With over 60,000 comic books and graphic novels in our collection, there is no doubt that we at the Lilly Library are fans of comics! A new promotional spot featuring Indiana University alum, Media School professor of practice, and Lilly Library donor Michael Uslan provides a 30-second version of Mr. Uslan’s journey from a student reading comic books in his dorm room to the executive producer of the Batman films.
You can watch the new video and also read about the Jacobs School’s role in providing the music on Inside IU Bloomington. You can also find out more about the comic book course that Michael Uslan taught at Indiana University on IU Archives’ blog.
In his introduction to the 2005 exhibition of material from his vast and deep collections of pop culture memories, Mr. Uslan described his lifelong passion for comics:
“My mother told me I learned to read from comic books when I was three. My seventh-grade English teacher informed me that it was perfectly fine for me to read comic books because they were clearly sparking my creativity. Indiana University allowed me to teach the world’s first accredited college course on comic books because they declared them worthy of academic study. DC Comics hired me to write their ‘Batman’ comics due to the international attention I received for starting my comic book course at IU. United Artists employed me as a movie studio attorney due to my study of copyright law and the comic book industry at Indiana University School of Law. DC Comics sold me the movie and allied rights to Batman because of my knowledge of the character, my respect for the character, and my credentials as a studio attorney. Batman in 1989 and Batman Begins in 2005 completed a dream I had to produce the definitive, dark, serious, plausible movies of Batman as he was created and evolved in the comics. And on the heels of Batman Begins, some 30,000 comic books from my personal collection are now a part of Indiana University’s Lilly Library collection for fans, for scholars, and for posterity. This has been my journey, and what an incredible ride it has been… and continues to be!”
Since that 2005 exhibition, Michael Uslan has continued to donate comic books and graphic novels as well as his personal papers to the Lilly Library. We are proud to provide access to these collections to researchers from around the world and also to conduct class sessions in which professors from around campus bring their students to see and learn about the fantastic history of comic books. You can search our database of Uslan comics or contact our Reference Department at liblilly@indiana.edu to find out more about how to access this remarkable collection.