Join us March 27th from 5:30-7:00 PM as cartoonists Khalil Bendib, Eric Garcia, Alberto Ledesma will discuss their work surrounding the topic of immigration, in conjunction with our current exhibit, Looking Backward, Looking Forward: U.S. Immigration in Cartoons and Comics. The galleries will have extended hours and will be open until 5:30 pm and from 7:00-7:30 pm after the panel discussion.
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Will Eisner Week Research Forum | March 8, 2018 | 4-7 PM
In honor of Will Eisner Week, visiting scholars Roy T. Cook and Mark Fertig will be joined by local presenters in a symposium devoted to recent comics scholarship.
Apply now for the Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award
Applications for 2018 open now! This award of up to $2,500 supports researchers who need to travel to Columbus, OH to use the collections of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Awards may be used to defray travel expenses, living expenses in Columbus, or research costs. For more information visit Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award
New exhibitions open November 4, 2017
Visit our newest exhibitions, Looking Backward, Looking Forward: U.S. Immigration in Cartoons and Comics and Cartoon Couture on view through April 22, 2018. Galleries are open Tuesday-Sunday, 1-5 pm.
Exhibit opening and Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration
Join us Saturday, November 4th for the opening of Looking Backward, Looking Forward: U.S. Immigration in Cartoons and Comics and enjoy light refreshments and family activities at the OSU Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration. This reception will follow a day of events and a procession, all FREE and open to the public!
$100,000 investment from ENGIE and Axium
A $100,000 investment from ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure in the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum will create opportunities over the next three years to expand the library’s partnerships, collections and programming relating to French cartoons and comics. ENGIE and Axium announced $200,000 in academic support to programs aiding women in engineering, student sustainability programs and The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. Read the full article
Cartoons Crossroads Columbus (CXC) 2017 | September 28 – October 1
COMING SOON! Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) is a multi-faceted, yearly festival celebrating comics and cartooning, the city of Columbus and cartoonists worldwide. Visit them on Facebook too!
Wendy Pflug and Caitlin McGurk honored at Faculty Awards reception
OSU Libraries Director Damon Jaggars, honored Wendy Pflug as she was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Wendy joined the faculty as Assistant Professor in December 2011 at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Also honored was Caitlin McGurk, the recipient of the annual “Award in Teaching Excellence” for 2016. This award is presented by the Libraries’ Teaching and Learning Committee. Caitlin is the Associate Curator for Outreach and Assistant Professor for the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Congratulations!
Lucy Caswell receives Ohio State’s Distinguished Service Award
“Lucy Shelton Caswell’s legacy at The Ohio State University is as profound as it is exceptional, due to her meticulous cultivation of the most preeminent collection of cartoon art in the world. For more than four decades, her incomparable vision and innovative spirit have been at the forefront of preserving and celebrating this powerful art form. The internationally renowned Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum serves as a remarkable tribute to her boundless passion, unparalleled expertise and creativity – qualities inherent among the most influential Buckeyes in history.” Congratulations, Lucy!
Caitlin McGurk is the recipient of the Annual Award in Teaching Excellence for 2016.
The award was presented by Libraries’ Teaching & Learning Committee, with the approval of Vice-Provost and Director of Libraries Damon Jaggars.
Caitlin demonstrated exemplary teaching performance during 2016 through a wide range of involvement with many dimensions of teaching: classroom instruction, gallery tours, curriculum planning with faculty, exhibit preparation linked with pedagogy, and outreach to diverse audiences. She excelled at finding opportunities for embedding cartoons and visual materials across a variety of subject areas, and in engaging with faculty in curriculum planning involving the non-textual materials available at the BICLM.
Caitlin’s agility in teaching across a wide range of courses demonstrates her adaptability and resourcefulness in bringing the unique resources of the BILCM collections to life for many faculty and students, and for others in the local community. Her outreach role has brought increasing national attention to the resources of the BILCM and to their potential for enriching curricula and deepening community engagement, and for enhancing the creativity of students and community members themselves.
Celebrate our 40th Anniversary with us! May 1, 4-7 pm
On May 1, 1977, founding curator Lucy Shelton Caswell began work on the Milton Caniff collection, and the institution that would become The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum was born. Join us for a special celebration exactly 40 years later! Exhibit reception and 40th celebration events from 4-7 pm including Curator’s Tour, food and drink, and activities . FREE and open to the public.
Michael Tisserand presents Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, March 28 at 7 pm
In his much-anticipated biography Krazy, Michael Tisserand examines the fascinating role race played in the life and work of Krazy Kat cartoonist George Herriman. FREE presentation for all audiences at the Wex Film/ Video Theater.
Ryan Holmberg presents “Fukushima Devil Fish: Katsumata Susumu’s Anti-Nuclear Manga” | March 23, 2017 | 4:30pm-5:45pm
Presented by OSU Libraries and the East Asian Studies Center. FREE and open to the public.
