The Comic Book History of Comics

The Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, 224 pages

Karen summed this up pretty well in her post, so I'm not going to go over that. Instead, I'll just note that this is an interesting and illuminating read, filled with just the right amount of snark. As someone who's pretty new to reading comics, this was a good look at the overall history of the comic book industry, without getting too in-depth about specifics. It made me curious about several comics, which is good. I will say, however, that this likely wouldn't have worked for me if it was in a non-illustrated form. Again, as someone new to the genre, too much of the terminology would have gone over my head if not for Dunlavey's artwork. Well worth checking out!

History of Comics

The Comic Book History of Comics by Fred Van Lente & Ryan Dunlavey  pp. 224

From the duo that produced Action Philosophers comes this extensive history of comic books, in graphic novel format. Starting with the beginning of comic strips in 1896 through to the present, this book chronicles the development of the genre. A large portion of the book involves the various censorship fights and lawsuits that have plagued the comic book industry over the last century. Comic book luminaries like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Steve Ditko, Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and others are featured. There are chapters on the comics during wartime, European comics, underground comix, the birth of the "glossies," manga, and graphic novels. They even included an entire chapter on one of my old favorites, Heavy Metal. While I didn't find this one quite as entertaining as Action Philosophers, I have to admit the authors did an extensive amount of work and research on this book. Several pages of references are included at the end.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, Fiction, 659 Pages.
We had a wonderful discussion of this book thanks to Washington University and our discussion leader, Peter Coogan. So much of what was going on in the book tied in to not just the history of the times (1940s onward), but also the history of comics as an artform and an industry. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows Joseph Kavalier and Sammy Clay, two cousins, from the time they meet, when Joseph shows up after a long, emotionally draining trip, fleeing the Nazis, through their ideas for comic books, their rise in that business and how it all affects their lives. A very good book by a great author.

Supergods / Grant Morrison

Supergods: what masked vigilantes, miraculous mutants, and a sun god from Smallville can teach us about being human by Grant Morrison. 461 p.
I enjoyed Morrison's discussions of the history of comics, and his interpretations of trends in comics writing are always entertaining, even when I don't totally buy his arguments. Of course, since Morrison himself has been writing comics for some years, a lot of the latter portion of the book involves issues and history that he's a part of. Still interesting to read about--but he spends a lot of time on his own biography, which I found much less interesting, since that wasn't what I was reading the book for. On the other hand, I have a friend who was only interested in the Morrison-talks-about-himself parts and found the rest pretty boring. I'm not sure if that means at least one part of this book is guaranteed to annoy all readers, or if I just don't know anyone who's the target audience for both parts.

Check our catalog.