During fall 2019, Columbia University hosted several exciting events, including discussions on representation in Latinx comics and in-depth conversations with the entire Book of Weirdo creative team. Now, with spring 2020 just around the corner, Columbia University has unveiled two new events. 

First, Comics@Columbia has partnered with Fantagraphics Books to present “Drawing Double: the Comics of Kim Deitch and Noah Van Sciver.” Both Deitch and Van Sciver create comics in which either they themselves or alter egos, play a prominent role. The renowned cartoonists will discuss their new books, their influences, and the way in which their real and comics persona interact. 

Books will be on sale for signing and a reception will follow the discussion. This discussion is being held on Thursday, February 27, at 6 PM in room 523 of the Butler Library on 535 West 114th Street in New York, New York. 

Then, on Thursday, April 16, at 6 PM, documentary director Chris Brandt and producer Miguel Cima will offer a screening for their film The Illumination of Jim Woodring. A discussion will follow the screening. This event is also being held in room 523 of the Butler Library. Registration for both events is available now on events.columbia.edu.

Along with the upcoming events, Columbia University also gained several new acquisitions in the past year. They have added New Yorker cartoonists Nurit Karlin and Joseph Farris to their collection, which already features Charles Saxon and Mort Gerberg. 

Karlin was an Israeli artist who published her cartoons in the New Yorker for 12 years, before changing gears to creating children’s books. Columbia University’s collection now includes her original art, book drafts and dummies, and even her art school portfolio.

Farris was mentored by the great New Yorker cartoonist Richard Taylor and went on to be an incredibly prolific contributor to that magazine as well as scores of others. His archive consists of roughly over 7,500 published cartoons, and 14,000 unpublished ones, as well as spot drawings, book drafts, sketchbooks, contracts, correspondence, process materials, and more. 

Columbia University also received several collection additions and single items of note: from Paul Levitz, 70 weeks of “World’s Greatest Superhero” newspaper strip scripts, and the binder of indexed comics stories he compiled as an adolescent; a host of early Al Jaffee art, including his piece for the 1956 Humbug Christmas issue; two more pieces of original art from Jerry Robinson’s personal collection, including a George Herriman drawing; and, from the late Mitchell Berger, lawyer, and comics aficionado, a page from an R. Crumb sketchbook in 1974.

In the summer of 2018, Columbia University also launched the New York Comics Community collection. In an attempt to capture a snapshot of the richly diverse comics community in New York, they will be gradually adding individual pieces, ideally accompanied by process materials, from NYC-area creators.  

Current contributors include Emily Flake and Peter Kuper, with Lauren Weinstein, Carolita Johnson, and more on the horizon. Creators in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island can visit the University to discuss their collections.