The Classic Era of American Comics - Softcover

Nicky Wright

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853756946 ISBN 13: 9781853756948

Publisher: Prion Books Ltd, 2009

Synopsis

The world had never seen the like of the American comic book. The best of the comics attracted superb artists who could create characters and tell stories as memorable as those in any movie or popular novel. There were superheroes with bulging biceps and superheroines with buxom bosoms, funny men and funny animals, war comics, comics that retold the classics and comics that revelled in crime, horror, the supernatural and sex - eventually attracting the censorious eye of the social reformers. Taking us from the 1930s right through to the 1950s, in "The Classic Era of American Comics" Nicky Wright tells the fascinating story of the publishers, the artists and the industry itself. He describes its successes and its disasters, its worth as an art form, and the decline that set in once Congress and the churches began to impose censorship.

About this title

About the Author:

Nicky Wright collected comics all his life and wrote for American Comic magazines. He was principally known as an award-winning writer and photographer of books on American cars. He lived for most of the last fifteen years of his life in Michigan, America but died in 2000 in England, where he was born. Joe Kubert started working in the comics business aged eleven and for the next sixty years produced stories for Hawkman, Tarzan and Batman and many other great comics. He was an editor for DC Comics for 25 years and founded the only school for comic artists. The recipient of many honours, he lives in New Jersey.

From Library Journal:

Whether he is discussing how one company's failure became another's success, reviewing how the House UnAmerican Activities Committee destroyed EC Comics, or revealing the underlying bondage themes of early Wonder Woman adventures, Wright is well informed. And he tackles such central themes as funny animals, clowns, superheroes, girls (both good and bad), horror, crime, war, and romance. He does all this adequately. But he does not rise above the adequate, rivet the reader, or seem to offer information that has not been heard before. The layout often veers into the garish, which doesn't help. This book is recommended for public libraries that have an extensive collection of comics-related material. Other libraries would do better with The World Encyclopedia of Comics (LJ 11/198).DChris Ryan, New Milford, NJ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prion Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1853756946
• ISBN 13: 9781853756948
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 230