Marvel donates comics to French museum

Marvel has donated about 275,000 comics to France's National Centre for Comic Books and Images in Angouleme. The comics, which date from the early 1950s to the late 1970s, are thought to represent nearly 80 percent of the titles published by Marvel during that time.

The publisher made the donation through Gifts in Kind, stipulating that the comics "go overseas to a cultural institution where they would benefit numerous children and numerous people," according to a volunteer for the U.S. charity.

The comics, which arrived in June, are being sorted into five identical collections -- two for the center, and others for France's National Library and a museum in Amadora, Portugal. The destination for the fifth collection hasn't been decided.