Customer Reviews

The Comic Book Heroes: The First History of Modern Comic Books - From the Silver Age to the Present

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Along with Jim Steranko's work on golden age comics, this is the best comics history there is! Instead of the nostalgic and illustrative emphasis of Steranko's books, Jones and Jacobs bring a rigorous critical approach to comics from 1956 to the present, not shirking from questioning the reputations of some accepted "classics" while finding value in some works previously derided or ignored. Their history encompasses the business itself, the personalities involved, and the growth of comics fandom, as well as the content of the comics themselves. The text is always entertaining, sometimes hilarious, and always stimulating and informative. There are few really essential critical works on comics, this is definitely one of them, and as fun a read as the comics it discusses.

This is an unbelievably detailed and comprehensive work of scholarship about what most people would consider a subject hardly worth the effort-- American comics, 1956-1996. I can't even *imagine* how Jacobs and Jones accumulated the incredible depth of information reflected here. The book takes us along with the creations (and the creators) of American comics from the Silver Age to the present day, encompassing the majors, the independents, the underground comics, and God knows what else. Not only is it comprehensive, it's written in a lively, breezy style that makes it almost a compulsively enjoyable read. I'd say that if you're a collector or have any kind of interest in the subject, this book is a must. The best thing I can say: I bought it purely as a desktop reference for use when dealing with my collection, and I ended up reading it cover to cover.

Gerard Jones and Will Jacobs have written a wonderful history of comic book heroes from the silver age (late 50's) to the present (mid-90's). It is an important book in providing the background details of the industry and also in its portraits of the creators of the various comic books. For one such as myself, who grew up in the middle part of this period, it combines a delightful mix of nostalgia with a healthy mix of cynicism for the business side of this industry. I was surprised that the twists and turns within the industry could often match for interest the myriad of confusing sub-plots that were being developed within the pages of the comics themselves. I was also pleased at the examination the authors provided of the fictional heroes themselves, even including the authors, at times, strong opinions. The book felt like a dialogue late at night with another expert fan of comics with often heated disagreements but always with a lot of fun and much insight. A highly recommended read.

This is a lively and insightful history of the men who created the Silver Age Super Hero comics at Marvel and DC. It also features some material on the more important post-Silver Age creators such as Frank Miller, Alan Moore and Scott McCloud. The narrative contains history, inside information and analysis of the work. It flows well and reveals a lot of the history of both the industry and the characters. The comic book heroes of the title are the creators. While it does not offer a comprehensive history of comic books, or even super heroes comics as the Golden Age is not covered, for what it is, it is the best book available and strong enough that one need not wish for more.

In a perfect world, this book would be less necessary than it is. Because "The Comic Book Heroes" is one of very few serious works of comics history - and certainly one of the most detailed I've seen - it's forced to bear a weight that Jones and Jacob's writing isn't completely up to. Not that it's bad, by any means, and it's clearly a labor of love for its authors, but it's weirdly partisan, especially as it begins to cover more recent comics, and Jones's experiences as a comics writer, and his opinions of his peers, come into the foreground. If this were a "my life in comics" sort of work, then that'd be okay, but given that the book's presented as an objective history, the opinionated (and occasionally bitchy) tone feels odd and out of place. Still, for all its problems, it's a serious study of a subject that is sadly underrecognized, and, as such, essential reading for any student or reader of comics.

This book is an excellent reference for pop-culture (and comic book) fans. It does a great job of covering the comic book industry and world since the 50s. It's really complete and entertaining, and very intelligent