Art Cooper Collection of Comic Art and Fanzines
Finding Aid
Art Cooper Collection of Comic Art and Fanzines. 1st accrual. – 1936-2017; predominant 1971-1978. – ca. 12 cm textual records.
Series 1: McMaster Campus Cinema Screening Posters. – 1971-1975. – 41 posters.
Series 2: Additional Posters and Artwork. – 1936; 1972-1976; 2017. – 8 posters; 6 art prints; 1 comic page.
Series 3: Fanzines and Mini Comics. – 1971-1978; 1994. – 31 fanzines/mini comics; 1 original artwork.
Series groupings and file arrangement were supplied by the processing archivist.
Series 1
McMaster Campus Cinema Screening Posters. – 1971-1975. – 41 posters.
McMaster’s Film Board operated from 1966-1975 as a student-run extension of the campus film society. It served as a platform for students to train each other in filmmaking; in its early years, it also operated a screening series which showcased experimental and avant-garde works from filmmakers such as Shirley Clarke, Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol, and others (Broomer 3-5).
During the 1970-1971 academic year, the Film Board ceased screening experimental films and began showing films which had performed well at the box office. This decision was made to raise funds. Films shown in this period were part of the Board’s “Campus Cinema” screening program (Broomer 173, 193-194).
This series features original artwork and copies of posters for the Campus Cinema screening series from the years 1971-1975. Included in the series are two posters for McMaster Film Board social events in 1975. The artwork for the Campus Cinema screening posters was significant in its own right; all artwork was created by cartoonist Art Cooper and is in black and white.
Files are arranged first by record type (original artwork, followed by posters), and in rough chronological order.
For further information on the activities of the McMaster Film Board, see Stephen Broomer’s 2016 monograph Hamilton Babylon: A History of the McMaster Film Board (University of Toronto Press).
Box 1
F.1 [Original artwork for American Graffiti showing]. – ca. 1973. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; inked and lettered.
F.2 [Original artwork for Casablanca and The African Queen double showing]. – ca. 1973. – 1 poster: 30.5 x 47.5 cm.; inked.
F.3 [Original artwork for Macbeth showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 30.5 x 47.5 cm.; inked.
F.4 [Original artwork for Sleuth showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 30.5 x 47.5 cm.; inked and lettered.
F.5 [Original artwork for Jesus Christ Superstar showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 31 x 48 cm.; inked.
F.6 [Original artwork for Little Big Man showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 30.5 x 47.5 cm.; inked and lettered.
F.7 [Original artwork for Blow-Up showing and overlay with illustration for Towering Inferno showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; inked and lettered.
F.8 [Copied poster for American Graffiti showing]. – ca. 1973. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.9 [Copied poster for The Night They Raided Minsky’s showing]. – ca. 1971. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.10 [Copied poster for Metropolis and Secret Beyond the Door double showing]. – ca. 1971. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.11 [Copied poster for Charlie Chaplin festival showings]. – ca. 1971. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.12 [Copied poster for The Owl and the Pussycat showing]. – ca. 1971. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.13 [Copied poster for Tillie and Gus and You’re Telling Me double showing]. – ca. 1971. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.14 [Copied poster for Where’s Poppa? showing]. – ca. 1972. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.15 [Copied poster for Bananas showing]. – ca. 1972. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.16 [Copied poster for Tom Jones showing]. – ca. 1972. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.17 [Copied poster for The Further Perils of Laurel & Hardy showing]. – ca. 1972. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.18 [Copied poster for The Magician showing]. – ca. 1972. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.19 [Copied poster for Casablanca and The African Queen double showing]. – ca. 1973. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.20 [Copied poster for The Phantom of the Opera showing]. – ca. 1973. – 1 poster: 30.5 x 45.5 cm.
F.21 [Copied poster for Jesus Christ Superstar showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.22 [Copied poster for Little Big Man showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.23 [Copied posters for Macbeth showing]. – ca. 1974. – 2 posters: 28 x 43 cm.
