New Purchases Revive Memorabilia Dept. at MCBR
Sean Welch, Dean of Aquisitions
The last month has seen a steady growth in the Memorabilia Department at the MCBR and the faculty couldn't be happier. All of us here admit that the department has been limited to the annual gift contribution from the Rory Welch Foundation for Action Figure Action, or the occasional clearance rack purchase as an impulse buy. A recent increase in discretionary funds has allowed me, as Vault Manager, to seek out items other than comic books for inclusion in the Repository's holdings. This move toward a wider mission of preservation has been inspired by Mr. Rory Welch's dedication to contemporary action figures, his work in the Mini-Mates field being most notable. Beth and I have been expanding the Captain America wing to included some new finds.
Pictured at right is the Mighty Muggs Cap we picked up, along with Mighty Muggs Thor at Target. Beth really liked these and o.k.'ed the purchase. I've come around to these more cartoonish renditions of The Sentinel of Liberty. The Repository bids for a Secret Wars Cap and a Marvel Superheroes Cap fell short (only fifty cents in both cases on Ebay), and at this point a vintage Mego Cap is out of the Repository's price range. However, we're proud to announce we have acquired a custom 12" Falcon doll made from a vintage G.I. Joe with handmade costume and wings. This is our second cloth dressed figure the other being a 12" Star Wars Walrus Man.
The Repository has a small collection of 1980's Topps Baseball cards and some baseball ephemera, but trading cards in general have not been a focus of research or collecting for twenty years. We've moved to start collecting non-sports related cards still in their wax packs and boxes, primarily 1970's and 1980's movie or TV cards with a focus on science fiction. Star Wars, Space 1999, Buck Rogers and vintage Battlestar Galactica cards are being sought. We've just found three unopened packs of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (ST:TMP to you in the know) and we're close to buying several packs of Alien cards including an original display box. All in all a good start to giving the Memorabilia Department the kind of role they deserve. All those faculty members deserve a lot of credit for doing so much with so little for so long. Keep this up and a new microwave in the brake room is right around the corner.
In comic news Captain America, The Twelve, Daredevil, and Secret Invasion/Avengers continue to top the faculty reading list and the new title Skarr, Son of Hulk has joined these favorites. Written by Greg Pak and drawn by Ron Garney, a long time Cap artist, Skarr takes us back to the Planet Sakkar and further adventures in the scene of the amazing Planet Hulk. Skarr is the child of Hulk and his Grey Queen. The Queen managed to save the child at the end of Planet Hulk and in a matter of days he was fully formed and smashing as Hulks of all sizes are wont to do. Pak's writing is good and the story has a Conan-ish feel about it with swords and dragons and prophecies abounding. Ron Garney's art looks great and this is one comic where the computer coloring doesn't take away from the pencils. I've always been a fan of Garney and he's doing some of his best work here.
This (above) Julie Bell cover is another good example of the amazing talent Marvel has for their covers. Sadly, this variant cover wasn't at Capital City when I picked up the first issue.
About Hulk-related comics in general: Despite the fact that Hulk had almost two straight years of very good comics and a recent movie blockbuster, Ol' Greenskin doesn't have his own title. What gives? Red Hulk is not a good comic book- Jeph Loeb is dialing in this one and Ed McGuiness makes all the characters look...cute. Incredible Herc is an o.k story if you can stand Amedeus Cho and his puppy, but the comic is clearly a compromise in some way of what looked like during World War Hulk (WWH) to be the intro of an updated Champions called Renegades. At least that was what Angel and Herc kept calling themselves because they took the Hulk's side (whatever that was) in WWH. Why Hulk had to go from the masthead is unknown to me and some faculty members here believe that the Red Hulk story should have been told in the confines of The Incredible Hulk. Bringing in Banner in (Red)Hulk #3 was an anticlimactic showdown that made green Hulk a guest star. The whole thing is such a gimmick and a poor way to treat a great character on a winning streak. Skarr is the best of the three Hulk titles and for now the only one the repository will be buying.
Despite many Giant Size issues and a large Captain America collection, it was only today that we bought a copy of Giant Size Captain America #1. It's in only Good condition, but will fill a gap in the collection until a better copy can be found. Remember, variety trumps quality if the price is right.
Lastly, a DC addition to the Repository that we are really excited about. Adventure #428 features the first appearance of Black Orchid! While not a major character I always like her psychedelic costume. This issue is among those Bronze Age comics including Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love that will continue to increase in value because they are both a good read and obscure.
More about the faculty reading list soon. Until then, good reading and study well.