Ryan Holmberg is a Visiting Lecturer and Postdoctoral Fellow in the Art, Art History, and Visual Studies program at Duke University. As a freelance art historian and critic, he is a frequent contributor to The Comics Journal, Artforum International, and Art in America. As an editor and translator of manga, he has worked with Breakdown Press, Drawn & Quarterly, Retrofit Comics, PictureBox Inc, and New York Review Comics. His edition of Tezuka Osamu’s The Mysterious Underground Men (PictureBox) won the 2014 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material: Asia. He is also the author of Garo Manga: The First Decade, 1964–1973 (Center for Book Arts, 2010). He is currently working on a book tentatively titled Nuclear Literati, which looks at pro- and anti-nuclear visual culture in Japan between the 1960s and the 1990s.
Galleries open March 25 with “Tales from the Vault”
In celebration of BICLM’s 40th anniversary, the galleries open on Saturday, March 25 with our new exhibitions, Tales from the Vault: 40 Years/40 Stories and Founding Collections: 1977-1987.
Windows on Death Row Exhibit Program | Saturday, Feb 25, 2017
Join us for an evening of free programming to explore this exhibit with project/exhibit founders, political cartoonist Patrick Chappatte and journalist Anne-Frédérique Widmann, painter Ndume Olatushani, a wrongly convicted former death-row inmate imprisoned for 28 years and Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison. Events include a curators’ tour, catered reception, a multimedia presentation, and Q & A session.
Incarcerated Kids Read!
February 21, 1-2 pm in the Will Eisner Seminar Room (Rm.205)
Incarcerated youth are a special population not often recognized in a positive light, but with education and great literature, all Is not lost. Please join us in a meaningful discussion about the “Great Stories” programming and collaboration between the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility and Delaware County District Library. The presenters will share their expertise working with the Scloto Advisory Board to promote and advocate for relevant and high quality Young Adult literature for children that reflect the cultural differences, experiences, and Issues surrounding diverse readers/learners.
Join us for a reception with food and a tour of the Windows on Death Row exhibition following the program. Continue reading
Join us February 14 and 15 for our first-ever Day of Giving!
Your support on the Day of Giving will help us provide research awards to scholars across the country to travel to Columbus and access the special materials in the world-renowned Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum collections.
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum has amassed the world’s largest collection of cartoon and comics materials, including millions of rare and unique items. Many of these must be accessed on site, but scholars often lack the funds they need to travel here. Your generosity will make it possible for more researchers to visit and take advantage of our distinctive materials.
Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation, doubling the impact of your donation and establish an endowment that will generate funds for the Lucy Shelton Caswell Research Award.
Can’t wait till then to show your support? Click here to make your gift in advance of the Day of Giving.
Representations of Inequality exhibit
The 2016-17 COMPAS Program on Inequality presents, Representations of Inequality. Partnering with the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library, a number of inequality-related cartoons are on display that, despite being many decades old, still speak clearly to the issues of inequality we face today. On view in Bricker Hall throughout January and February.
Donate to support the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
Your financial gifts make it possible for us to acquire, catalog and preserve cartoon-related materials; to host educational programming including exhibitions, presentations, and workshops; to create online resources for teachers and researchers; and to make our collection accessible to students, scholars and fans from around the world. Make a Gift to the Cartoon Library and Museum Support Fund|Fund Number 308558
New exhibitions open November 5, 2016 – March 12, 2017
Our new exhibitions are now open! “What a Hoot! A Mike Peters Retrospective,” “Windows on Death Row,” and “Treasures from the Collections of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum” will be on view Tuesday-Sunday, 1:00-5:00 pm, through March 12, 2017. Please check Hours for upcoming holiday closings.
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) | October 13-16, 2016
On October 13-14, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) will be on the OSU campus to host a two-day scholarly symposium, peer-to-peer “Talk and Teach” presentations, Cartoon Library & Museum exhibitions, reception and tours, a celebration of excellence and diversity in comics at SOL-CON, a presentation on animation with animator and author John Canemaker, and an evening in conversation with Garry Trudeau and Glen David Gold.
Manga Collection Open House | October 6 | 4:30-6:00 pm
Come explore the rare treasures of one of the largest university manga collections in the world, right here at OSU! Items on display include early Japanese newspaper comics of the 1920s, original art and sketches, comics related to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and more. This event is FREE and open to the public and will take place in the Will Eisner Seminar Room.
Kristy Arter joins BICLM as new Office Associate
Kristy Arter has joined our staff as BICLM’s Office Associate. She brings many skills to this position and is an avid fan of comics which makes her ideal for her role. Kristy will be welcoming visitors and guests in the office suite and providing support for the curators in the areas of donor relations, acquisitions, and events, as well as keeping us running smoothly on a daily basis.
The Low-Down on Mo: Mo Willems in Conversation with Hilary Price | August 19 | 7 pm
The Cartoon Library & Museum and the Wexner Center for the Arts are thrilled to host award-winning author and illustrator Mo Willems in conversation with Hilary Price, the creator behind Rhymes With Orange. Mo will be discussing his life, career, and creative process. Parents, educators, and aspiring children’s book authors won’t want to miss this free event at Mershon Auditorium! Visit the Wexner Center for the Arts website for more information
Good Grief! Children and Comics: A Collection of Companion Essays
This collection of original companion essays is your online introduction to the larger questions and contexts of the groundbreaking new exhibit, Good Grief! Children and Comics, at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. More information and download the PDF