Bob Beerbohm: 1952-2024

Bob Beerbohm:  1952-2024

John A. Lent

 

On March 14, I was pondering who should be invited to write about their experiences as a pioneer in comics scholarship for the ongoing series in the International Journal of Comic Art. Paul Gravett and Craig Yoe were thought of again; they had been asked previously but never got around to putting their remembrances on paper. And, then, Bob Beerbohm came to mind, probably prompted by my just having read and reviewed Alex Beringer’s Lost Literacies, for CHOICE. Beringer talked a bit about Bob and his revelations about 19^th Century comics that existed long before “Yellow Kid.”

After getting Bob’s email address and phone number from “Mr. Resource Extraordinaire,” Mike Rhode, I called Bob. I asked him if he would recount his career as a comics researcher, and in a separate article, his findings concerning 19^th Century comics. His response was that he had cancer and was told that he had six months to live. Bob agreed to write the article, but was agitated, complaining that he was not listened to when he told about “Obadiah Oldbuck” and other early comics; that he had not been appreciated. I told him that Beringer discussed his work, and I interrupted his tirade to read him what Beringer wrote. He continued his non-stop complaints, saying that those who now write about those comics pioneers got their information from Bob’s own writings. After more than a half hour, Bob said his daughter had just arrived and he had to go. Before hanging up, I said that perhaps if he does this writing and keeps busy, he might have some peace of mind. He agreed.

The same night, I wrote Bob an email, telling him that he had “so much information to share and you give it with so much enthusiasm,” repeated what we agreed to during our phone conversation, and ended with, “Keep busy, Bob.” On March 27, Bob succumbed to colon cancer at 71.

My thoughts have gone back to that telephone conversation a few times, not just because he did not live long enough to write the articles and share his vast knowledge with the comics community, but, regretfully, because he felt the way he did about the reception of his work.

Bob Beerbohm was a fountain of information about comics history, and, sadly, as Robert M. Overstreet, author and publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, wrote, “He takes with him so many untold tales on which we can only speculate.”

Besides his important roles as historian and collector/preserver of comic books, he was an important player in the development of comic book shops, conventions, and underground comix. His career spanned a half century, beginning in junior high school, when he ran an advertisement in the fanzine, Rockets Blast Comicollector #47, announcing himself as a mail order buyer, seller, and trader of comic books. In 1972, at twenty years old, he moved from Nebraska to the San Francisco Bay Area, where with Bud Plant and John Barrett, he established Comics and Comix Store #1, which went on to host some of the earliest comics conventions, and become the first comic book store chain with seven locations. Beerbohm left Comics and Comix and started Best of Two Worlds in 1976. This store went out of business in 1987, after a huge flood destroyed most of its stock the year before.

Bob continued his research for the remainder of his life, posting his findings, corrections, and arguments on Facebook until the day he died. He never finished the ongoing book project, Comic Book Store Wars, which he worked on for decades. To the end, he stood his ground concerning his research findings, which often clashed with the norm, and on occasion, changed historical “facts.” He could be combative when he thought he was slighted and his research negated; and he was outspoken, which put some people off, but, he was generous, willing to share what he knew with those who would listen, and, there is no doubt, that he was one of the genuine lovers/champions of comics.

A version of this post will appear in IJOCA 26:1.

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John A. Lent is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Comic Art and professor emeritus of communications, having taught in universities in Canada, China, Malaysia, Philippines, and the U.S., from 1960-2011.