Eddy Smet has over 10,000 comic books. And he’s giving most of them away.

The retired Huron University College professor is donating a large portion of his collection to the Western Archives. This will ultimately leave Western in possession of what is believed to be the largest and most valuable collection of comic books ever donated to a Canadian university.

Giving away his comic books, says Smet, is equivalent to losing a limb — so he’s chosen to donate his collection in regular installments over the next few years rather than all at once.

“The bulk of it will be going to Western in bits and pieces, as I can’t bear to part with it,” Smet explained. “I also want to see how [the comics] are handled.”

Comics in the classroom

Smet’s donation is but one example of how comic books and graphic novels are gaining more respect in the academic world.

“Comic books are a serious area of academic study and this donation will significantly support those pursuits at Western for our students, our faculty and our visiting scholars,” noted John Lutman, librarian of the James Alexander and Ellen Rea Benson Special Collections, in a press release.

However, some still look down upon the pursuit of comics and graphic novels as an area of study.

“I guess the big issue with comics is whether there’s a stigma attached to reading them,” reflected Douglas Mann, a professor in the faculty of information and media studies.

“Are they a childish medium? I would argue some of them are, but some of them are much more sophisticated than some print mediums.”

Mann added there’s also a natural tendency, especially in academic life, to look down on the examination of pictures as opposed to text.

“The drawback is ordinary text novels leave more to the imagination — although they’re more specific in their descriptions,” Mann noted. “The thing with comics is you actually see the characters and sometimes, in that sense, comics perhaps leave less to the imagination.”

However, Mann noted readers of comics have to try and fill in the gaps between the panels and try to understand what’s going on, which perhaps makes up for the lack of visual imagination.

From Superman to Shakespeare?

Classical Comics, a business which turns classic stories into comics, has gained international acclaim for their approach to teaching Shakespeare and Charles Dickens to students using graphic novels.

“It was a way to try and engage disaffected readers with classical literature,” Clive Bryant, chairman and managing director of Classical Comics, said. “The world’s a different place […] children are exposed to all sorts of multimedia experience from PlayStation to Xboxes to iPhones […] what worked 25 years ago doesn’t work today.”

Bryant maintained while abridgement is often necessary, nothing is lost in the transition from text to graphic.

“Shakespeare was meant to be seen and performed — it wasn’t meant to be read from a dry script,” Bryant said. “Graphic novels allow a performance to take place in a book medium.”

While Classical Comics has garnered interest in the United Kingdom, some remain hesitant about the effectiveness of literature-turned-comics.

“It’s been done before,” Tim Morris, owner of the Comic Book Collector in downtown London, said. “A couple of people have tried it over the years, but the interest just doesn’t seem to be there.”

“You could argue that it takes something away from the classic novel or play, but it’s an old idea,” Mann said, adding graphic novels are always going to be on the fringe of discussion.

“I don’t think it’s disastrous [to turn them into comics], but it’s obviously better to read [the novel].”

In the face of a struggling economy and an ongoing shift towards digital mediums, classic comic books are facing an unstable future. Morris lamented as bigger bookstores begin to tap into the success of graphic novels, they have in turn taken sales away from smaller comic book stores.

“[Sales] were down last year for Marvel and DC Comics,” Morris said. “The availability of people posting stuff on the Internet has put a dent in our sales as well.”

A Changing Medium

In donating his collection to the Western archives, Smet realized he is giving complete control to the institution to handle the works.

“I still don’t entirely trust institutions for safe keeping,” Smet admitted. “An institution can [choose to get rid of them] or let them be handled willy-nilly.”

He is also concerned the continuing expansion and transitions of an institution can have an effect on the archives.

Mann confirmed a move to digital is indeed a plausible, and probable eventuality for comic books.

“I think it’s a good thing [Smet is] doing donations, but students are lazy. They’re not going to spend five hours in an archive room,” Mann explained. “It’s a great idea in theory, but I don’t know how much use it will get. The obvious move […] is to scan everything.”

However, while the world of comic books continue to develop and change, Smet maintained they are a medium that can be enjoyed by all.

“The thing is, almost everyone has been exposed to something connected to comics,” Smet said.

“My guess is, if you look at what’s in the archives, my comic books will probably relate more to people on campus than any other item in the archive.”

—with files from Shreya Tekriwal and Lauren Pell