Join our program, "The Impact of Comic Books," and embark on an exciting journey through the vibrant world of graphic storytelling. Dive into the pages of iconic comics and explore their profound influence on culture, art, and literature.

Sponsored by University Libraries!
Founders Memorial Library, Staff Lounge
Lower Level - Behind Einstein’s Bagels

Brown bag lunch welcome!

About the Speakers:

MIKE KORCEK'S SECRET IDENTITY---AS A COMIC BOOK BUFF

To many at Northern Illinois University, Mike Korcek is known for his award-winning, four-decade career in Huskie intercollegiate athletics and as a sports journalist dating back to his high school days. Except his family, close friends, and staff knew differently.  Korcek has been a major-league Superman fan and serious comic book collector since the mid-1950s.

"I'm not ashamed to confess, with apologies to Dick and Jane, I learned to read via comic books," Korcek recalled.  "I was the only kid in third grade at Lions Park School in Mount Prospect who could spell 'invulnerable', define it, and use it in a sentence.  Thanks, Supes!"

Quite appropriately, Kent, I mean Korcek, would embark on a career in journalism on the Prospect High School student newspaper, NIU's The Northern Star, then earn a B.S. degree in journalism from Northern Illinois in 1970. As an NIU senior in 1969-70, Korcek worked as a student assistant in the Office of Sports Information.  The dye was cast.  After a three-year stint in the U.S. Army, he returned to the Northern Illinois SID office, eventually serving as the director for 22 years (1984-2006) prior to retirement.

An honor graduate of the Defense Information School at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Korcek then served 30 months on the sports staff of European Stars 
& Stripes (1971-73) where he interviewed sports figures such as Jim Otto, Floyd Patterson, Brooks Robinson, Bill Bradley, Don Nelson, Larry Costello, Al McGuire, 
etc., and became S&S's night sports editor at age 25. Under his leadership, the NIU SID operation had been cited for league, regional, and national honors for excellence and service.  Over the years, Korcek was the recipient of 50 plus career awards from the College Sports Information Directors of America---including "Best in the Nation" and 40 writing citations.

Korcek was the recipient of NIU's Outstanding Service Award (1989), the Donald R. Grubb NIU Journalism Alumnus of the Year Award (1998), and the CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement
Award (2007).  He was inducted into the media wing of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (1999), the Northern Star Alumni HOF (2001), and the NIU Athletics HOF (2003).

Sans cape, Korcek would visit any comic book store and, most summers, sneak off to the annual Chicago Comicon to seek back issues for his Superman collection.

"Great lifetime hobby," Korcek said.  "There's nothing more American than comic strips, books, and Superman."

Gary Colabuono: Comic Book Collector, Dealer, Appraiser and Historian

I’ve been a life-long collector of comic books since I bought my first issues at the local drug store in my home town of Joliet, IL.  The year was 1959 and little 8-year-old Gary could not get enough of these four-color fantasies.  For the next 10 years I was a crazy collector until two important things lured me away from comics – cars and girls.

But like many other baby boomers, I got the collecting bug again in 1975 and it hit me hard - so hard that I decided to become a dealer to help offset the costs of collecting.  I opened my first comic-book shop in 1978 in downtown Mt. Prospect, IL.  Within 15 years I built that tiny shop into a 6-store chain – the legendary Moondog’s pop culture shops. I sold the Moondog’s chain to Classics International Entertainment in 1994. 

After selling Moondog’s, Classics named me president of the company and within 2 years there were 21 Moondog’s shops in 5 states – the largest chain of comic-book stores in history.

In 1983, Bob Overstreet asked me to be an advisor to his price guide.  I’ve been a trusted senior pricing advisor to the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, the bible of the hobby, for 40 years.

In 1985 I purchased the Windy City Collection of 2,000 vintage Golden Age first issues. Some comics from this collection are the finest known copies to exist.  The Marvel Comics 1 from that collection sold in November 2019 for $1.26 million.

I was the first recipient of the prestigious Will Eisner “Spirit of Comics” Retailing Award presented at the San Diego Comic-Con in 1993.  I was also honored by Krause Publications with the Comics Ambassador award in 1994.

In 1992, during a boom time for comic sales highlighted by the Death of Superman, I started a retailer advocacy organization – The Direct Line Group.  The DLG fought for the rights of the small comic shop owner in their battle with the publishers and distributors.  

Under my leadership as the CEO of the Chicago Comic Con, the convention grew to become the second-largest gathering of collectors in the country.  My partners and I sold the show to the present owners in 1997.

In 1981 I designed and started manufacturing protective comic book plastic sleeves.  By the time I sold that business in 1996 I had sold over 800 million ComiCovers – the number-one selling comic bag of all-time.

During this time I bought and sold tens of millions of dollars of vintage comic books.  I’ve sold comics to collectors in every state in the nation as well as nearly every English-speaking country in the world.

But first and foremost I love comics.  Telling stories in words and pictures is an original American art form.  Comics should be respected and celebrated and I’ve spent my entire career trying to make that happen.