Chick’s “Times Have Changed?”, from The San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

P.S. Clayton and Jack T. Chick’s “Times Have Changed?” From the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

P.S. Clayton and Jack T. Chick’s “Times Have Changed?” From the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

P.S. Clayton and Jack T. Chick’s “Times Have Changed?” From the San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Despite the over 700 million published copies of his evangelical tracts, Jack T. Chick himself has managed to remain reclusive, giving few to no interviews since the 1970s. If you know more about Chick’s other early work, please let us know!

Original editorial cartoon by Arnold Roth. From the Arnold Roth Deposit Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Our Volunteer Day in April was such a huge success, that we’re ready and raring to go for round two!
Join us as we uncover hidden comic strip treasures from the United Media Syndicate Archives, as part of our preparation of the collections for our big move this summer. We need assistance unpacking, discarding acidic packing materials, sorting, and re-housing 300 boxes of proofs in new acid-free containers before our expansion into Sullivant Hall.  This collection contains thousands of comic strip proofs straight from the syndicate, ranging from the 1930s through 2000!

No experience necessary.  Training will be provided before we get started.  Don’t miss this chance to be a part of preserving the world of comics!
…And to get a free lunch!

When: Saturday, June 8th, 2013
               10am-4pm

 Where: Ackerman Special Collections Storage Area
               610 Ackerman Rd.
               Columbus, OH 43202
               *Parking and lunch will be provided

Hope to see you there!
To sign up to volunteer, contact Wendy Pflug or Susan Liberator: 614-292-0538 or cartoons@osu.edu
Be a Cartoon Library hero.

Start Date: May 13, 2013

The 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War is commemorated in this exhibition which highlights the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum’s growing collection of nineteenth century prints. Editorial cartoons were not published in newspapers until after the Civil War when technology made it possible to publish them economically in a timely way. Prior to that, broadsheet prints – etchings, engravings and lithographs – were the means cartoonists used for political commentary. Popular magazines such as Harper’s Weekly relied on wood engravings to provide illustrations.

Both sides of the conflict are represented in Alternate Views. As was true during the war, most of the materials represent the views of Union supporters. There was only one cartoonist who published works favoring of the Confederate States of America:  Adelbert Volck, who published under the pseudonym V. Blada. Selected examples of his etchings are included in the exhibition.

The complexity of many of the works displayed in this exhibition is striking. Intricate visual metaphors demand close reading in order to comprehend the meaning of the cartoon. These images were produced when the pace of life was much different. These were intended to be read, reread, and then, read again. When we step back in time to consider these works, their messages are clear, passions are heated, and a complex period in our history is revealed.

Curated by Lucy Shelton Caswell, Professor Emerita, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

This will be the final exhibit in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum’s current space, until re-opening in the Fall of 2013 in Sullivant Hall.

Below, the rough for a gag cartoon that we stumbled upon in our collection that made our morning here at the Cartoon Library:

“Who made this pencil mark on my memo pad?”, original cartoon rough by Jeff Keate. From the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge)

Ah, the beauty of the gag cartoon. Sometimes that’s all it takes! In an article about Keate from the August 19th, 1950 issue of Editor & Publisher magazine, he described his desire to intentionally make cartoons and comics with no other meaning or purpose than a laugh: “I really think there’s a crying need for humor. My page won’t carry any message.”

“I’m sure it’s positively indecent… if we could just figure it out.” original gag cartoon by Jeff Keate. From the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge)

Keate was raised in British Columbia, and attended college first in Grand Rapids, MI, followed by the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, class of 1936. He relocated to NYC in 1945, which is where his cartooning career really took off–averaging 20 magazine cartoons per week.

Original Jeff Keate gag cartoon for the Saturday Evening Post. From the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon LIbrary & Museum (click to enlarge)

In his Editor & Publisher interview, Keate mentions that his inspiration for being a cartoonist came from his father’s own unfulfilled dreams to draw comics, and support of his sons pursuit. A lumber industry man, the elder Keate would hang frames around the scribbles that young Jeff drew on the walls of their home as a kid rather than punish him.

“We don’t just titter and say ‘Well, accidents will happen’ here, Purvis!” original gag cartoon for the Saturday Evening Post. From the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge).

If you have more biographical information on Jeff Keate, we’d love for you to share!

Speaking of great Canadian cartoonists, we are thrilled to be attending the Toronto Comics & Art Festival (TCAF) this weekend to promote the Cartoon Library and take donations for the Dylan Williams Collection- be sure to say hello!

