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{{Short description|American comic book historian and retailer (1952–2024)}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2012}}
{{Sources|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox person {{Infobox person
| birthname = Robert Lee Beerbohm<ref name=WhosWho>Beerbohm profile, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed May 29, 2012.</ref> | birthname = Robert Lee Beerbohm
| image = | image =
| imagesize = | imagesize =
| caption = | caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|06|17}} | birth_date = {{Birth date|1952|06|17}}
| birth_place = ] | birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|03|27|1952|06|17}}
| death_place = | death_place = ], U.S.
| occupation = Comic book historian and retailer | occupation = Comic book historian, publisher, distributor and retailer
| networth = | networth =
| education = ]<br />] | education = ]<br />]
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| children = | children =
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'''Robert Lee "Bob" Beerbohm''' (born June 17, 1952)<ref name=WhosWho /> is an ] ] ] and ] who has been intimately involved with the rise of comics ] since 1966. Beginning as a teenager in the late 60s, he became a fixture in the growing comic convention scene, while in the 1970s and 1980s he was heavily involved in ] comic book retailing and distribution.


'''Robert Lee Beerbohm''' (June 17, 1952 March 27, 2024) was an American ] historian and retailer who was intimately involved with the rise of comics ] from 1966. Beginning as a teenager in the late 60s, he became a fixture in the growing ], while in the 1970s and 1980s he was heavily involved in ] comic book retailing and distribution.
Beerbohm has been a consultant and author detailing the early history of comics in the United States, including rediscovering the first comic book in America, ]'s '']''. He has supplied data and visual aids as listed in the acknowledgements of over 200 books on comics and counting.


Beerbohm was a consultant and author detailing the early history of comics in the United States, including rediscovering the first comic book in America, ]'s '']''. He has supplied data and visual aids as listed in the acknowledgements of over 200 books about comics.
== Biography ==


Known as combination pugnacious businessman, archaeologist, and what cartoonist ] called a "feverishly enthusiastic fan," Beerbohm was an evangelist of the ] hobby.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/arts/robert-beerbohm-dead.html |title=Robert Beerbohm, 71, Dies; Pioneering Comic Book Retailer and Historian |last=Rosenwald |first=Michael S. |date=2024-04-15 |website=ww.nytimes.com|publisher=The New York Times|access-date=2023-04-21}}</ref>
=== Education ===
Beerbohm attended the ] from 1970 – 1972.<ref name="LinkedIn">. Accessed May 29, 2012.</ref> Later, after moving from outside ] to the ], he attended ].


Over the years, he was accused by his business partners and customers of shady dealings — all of which he denied.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=Unsourced libellous accusation.}}
=== Retailer ===
Beerbohm began as a teenage comic book fan and collector, first making contact with other fans via a ]: "Trade Corner," '']'' #225 (Oct. 1966).


==Early life==
==== Robert Beerbohm Comic Art ====
Robert Lee Beerbohm was born June 17, 1952 in Long Beach, California.<ref name="nyt">{{cite web|title=Robert Beerbohm, Pioneering Comic Book Retailer and Historian, Dies at 71|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/arts/robert-beerbohm-dead.html|date=April 15, 2024|last=Rosenwald|first=Michael S.|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 15, 2024}}</ref><ref name=WhosWho>Beerbohm profile, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed May 29, 2012.</ref> In his youth, he lived in ] for several years, before moving to ], where he graduated from Fremont High School.<ref name="downthetubes" /> He attended the ] from 1970 to 1972.<ref name="LinkedIn">. Accessed May 29, 2012.</ref>
In October 1966, while still in junior high school, Beerbohm took out his first ad in '']'' (a.k.a. ''RBCC'') #47, launching what has eventually become known as Robert Beerbohm Comic Art. The company sells vintage American popular culture artifacts (mostly comic books) via the internet. Beerbohm set up a booth at his first comics convention June 16–18, 1967, at the first ]. Traveling 28 hours on a ] bus, Beerbohm turned 15 the first day of that seminal show.<ref name="Memories">Beerbohm, Robert. Comic-Convention Memories (June 24, 2010).</ref>


