TODAY'S 'MAIN FEATURE':

I have been sent several messages during the past year asking about where comic books could be found to purchase or to read, as the parties asking were not close to Local Comic Book Shops (LCBS), and their local libraries had next to nothing to read....

Of course I would mention that we have an online store where we sell comics, at ComicBooksCircus.com ;) , but since it usually has no more than 7,500 listings in it, I realize we don't have everything to fit everyones' tastes!

I have even printed the Local Comic Book Shop Locator icon here in my Blog, where blog readers could keypunch in their zip codes and see what LCBS are near them. I have mentioned that NOT all LCBS are shown in the directory, as the closest one to our house is not listed...

We are lucky here in the City of Carlsbad, California, to have a pretty darn good collection of graphic novels and TPBs in our 'Dove' Library. (As a side note, the other public library in Carlsbad has the best genealogical section in all of San Diego County IMHO, as it takes up half of the second floor!)

However, not all public libraries carry graphic novels nor TPB compilations.  Ours only does because of one librarian who has a passion for comic books! And I have thanked him for that!  So I decided to look on the web for other possible references and found that the Library of Congress is getting even more publicity than when I first looked at it online years ago.  

For those of You that don't know... "The largest collection of comics books in the United States is housed in the Serial and Government Publications Division. The collection includes U.S. and foreign comic books—over 5,000 titles in all, totaling more than 100,000 issues. Primarily composed of the original print books, the collection includes color microfiche of a handful of the early comic books (such as Wonder Woman, Superman, and Action Comics) and special reprints. Although the collection is most comprehensive from 1950, scattered issues from numerous titles date back to the 1930s. A small number of comic books make up the Underground Comic Book collection of titles 'recommended for mature readers'."

So how does the Library of Congress obtain all of these comics?

"The Library acquires comic books published and distributed in the United States almost exclusively through copyright deposit. Titles are added to the collection on the basis of quality of text and graphic depiction; significance of the artist, writer, or publisher; originality of story or main character; the title's popularity as reflected in circulation statistics or media attention; representation of new ideas or social trends; or availability through copyright."

So how long has the LOC been doing this, and are they just interested in superhero comics?

"For more than sixty years, the Library of Congress has acquired comic books through copyright deposit. The current collection of 6,000 titles, probably the largest in the United States, contains approximately one hundred thousand pieces and is growing by about two hundred issues each month. Represented in the collection is the entire range of comic-book subject matter: western, science fiction, detective, adventure, war, romance, horror, and humor. Although scattered issues date from the late 1930s, the holdings are most comprehensive from 1950 to the present. Action Comics, Archie, Detective Comics, Tarzan, and Wonder Woman are among those with fairly complete runs. A card catalog of holdings, by title, is maintained in the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room. Also, comic book records are being added to the online catalog. Because of the rapid deterioration of the paper and the value of older issues, full access to the comic book collection is restricted to readers engaged in serious research."

Okay, so here's the important part, as a visitor to the Library of Congress doesn't want to run into the problem as seen at the photo to the left, (stairways with the infamous 'No Admittance' signs!  How does one access this collection?

"Comic books are circulated for use in the Newspaper and Current Periodical Room for those doing research of a specific nature, leading toward a publicly available work such as a publication, thesis, or dissertation; a radio, film, or television production; or a public performance. Self-service photocopying of comic books is prohibited. In some cases photocopies may be obtained through the Photoduplication Service of the Library of Congress. When researching comic books, collectors are usually interested in price and condition, whereas women's studies scholars may look on them as an art form, a popular culture medium, or a historical artifact. Unfortunately, many periodicals that focus on comic books are not indexed in abstracting and indexing services."

So how does a Library of Congress patron get around this restriction, and what other ways does one have in accessing the collection? 

"The Comic Book Collection contains over 6,000 titles dating from the 1930s to the present. Due to the extreme brittleness and high collectible value of many of the comic books, the Serial and Government Publications Division has restricted the use of the Collection only to patrons who show a sincere and scholarly research interest in the history and influence of the format. A microfiche collection exists for the early numbers of five of the most famous comic book series: Action Comics, Adventure Comics, All Star Comics, Batman, and Superman."

Okay... that pretty much covers that topic I believe.  If You are in the Washington DC area, or visiting there, you should check out how to access the collection PRIOR to entering the LOC. For more info please see this web site link:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/coll/049.html as there is a lot of information and other links there on how to obtain access!

As an additional note to this 'Main Feature' today. The above Spider-Man comic book pages pictured at the top of this blog post joined the premier collection of original cartoons in the Library’s Prints & Photographs Division back in 2008. The actual collection at the LOC includes more than 125,000 caricatures, comic strips, and political and social commentaries from the 1600s to the present, as well as your ever lovin Amazing Spidey!

BTW, a few of the persons that contacted me were looking for comics or animation magazines because of their interest in possibly getting into the comics field, or because they wanted to help their children grow artistically.  So if YOU are a comics or graphic novel creator either with a project started or completed, and would like to possibly see Your work mentioned or reviewed here in my Blog, please check this following link, where I tell you: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!"