The New York Public Library is delighted to celebrate the creative attributes of comics. The Library holds an extensive collection of comics spanning the medium’s history. Students, artists, and comic book aficionados visit the Library to learn about the historical, cultural, and visual aspects of the art of graphic storytelling—an art that continues to grow in popularity and reach new audiences. Shown here from the Library’s collections are works by the legendary comic book writer Stan Lee, as well as works from the James Wright Brown Cartoon Collection and works by Latin American, Iberian, and North American Latino writers and artists.
Stan Lee
The man who revolutionized the comic book industry and became a leading pioneer for the medium, Stan Lee (1922–2018) was a comic book writer, editor, and publisher whose work and characters are visually recognized throughout the world and are rising ever upward. Excelsior!
Latin American, Iberian & U.S. Latino Comics
In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, this exhibition highlights Latin American, Iberian, and Latinx comics from the collection. The Library’s General Research Division collects broadly from Latin America, the Iberian peninsula, and the United States. This includes the Latino Comic Book Collection of over 370 comics, with works published from 1970 to the present.
James Wright Brown Cartoon Collection
In 1948, the Library was presented with the James Wright Brown Cartoon Collection of more than 800 original drawings by leading cartoonists representing the first half of the 20th century. The collection was donated to the Print Collection by James Wright Brown who served as editor-in-chief, president, and chairman of Editor & Publisher, a major newspaper trade journal.