Through the gracious permission and generosity of the author* and editor,** we are able to share an interview with Phillip Kennedy Johnson, one of the premier writers in the comics world today entrusted with telling Superman’s stories to a contemporary audience… “To me, Superman is the living antithesis to the adage that absolute power corrupts …
Read More An Interview with Phillip Kennedy Johnson
The November 14th program will feature Don Boozer, Manager of the Literature Department at Cleveland Public Library (home to one of the largest Superman memorabilia collections in the country) and Coordinator of the Ohio Center for the Book speaking on Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s connection to Cleveland, Ohio, and their lasting legacy to the …
Read More Public invited to Siegel and Shuster Induction Ceremony into the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, Sunday, Nov. 14
The Ohio Center for the Book was fortunate to be asked by the Ohioana Library to host an outreach event for the Ohioana Book Festival this year. Tom Batiuk of Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft fame and Jay Kalagayan, creator, writer, and publisher of MeSseD Comics, had a wide-ranging conversation with our Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Valentino Zullo. …
Read More An Ohio Comics Conversation with Tom Batiuk and Jay KalagayanDid you know that May 5th, 2018 is Free Comic Book Day? Ohio Center for the Book and several other Cleveland Public Library branches are celebrating the day with free comics, movies, activities, and CAKE! Join the Ohio Center for the Book for these films that celebrate the spirit of FCBD. The following two film …
Read More Free Comic Book Day 2018Born: February 28, 1907Died: April 3, 1988 Ohio connection: Birth Hillsboro An award-winning cartoonist, Milton Caniff began drawing the Boy Scout page for a local newspaper at age thirteen. Best known as the creator of the comic strips “Terry and the Pirates” and “Steve Canyon,” Caniff once considered a career in acting. Graduating from The Ohio State University in …
Read More Milton CaniffBorn: 1958 Ohio connection: Resident Chagrin Falls & Cleveland Heights Bill Watterson, creator of the beloved comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes,” was born in Washington, D.C., and moved with his family to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, when he was six years old. Watterson preferred to spend his time alone drawing — a talent he lent to his …
Read More Bill WattersonBorn: 1976 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Brian K. Vaughan was born in 1976 in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating high school, Vaughan moved to New York City to attend New York University hoping to pursue a career in filmmaking. While there, Vaughan attended a comic book scripting session with two editors from Marvel Comics. Vaughan submitted a few …
Read More Brian K. VaughanBorn: 1960 Ohio connection: Resident Columbus Jeffrey Alan Smith was born in 1960 to William Earl and Barbara Smith in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. He grew up near Columbus. As a child, Smith read and was inspired by Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge, Peanuts, and adventure comics like Batman and Superman. Some of his favorite comics are George Herriman’s Krazy Kat and E.C. Segar’s Thimble …
Read More Jeff Smith