==Career==
Early conventions he attended also included ] in the summer of 1968; and ], the ], and the St. Louis World SF Convention in 1969. In 1970, along with friend Stephen Johnson he set up at Oklahoma City's Multicon, ]'s ] (the first of many appearances there), the first PhoenixCon hosted by Bruce Hamilton, the only Disneyland Hotel Comicon, another ], and the first ], held at the ]. By 1971, Beerbohm was a regular at most national comics shows, including New York City's first ] Con, held on Thanksgiving weekend. In 1972, Beerbohm set up tables of vintage comics at almost a dozen comics conventions, including the first ]. He has sold comics at San Diego Comic-Con every year since the first one in 1970.
=== Robert Beerbohm Comic Art ===
In October 1966, while still in junior high school, Beerbohm took out his first ad in '']'' (a.k.a. ''RBCC'') #47, launching what has eventually become known as Robert Beerbohm Comic Art. By the 21st century Beerbohm was selling vintage American popular culture artifacts (mostly comic books) via the Internet, and setting up shows across the United States.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}


Beerbohm set up a booth at his first comics convention June 16–18, 1967, at the first ]. Traveling 28 hours on a ] bus, Beerbohm turned 15 the first day of that show.<ref name="Memories">Beerbohm, Robert. Comic-Convention Memories (June 24, 2010).</ref>
Also in 1970 he acquired from publisher ] (who had originally received it from ] publisher ]) the original art to the very first ] cover drawn by ] back in early 1933 for Chicago's Humor Publishing Company. The art was in four pieces and fire-tinged along the edges, from when ] co-creator ] literally pulled it out of the Shuster family fireplace after Shuster got depressed with the first of what turned out to be many rejections.{{cn|date=June 2012}} Beerbohm did not know what he had at the time, but knew it needed to be preserved on some level, so he had a couple hundred twice-up original-size poster prints made at a local printer.{{cn|date=June 2012}} This image has since shown up in many books on ] history.{{cn|date=June 2012}}


Beerbohm estimated from June 1967 thru April 2012 he set up at a thousand comics shows. Two strokes saw him close it all down July 10, 2018.
==== Comics and Comix ====
In late August 1972, with housemate ] and John Barrett,<ref>Nolan, Michelle. "Newswatch: Pioneering Comics Retailer John Barrett Dies at 50," ''The Comics Journal'' #233 (May 2001).</ref> Beerbohm co-opened ] on ] in ].


Beerbohm was among the first generation of dealers to traffic in original comic book art, sourcing his originals from suppliers with sometimes questionable ], claiming to have bought hundreds of allegedly stolen pages of Marvel and DC art from dealers set up in a hotel room at the 1969 ] in St. Louis.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/buying-neal-adams-steve-ditko-original-art-hotel-room-1969/ |title=Buying Neal Adams & Steve Ditko Original Art From a Hotel Room in 1969|author=]|date=2022-10-18|publisher=]|access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref>
In April 1973 Comics & Comix hosted the first Bay Area ], '''Berkeleycon 73''', in the Pauley Ballroom in the ASUC Building on the ] campus. Berkeleycon was the first comic-con that highlighted ].<ref>Benhari. "First Comix Con Right On?", ''Berkeley Barb'' (April 27—May 3, 1973).</ref> At Berkeleycon 73, Comics & Comix acquired over 4,000 ] comic books owned by Tom Reilly. Beerbohm personally sold a good majority of the highest-grade items from the pedigree Reilly collection, including a copy of '']'' #27 (which sold for $2,200 — the first comic book to break the $2,000 barrier).{{cn|date=June 2012}} The phenomenal sales of the Reilly collection enabled Comics & Comix to open more retail locations, first in ] (May 1973), on Columbus Avenue (down from the North Beach area on the way to Fisherman's Wharf), and later in ] and ], making it the first comic book chain store in America.{{cn|date=June 2012}}


=== Comics and Comix ===
Beerbohm, John Barrett and Bud Plant as Comics & Comix published the first three issues of ]' ''The First Kingdom'' beginning in 1974. They also published three issues of Jim Pinkoski's ''Spaced'' in 1974–1976; two issues of '']'' in 1975; and two issues of ]'s ''Magic Carpet'' in 1977–1978.<ref>, Grand Comics Database. Accessed Oct. 8, 2016.</ref>
{{main article|Comics and Comix}}
In late August 1972 (ten days after the first ] at ]), with housemate ] and John Barrett, Beerbohm co-opened ] on ] in ].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nolan |first=Michelle |department=Newswatch |title=Pioneering Comics Retailer John Barrett Dies at 50 |magazine=The Comics Journal |number=233 |date=May 2001}}</ref>


In April 1973 Comics & Comix hosted the first Bay Area ], ] 73, in the Pauley Ballroom in the ASUC Building on the ] campus. Berkeleycon was the first comic-con that highlighted ].<ref>{{cite news|author=Benhari |title=First Comix Con Right On? |work=Berkeley Barb|date=April 27 – May 3, 1973}}</ref>
Beerbohm stayed with Comics & Comix until early 1975 (the firm itself lasted until the early 2000s).


