The Photo Journal Guide to Comic Books (VOL I: A-J & VOL II: K-Z) [Hardcover]

Ernst Gerber (Author), Mary Gerber (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 856 pages
• Publisher: Gerber Pub Co (November 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096233281X
• ISBN-13: 978-0962332814
• Product Dimensions: 13.7 x 10.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,328,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gorgeous compilation of 20th Century Art!, January 3, 2000

By 

Stephen Cass (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Photo Journal Guide to Comic Books (VOL I: A-J & VOL II: K-Z) (Hardcover)

I was amazed at the scope of this book, every cover from 1935-1965, and the labor that must have gone into compiling and producing it. Its extremely well photographed, carefully indexed, and the quality of paper and binding is excellent. For serious comic book collectors, it's worth every penny. A lifetime book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Covers 21700 of them., January 27, 2002

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Photo Journal Guide to Comic Books (VOL I: A-J & VOL II: K-Z) (Hardcover)

What can you say about two books that have 21700 comic book covers beautifully printed on gloss paper? WOW! for a start. No one is going to better Ernst and Mary Gerber's five-year labor of love to complete this project. If you collect comics from 1935 thru 1965 you need these. I don't collect them but as a publication designer I have an interest in the visual aspects of popular culture so I got a set...despite the price!

Open either book anywhere and start looking and it soon becomes apparent that this is a very comprehensive collection, I kept coming across comics that ran for a few issues, sometimes only one issue. Each cover has up to twenty-five pieces of information, essential for collectors. Many show a cover of the only copy known to exist. The first sixteen pages of each book has text about collecting comics and their values. I liked the page in book two that is devoted to ads that appeared on the back covers, strangely some collectors only go for these, if you do, go for a copy of 'Hey Skinny!' by Mike Beller and Jerry Leibowitz, surely the only book about the subject.

Author Gerber says on the jacket flap...''if you spend one minute examining each picture, eight hours per day, five days a week, it would require an astounding NINE weeks to complete the job.'' Nine weeks later have a rest and then go and buy the two volume 'Photo-Journal Guide to Marvel Comics' and start to look at a further 7700 covers!

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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING !!!!!!!!, April 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Photo Journal Guide to Comic Books (VOL I: A-J & VOL II: K-Z) (Hardcover)

I've got both volumes of this book and it is invaluble to me as a collector of golden age comic books. I would recomend this book only so you can see some of the outrageous 1940's war covers i.e Japanese soldiers with huge teeth. Some of the price information is now out of date, but Gerber is spot on with the scarcity ratings. What I like most about these two volumes is that it gives me a chance to see covers of comics that I will never be able to afford.