The Golden Apple Comics Foundation is a charitable organization whose mission is “to preserve, safeguard and showcase private collections to ensure that comics, books, art and collectibles are secured for future generations to enjoy.” In addition to working with private collectors, the foundation will work with universities and museums to catalog and preserve their comics collections, offering expertise that they may not have. Other planned activities include education, fund-raising, convention programming, and preservation of original art.
The foundation’s board consists of Ryan, Kendra, and Sharon Liebowitz, the owners of Golden Apple Comics, as well as filmmaker Kevin Smith, writer and creator Marc Andreyko, comics journalist Heidi MacDonald, Atomic Comics owner Mike Malve, and producer Gary Prebula.
Writer and artist Frank Miller will headline the foundation’s first fund-raising event, a screening of the documentary Frank Miller: American Genius, followed by a Q&A with Miller himself and director Silenn Thomas. The event will take place on March 25 in Gilbert, Arizona, and will be the American premiere of the film. It will also tie in with the grand re-opening of Atomic Comics (see “ICv2 Interview: Mike Malve of Atomic Comics”), which will host a signing with Miller the following day.
The idea for the foundation came when a longtime Golden Apple customer decided to donate their collection to the University of Pennsylvania, Ryan Liebowitz told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s very popular for people to donate to universities, but the problem is that the people at universities don’t specialize in comics,” Liebowitz said. The foundation will provide that expertise, cataloging and archiving the collection and ensuring it will be transported safely to its final destination. Looking ahead, the foundation plans to work with special collections departments at universities to establish and showcase comics collections.
