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 Tuesday, December 04, 2007
And Then There's the Cataloging
Posted by maggie
You think it's a pain to keep track of the comics in your collection? Hah! One of the biggest challenges in a collection is maintaining a list of what you have -- or, as Don used to say, the difference between a collection and an accumulation is an index. So one of the jobs staffers face at the Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library (27 W. 17th Ave. Mall, Columbus -- (614) 292-0539, usually open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. -- just thought it was time to remind everyone) is maintaining the inventory. When Carolyn Kelly and I visited the facility, we spent some of the time trying to help -- and I intend to go again for such things in the future. What Carolyn is doing here is what we both did: enter inventory information for some of the Sunday comic strips in the collection. For example, I started with Thimble Theatre Sunday strips from 1940. I pulled the envelope marked for the strip for 1940, pulled out the strips in the envelope, and set them next to the white sheet with a year's worth of daily grid. I noted the credited creators and year and rough dimensions (in cm.) of the majority of the strips in the envelope, then pencilled an "X" in the dates on the strip, and noted anything unusual at the bottom of the sheet. (For example, one strip was unsigned. Another needed a repair.) The completed folder and its sheet was set aside, and the next envelope was opened. (By the way, finding the date was sometimes a challenge. On the Sundays, an installment date was sometimes determined by a date on the strip on the back of the inventoried strip.) Our hands were clean and ungloved. Much of the collection is handled only with white gloves, but potential damage from snagging frail newsprint edges is greater from gloves than from bare hands. It's detail-driven, painstaking work, but the results are the difference between a collection and an accumulation. 
12/4/2007 2:34:26 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00) 
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Oh, You OSU!
Posted by maggie
(By the way, OSU is working with other research facilities. Michigan State University is another repository of important comics documents; in fact, OSU's Lucy Caswell commented that her collection coordinates some of its collection with what's to be found at MSU. No need to duplicate shelf space for, say, Amazing Spider-Man #174, if MSU has it. So this ongoing rant about OSU is not to be taken as ignoring what MSU and others have to offer.) OSU doesn't limit its interests to what you or I as collectors might obsess on. My interests are many and varied but are, after all, the things in which I'm interested; on the other hand, if it's sequential art, OSU cares about it. And cares fiercely. For example, one project involves manga, and that includes the manga being produced right this minute in Japan. Here are some of the shelves devoted to taking in and cataloging current manga series. You'll note the individual identification slips. Each volume is read and catalogued with a summary [in English] of contents [in Japanese] and then integrated into the collection. 
12/4/2007 2:01:49 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Oh, Oh, Oh, OSU!
Posted by maggie
Now that I'm back in a set-up that will let me post some of those
pictures I took a couple of weeks ago, I'm in the midst of mentally
revisiting the trip to Ohio State University's incredible comics
research facility. It's in the Wexner facility at 27 West 17th Avenue
Mall in Columbus, and the first time there requires a bit of guidance.
Nevertheless, it's worth the complexity, because it's a fantastic
resource for students of comics history.
And by "students," I don't mean you have to be enrolled in a course to
take advantage of what's there, if you're researching something.
The current display involves the work and career of Milton Caniff.
Displays benefit from the fact that Caniff didn't throw things away.
Check this out. It's original art for the nose of an Air Force plane in World War II. 
12/4/2007 11:48:12 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Back in the Office
Posted by maggie
Haven't yet dared to check office e-mail. Will do soon.
12/4/2007 8:03:16 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, December 03, 2007
Yay!
Posted by maggie
There's a plane here. There's a pilot here. My seat assignment may be wrong; we shall see. But on to the next challenge. (I bet my office e-mail is, um, plenty full.)
12/3/2007 11:09:37 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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The Fun of Flying
Posted by maggie
I hear more comments about the flight being canceled, but the gate and monitor say it's on time. But there's no plane at the gate. But it wasn't scheduled to leave for more'n an hour. I think this is one reason many folks aren't eager to fly; it's certainly why I'd like to be home today. Just the constant shift in plans. Hope I make it before dark, what with reports of (surprise) icy roads in Wisconsin.
12/3/2007 10:31:12 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Is Anyone Traveling Today?
Posted by maggie
I'm sitting in the Baltimore airport, and it's the most deserted I've ever seen an airport during the day. And now I overhear someone saying his Chicago flight has been canceled. And I think it's mine. What the?
12/3/2007 10:14:37 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Sunday, December 02, 2007
Return on Sunday? Not So Fast!
Posted by maggie
Ah, that's not something you want to hear: "Everyone on the 9:40 flight, line up over there! That flight has been canceled." Kudos to daughter-in-law Denise, who'd insisted on joining me at the ticket counter instead of (as I'd suggested) dropping me off at the entrance.
12/2/2007 10:13:59 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Saturday, December 01, 2007
Owwww! Or Why Did Anyone Think ...
Posted by maggie
... of making 75-ohm connectors painful to use? I've come off more than an hour's contortions of trying to line up cable to a VCR (old Panasonic) equipped with a 75-ohm input spot only accessible to a lemur. Eventually, I gave up -- with hopes of finding more recent electronics that work. But gee whiz.
12/1/2007 3:56:43 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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December Is Here. Are You?
Posted by maggie
Suddenly, the countdown to end-of-year holiday celebrations takes on urgency. I'm sure the Post Office is already suggesting that slower-moving packages be shipped NOW. I have a few items picked out (none wrapped), but I'm having to mail virtually everything, so it's time to get things in gear. Boxes, bags, backer boards, comics, and what else? Oh, and now we have quite a few videos posted at CBGXtra. Have you looked at any yet? What more would you like to see?
12/1/2007 8:42:32 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Wednesday, November 28, 2007
With Thanksgiving Over, Is Your Holiday Shopping Done?
Posted by maggie
Usually, I'd have hit the stores with a vengeance on Black Friday. This year, however, SPAMALOT (not to mention the delicious company of Mark Evanier and Carolyn Kelly) was a better option. However, I am left with only the vague beginnings of holiday shopping (and shipping) out of the slew of "to do" items on my agenda.
There ARE gifts, by the way, that can be offered, no matter how many of those items the recipient already has. In our field, for example, I'm thinking bags and boards and boxes. Other thoughts?
A package of Minx titles for teens of your acquaintance might be a fun thought, though we still have to wait for a Sugar and Spike SHOWCASE. In the case of books and comics, if the recipient already has the item, you might suggest he or she pass it on to someone else who would find it fun. How about a gift certificate to a local comics shop?
Me? I'm babysitting for the rest of the week, with tomorrow involving not only the usual drive to granddaughter Grace's nursery-school class but, in the afternoon, the matter of picking her up and then driving to grandson Jonah's school to pick him up after Mad Science after school. (What do I know? That's what they call it) And then it's home in time to get things ready for what may be a sports-packed evening, since son Stephen actually gets the NFL network, and there's a Packers game on. And many, many football fans yearn to see it. so there may be visitors. How about yourself? (Me? I still haven't seen Monday's HEROES and will have to wait till next Tuesday to view the latest two episodes at that point back to back -- eagerly anticipating the Vol. 2 finale. So I can comprehend the emotions of the football buffs, though I still think HEROES is more fun. More complicated plot, anyway.)
11/28/2007 6:52:01 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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Monday, November 26, 2007
Con Videos
Posted by maggie
We'll see what turns out to be usable (that is to say, informative and entertaining), but I'm pretty sure I came away with a number of fun little clips. Hold your breath, because it'll be a couple of weeks till I can get any transferred and posted.
11/26/2007 3:41:29 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)
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