Billy Ireland Cartoon Library And Museum

Whoever said you can see everything here in 45 minutes to an hour didn't have my level of fanaticism as I whiled away two hours here soaking everything in. And that's with the library portion closed and only the museum open on account of New Year's Eve. I could pick a bone with them as I called in advance seeing Google said NYE may affect their usual 1-5 hours and the lady on the other end assuring me they were open. Neither of us was specific about it being the museum or the library and I figured it was just a package deal. As you can see from the five star rating I'm not marking them down for it but that was a bit of a bummer. I had planned on being here for their entire four hours open on this day and I'm sure I would have if that library was open. As it was I had a grand time (as my grandmother used to say) and I ended up making great use of that precious little late December daylight elsewhere on some Calvin and Hobbesesque exploring so everything worked out. The museum is upstairs on the second floor but I already knew I was in the right place when I saw a Garfield statue in the middle of a park bench against the wall of the bright airy first floor atrium. Admission is free, another reason why I shouldn't harp too much on the library being shuttered on the last day of 2024. There is a donation box and I did drop some currency into it. There's also some cabinets you can stick your coats or other belongings in by the front door. You can just take the key with you as you wander the three or four galleries of the museum. (One gallery is partially bisected by a wall and I'm not sure if it counts as one or two rooms.) They have you sign in on a tablet at the front desk and you have to provide an email. Definitely not a problem for me. I don't know when I'll be down in Buckeye territory again but the main exhibits change every six months and I'm curious to see what's on tap in the future. So if you're coming from afar, be it the Wolverine State or not, you might want to stay abreast of the exhibit schedule or give them a ring to make sure they're not between shows as they do shut down for a time to take down the old exhibits and install the new ones. The exhibits at the tail end of 2024 were dedicated to Edward Koren, a quirky artist with a philosophical bent known for his many published works in the New Yorker. His style is very distinctive and I'd seen it in passing but it was cool to do a deep dive to really appreciate him. And despite the library being closed there was a single stack of Edward Koren collections on an end table between two comfortable chairs. I read one cover to cover after poring over everything on the walls and glass cases in that gallery. The other special exhibit was dedicated to Larry Ivie, a comic book artist active in the superhero and horror genres in the mid 20th century. Besides being a great comic book artist in his own right, Ivie was also a huge fan and collector, something he carried over from his youth into his old age. So in addition to his own works this gallery also presented highlights from material Ivie had collected as well as his correspondence with other creators. They even had some superhero costumes he and his mates had put together and donned, long before anyone had coined the term cosplay. The glass cases in this gallery had pop culture ephemera like lunchboxes, board games and fan club collectibles in addition to a slew of comic books and original art. The last gallery - or two - covered a variety of artists and material so I'm sure how much, if any, that rotates. One wall was dedicated to Ohio native Bill Watterson, creator of the venerable, beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. No matter how big of a Michigander you are, you can't hate on Bill Watterson! Despite having already seen every Calvin and Hobbes strip they had original art for framed on the walls multiple times I still found myself cackling in hilarity. Always feels good to laugh. The Edward Koren work was humorous in nature, too, but it was more like smirk and nod at how wry and wise it was, not LOL funny. The miscellaneous gallery also had sliding drawers that come out from a section of the wall - the one that possibly counts as a room divider - and from underneath two glass cases. These are rather ingenious as they allow for a lot more work to be displayed in the limited space they have. It does get a little tedious sliding them open and shut after awhile but when there's some wondrous new surprise behind door number two or three or twenty or thirty it makes it worthwhile. And worthwhile is a good way to describe this place if you're at all a fan of comics or cartoons. There's stuff going all the way back to the 1800s in the gallery of many sliding drawers. Spring-Heeled Jack was an inspiration for Batman? I never knew! They even had a couple hand crafted quilts and winter caps on display. I could get lost all over again here once their displays change over.

This came up as one of the many free exhibits, to check out in Columbus ,Ohio area. Honestly, what don't they have a museum for these days. Located right on Ohio State University Campus, and can be experienced between 1/2 hr to 45 minutes based upon ones overall interest. History of the cartoons was rather fascinating, with rotating exhibits there's something to catch your eye. Parking is tricky, there is metered hour parking for $2.75, I was lucky to catch a spot. Its worth checking this museum out, definite hidden treasure, that's been open since 1977, located on the second floor. There are always free things to check out in cities that one visits, just need to do some research.

Neat little museum tucked right off of High Street on the OSU campus. It's free to tour and the exhibits often rotate. When we were there they were doing a special on dogs in comics. It was cool to see just how popular animals are in comics and to be reminded of some oldie but goodies and some new comic strips that I was unfamiliar with. Fun place to spend time and beat the heat for a bit!

Super cool, especially love the cartoon paraphernalia and toys!! Their current exhibit "Celebrating Sparky: Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts", focused on Snoopy and his friends through the years. I grew up in the hay day of Snoopy, so I loved looking through all the comics of my yesteryear. I loved the pullout drawers in the front room showing all sorts of old comics and graphic novel rough draft renderings. It was really interesting how some quite old comic drawings where extremely intricate and very detail-oriented knights, castles and princesses, compared to, say, Calvin and Hobbes, all the way to very simple-drawn strips that focus on minimalism. I don't have time to check out the gift shop, which is across the way inside the Werner Art Museum, so I definitely want to make a return visit. PS, entry is free, but parking is around $7/hour in the Union garage (it's the closest one). I'd love to make that visit during their annual Comic Crossroads weekend event, with tons of special talks, activities and learning experiences; this event sounds like a must-see!!

