PCL MS 220 Michael Roden Collection
MLA Citation
| Title | PCL MS 220 Michael Roden Collection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Introduction | Michael Roden was a multi-faceted artist, who worked primarily with the comic book medium, but also delved into sculpting and music. He was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and resided in the area until he passed away from colon cancer in 2007. Roden’s prominent contribution to the small press scene of the 70s and 80s made him a prominent and influential underground comix artist and his work has appeared in hundreds of comics, magazines, and fanzines. This collection was donated by Dale Lee Coovert to the Browne Popular Culture Library, Bowling Green State University, on December 4th, 2012. The collection is open or research, but photocopying or other duplication must comply with applicable copyright laws. This register was compiled by intern Matthew Kilmer in May of 2014. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Biographical Sketch | Michael Roden was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1952 and was raised primarily by his grandparents after his mother gave him up to them. At the age of 18, he moved into an apartment shared by the family of his future wife, Linda Carter, and began transporting pianos in order to support himself. A few years later, Roden, Carter, and her brother moved into a streetcar fashioned into an apartment. It was at this point where Roden, a self-proclaimed hippie, began experimenting with LSD. The resulting hallucinations played a major role in influencing his style of art. Roden entered the underground comix world in the late 70s when he began self-publishing fanzines. His first publications were Thru Black Holes Magazine and Nemesis Horror Artzine, released in 1978 and 1979, respectively. From there, the 1980s became a highly productive period for Roden. It was during this decade that he created some of his most iconic properties, such as the Crazy Men franchise and his annual Halloween comic. In 1988, Roden’s father passed away and left him with the family business: a pianos and furniture repair shop. Roden decided to leave underground comix in order to continue his father’s work. However, he managed to keep his creative muse alive through music when he formed the Thru Black Holes Band with a group of friends. The band, which specialized in what Roden called psychedelic space rock, created 24 albums in a 20 year period. Roden retired from his father’s shop and returned to underground comix in 2003. However, Roden was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2007. He passed away on June 14th of the same year. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scope and Content | The Michael Roden Collection consists primarily of correspondence and printed materials. The incoming correspondence (1979-2010) contains letters sent from Roden to Dale Lee Coovert, though some of the letters are also from mutual friends the two shared. The printed materials are comprised of comics, mini comics, and digests Roden either published or was involved with in some way. Artwork from several of Roden’s friends and colleagues is also represented within this collection. Furthermore, catalogs compiled by Coovert of Roden’s work are available at the end of the printed materials section. Photographs of the Thru Black Holes Band and several cassette tapes and CDs of their music are contained within this collection. Finally, this collection houses several handmade pieces, such as wall plaques and pins. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Description | CORRESPONDENCE INCOMING CORRESPONDENCE PRINTED MATERIALS COMICS MINI COMICS DIGESTS MISCELLANEOUS ARTWORK CATALOGS PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDINGS VHS CDs Cassette Tapes DVD ARTIFACTS ARTIFACTS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inventory | Box 1: Correspondence
Box 2: Correspondence
Box 3: Correspondence
Box 4: Correspondence/Printed Material
Box 5: Printed Material
Box 6: Printed Material
Box 7: Printed Material
Box 8: Printed Material
Box 9: Printed Material
Box 10: Printed Material/Photographs
Box 11: Audio/Video Material
Box 12: Artifacts
Box 13: Artifacts
Box 14: Artifacts
Oversized
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| Transfers | The following item has been transferred from this collection to the Browne Popular Culture Library main stacks. Newave! The Underground Mini Comix of the 1980s |