During Berkeleycon, Beerbohm, Barrett, and Bud Plant purchased what became known as the Tom Reilly Pedigree collection of close to 4000 white-paper, never-opened "near mint/mint" comic books published between 1939 and 1945. Tom Reilly had enlisted in the Navy in 1941. His parents, in the affluent ] section of Oakland, California, kept buying one of each comic, placing them untouched on shelves in their son's bedroom. Tom was killed during a ] attack in the Pacific, in 1945. His parents sealed the room. They died in December 1972. Beerbohm and partners ended up with most of the collection through a protracted series of events taking place from April to June 1972. Within three months they had opened three more stores, calling the company Comics and Comix.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/bob.beerbohm.1/posts/pfbid02bME221K33i5Dv3Y2fXtMY952PxcwNcaAsniZfUg74hxBJZN1r6Jx6QCkr9V9zk8jl |title=TOM REILLY PEDIGREE COLLECTION |last=Beerbohm |first= Bob|date=May 4, 2022 |website=Facebook.com |publisher= |access-date=April 19, 2024}}</ref>
==== Best of Two Worlds ====
In November 1976, Beerbohm opened his first solo comic book store Best of Two Worlds, its first location being in San Francisco's ] district at 1707 Haight Street, across the street from the Straight Theater. In May 1977, Beerbohm took over Comics & Comix' old location at 2512 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, when his former partners at Comics & Comix moved to a larger location on the next block, and in October 1978 with then-partner Gary Wood he opened a branch of Best of Two Worlds, called Funny Pages, on ]/]. Eventually, Best of Two Worlds had locations in San Francisco's ] in Irving Street, and the Brickyard Mall in ]. By this time ] had bought out ], and ] had bought in as a 14% co-owner.{{cn|date=February 2013}}


Beerbohm, Barrett, and Plant, as '''Comics & Comix''', published the first three issues of ]' ''The First Kingdom'' beginning in 1974. They also published comics by Jim Pinkoski and ] during Beerbohm's involvement.<ref>, Grand Comics Database. Accessed Oct. 8, 2016.</ref>
During this period, in c. 1978, Beerbohm founded the "sub-distributor" '''Common Ground Distributors''', which was initially supplied by Detroit-based distributor ]. In 1982, Common Ground was acquired by the Midwestern company ], which enabled Capital City owners ] and John Davis to expand the distributor's operations beyond the immediate Chicago/Milwaukee area.


=== Best of Two Worlds ===
In addition to retailing and distribution, Beerbohm again published comics during this era.
Beerbohm sold out in early 1975. He went 'solo' opening his first Best of Two Worlds early Nov 1976 at 1707 Haight St, San Francisco. By May 1977 he opened a 2nd Best of Two Worlds on Telegraph Ave near UC-Berkeley, taking over his ex-partner's old location a block apart.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}


On Oct 4, 1978, with partner Gary Wood, he opened The Funny Pages on Pier 30, the first high-traffic tourist location comic bookstore in America, according to Beerbohm. San Francisco's ] was then one of the largest tourist attractions in the world. This location sold high-end popular culture artifacts. In 1980 Beerbohm opened a third Best of Two Worlds on 4th St in Santa Rosa. In 1982 Gary Wood sold his 50% to Robert Borden. In early 1985 Borden and Beerbohm sold 14% to ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/comicbookstorewars/posts/5329085630535658/ |title=THE FUNNY PAGES |last=Beerbohm |first=Robert |date=2022-09-30 |website=Facebook.com|publisher=|access-date=2023-04-21}}</ref>
Best of Two Worlds went out of business in February 1987 due to the massive flooding of its central warehouse in ] a year earlier in February 1986.


In February 1986 ] cascaded out of the Sierra Nevada mountains, causing widespread property damage in much of northern California. Best of Two Worlds central warehouse was mostly destroyed. It contained a million comic books, half a million cards, 10,000 concert posters, 3000 pages of original comic book art, plus 90% of Beerbohm's comics fandom archives 1966–1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/from-john-byrnes-1978-uncanny-x-men-to-1995s-speculator-burn-out/ |title=From John Byrne's 1978 Uncanny X-Men to 1995's Speculator Burn Out |last=Johnston |first=Rich |date=2022-09-26 |website=bleedingcool.com |publisher=Bleeding Cool |access-date=2023-11-11 }}</ref>
==== Best Comics and the Rick Griffin art gallery ====
After the demise of Best of Two Worlds, Beerbohm maintained just one store. He shortened the name to just Best Comics in the Haight Ashbury, which operated from 1987–1992. His last location is immortalized in Terry Zwigoff's CRUMB! movie about famed cartoonist Robert Crumb in the scenes where Crumb and his former publisher Don Donahue are in a comic book store discussing comics.


