BARRY PEARL'S PERSONAL LIBRARY - TOUR NOW ON...

With many public libraries closing across Britain, it's good of guest contributor BARRY PEARL to open up his personal library for the inspection of all you Crivs out there.  What true comicbook fan wouldn't want a collection of this magnitude and diversity?  So don't let me hold you back, but better have your drool cups ready - you wouldn't want to slobber all over your clothes.  (To take a closer look at any image, click to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.)

When I first started collecting comics during its Silver Age, it was very difficult to get books that either told the history of comics or contained a collection of older comic strips and books.  I have since learned that most of the few books that were out there were inaccurate about dates and creators.

In the 1970s, a few books - especially Jim Steranko's two-part History of the Comics - began to slowly open the door to quality researched histories.  Russ Cochran's excellent EC reprint series of the 1980s was the first to give quality reprints of comics from the 1950s.  DC and Marvel have published many Archives and Omnibuses featuring stories from the 1940s, but mostly skipped over the 1950s. Now, finally, with so many comics in the public domain, PS Publishing and Gwandanaland are giving a great view of that era.

Many of the DC and Marvel Omnibuses reprint stories from their earlier Archives and Masterworks.  These Omnis generally have better print quality than their pre-decessors and have additional features, often including letter pages or stories that haven't been printed before.  Some Omnis, such as Master of Kung Fu, The Savage Sword of Conan and Tomb of Dracula reprint stories for the first time.  Many fans complain about the difference in coloring the reprints have from the originals, but I'm not one of them and this generally doesn't bother me at all.

Here is my Library of Comics, a 50 year collection.  Some of the pictures are composites, as my room isn't large enough to take wide-angle pictures.  (Both left to right and up and down.)

What a great looking library, eh?  After seeing all that, Barry, I only have one question for you - when can I move in?  My suitcase is packed.  Be sure to show your appreciation for Barry letting you cop a gander at his personal collection, Crivs.

Posted in: Cartoons