University of Chicago Library Dopierala Comic Book ...

[Pages:38]University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Walter C. Dopierala Comic Book Collection 1949-1960

? 2008 University of Chicago Library

Table of Contents

Descriptive Summary

3

Information on Use

3

Access

3

Citation

3

Historical Note

3

Scope Note

4

Related Resources

5

Subject Headings

5

INVENTORY

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Descriptive Summary

Identifier

ICU.SPCL.DOPIERALA

Title

Dopierala, Walter C. Comic Book Collection

Date

1949-1960

Size

22.5 linear feet (45 boxes)

Repository

Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract

This collection of mid-twentieth century comic books was built by Walter C. Dopierala, an alumnus of the University of Chicago (A.B. 1966). It contains over 2,000 comic books, representing a wide variety of popular titles. Comic books are arranged by genre, including comedy-fantasy, adventure, western, Classics Illustrated, and superheroes.

Information on Use Access The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Dopierala, Walter C. Comic Book Collection [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

Comic books have had a turbulent history in the United States, and only recently have gained acceptance as an authentic literary genre.

The Golden Age of Comic Books, from the 1930s through the late 1940s, saw a surge of popularity in comic books, as well as the creation of many of the major comics that are still in publication today. Superman, the first comic book superhero, debuted in 1938 in Action Comics, published by DC Comics. The new character was an instant success and led to the creation of such famous superheroes as Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and The Flash. This era also saw the flourishing of adventure, western, and romance comic books. During World War II, comic books become iconic in their depictions of superheroes battling Axis forces, as with the patriotic Captain America, who debuted with a cover featuring the hero punching Adolf Hitler in the jaw.

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Increasing concerns of the influence of violence, gore, and sexual innuendo in comics (especially with the expanding EC Comics brand, which focused on macabre horror stories) led to the creation of the Comics Code Authority in 1954, a part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, which become the de facto censor of comic books in the United States. This marked the end of the Golden Age and the emergence of the Silver Age of Comics, which would last until the 1970s.

Though the Comics Code Authority lacked any enforcement power on its own, many magazine distributors refused to shelve comics which lacked the CCA stamp of approval. Thus, horror and gore comics were almost entirely forced out of business, and the major publishing companies had to radically change some of their subject matter and art direction. Supernatural horror elements were suppressed, and criminals could not be portrayed in any way that glamorized them, promoted disrespect for law-enforcement officials, or allowed them to go unpunished. The instatement of the CCA created an underground comics movement which evaded the CCA stamp of approval, often dealing with issues not permitted by the Comics Code Authority. The CCA was revised multiple times, but most importantly after the 1971 publication of a government endorsed Spiderman issue by Stan Lee which dealt with drug addiction. After this, comics began to turn to darker subject matter and escapism during the 1970's and early 1980's, which became known as the Bronze Age of Comics.

Scope Note This collection was built by Walter C. Dopierala, an alumnus of the University of Chicago (A.B. 1966). The comic books contained in this collection reflect a wide variety of popular comic books published from the late 1940s-early 1960s, or from the end of the Golden Age to the beginning of the Silver Age.

Well-represented in this collection are Dell Comics, which published Walt Disney comics as well as several Western titles; the rival super-hero comics publishers Marvel and DC; the Classics Illustrated series, which adapted famous literary and folklore tales to comic book format; and Archie comics, a popular title with particular appeal to female comic book readers.

In many of the superhero comics in the collection, CCA-influenced changes in subject matter and storylines are clearly evident after 1954.

The collection is arranged by genre, such as comedy-fantasy, adventure, westerns, Classics Illustrated, and superheroes:

The first section of this collection contains mainly comedy-fantasy comics published by Walt Disney. Many of these feature Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, and contain multiple

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short stories about other recurring characters in the Disney universe. There are several large compilation books, such as the annual "Christmas Parade," that contain longer stories about many of the famous Disney characters. Also included in this section are Archie Comics and Warner Brothers (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies franchises).

Adventure titles include comics about heroes such as Tarzan, Robin Hood, and action and adventure characters made famous in television and movies. Interfiled with these titles are singleissue comics based on movies and television shows such as I Love Lucy.

Western titles include a large number of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and The Lone Ranger comics, as well as numerous sub-genres, such as comics centered on the horses of famous western comic book heroes. Also included are a number of comics based on famous television and film westerns.

Classics Illustrated titles include almost all of numbers 1-147 of this series, plus Junior and Special series. These comics are reformatting of famous literary stories and special topics. It includes such stories as Frankenstein, Alice in Wonderland, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Prince, and comics on topics such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The final section of the collection contains various super-hero comics, including comics from two of the largest comic book companies ? DC Comics and Marvel Comics. There are sizable runs of both Batman and Superman comics, mostly after the Comic Code Authority went into effect. Also included are Superboy, Wonder Woman, and spin-offs based on these characters.

The inventory describes the comic books as they are found in folders, including titles, issue numbers, dates of publication, and number of items in each folder.