=== Best Comics ===
In June 1991, Beerbohm, with partner Edward Walker, opened Best Comics and Rock Art Gallery an art gallery centered on seminal rock poster illustrator ] in ] at ]. The store's grand opening party June 1, 1991, featured bands like ], ], members of ], ], the Irish band ], and others. Tragically, two and a half months later, Griffin was killed in a motorcycle accident; Beerbohm and Walker were forced to close the gallery in 1992.{{cn|date=February 2013}}
After Best of Two Worlds was forced by natural disaster into bankruptcy, Beerbohm went solo again with a single store in Haight Ashbury, but moved to a better location at Masonic, a major bus transfer hub. Here Beerbohm rebuilt almost from scratch once again, with signings by notable comics artists like a December 1987 ] event and a growing relationship with ], who moved into the neighbourhood in 1988.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/bob.beerbohm.1/posts/pfbid0N5WnMJ7q1XhbcJwq1sXtK78itsbJ7D3NVHSW3FgrXReKDk8swmcPprcqS2FeKrsdl|title=Facebook post|last=Beerbohm |first=Robert |date=2024-03-12 |website=Facebook.com|publisher=|access-date=2023-04-21}}</ref>

=== Best Comics and Rock Art Gallery ===
On June 1, 1991, Beerbohm, with silent-partner Edward Walker, opened Best Comics and Rock Art Gallery, an art gallery initially centering on seminal rock poster illustrator ] in ] at ].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Langton |first=Mark |date=October 1991 |title=Remembering the Cosmic Visions of Rick Griffin |magazine=The Comics Journal #145 |publisher=Fantagraphics}}</ref> The store's grand opening party June 1, 1991, featured bands like ], ], members of ], ], the Irish band ], and others.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Two and a half months later, Griffin was killed in a motorcycle accident.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-20-mn-1302-story.html|title=Rick Griffin; Psychedelic Artist Adorned Rock Music Posters|first=BURT A.|last=FOLKART|date=20 August 1991|publisher=|access-date=24 October 2016|via=]}}</ref> Immediately after, the Griffin family attempted through legal means to restrict the sale of artworks through the gallery, but the lawsuit was dropped.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mason |first=Clark |date=August 22, 1991 |title=Dispute over dead artist's work settled |work=The Press Democrat |location=Santa Rosa, California}}</ref> Beerbohm and Walker closed the gallery in 1992.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}


=== Historian === === Historian ===
As a comics historian, Beerbohm rediscovered the first comic book in America, ]'s '']'', published on September 14, 1842, in ], as '']'' No. IX, which is in the same format as a "modern" day comic book, sans staples, which had not yet been invented.<ref> at ]. from the original on March 13, 2012. "On September 14, 1842, a New York paper, ''Brother Jonathan'', ran an English-language version of ''Oldbuck'' (published in Britain a year earlier) as a supplement."</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Beerbohm|first1= Robert|last2= Wheeler|first2= Doug|last3= De Sá |first3= Leonardo|title= Töpffer in America|work=Comic Art|issue=3|date= 2003|location=St. Louis, Missouri| pages= 28–47}}</ref><ref>, Heritage Capital Corporation, p. 1.</ref>
With his friend Steve Johnson, Beerbohm publishing five issues of the ] ''Fanzation'' in 1969–1970. #3 (1969) contains a letter by Amazing Spider-Man creator Steve Ditko on creativity quoted by Dr. Fredric Wertham in his last book The World of Fanzines (1974). #5 contains articles by Ted White and Jack Promo on origins of 1950s EC fandom and fanzines. Also, articles by Jerry Bails on the origins of Alter Ego and Bill Wallace on origins of Houston fandom amongst others.
For many years, Beerbohm was working on a massive history of comics retailing from the 19th Century through to the development of distribution networks for ] and the ] to be titled "Comic Book Store Wars" but the book remained unpublished at the time of his death. Beerbohm maintained a Facebook group with the same title and had published a 91-page book with the same title in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/comicbookstorewars/ |title=Comic Books Store Wars |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=Facebook.com |publisher= |access-date=March 28, 2024 }}</ref>


