Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, home to the world's largest cartoon and comic collection, will reopen on Saturday after being closed since November 10, 2025. The reopening features renovated galleries, a new permanent exhibition titled "Story of Comics" that traces 400 years of cartoon art, and the U.S. debut of cartoonist Chris Ware's major international exhibition "Life Is Complicated," on display until January 3, 2027. The museum houses 300,000 original cartoons and 2.5 million newspaper comic strip pages and clippings.
The reopening matters because it marks a significant transformation of the museum's visitor experience, with improved building infrastructure, a new layout, and expanded exhibition areas that make the collection more accessible. The museum serves as a cultural heritage center that not only displays art but also provides learning, programming, and outreach opportunities, empowering knowledge sharing about comics and cartoons. The Chris Ware exhibition, which has traveled through European museums for three years, makes its only U.S. presentation here, drawing attention to the museum's role in preserving and celebrating cartoon art.