In the thirties and forties a new breed of comic book hit the stands -- the wonderfully chunky little picture books known as Big Little Books. Spiffy miniature hardcovers that fit in the palm of your hand, they told thrilling adventure stories and featured an action-packed illustration on every other page. Now valuable collectors items, Big Little Books are highly sought after by designers, artists, and nostalgia buffs. The Big Book of Big Little Books reproduces jacket art and illustrations from all the classics and tells the history of their most sensational stars, including Buck Rogers, Dick Tracy, Betty Boop, and Mickey Mouse. Covering all the genres, from science fiction to detective mysteries, from humor to the high seas, The Big Book of Big Little Books is a golden opportunity to witness the fabulous graphic design of the thirties and forties, and a special treat for the millions who love comics.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
For those old enough to remember, the Big Little Books were short, fat, colorfully illustrated children's books. Some were filled with cartoons, others reprinted classic adventure stories, and others novelized radio and television fare. All are best remembered for their eye-catching covers, hundreds of which are reproduced in The Big Book of Big Little Books. The collection is a perfect gift for the adult with the heart of a child in your literary circle.
About the Author
Bill Borden is a film producer whose credits include La Bamba and Desperado. His collection of more than five hundred Big Little Books includes many of the most coveted editions. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
Steve Posner is a journalist and editor currently at work on a novel. He lives in San Diego.
Steve Posner is a journalist and editor currently at work on a novel. He lives in San Diego.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not very big,
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This review is from: Big Book of Big Little Books (Hardcover)
This book is disappointing on a number of levels.
First, look closely at the size of the book. At 120 pages, this seems particularly puny compared to the subject matter. Whereas a Big Little Book could provide hours of entertainment, this book barely scratches the surface, and you'll probably find yourself leafing through the whole thing in fifteen or twenty minuts. Second, while there are a lot of BLB covers reproduced here, many of them are quite tiny. Third, there is very little interior art from the BLBs. Since this is the art that is frequently adapted from the original comic strips, this artwork would likely be the most interesting to a lot of fans. But there are only two or three interior pages per chapter. This is especially frustrating considering the caliber of artists represented in some of these books. For instance, the book mentions the work of Milt Canniff -- one of the most influential comic strip artists ever -- that was used for the BLB of "Terry and the Pirates". To illustrate this master of the artform, we are given a grand total of one page, (i.e. one panel), which is actually half-blank! Finally, as a child of the 60s and 70s, I was disappointed that the book did not (as far as I recall) include any examples from post-1950. Yes, these are the "classics", but most potential buyers, I think, were a lot more familiar with the BLBs of the Baby Boomer and post-Boomer generation. I would have liked to have seen a few examples of the books I remember from my childhood, e.g. the Fantastic Four, or the one where Mickey Mouse works with "Worldpol". On the other hand, though, if all they were going to include was a tiny reproduction of the cover art, I'm not missing much. Overall, this book is disappointing. It's worth picking up used for a couple of bucks but I wouldn't recommend spending any more than that.
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