Beerbohm was also fundamental on the 1971 rediscovery of the first ] cover pencilled by ] in 1933. The cover was the last remaining art from the very first Superman comic book produced by ] and Shuster to be published by Chicago-based Humor Publishing. He received the art from ] who got the art from ] in 1969 who re-discovered the four torn up pieces jammed up behind a drawer in his father ]' desk which had sat untouched since August 1947. In 1975, Beerbohm had Joe Shuster validate the origins of the cover during San Diego Comic-Con.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/bob.beerbohm.1/posts/pfbid02WSJCax8LSybqKtHHNJqe8p6WUR8vLSJwK5aTrqV9xSjnPYeztY7iJY8cHXA4owmul |title=Facebook post |author=Bob Beerbohm |date=February 1, 2023 |website=Facebook.com |publisher= |access-date=April 21, 2024}}</ref>
Beginning in the 1980s, Beerbohm worked as a consultant on a number of publication related to popular culture, specifically comics and ]. Clients included the '']'' (1981–2013), ''The Big Little Book Price Guide'' (1980–1983), and ''The Underground and New Wave Comix Price Guide'' (1981) among many others. He has been invited back inside Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide every year since #27 1997.


According to comic book historian Charles Hatfield, Beerbohm's contribution to the study of the ] was threefold: 1.the idea that dealer speculation was at the root of the new distribution system; 2. the idea that so-called affidavit return fraud created a need for better distribution on the part of publishers; and 3. the growth of ] as an outlet for Underground comics and a model for the Direct Market.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcj.com/remembering-comics-retailer-and-historian-robert-beerbohm-1952-2024/ |title=REMEMBERING COMICS RETAILER AND HISTORIAN ROBERT BEERBOHM, 1952-2024 |author=Charles Hatfield |date=2024-04-18 |website=tcj.com |publisher=The Comics Journal |access-date=April 21, 2024 }}</ref>
As a comics historian, Beerbohm rediscovered the first comic book in America, ]'s '']'', published on Sept 14, 1842, by Wilson & Co., New York City, as ''Brother Jonathan Extra'' #9, which is in the same format as a "modern" day comic book, sans staples, which had not yet been invented.{{cn}}


== Death ==
In the 1990s and 2000s, since closing down brick and mortar outlets and converting to more of an Internet presence, Beerbohm has authored and co-authored numerous articles for the comics trade press on such topics as the history of American comics, the evolution of the ], and individual creators.
Beerbohm died in Fremont, Nebraska from colorectal cancer on March 27, 2024, at the age of 71.<ref name="nyt" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsfromme.com/2024/03/28/bob-beerbohm-r-i-p/ |title=Bob Beerbohm, R.I.P. |author=]|date=March 28, 2024|website=newsfromme.com |publisher= |access-date=March 29, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Comic Book Shop Pioneer And Historian Bob Beerbohm Had Died At 71 |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/comic-book-shop-pioneer-and-historian-bob-beerbohm-had-died-at-71/ |website=] |access-date=1 April 2024 |date=29 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="downthetubes">{{cite web |title=Fundraiser launched to help the family of pioneering comics historian, Robert "Bob" Beerbohm |url=https://downthetubes.net/fundraiser-launched-to-help-the-family-of-pioneering-comics-historian-robert-bob-beerbohm/ |website=Down the Tubes |access-date=1 April 2024 |date=30 March 2024}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
Beerbohm, retailing partner Bud Plant, Terry Stroud, and Dick Swan were involved in a van accident in June 1973 coming out of the ].<ref>Duin, Steve, and Richardson, Mike. ''Comics Between the Panels'' (Dark Horse Comics, 1998), p. 333–335.</ref> Beerbohm suffered long term damage to his hip joint cartilage which caused him to eventually have ] surgery in October 2009.