F.24 [Copied poster for Day of the Jackal showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.25 [Copied poster for The Andromeda Strain showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.26 [Copied poster for A Very Curious Girl showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.27 [Copied poster for The Garden of the Finzi-Continis showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.28 [Copied poster for Bananas showing]. – ca. 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.29 [Copied poster for O Lucky Man! Showing]. – 1974. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.30 [Copied poster for first meeting of McMaster Film Board, 23 September 1975]. – 1975. – 1 poster: 21.5 x 28 cm.
F.31 [Copied poster for McMaster Film Board coffee event]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.32 [Copied poster for Animal Crackers and Duck Soup double showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.33 [Copied poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.34 [Copied poster for Key Largo and The Big Sleep double showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.35 [Copied poster for Horsefeathers and Monkey Business double showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.36 [Copied poster for Towering Inferno showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.37 [Copied poster for Monty Python’s And Now for Something Completely Different showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.38 [Copied poster for To Have and Have Not and The Treasure of the Sierra Madré double showing]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.39 [Copied poster for Five Easy Pieces showing]. – n.d. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.40 [Copied poster for Two-Lane Blacktop showing]. – n.d. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.41 [Copied poster for Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here showing]. – n.d. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
Series 2
Additional Posters and Artwork. – 1936; 1972-1976; 2017. – 8 posters; 6 art prints; 1 comic page: b&w.
Series contains posters or comic art collected or created by Art Cooper. Record types include original artwork and posters for McMaster Student Union events in the academic year 1975-1976, all of which feature artwork by Art Cooper; a poster for the first Cosmicon event (York University, March 1972) which was created by Jim Steranko; six signed prints from Art Cooper featuring Canadian Whites-inspired character drawings (2017); and an original full page of the Tarzan comic, drawn by Hal Foster in March of 1936.
Hal Foster (1892-1982) was a Canadian-born artist who moved to the U.S. in the 1920s. During his lifetime, Foster produced two well-known adventure comic strips, Tarzan and Prince Valiant. Tarzan, an adaptation of a novel series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, premiered in 1929 with artwork by Foster. The first comic adaptation featured 60 dailies and was immediately successful, however, Foster was not interested in continuing with the project. Foster returned to drawing Tarzan in the early 1930s, taking on the full-page Sunday spread which had been added in 1931. He ceased drawing the comic in 1937 (Encyclopedia of American Comics, 138-139; 355-357).
Files are arranged in rough chronological order.
For further information on the history of the Tarzan comic, see Ron Goulart’s The Encyclopedia of American Comics (New York: Facts on File, 1990).
Box 1 [cont.]
F.42 [Poster for first Cosmicon event, York University, March 3-5 of 1972. Artwork by Jim Steranko]. – 1972. – 1 poster: 43.5 x 58.5 cm.; col.
F.43 [Copied poster advertising McMaster Oktoberfest dance on October 17th]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.44 [Copied poster advertising Gil Eagles visit to McMaster on November 19th]. – ca. 1975. – 1 poster: 28 x 41 cm.
F.45 [Copied poster advertising McMaster Student Union and the Carling Foundation event, “Winter Caravan ‘76”, January-February 1976]. – 1976. – 1 poster: 61 x 46 cm.
F.46 [Original artwork for poster advertising year-end pub night at McMaster on April 2nd]. – ca. 1976. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.47 [Copied poster advertising year-end pub night at McMaster on April 2nd]. – ca. 1976. – 1 poster: 30.5 x 45.5 cm.
F.48 [Original artwork for poster advertising McMaster Students Union and Alumni Association “Grads Day Dance” on May 29th]. – ca. 1976. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.
F.49 [Copied poster advertising McMaster Students Union and Alumni Association “Grads Day Dance” on May 29th]. – ca. 1976. – 1 poster: 30.5 x 45.5 cm.
