Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History (Hardcover)

by Ron Goulart (Author) "Bill Everett. Both a high-school and art-school dropout, William Blake Everett had been on the art staffs of newspapers in both Boston and New York..." (more)
Key Phrases: comic book industry, cover date, newspaper strip, Captain Marvel, Lou Fine, Alex Schomburg (more...)

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.

From The Washington Post
"... Just as ephemeral art-nouveau posters have become coveted works of art, so too have comic-book covers..."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Collectors Press (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888054387
• ISBN-13: 978-1888054385
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #776,658 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 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)

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:

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

By	Alan Johnstone (London, England) - See all my reviews

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!

6 of 6 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

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.