== Bibliography == == Bibliography ==
* Comic Book Store Wars (Fremont, Nebraska : R.L. Beerbohm, 1994. -- 91 p.)
* "The first Superman cover ever" (''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1165, March 15th, 1996, page 40)
* "The Big Bang Theory of Comic Book History" (''Comic Book Marketplace'', 1997) * "The Big Bang Theory of Comic Book History" (''Comic Book Marketplace'', 1997)
* "The Mainline Comics Story: An Initial Examination" ('']'' #25, 1998) * "The Mainline Comics Story: An Initial Examination" ('']'' #25, 1998)
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* "The Illustrated Books of Frank King" (''Comic Art'' #1, 2001) * "The Illustrated Books of Frank King" (''Comic Art'' #1, 2001)
* "Topffer in America" (''Comic Art'' #3, 2003) (with Doug Wheeler and Leonardo De Sa) * "Topffer in America" (''Comic Art'' #3, 2003) (with Doug Wheeler and Leonardo De Sa)
* "The American Comic Book: 1929-Present: The Modern Comics Magazine Supplants the Earlier Formats" ('']'' #40, 2010) (with Richard Olson, PhD) — article has been continuously expanded and revised every year by the authors since ''Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'' #27 (1997) * "The American Comic Book: 1929-Present: The Modern Comics Magazine Supplants the Earlier Formats" ('']'' #27, 1997 thru 49, 2019) (with Richard Olson, PhD) — Three articles grew in size and scope which were continuously expanded and revised every year by the authors covering a "Victorian Age" (1842-1890s), a "Platinum Age" 1890s thru 1934 as well as an in-depth Origin of the Modern Comic Book 1921-1970s which ran thru #40.


== References == == References ==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist}}


<!-- == External links == --> <!-- == External links == -->

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Latest revision as of 03:08, 29 November 2024

American comic book historian and retailer (1952–2024)
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Robert Beerbohm
BornRobert Lee Beerbohm
(1952-06-17)June 17, 1952
Long Beach, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 27, 2024(2024-03-27) (aged 71)
Fremont, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln
California State University, Hayward
Occupation(s)Comic book historian, publisher, distributor and retailer

Robert Lee Beerbohm (June 17, 1952 – March 27, 2024) was an American comic book historian and retailer who was intimately involved with the rise of comics fandom from 1966. Beginning as a teenager in the late 60s, he became a fixture in the growing comic convention scene, while in the 1970s and 1980s he was heavily involved in Bay Area comic book retailing and distribution.

Beerbohm was a consultant and author detailing the early history of comics in the United States, including rediscovering the first comic book in America, Rodolphe Töpffer's The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck. He has supplied data and visual aids as listed in the acknowledgements of over 200 books about comics.

Known as combination pugnacious businessman, archaeologist, and what cartoonist Art Spiegelman called a "feverishly enthusiastic fan," Beerbohm was an evangelist of the comics collecting hobby.

Over the years, he was accused by his business partners and customers of shady dealings — all of which he denied.

Early life

Robert Lee Beerbohm was born June 17, 1952 in Long Beach, California. In his youth, he lived in Saudi Arabia for several years, before moving to Fremont, Nebraska, where he graduated from Fremont High School. He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1970 to 1972.

Career

Robert Beerbohm Comic Art

In October 1966, while still in junior high school, Beerbohm took out his first ad in Rocket's Blast Comicollector (a.k.a. RBCC) #47, launching what has eventually become known as Robert Beerbohm Comic Art. By the 21st century Beerbohm was selling vintage American popular culture artifacts (mostly comic books) via the Internet, and setting up shows across the United States.

Beerbohm set up a booth at his first comics convention June 16–18, 1967, at the first Houstoncon. Traveling 28 hours on a Greyhound bus, Beerbohm turned 15 the first day of that show.

Beerbohm estimated from June 1967 thru April 2012 he set up at a thousand comics shows. Two strokes saw him close it all down July 10, 2018.

Beerbohm was among the first generation of dealers to traffic in original comic book art, sourcing his originals from suppliers with sometimes questionable provenance, claiming to have bought hundreds of allegedly stolen pages of Marvel and DC art from dealers set up in a hotel room at the 1969 27th World Science Fiction Convention in St. Louis.

Comics and Comix

Main article: Comics and Comix

In late August 1972 (ten days after the first San Diego Comic-Con at El Cortez Hotel), with housemate Bud Plant and John Barrett, Beerbohm co-opened Comics and Comix on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California.

In April 1973 Comics & Comix hosted the first Bay Area comics convention, Berkeleycon 73, in the Pauley Ballroom in the ASUC Building on the University of California, Berkeley campus. Berkeleycon was the first comic-con that highlighted underground comix.

During Berkeleycon, Beerbohm, Barrett, and Bud Plant purchased what became known as the Tom Reilly Pedigree collection of close to 4000 white-paper, never-opened "near mint/mint" comic books published between 1939 and 1945. Tom Reilly had enlisted in the Navy in 1941. His parents, in the affluent Piedmont section of Oakland, California, kept buying one of each comic, placing them untouched on shelves in their son's bedroom. Tom was killed during a kamikaze attack in the Pacific, in 1945. His parents sealed the room. They died in December 1972. Beerbohm and partners ended up with most of the collection through a protracted series of events taking place from April to June 1972. Within three months they had opened three more stores, calling the company Comics and Comix.