F.50 [Canadian Whites-inspired print of “Black Avenger,” signed, no. 7 of 20]. – 2017. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; 100 lb. stock; b&w.
F.51 [Canadian Whites-inspired print of “The Blade,” signed, no. 7 of 20]. – 2017. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; 100 lb. stock; b&w.
F.52 [Canadian Whites-inspired print of “The Brain,” signed, no. 7 of 20. Folder includes original envelope for set of prints]. – 2017. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; 100 lb. stock; b&w.
F.53 [Canadian Whites-inspired print of “Nitro,” signed, no. 7 of 20]. – 2017. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; 100 lb. stock; b&w.
F.54 [Canadian Whites-inspired print of “Speed Savage,” signed, no. 7 of 20]. – 2017. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; 100 lb. stock; b&w.
F.55 [Canadian Whites-inspired print of “The Wing,” signed, no. 7 of 20]. – 2017. – 1 poster: 28 x 43 cm.; 100 lb. stock; b&w.
Series 2—Oversize
F.1 [Full page of original artwork for Tarzan Sunday edition, “The Deluge,” #263. Artwork by Hal Foster (signed). Dated 22 March 1936]. – 1 b&w drawing: black and white media applied over graphite on machine made, wood pulp paper substrate, adhered to foam core board: 52.5 x 69.5 cm; includes title printed by photostat, adhered to top of artwork.
Series 3
Fanzines and Mini Comics. – 1971-1978; 1994. – 31 fanzines/mini comics; 1 original artwork.
Series contains fanzines and mini comics predominantly from the 1970s; all were produced in the Southern Ontario region, particularly Hamilton, Kitchener, and London. Series also contains one piece of original fan art by Art Cooper.
Fanzines were first created in the 1930s by fans of science fiction publications. By the 1940s, fanzines were distributed by amateur press associations, who would reprint and circulate the zines submitted by fans to the association. The success of this model and of the early zines led to the format being adopted by fans of music, cinema, and comics. By 1955, the science fiction fanzine had become so popular that the World Science Fiction Convention developed a Hugo award for “Best Fanzine” (Brian Campbell, “Captain George and the Emergence of Comic Fandom During the Early Canadian Silver Age”).
Science fiction and fantasy zines were published in Canada prior to the 1960s, but it was not until this decade that comic zines began to be published. The first Canadian comic fanzine was produced by George Henderson through the Memory Lane comic shop in 1967; Henderson’s early zines were reprints of comics in the public domain (Brian Campbell, “The Emergence of Comic Fanzines in Ontario in the Late 1960s”). John Bell, a historian of Canadian comics, argues that the first comics zine featuring original material was a special issue of bpNichol’s experimental magazine grOnk (called Scraptures) in 1967 (Invaders from the North, 107).
Mini comics were produced in Hamilton in the early 1970s by Vincent Marchesano and Art Cooper as part of their Spectrum Publications project (Campbell, “Emergence”). In Kitchener, John Balge founded Comic Art News & Reviews, a seven-page fanzine split into three ‘columns’ to mimic the classic collated zines produced by amateur press associations (BK Munn, “Early Canadian Fanzine Pioneer”). Also in Kitchener, the owner of Now and Then Books comic shop, Harry Kremer, published a fanzine entitled Now and Then Times which was produced by Dave Sim (who later created the acclaimed Cerebus comic series) and others. These creators were an important part of the nascent small-press movement in the early 1970s; later in the decade, when photocopy technology improved, the movement began to expand, and by the late 1980s it had become a much larger phenomenon (Bell, Invaders from the North 143-144).
Files are in chronological order.
Box 2
F.1 Marchesano, V.J. and Art Cooper (eds.). The Spectrum, no. 3 (Aug.-Sep. 1971): Hamilton, Ontario. 12 pp.
F.2 Sigal, Mark, David Rubin, and Paul Hock (eds.). Comic and the Crypt 1, no. 5 (November 1971): Toronto, Ontario. 32 pp.