Hence, horror was given a name, and it was Spring-Heeled Jack:

“Spring Heeled Jack”  No. 9 & 10. From The San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge)

Although police reports were filed and many a news article written at the time, the real Spring-Heeled Jack was never caught, and so inspired over a century of urban legends. Among the earliest of pop culture formats that Spring-Heeled Jack could be found in was the penny dreadful, a large collection of which we have here at the Cartoon Library in our San Francisco Academy of Comic Art Collection. These publications, sold for one penny each, were marketed toward working class adolescents, and their feverish fan consumption served as precursors to the modern comic book.

Featured here on the blog today are some of our favorite covers from the collection, where appearances of Spring-Heeled Jack lay somewhere on the border of horrifying and hilarious.

“Spring-Heeled Jack” No. 1. From The San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge)

“Spring-Heeled Jack” No. 19 & 20. From The San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge)

“Spring-Heeled Jack” No. 35 & 36. From The San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge)

“Spring-Heeled Jack” No. 3. From The San Francisco Academy of Comic Art, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (click to enlarge)

Over the years, the legend of Spring-Heeled Jack has gone from evil to good, to evil all over again. Could his winged visage be a Victorian era inspiration to our 20th century Batman?

Kristen’s class is the very first Intro to Digital Photography class that we’ve hosted here, and for their final project she wanted the students to create their own zine on any topic of their choice, so long as they incorporated photography into the piece. In order to gain some inspiration and learn more about binding techniques, the students came in to the Cartoon Library for two hours for a lecture on the history of zine and mini-comics making, and a show-and-tell of some of our incredibly unique items in The Dylan Williams Collection.

These 25 students of varying majors and ages were entirely new to the zine format and culture when coming in to the class, and each left with a thorough understanding of the spectrum of shapes, sizes, and subject matters that a self-published piece can take on.

On the last day of classes, I was invited to come to ART 2555′s Zine Release Party, where the students were trading their own finished publications, and swapping stories of how they were made. The results were amazing! No two students final projects were alike, and the topics ranged from personal pieces to instructional pamphlets, each incorporating digital photography into the theme.

There were accordion-style photo zines:

Food zines (food included)!
Zines about traveling and new homes:
Zines on faith:Zines of passion:…and one student even hand-made their own paper for their zine!

At the Zine Release Party, the students were kind enough to gift us a copy of each of their final project zines, to be donated to The Dylan Williams Collection, from which their inspiration came!

Thank you, ART 2555!

For information about bringing your class into the Cartoon Library, please contact us at cartoons@osu.edu

Original editorial cartoon by Arnold Roth. From the Arnold Roth Deposit Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Calling all Cartoon Library friends and fans!
We need your help!

Join us as we uncover hidden comic strip treasures from the United Media Syndicate Archives, as part of our preparation of the collections for our big move this summer. We need assistance unpacking, discarding acidic packing materials, sorting, and re-housing 300 boxes of proofs in new acid-free containers before our expansion into Sullivant Hall.  This collection contains thousands of comic strip proofs straight from the syndicate, ranging from the 1930s through 2000!

No experience necessary.  Training will be provided before we get started.  Don’t miss this chance to be a part of preserving the world of comics!
…And to get a free lunch!

When: Saturday, April 27, 2013
               10am-4pm

 Where: Ackerman Special Collections Storage Area
               610 Ackerman Rd.
               Columbus, OH 43202
               *Parking and lunch will be provided

Hope to see you there!
To sign up to volunteer, contact Wendy Pflug or Susan Liberator: 614-292-0538 or cartoons@osu.edu
Be a Cartoon Library hero.

Please join us this Friday, April 12th from 5-7pm at The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum where we will be opening up our doors to the public for a free open-house event to coincide with the 2013 Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE).

Enjoy the gallery exhibition A. B. Walker’s World, along with behind-the-scenes tours of the library stacks and a display of treasures from our collection, including original art from Jeff Smith’s “Bone”, Winsor McCay’s “Little Nemo in Slumberland”, Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes”, Frank Miller’s “Daredevil”, Jack Kirby, Walt Kelly, P. Craig Russell, George Herriman, and so many more!

This will be the last chance for a backstage look at our current facility before our big move into Sullivant Hall this summer. Hope to see you there!

For information on parking and locating the Cartoon Library, please see our Visit Us page.