Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blog

detail of Cathy Malkasian original art from The Heavy Bright, 2023

2025 was another busy and exciting year at the Billy Ireland, with a great time working together to bring in new acquisitions – material that we’re thrilled to add to our collection, and that we expect to elicit profound delight and discovery by researchers and fans who engage with it for years and years to come. We’re endlessly thankful to creators, families, friends, and collectors for entrusting us with the preservation of so many important and wonderful legacies, both big names and those lesser-known. Below are some highlights! We hope to see you in the Lucy Shelton Caswell Reading Room in 2026. Please contact cartoons@osu.edu to set up an appointment.

2025 Donation Highlights:

• 30 years of original cartoons by Rick Tulka created from 1993-2019 for MAD Magazine;
• A collection of newspaper printing artifacts gathered by Glenn Fleishman while conducting research for his recent book How Comics Were Made, including flongs, zinc plates, and a rare, extremely burly and majorly beautiful 30-lb. cylindrical stereotype plate;
• 6 original pencil drawings by Fumio Fujiki, which offer first-hand testimony to the daily experiences of alleged and convicted war criminals incarcerated at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo during the post-war occupation era (1945-52), gifted by Wayne and Nancy Shaffer;
• 20 years of original artwork from the popular comic strip Zits by Jim Borgman and Jerry Scott, including the first week of the strip and early sketches that grew into the story’s beloved characters;
• A collection of materials by underground cartoonist Willy Murphy, containing a remarkable sketchbook, original artwork for titles including Parodies, Flamed-Out Funnies, Arnold Peck, and Beasley Boys, and a few archival pieces including a handwritten letter to Willy from underground comix scholar Pat Rosenkranz, donated by Nicki Michaels;
• 50 pages of original art for the syndicated Funland activity book by Art Nugent, featuring riddles, connect-the-dots, puzzles and anagrams, sent to us by Sharon Combs;
• Original art for the cover of the graphic novel Skyscrapers of the Midwest, and the Moleskine sketchbook containing all of the original artwork for the graphic novel Driven by Lemons, both by Joshua Cotter;
• A collection of approximately 170 original never-published cartoons under the working title To Replace a Man by Katherine “Kit” Hawkins Leegate about her experiences as a Women’s Army Corp member during World War II, donated by Paul DiLella;
• Original gag cartoons by Ed Koren for The New Yorker and the roughs that helped shape them, thanks to the Koren family;
• Original artwork by Charles Ardovino created during his time as World War II army veteran for Stars & Stripes, plus a scrapbook of clippings and archival material, gifted by Patricia Ardovino;
• Complete original art for Queen of Snails, a 2022 graphic novel memoir by Maureen Burdock;
• 49 pieces of original art by Robert Chesley Osborn during his time as art editor (1923-1928) of the campus humor magazine The Yale Record, donated by Hannibal Hamlin;
• 50 years of original artwork for Ziggy by Tom Wilson, Sr. and Tom Wilson, Jr., plus A/V materials containing rare footage of local TV interviews with Tom Wilson, Sr.;
• Complete original art for The Heavy Bright, a 2023 graphic novel by Cathy Malkasian, including notes, sketches, and roughs on paper, and hand-written text pages on vellum;
• Original art by various artists including Al Capp, Al Mik, V.T. Hamlin, Ernie Bushmiller, Gus Arriola, Billy Ireland, J.N. “Ding” Darling, Sid Hix, Art Wood, Ron Rege, Jr., Kevin Huizenga, Johnny Ryan, Milo Manara, Brian Ralph, Anders Nilsen, Jill Thompson, Chuck Ayers, Sammy Harkham, Jessica Abel, Ray Billingsley, Jessica Abel, Ted Stearn, Pascal Girard, Tony Millionaire, Edith Meiser and Frank Giacoia, Al Smith, Ho Che Anderson, George Scarbo, J.R. Williams, Bill Schorr, Jim Davis, John Ruge, Rex Sollenberger, Chic Young, Walt Kelly, Alex Raymond, and Graham Hunter – thanks to Sharon Combs, Dave Filipi, Nick Green, Bobby Hardy, Marymae Henley, Amy Sancetta, Bob Englehart, Aarin Flynn, Judy Rayer and Ronni Rosenfeld, Gary Ferdman, and Myriam Miedzian;
• Original art by Bob Hall for Armed and Dangerous, a crime series created for Valiant/Acclaim in the 90s;
• Original art by Ed Colley for Suburban Cowgirls, plus a collection of correspondence and fan mail;
• Approximately 900 original cartoons by John Ruge (1915-1982), including the 4-panel cartoons depicting the adventures of an Irish Setter named Clancy that appeared as a weekly feature in Collier’s Magazine, sent to us by Christine Lazar;
• 83 boxes of original art, merchandise, and correspondence/papers relating to the cartooning and greeting card career of Barbara Dale;
• 114 boxes of original art by Kevin Kallaugher for The Economist and The Baltimore Sun, plus roughs, sketchbooks, and correspondence/papers;
• Original art for The Second Official I Hate Cats Book by Skip Morrow, gifted by Laraine Morrow;
• A collection of correspondence and fan mail to Raeburn Van Buren of Abbie an’ Slats, donated by Joseph Valentine;
• 56 pages of original artwork for Lulu Eightball by Emily Flake, a gift from Scott Jonas;
• 16 boxes of Phantom original artwork, collectibles and memorabilia by Robert J. Griffin, as well as original art by Burne Hogarth, Al Capp, Chic Young, Raeburn VanBuren, V.T. Hamlin, Dale Messick, Al Smith, Bud Sagendorf, and more.

Thanks also to Christopher Aruffo, Peter Maresca, Anthony Burns, Anna Olswanger, Amy Moses, Richard Gombert, Janice McGary, Bill Snyder, Jonathon McGee, Carol Dietrich, Jamie Etherton, Frank Pauer, Ellen Jo Baron, Jeff Marx, Jonathan Vital, Paul Morton, Cori Williamson, Sara Hecker, Ulises Zevallos-Aguilar, David Brewer, Redlion York, Stephen Bissette, Mark and Rose Marie McDaniel, David Drazin, Todd Webb, Neil Brideau, Dave Hornish, Sarah York, Mike Rhode, Win Snyder, Daniel Kirk, Terry LaBan, Russell Myers, Steve Smith, Sergei Lotsmanov, Patti Fertel, David Applegate, James Bates, Jeff Krell, Kent Worcester, Daniel Jensen, Wiley Miller and Ann Telnaes, John Kircher, Cindy Turvy, Leon Rubin, Jen Benka, Bennett and Stephen Goldberg, Kevin Wolf and Mary Gau, William Devlin, Colleen Hasson, Robin Schwartzman, Midori Sato, Jason Little, Michael Zapf, David Bohn, Michael Jantze, Cathy Hironaka, Susan Hetzel, Josh Needle, Mary Mannino, Dana, Carrie, Damon and Eric Toth, Jimmy Margulies, Steve Breen, Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, MJ Bole, Frank Santoro, Lori Smith, James Peterson, Stephen Harrick, and Eric Sobel, for generous donations of books, comics, ephemera, and other unique and rare materials!