Beerbohm, Barrett, and Plant, as Comics & Comix, published the first three issues of Jack Katz' The First Kingdom beginning in 1974. They also published comics by Jim Pinkoski and Dan O'Neill during Beerbohm's involvement.

Best of Two Worlds

Beerbohm sold out in early 1975. He went 'solo' opening his first Best of Two Worlds early Nov 1976 at 1707 Haight St, San Francisco. By May 1977 he opened a 2nd Best of Two Worlds on Telegraph Ave near UC-Berkeley, taking over his ex-partner's old location a block apart.

On Oct 4, 1978, with partner Gary Wood, he opened The Funny Pages on Pier 30, the first high-traffic tourist location comic bookstore in America, according to Beerbohm. San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf was then one of the largest tourist attractions in the world. This location sold high-end popular culture artifacts. In 1980 Beerbohm opened a third Best of Two Worlds on 4th St in Santa Rosa. In 1982 Gary Wood sold his 50% to Robert Borden. In early 1985 Borden and Beerbohm sold 14% to Rory Root.

In February 1986 snow-melt flood waters cascaded out of the Sierra Nevada mountains, causing widespread property damage in much of northern California. Best of Two Worlds central warehouse was mostly destroyed. It contained a million comic books, half a million cards, 10,000 concert posters, 3000 pages of original comic book art, plus 90% of Beerbohm's comics fandom archives 1966–1985.

Best Comics

After Best of Two Worlds was forced by natural disaster into bankruptcy, Beerbohm went solo again with a single store in Haight Ashbury, but moved to a better location at Masonic, a major bus transfer hub. Here Beerbohm rebuilt almost from scratch once again, with signings by notable comics artists like a December 1987 Bill Sienkiewicz event and a growing relationship with Rick Griffin, who moved into the neighbourhood in 1988.

Best Comics and Rock Art Gallery

On June 1, 1991, Beerbohm, with silent-partner Edward Walker, opened Best Comics and Rock Art Gallery, an art gallery initially centering on seminal rock poster illustrator Rick Griffin in Fisherman's Wharf at The Cannery. The store's grand opening party June 1, 1991, featured bands like Big Brother and The Holding Company, New Riders of the Purple Sage, members of Quicksilver Messenger Service, It's a Beautiful Day, the Irish band Phoenix, and others. Two and a half months later, Griffin was killed in a motorcycle accident. Immediately after, the Griffin family attempted through legal means to restrict the sale of artworks through the gallery, but the lawsuit was dropped. Beerbohm and Walker closed the gallery in 1992.

Historian

As a comics historian, Beerbohm rediscovered the first comic book in America, Rodolphe Töpffer's The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck, published on September 14, 1842, in New York City, as Brother Jonathan Extra No. IX, which is in the same format as a "modern" day comic book, sans staples, which had not yet been invented. For many years, Beerbohm was working on a massive history of comics retailing from the 19th Century through to the development of distribution networks for Underground Comics and the Direct market to be titled "Comic Book Store Wars" but the book remained unpublished at the time of his death. Beerbohm maintained a Facebook group with the same title and had published a 91-page book with the same title in 1994.

Beerbohm was also fundamental on the 1971 rediscovery of the first Superman cover pencilled by Joe Shuster in 1933. The cover was the last remaining art from the very first Superman comic book produced by Siegel and Shuster to be published by Chicago-based Humor Publishing. He received the art from Russ Cochran who got the art from Bill Gaines in 1969 who re-discovered the four torn up pieces jammed up behind a drawer in his father Max Gaines' desk which had sat untouched since August 1947. In 1975, Beerbohm had Joe Shuster validate the origins of the cover during San Diego Comic-Con.

According to comic book historian Charles Hatfield, Beerbohm's contribution to the study of the Direct Market was threefold: 1.the idea that dealer speculation was at the root of the new distribution system; 2. the idea that so-called affidavit return fraud created a need for better distribution on the part of publishers; and 3. the growth of head shops as an outlet for Underground comics and a model for the Direct Market.

Death

Beerbohm died in Fremont, Nebraska from colorectal cancer on March 27, 2024, at the age of 71.

