Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History [Paperback]

Ron Goulart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2007

During the Golden Age of comic books, from the middle 1930s to the late 1940s, readers could choose from hundreds of titles colorfully displayed on America's newsstands -- from Action Comics to Zip Comics. Selecting from thousands of cover illustrations of the period, comics authority Ron Goulart has assembled more than 400 of the most entertaining and provocative for this book. All of which are comprehensively indexed for the first time. You'll see images of various characters, including Superman, Batman, Plastic Man, Captain Marvel, The Flame, Cat-Man, the Black Terror, the Blue Beetle and Sheena -- Queen of the Jungle. You'll encounter the most effective output of admired artists such as Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Lou Fine, Jack Cole, Alex Schomburg and Bill Everett, plus lesser-know cartoonists such as Paul Gustavson, Matt Baker, Gus Ricca, L.B. Cole and Ramona Patenaude. Several covers in this collection have not been reprinted since their original publication. The text provides a concise history of the comic book business, from its shaky beginnings in the early 1930s to its multi-million dollar successes during the WWII years. Through informed copy and profuse images, Goulart offers an intimate look at one of the most popular forms of American popular art.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History is a misleading title for this visual celebration of comics' Golden Age (mid-1930s through the 1940s) as it is neither an overview of comic book history nor a study of its culture. In the introduction, Goulart states that this is "basically a picture book," and as such, it is tons of fun. More than 400 covers feature an overwhelming array of both still-beloved and long-forgotten heroes, as well as luridly drawn, often racist villains, gorgeous damsels in distress, and even, occasionally, a jungle queen. The art is often striking and the colors brilliant, much of it by legends in the field that include Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Lou Fine, Jack Cole, Alex Schomburg, and Bill Everett. Goulart, the author of over 160 books, including 50 sf and 20 mystery novels, has written more comprehensively on comic book history with The Encyclopedia of American Comics (LJ 1/91). Likewise, The World Encyclopedia of Comics (LJ 11/1/98) does a better job detailing comics' evolution. However, Goulart more than meets his goal here, offering intriguing details of a rich period that, sadly, comic books will never enjoy again.DChris Ryan, New Milford, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

With some 400 well-chosen examples, this lavish volume details the mid-1930s to late 1940s golden age of the comic book by showcasing the flamboyant covers that captured the era's newsstand browsers' attention. The comic book debuted early in the century and at first reprinted newspaper strips. The shift to original content accelerated with the 1938 debut of Superman, which touched off a craze for the costumed heroes who have dominated comics to this day. The book's gallery features still-familiar figures like Batman and such now obscure ones as Dynamic Man and Captain Future. Other chapters focus on genres--funny comics, for instance, and "good girl art"--and on master cartoonists. Using the comics' covers to evoke the era, rather than reprinting the stories, proves effective, since their posterlike design and bold drawing often outshone the comparatively crude artwork within. Goulart's knowledgeable text complements the covers, and the volume in toto works as both a coffee-table showcase and a history of a publishing phenomenon. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Collectors Press (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193311231X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933112312
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,163,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Golden Age in 100Magenta+100 Yellow, September 24, 2002

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History (Hardcover)

As the author says in his the Introduction `Comic Book Culture' is basically a picture book and as such I'm pleased to have a copy. Goulart's history of comics Golden Age, roughly mid Thirties to the late Forties, is adequate though you can read more in his previous book `Over 50 Years of American Comic Books' but it is the four hundred covers reproduced that I think will interest readers more. Page after page of superheroes battling crime and or evil in dazzling 100 Magenta plus 100 Yellow, that's the printers term for the vibrant red that the comics biz could not do without. All these covers had to compete on the newsstand and the more 100Y+100M the better it seems, page 130 has the cover of The Human Torch (1943) leaping off the page, it couldn't get any brighter.

I have always been rather critical of Collector Press books, they always seem a bit over designed but this one is great, each of the sixteen chapters starts on a spread one page of which is a huge color blow-up of part of a picture, many of the spreads just have covers and captions on them and the designers have resisted the temptation to angle or overlap the covers. The typography, layouts and printing are excellent. There are two chapters devoted to some of the great comic artists of the period, Everett, Fine, Patenaude, Kirby, Schomburg, Ricca and Cole. The last chapter has a (very) brief look at what is called "Good girl art", presenting heroines in as provocative a way as possible and you can't get more provocative than Matt Baker's April 1948 cover of Phantom Lady, sales must have soared!

If you want to see more covers have a look at the two volume `The Photo-Journal Guide to Comic Books' by Ernst and Mary Gerber, more than 21,000 beautifully printed on gloss paper (another two volumes covers 7,000 Marvel comics).

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb historical survey of comic book heroes & writers., July 3, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History (Hardcover)

Comic book collectors, researchers, and fans will appreciate this reflection on the rogues, heroes and creators of comics in Comic Book Culture, a visual celebration of the Golden Age of comic books from the 1930s to the 1940s. Goulart explains and traces the changes of the comic art form, using his extensive collection as a foundation for examples which are colorful and which celebrate the history of comics. The full-page comic book reproductions are striking and the history and commentary involving.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice illustrated history, June 15, 2000

By 

Alan Johnstone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History (Hardcover)

A beautifully presented coffee table book showcasing the earliest days of a true american art form - the comic book! The grouping of comic covers by theme and by artist work well and highlight some truly great pieces! Popular culture at it's finest!