ABA Journal - November 2010

theme). Others are focused on legal storylines or characters such as “Mr. District Attorney,” whose comic books originated from a radio show of the same name.

Zaid also included in the exhibit “ash cans” from
1939. These mock comic books were printed to use
as part of a trademark registration
application.

Another
comic book
bears the
evidence
stamp of a
New York
federal court
from when
it was used
as an exhibit
in an intellec-
tual property
dispute.
Also on dis-
play are docu-
ments from a
1955 congres-
sional hearing
on comics and
juvenile delin-
quency to show
a more contro-
versial relation-
ship between comics and the law, says Mike Widener,
the rare-book librarian at the Yale library.

The Superheroes exhibit is not the first time that the law library’s rare-book collection has showcased something rather unexpected. Earlier this year, the library displayed the complete set of the Green Bag’s Supreme Court bobbleheads.

Widener, who came up with the idea for the comic
book exhibit, hopes Superheroes will bring new
faces into the library. “I thought
it would be an exhibit that
would generate a lot of in-
terest because it cuts across
not just law students and the
legal community but people
that are interested in comic
books,” he says. “There are
just some great pieces here.”

Superheroes in Court will be on exhibit until Dec. 17.

—J.S.C.

Mark Zaid

Thank A few years ago, Porta-John Industries came out with a top-notch portable lavatory complete with hardwood floors, a skylight, a working sink and a ceramic toilet that flushes.