Comic Book History of Comics: Birth of a Medium

The inspiring, infuriating, and utterly insane story of comics, graphic novels, and manga is presented in comic book form!

The award-winning Action Philosophers team of Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey turn their irreverent-but-accurate eye to the stories of Jack Kirby, R. Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Alan Moore, Stan Lee, Will Eisner, Fredric Wertham, Roy Lichtenstein, Art Spiegelman, and more! Presented in all-new color!

Fred Van Lente is the #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning writer of comics like Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Action Philosophers! (American Library Association Best Graphic Novel for Teens), and Cowboys & Aliens (with Andrew Foley), the basis for the feature film. His many other titles include Resurrectionists, The Comic Book History of Comics, The Incredible Hercules (with Greg Pak), Taskmaster, Marvel Zombies and The Amazing Spider-Man. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, the playwright Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.

Full-time cartoonist and part-time scout leader Ryan Dunlavey spends every day and most nights drawing cool and fun stuff for the worlds’ most charming and attractive art directors. He’s also the artist of the award-winning graphic novels Dirt Candy: A Cookbook (with chef Amanda Cohen), Action Philosophers, Action Presidents, and The Comic Book History of Comics (all with Fred Van Lente) and the comic strip Li’l Classix (with Grady Hendrix). On the rare occasions when he emerges from his 100% cat-free home studio (allergies) he can be seen in the company of graphic designer Liza Pagano and their two children as they wrangle about New York City on various food, culture, and nature-centric adventures.