Sure, the museum is small. However, the exhibits are all free and the museum itself is on Ohio State University's campus. A perfect location to walk through the museum in an hour or less then see the rest of what the campus has to offer. The cartoons that were on exhibit were nostalgic: Prince Valiant, Calvin and Hobbes, etc. The museum may be boring if you're not a fan of American cartoons, but all the cartoons have plenty of text for you to read and entertain yourself. If you decided that you wanted to read all the text on each piece, then you'll be sure to blow hours just reading. I recently La Vida, a collection of Latinx Comics. Latinos sure are lucky. They have so many cartoons speaking of their pride of being Mexican. And meanwhile the best Asians could muster was the book American Born Chinese, which I highly suggest since it satirically depicts the young lives of almost an entire generation of American born Asians. Unless you had the fortune of growing up at an Asian bubble at California. If you don't like reading comics that tackle serious issues, then you can read some comics that are meant to be humorous. I enjoyed the Latinx comic talking about the boy that tries to dissuade zombies from eating livestock. Only for the zombies to turn to certain groups of humans. The ending has a great twist that you totally won't expect. Parking is shit even for a University. Parking outside of a garage is non-existent unless you're a student at Ohio State. The Ohio Union Garage must be making bank for opening a parking garage that practically serves an entire area of Ohio State University.

I had a nice time in this little museum. It's a collection of cartoons and comic strips. There are three small galleries but have a lot packed into them. It features local artists and some better known. They have rotating exhibits featuring cartoonists. I went here last week. The current exhibits are Eldon Dedini and David Berona. Dedini was a cartoonist for the New Yorker, Playboy, and other magazines. He came up with a lot of edgy cartoons that Playboy was known for. The exhibit features his parodies of comic strips like Blondie and Peanuts. Berona is a historian, librarian, and scholar. He has a large collection of wordless books. These are mostly from the early to mid 20th century. In addition to these exhibits, the museum also has it's regular collection. There's a few Billy Ireland cartoons, and comic strips like Dick Tracy, Little Nemo, Peanuts, Pogo, and Prince Valiant. It's a free musuem so you only have to pay if you park close. The hours are fairly limited, every day except Monday from 1 to 5. It has 300,000 original cartoons, 45,000 books, and 2.5 million comic strip clippings. The exhibits change every few months or so. I recommend this museum to cartoon or comic book fans. It's not that big so you won't have to spend a whole lot of time here. This is a nice complement to the Wexner Center so stop by if you go there.

I've always prescribed an exalted position for fine art above the distracted doodles of the cartoonist. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum thinks otherwise, displaying cartoons as serious cultural artifacts. Their tasteful displays and descriptions have taken me a long ways in convincing me they are right. Walking into Sullivant Hall for the first time in decades was a surprise. Gone is the drab, dark, and stuffy environs that once defined the place. Here now is an open lobby and natural lighting. I had to walk the halls for a bit. Beautiful carpeting, natural light, and professionally colored restrooms made me amazed, and a little bit jealous. I guess this is what inflated tuition gets you. (Not so jealous anymore.)Onto the museum: the lobby offers a research library and a stain glass display of some of Ireland's famous Dispatch drawings. The exhibits are on the second floor, up an open staircase and around a modernistic walkway. At no charge, the museum offers three rooms with a nice natural flow of travel through them. Light and spacy with grey walls and soft lighting accenting the cartoon displays perfectly, the rooms are a breezy walkthrough. It has that muted echoey accustics of typical galleries that appeal to me. The classic undertones guiding the shape and flow of the rooms agrees with the neo-classic building they are in. It makes for a fine experience. They had Eldon Dedini's work on exhibit. He is well known for (the often puzzling) New Yorker inserts, and (probably more known) the plumb, pink physiques of Playboy. His works filled the front room and they spanned the entirety of his career. One impressive example was a cartoon that featured famous works of art that were perfectly done, showing he had serious talent. The breadth of his designs and humor reveal a cultural force not often thought about. ( note: his Playboy works shown here may not be suitable for some children.) The other rooms had more examples of cartoons as art. The back had displays of wordless novels. European in origin, these picture only book crossed language barriors with ease. Often raw and haunting, with distressing images, these samples had angst in common with existentialism, the philosophy that sprung from post WWII Europe. Here were offered copies of such books for the public to pick up and 'read'. I should had came here sooner; pretty displeased now that I missed Calvin and Hobbs, my all time favorite Sunday strip. Still with holdings totalling 300k in original material, tens of thousands of books and serials, and 2.5 million in newspaper clipping the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum can refresh their displays often. This will certainly go on this art lovers rotation. This is a must for any museum, cartoon, or art lover.

Fans of the Sunday comics, here is a place for you. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum is located in the recently renovated Sullivant Hall on the Ohio State Columbus campus, and the museum itself has free admission. Parking on campus is, of course, another story - you can check on the going rates online.The museum gallery is located on the second floor. It consists of three rooms, with well-organized and fascinating exhibits. One room features a sampling of the items the museum houses in its collection, including samples from different eras and countries. The other two contain special exhibits. At the time of my visit, one was for Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes and the other was a retrospective for Richard Thompson (Cul De Sac). Both exhibits were well done, with many classic examples of the strips featured, plus background on the artists. Watterson's personal touches, like the humorous descriptions of his drawing equipment, were a delight.The gallery has limited hours (1-5 pm Tuesdays-Sundays) and is closed for holidays, special events, and between exhibits, information which they post on their website.

This was a really cool spot to hang out. The history of the cartoons and the context of the times was so interesting to see. I highly suggest going before it's over. Plus, it's free and you can't beat that!

Went back yesterday for the Calvin and Hobbes exhibit. Glad I did. It's just one room, but there are a lot of strips, plenty of background on C+H and Watterson, etc. A nice small, free museum. There's a research library in the same building, for all your cartoon doctorate needs.