Related Resources The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:



Subject Headings ? Dopierala, Walter C. ? Comic books, strips, etc. INVENTORY

Box 1 Folder 1

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Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 138; 139; 144; 145; 151; 153- 155, 1952-1953, 8 items

Box 1 Folder 2

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 157; 160-163; 165; 167; 168, 1953-1954, 8 items

Box 1 Folder 3

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 169-176, 1954-1955, 8 items

Box 1 Folder 4

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 177-184, 1955-1956, 8 items

Box 1 Folder 5

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 185-192, 1956-1956, 8 items

Box 1 Folder 6

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 193-200, 1956-1957, 8 items

Box 1 Folder 7

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 201-209, 1957-1958, 8 items

Box 2 Folder 1

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 210-217, 1958-1958, 8 items

Box 2 Folder 2

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 218-225, 1958-1959, 8 items

Box 2 Folder 3

Items 1-8 ? Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, 226-228, 1959, 3 items ? Donald Duck, 408; 422; 26-28, 1952-1953, 5 items

Box 2 Folder 4

Donald Duck, 30-38, 1953-1954, 9 items

Box 2 Folder 5

Donald Duck, 39-46, 1955-1956, 8 items

Box 2 Folder 6

Donald Duck, 47-54, 1956-1957, 8 items

Box 2 Folder 7

Donald Duck, 55-62, 1957-1958, 8 items

Box 3 Folder 1

Items 1-6

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? Donald Duck, 63-67, 1959, 5 items ? Donald Duck, undated, 1 item ? Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, undated, 1 item ? Duck Album, 492, 1953, 1 item

Box 3

Folder 2

Duck Album, 531; 560; 586; 611; 649; 686; 726; 782, 1953-1957, 8 items

Box 3

Folder 3

Items 1-4 ? Duck Album, 840; 995, 1957-1959, 2 items ? Donald Duck's Fun Book, 1--2, 1953-1954, 2 items

Box 3

Folder 4

Donald Duck's Beach Party, 1--3, 1954-1956, 3 items

Box 3

Folder 5

Items 1-3 ? Donald Duck's Beach Party, 4--5, 1957-1958, 2 items ? Donald Duck in Disneyland, 1, 1955, 1 item

Box 3

Folder 6

Items 1-8 ? Daisy Duck's Diary, 659; 743; 858; 948, 1955-1958, 4 items ? Grandma Duck's Farm Friends, 763; 873; 965; 1010, 1956- 1959, 4 items

Box 3

Folder 7

Walt Disney's Christmas Parade, 4--6, 1952-1954, 3 items

Box 4

Folder 1

Walt Disney's Christmas Parade, 7--9, 1955-1958, 3 items

Box 4

Folder 2

Items 1-3 ? Walt Disney's Vacation Parade, 4--5, 1953-1954, 2 items ? Walt Disney's Picnic Party, 6, 1955, 1 item

Box 4

Folder 3

Items 1-3 ? Walt Disney's Picnic Party, 7--8, 1956-1957, 2 items ? Mickey Mouse Club Parade, 1, 1955, 1 item

Box 4

Folder 4

Items 1-3 ? Untitled (no cover), unknown, undated, 1 item ? Uncle Scrooge Goes to Disneyland, 1, 1957, 1 item

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? Mickey Mouse Almanac, 1, 1957, 1 item

Box 4

Folder 5

Items 1-3 ? Christmas in Disneyland, 1, 1957, 1 item ? Disneyland Birthday Party, 1, 1958, 1 item ? Vacation in Disneyland, 1, 1958, 1 item

Box 4

Folder 6

Items 1-3 ? Donald and Mickey in Disneyland, 1, 1958, 1 item ? Mickey Mouse in Frontierland, 1, 1956, 1 item ? Mickey Mouse in Fantasyland, 1, 1957, 1 item

Box 4

Folder 7

Items 1-3 ? Mickey Mouse Birthday Party, 1, 1953, 1 item ? Mickey Mouse Summer Fun, 1, 1958, 1 item ? Huey, Dewey, and Louie Back to School, 1, 1958, 1 item

Box 5

Folder 1

Mickey Mouse Comics, 325; 411; 427; 28; 29; 31-33, 1951-1954, 8 items

Box 5

Folder 2

Mickey Mouse Comics, 34-41, 1954-1955, 8 items

Box 5

Folder 3

Mickey Mouse Comics, 42-49, 1955-1956, 8 items

Box 5

Folder 4

Mickey Mouse Comics, 50-57, 1956-1958, 8 items

Box 5

Folder 5

Mickey Mouse Comics, 58-65, 1958 1959, 8 items

Box 5

Folder 6

Uncle Scrooge Comics, 386; 495; 4-9, 1952-1955, 8 items

Box 5

Folder 7

Uncle Scrooge Comics, 10; 11; 13-18, 1955-1957, 8 items

Box 6

Folder 1

Items 1-8 ? Uncle Scrooge Comics, 19; 21-25; 27, 1957-1959, 7 items ? Scamp, 703, 1956, 1 item

Box 6

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