F.3 Marchesano, V.J. (ed.). The Spectrum, no. 4 (Jan.-Feb. 1972): Hamilton, Ontario, 16 pp.
F.4 Sim, Dave (ed.) and Harry Kremer (publisher). Now and Then Times 1, no. 1 (Summer 1972): Kitchener, Ontario. 28 pp.
F.5 Balge, John, Dave Sim, and Richard Seiler (eds.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 1 (Sep. 1972): Kitchener, Ontario. 7 pp.
F.6 Paul, Bill [ed.]. Media Five Magazine 1, no. 1 (Sep.-Oct. 1972): London, Ontario. 12 pp.
F.7 Balge, John, Dave Sim, and Richard Seiler (eds.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 2 (Oct. 1972): Kitchener, Ontario. 7 pp.
F.8 Balge, John, Dave Sim, and Richard Seiler (eds.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 3 (Nov. 1972): Kitchener, Ontario. 7 pp.
F.9 Paul, Bill [ed.]. Media Five Magazine 1, no. 2 (Nov.-Dec. 1972): London, Ontario. 12 pp.
F.10 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 4 (Dec. 1972): Kitchener, Ontario. 7 pp.
F.11 [Art Cooper’s original comic art featuring Marvel characters—signed]. – ca. 1972. – 1 p.: 19 x 25 cm.; col.
F.12 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 5 (Jan. 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 7 pp.
F.13 Paul, Bill (ed.). Media Five Magazine 1, no. 3 (Jan.-Feb. 1973): London, Ontario. 12 pp.
F.14 Alfonso, Ralph and Cliff Letovsky (eds.). Le Beaver, no. 19 (February 1973): Montréal, Canada. 29 pp. [File includes letter to Art Cooper from Cliff Letovsky—ca. 1973].
F.15 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 6 (Feb. 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 7 pp.
F.16 Letovsky, Cliff and Ralph Alfonso (eds.). Le Beaver, no. 20 (March 1973): Montréal, Canada. 27 pp.
F.17 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews [Special anniversary edition] 1, no. 7 (March 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 8 pp. and two inserts.
F.18 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews [Regular edition] 1, no. 7 (March 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 8 pp.
F.19 Paul, Bill (ed.). Media Five Magazine 1, no. 4 (March-April 1973): London, Ontario. 12 pp.
F.20 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 8 (April 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 8 pp.
F.21 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 9 (May 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 8 pp. and one insert.
F.22 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 10 (June 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 8 pp.
F.23 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 11 (July 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 12 pp.
F.24 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 1, no. 12 (August 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 8 pp.
F.25 Balge, John (ed.). Comic Art News & Reviews 2, no. 2 (Oct. 1973): Kitchener, Ontario. 8 pp.
F.26 Paul, Bill (ed.). Media Five Magazine 1, nos. 5-6 (Jan.-Feb. 1974): London, Ontario. 24 pp.
F.27 Orr, Alan (ed. and publisher). Direct Currents (formerly the DC Bulletin), no. 2 (1974): Kitchener, Ontario. 16 pp.
F.28 Orr, Alan (ed. and publisher). Direct Currents (formerly the DC Bulletin), no. 3 (Oct. 1974): Kitchener, Ontario. 12 pp.
F.29 Emery, Marc. Catalogue for Marc’s Comic Room, no. 11 (February 1975): London, Ontario. 6 pp.
F.30 Cooper, Art (writer and illustrator), Mil Sepic (plot), Judy Bergen (letterer). The Crap Caper (1978): N.p. 8 pp.
F.31 Rehr, Henrik (writer) and Lars Horneman (illustrator). Oatmeal. Hamilton, Ontario: Blind Bat Press, 1994. 48 pp.
F.32 Herzog, Marty, Headly, and Matt Rust (eds.). A Magazine [student magazine for Sheridan College’s Visual & Media Arts Division], n.d.: Oakville, Ontario. 4 pp.
