Are you a fanatic of heroes and heroines such as Superman, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern, Captain America and X-Men? Are you interested in rare collector’s items from comic book history, such as “Godzilla”, and long for the chance to own them?A fraction of a Thibodaux resident’s 14,000-piece comic book collection is available for viewing and private sale at the Allen J. Ellender Archives and Nicholls President Archives, found on the first floor of the Ellender Memorial Library.
The exhibit, “The World of Comic Books,” is the life’s ambition of Daniel Lirette, 64, a once avid collector of comic books spanning over three decades from the 1950s to the 1980s. However, his collection is not exclusive to comic books. Everything from action figures to actor photographs of comics made to motion pictures and television are on display.
Lirette’s fascination with comics began as a young boy in 1957, when he read a “Superman” comic and saw the hero’s female counterpart.
“I hate to say it, but I fell in love with a comic book character … Super-Girl,” he chuckled.
After he became infatuated with his first love and once he was old enough to work and help financially support his family, Lirette’s parents allowed him to continue his passion for collecting comics as a childhood reward.
“I would find and sell (used and empty) bottles of Coca-Cola back to the Coca-Cola factory, and I would give the money to my family,” Lirette says. “Then I would get back some of the money from my mom to buy the comic books.”
With each comic book he purchased from his childhood into adulthood, he became more interested in the evolution of artwork in comics. Through each passing decade, as printing techniques and pop culture changed the presentation of comics, he was inspired to draw many of the characters he loved throughout time.
Lirette has also become an enormous information source on the history of comics. He has studied extensively topics related to comics from additional published material that he has also collected throughout his life.
Currently, tours of the exhibit along with other parts of the library are being conducted for freshmen in the University preparation course. Educators are encouraged to invite classes to view the exhibit as part of classroom assignments. Lirette is also available to speak about his collection for small discussion groups. The exhibit is open to the public and will be available for viewing until January 2010.
Emilie Pitre, library specialist III for Ellender Memorial Library, believes the library benefits not only from the University community with exhibits such as Lirette’s, but also from the entire region and all ages.
“This library serves everyone from preschoolers to grandparents. I’ve had classes come in, and I had students tell me that they thought the library was going to be boring until they saw the archives and were amazed the comic books were up,” Pitre said. “Because of the (comic book) display, students want to see what the library has to offer on the second and third floors.”
Lirette’s comics on display and many others are for private sale to Nicholls students and to the public. Prices range from $3.00 for recent editions to several thousand dollars for earlier, rare editions. He is selling the comic book collection to help support his retirement, and he wants a new generation of superhero worshippers to share and appreciate the characters, storylines, artwork and history that intrigued him throughout his life.
Lirette believes from his experience that it is easy to fall in love with comic book collecting. “When you start buying comic books, it’s like a disease,” he said. “You got to keep buying and buying.”
For more information on “The World of Comic Books,” including exhibit and tour times, contact the Allen J. Ellender Archives and Nicholls President Archives at Ellender Memorial Library at (985)448-4620.
To purchase items in Daniel Lirette’s collection, visit the exhibit for price listings or contact him via e-mail at [email protected].
