Streetwise [Paperback]

John Morrow (Author), Jon B. Cooke (Author), Jack Kirby (Author), Sergio Aragones (Author), Barry Windsor-Smith (Author), Evan Dorkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2000

Streetwise features autobiographical comics stories by the industry's top talent, including Jack Kirby, Brent Anderson, Murphy Anderson, Sergio Aragones, Nick Cardy, Paul Chadwick, Evan Dorkin, Sam Glanzman, Jeffrey Jones, Joe Kubert, Gray Morrow, John Severin & Roy Thomas, Walter Simonson, Rick Veitch, Barry Windsor-Smith and more. Features a foreword by Will Eisner, and color cover painting by Steve Rude.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...one of the best ideas in the history of comics. Streetwise is a terrific idea, with some outstanding contributions." -- Alan David Doane, Silver Bullet

About the Author

John Morrow is publisher of a full line of magazines documenting the history of comic books in America and abroad, and edits The Jack Kirby Collector, a bi-monthly magazine devoted to the life and career of Jack Kirby, comics most prodigious creator. Jon B. Cooke is editor of the Eisner Award-winning magazine Comic Book Artist, celebrating the works of the great artists, writers, and editors of comics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905047
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905047
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,959,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating tales by comics giants, September 12, 2000

By 

Jason R. Tippitt (Jackson, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Streetwise (Paperback)

In the tradition of Will Eisner's "Dropsie Avenue" tales, this collection from TwoMorrows Publishing (home of comic-book magazines Comic Book Artist, Jack Kirby Collector, and Alter Ego) offers a mix of moving, amusing, and breathtaking autobiographical tales from a range of comics talents.

Jack Kirby's "Street Code" is the springboard -- a beautifully illustrated tale told in pencil about the King's childhood in Brooklyn during the Depression era. Alex Toth (creator of Space Ghost, but he did so much more) presents a text-and-drawing tale about getting by during the Depression. Captain Marvel creator C.C. Beck offers an illustrated story about his struggle to make it as an artist after a lifetime of his preacher father being told it was not a suitable trade for his son.

There's also humor -- Scott Shaw tells of a Halloween experience, Evan Dorkin tells about a summer of stealing sodas at camp. And on a more serious note, there's the first version of a little book called "Maus" by a man named Art Spiegelman... who later went on to win the first Pulitzer for the comics form with the full-length tale.

If you're a fan of today's black-and-white comics, or the legends of the past, check out this book. You won't regret it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating memoirs, October 24, 2008

By 

P. J. Doree - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Streetwise (Paperback)

This is an excellent collection of autobiographical tales from some legendary comic artists, themed around Jack Kirby's childhood memoir 'Street Code'. In fact the cover ( by Steve Rude ) shows possibly one of the defining moments in the history of comics, depicting the real-life incident where a young Kirby first came across the worlds of Fantasy & Science-Fiction in the form of a battered pulp magazine, inspiring his imagination, and ( as the intro to this book says ) 'igniting a creative spark that would change comics forever.'
There's a lot more to this collection than The King, tho'.
All styles of art & types of story are represented here, including Murphy Anderson & Nick Cardy's beautifully pencilled depiction's of their individual childhood's, Brent Anderson's first experience of death during a camping trip, Sal Amendola's & Alan Kupperberg's respective tour's around the DC offices of the '70's, Rick Veitch & Paul Chadwick's weird tales of hitch-hiking, Barry Windsor-Smith's UFO experience, Michael T. Gilbert's heartbreaking drug anecdote and much, much more besides.
This is a book that won't be for all fans, but for those of us interested in the people behind the work, it's a fantastic peek into the creative life, by turns humorous, harrowing & just plain entertaining.