It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's ... a Lawyer

Superheroes in Court! Lawyers, Law and Comic Books, a new exhibit at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at Yale Law School, displays the more playful side to library exhibits (and collecting in general) that is a breath of fresh air. In a year during which comic collecting seems to have spun wildly into the mainstream, Yale's exhibit has perfect timing, as well. It is guest curated by Mark S. Zaid, Esq., a Washington, D.C. attorney who specializes in national security law and is also a major comic book collector and dealer. Pictured here at right is a comic from his collection, Crime Detective Comics no. 8 (Jay-June 1949).

Worth reading (and not replicating) is the New York Times review that ran last week. National legal correspondent John Schwartz surveys the evidence, pronounces a good verdict, and interviews the witnesses. From the article: "Tons of lawyers are collectors," he said. Like Mr. Zaid, they might have read and collected comics as children but let the hobby lapse as they made their way through college and started their working lives. "They come back to it once they settle into a career and a family and they have disposable cash," he said -- though he added that many are "closet collectors" who ask, "Can I be a professional and still play with comic books?"

Good question -- but I won't comment without my attorney present.

The exhibit runs through December 16.