Priceless comic book art saved from Palisades Fire in exhibit at IU

Priceless comic book art saved from Palisades Fire on exhibit at IU

By: Taj Simmons

BLOOMINGTON — A collection of rare comic book history is now on display at Indiana University. It all would have likely been destroyed in the Palisades Fire if not for this exhibit.

The gallery of Marvel comic book artist Mike Zeck's work prominently features original drafts and prints collected by Chuck Costas, an Indiana University alum.

"As Spiderman said, 'With great power comes great responsibility,'" Costas said. "With all of the power of owning this amazing artwork, the responsibility I had was to give it back and showcase it to other people."

The collection features original work from The Punisher, Secret Wars, and Captain America dating back to the mid-1980s.

Costas was preparing to ship them to Indiana from Southern California when his home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

"We had about 45 minutes to get everything we wanted out of the house," Costas said. "My entire comic book collection, 99 percent of it, did not survive."

The prints in the gallery only survived because they were out of the house awaiting their move to Bloomington. However, Costas did not save everything he wanted to.

"There was a Punisher logo which was used to print a cover that did not make it," Costas said. "The worst part is having to go back to the artist and say, 'These are the pieces of yours we lost, and I was the caretaker for them.' It's tough."

He says he's grateful the pieces in the gallery survived for the public to marvel at.

"I may not have everything, but I have enough to start a new world," Costas said.

The Mike Zeck collection is on display at Indiana University's McCalla Building until February 2026.