Comic Book Collection

Upon entering the permanent exhibit American POP in The Galleries for American Arts and Popular Culture, visitors are met with a whole wall of comic books. The nucleus of this display, which is rotated periodically for preservation and just to freshen the experience, is formed by the Max Simon Comic Book Collection.

 

In a 2008 interview with scifichick.com for the opening of a previous temporary exhibit called Comic Book Heroes: Featuring the Max Simon Comic Book Collection, former curator Janna Bennett explained the collection and its originator in this way: “Comic Book Heroes celebrates our love affair with comic books and the unique way art and words come together to tell stories. The initial idea for the exhibit came from discussions with Melvin and Bren Simon after the death of their son, Max Simon.

 

“Max Simon began reading comics around age 9. He collected both Marvel and DC Comics as a teenager, accumulating extensive runs of X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and The Avengers. As his passion for comics grew, Max began to seek out contemporary and back-issue copies of classics like Wonder Woman, Batman, Incredible Hulk, the Justice League, and the Teen Titans, and to explore new comics from smaller independent publishers. He eventually collected over 19,000 comic books. Max died unexpectedly at a young age and his family’s generous donation of his comic book collection allows the museum to share his interest with children and families throughout Indiana and the world.”