Bibliography

  • Comic Book Store Wars (Fremont, Nebraska : R.L. Beerbohm, 1994. -- 91 p.)
  • "The first Superman cover ever" (Comics Buyer's Guide #1165, March 15th, 1996, page 40)
  • "The Big Bang Theory of Comic Book History" (Comic Book Marketplace, 1997)
  • "The Mainline Comics Story: An Initial Examination" (Jack Kirby Collector #25, 1998)
  • "Secret Origins of the Direct Market Part One: 'Affidavit Returns' - The Scourge of Distribution" (Comic Book Artist #6, Oct. 1999)
  • "Secret Origins of the Direct Market Part Two: Phil Seuling and the Undergrounds Emerge," (Comic Book Artist #7, Mar. 2000)
  • "The Illustrated Books of Frank King" (Comic Art #1, 2001)
  • "Topffer in America" (Comic Art #3, 2003) (with Doug Wheeler and Leonardo De Sa)
  • "The American Comic Book: 1929-Present: The Modern Comics Magazine Supplants the Earlier Formats" (Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #27, 1997 thru 49, 2019) (with Richard Olson, PhD) — Three articles grew in size and scope which were continuously expanded and revised every year by the authors covering a "Victorian Age" (1842-1890s), a "Platinum Age" 1890s thru 1934 as well as an in-depth Origin of the Modern Comic Book 1921-1970s which ran thru #40.

References

  1. Rosenwald, Michael S. (2024-04-15). "Robert Beerbohm, 71, Dies; Pioneering Comic Book Retailer and Historian". ww.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  2. ^ Rosenwald, Michael S. (April 15, 2024). "Robert Beerbohm, Pioneering Comic Book Retailer and Historian, Dies at 71". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  3. Beerbohm profile, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed May 29, 2012.
  4. ^ "Fundraiser launched to help the family of pioneering comics historian, Robert "Bob" Beerbohm". Down the Tubes. 30 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  5. Beerbohm LinkedIn profile. Accessed May 29, 2012.
  6. Beerbohm, Robert. "Update to Comics Dealer Extraordinaire Robert Beerbohm: In His Own Words," Comic-Convention Memories (June 24, 2010).
  7. Johnston, Rich (2022-10-18). "Buying Neal Adams & Steve Ditko Original Art From a Hotel Room in 1969". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  8. Nolan, Michelle (May 2001). "Pioneering Comics Retailer John Barrett Dies at 50". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 233.
  9. Benhari (April 27 – May 3, 1973). "First Comix Con Right On?". Berkeley Barb.
  10. Beerbohm, Bob (May 4, 2022). "TOM REILLY PEDIGREE COLLECTION". Facebook.com. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  11. Comics & Comix entry, Grand Comics Database. Accessed Oct. 8, 2016.
  12. Beerbohm, Robert (2022-09-30). "THE FUNNY PAGES". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  13. Johnston, Rich (2022-09-26). "From John Byrne's 1978 Uncanny X-Men to 1995's Speculator Burn Out". bleedingcool.com. Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  14. Beerbohm, Robert (2024-03-12). "Facebook post". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
  15. Langton, Mark (October 1991). "Remembering the Cosmic Visions of Rick Griffin". The Comics Journal #145. Fantagraphics.
  16. FOLKART, BURT A. (20 August 1991). "Rick Griffin; Psychedelic Artist Adorned Rock Music Posters". Retrieved 24 October 2016 – via Los Angeles Times.
  17. Mason, Clark (August 22, 1991). "Dispute over dead artist's work settled". The Press Democrat. Santa Rosa, California.
  18. The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. "On September 14, 1842, a New York paper, Brother Jonathan, ran an English-language version of Oldbuck (published in Britain a year earlier) as a supplement."
  19. Beerbohm, Robert; Wheeler, Doug; De Sá, Leonardo (2003). "Töpffer in America". Comic Art. No. 3. St. Louis, Missouri. pp. 28–47.
  20. Heritage Comics and Comic Art Auction #824: Dallas, Taxas, May 3–4 2007, Heritage Capital Corporation, p. 1.
  21. "Comic Books Store Wars". Facebook.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  22. Bob Beerbohm (February 1, 2023). "Facebook post". Facebook.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  23. Charles Hatfield (2024-04-18). "REMEMBERING COMICS RETAILER AND HISTORIAN ROBERT BEERBOHM, 1952-2024". tcj.com. The Comics Journal. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  24. Mark Evanier (March 28, 2024). "Bob Beerbohm, R.I.P." newsfromme.com. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  25. "Comic Book Shop Pioneer And Historian Bob Beerbohm Had Died At 71". Bleeding Cool. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.


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