Comics Buyer's Guide
''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...
'', June 10, 2005. Accessed January 10, 2011. . is a writer/editor and
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
, described by ''Bostonia'' magazine as "America's foremost authority on pop culture." Marschall has served as an editor for both
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
...
and
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
comics, plus several syndicates.
Work
Marschall has written and edited more than 62 books on cultural topics, including the history of comics, television and country music. He has documented the history of comic strips in two magazines he edited: ''
Nemo, the Classic Comics Library
''Nemo, the Classic Comics Library'' was a magazine devoted to the history and creators of vintage comic strips. Created by comics historian Rick Marschall, it was published between 1983 and 1990 by Fantagraphics.
''Nemo'' ran for 31 issues (th ...
'' and '' Hogan's Alley''. For Marvel, he founded the slick graphic story magazine ''
Epic Illustrated
''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional Am ...
''. He edited comic strips (''Peanuts'', ''BC'', ''Dick Tracy''), scripted for graphic novels and animated cartoons (''ThunderCats'') and edited a book with
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...
and techniques of fiction at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
and the
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
.
In 2009, he teamed with Jonathan Barli to launch Rosebud Archives, dedicated to the preservation and publication of comic art in prints, portfolios and books. That same year, he looked back on his career:
:I drew political cartoons for years. I have been a comic-strip editor of three newspaper syndicates, an editor at Marvel, a writer of Disney comics. I have taught about comics on the teaching staffs of four colleges. I consulted with the US Postal Service when they issued 20 stamps to celebrate the comics’ centennial; and the State Department has sent me overseas (I keep coming back) to mount exhibitions and talk about comics. I’ve written 62 books; edited several magazines and founded a few... I have written four books on country music, two on television history, and am today finishing a biography of Johann Sebastian Bach.Rosebud Archives: "The Kitchen Table", December 18, 2009. /ref>
Selected bibliography
*''American Comic Classics: A Collection of U.S. Postage Stamps''
*''America's Great Comic Strip Artists: From the Yellow Kid to Peanuts'' (
Abbeville Press
Abbeville Publishing Group is an independent book publishing company specializing in fine art and illustrated books. Based in New York City, Abbeville publishes approximately 40 titles each year and has a catalogue of over 700 titles on art, arc ...
, 1989)
*''Blondie & Dagwood's America''
*''Encyclopedia of Country and Western Music''
*''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''
*''The First Nemo Annual Screw Ball Comics''
*''The Golden Age of Television''
*''History of Television''
*''Milton Caniff, Rembrandt of the Comic Strip''
*''Screw Ball Comics''