Mark J. Cohen

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Mark J. Cohen (1942 - 1999) was a realtor and a collector of comic books and comic book art and a dealer in original comics art. His collections of comic book art were considered among the best in the country, and parts of his collections were put on national tours.

As a dealer, Cohen worked with cartoonists to sell their original art,^[1] working with many of the most well-known cartoon artists.^[2]

His friend, the cartoonist Wiley Miller, memorialized him after his death by creating a superhero, Obviousman, in his syndicated cartoon strip Non Sequitur whose mission in life was to wean people away from the endless stream of information in modern society and get them to think about what is really happening. Just as Superman's "real name" was "Clark Kent," so was Obviousman's real name "Mark Cohen" and his occupation was "realtor."

Cohen got to know Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, who called Cohen his "cartoon connection" because of the many cartoonists he met through Cohen. After Schulz' death, the cartoonists wife started the Charles Schulz Museum, and Cohen became a member of the board of directors. Cohen's wife, Rose Marie McDaniel, later became director of the museum.^[3]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ [1]Web page titled, "Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection" Online bibliography page of works about cartoon and comic art, University of Michigan Library Web site (Item states: "Original Cartoon Art" (Mark Cohen) p. 72-77 in Cartoonist Profiles, no. 112 (Dec. 1996). -- In an interview conducted by Jud Hurd, Cohen describes his business of selling original art for cartoonists."), accessed December 17, 2007
2. ^ [2]Google Books Web page with text from Whiting, Jim, "Analecta: Selected Reflections of a Cartoonist's Life", Trafford Publishing, 2005, page 165, accessed December 17, 2007
3. ^ [3]"Transcript: Comics: Charles Schulz Museum/Stephan Pastis" online interview at the Washington Post Web site, conducted by Suzanne Tobin, Washington Post comics editor, dated September 24, 2004, interview with McDaniel and others, accessed December 17, 2007