Karen Green, Comics Curator
Karen Green is the Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University, a living legend whose career is a firm attestation of the importance of comics archives and the quintessential role that any one person can make on a field through archival work. #comicsstudies 1/7
In her role as curator, Green has played a singular role in cultivating a deeply important comics archive at an Ivy League institution. When she started her job at Columbia, the library had a collection of just 3 graphic novels. 2/7
“When I first proposed the collection, I was told that it would be a very good idea to get a faculty member to write a letter saying, ‘I think this is a good idea.’ Libraries are extremely responsive to faculty; less responsive, perhaps to their own.” 3/7
By petitioning faculty support, Green sought to cultivate the archives and their role, both through acquisitions and through advocacy. The former drew scholars from around the globe to the archives, while the latter encouraged faculty to adopt comics into their syllabi. 4/7
From humble beginnings, the archives at Columbia now house key materials from Chris Claremont, Al Jaffee, Howard Cruse, Jerry Robinson, Wendy and Richard Pini, and Mort Gerbers, to name just a few. And Green has personally shepherded innumerable scholars through these collections. 5/7
Green’s work has transcended the archives themselves. In addition to her curator role, Green is a comics advocate, a conference organizer, an Eisner and Pulitzer judge, a teacher, and a film producer. Through her archival role, she has built a place of centrality in the field of comics studies. 6/7
In 2014, Columbia alum and accomplished comics scholar (and cartoonist) Nick Sousanis published “A Life in Comics” a brief biographical comic that celebrates Green’s professional accomplishments as well as the personal passion that ushered them onward. 7/7
https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/life-comics-graphic-adventures-karen-green