By Pallavi Tripathi
The book begins where the famous comic strip Yellow Kid starts and goes straight into the American history of comic strips and comic books. The book delves into the Underground with Robert Crumb and the artists and the drug experiments that began with him. Only later does it delve into French and European comics like Tintin, Asterix, and Blueberry, giving high value to Japanese manga giants like Osamu Tezuka and his counterparts. Fred Van Lente has written a wholesome history novel that educates as much as it entertains actually it educates more.
Superheroes have to fight their way through the comic books after their accidental start as a cover pic in Action Comics. How Will Eisner got his legendary stature is wonderfully chronicled. The comic book explosion of the 1940s, the rise of Jack Kirby, how he combined neo-realistic pulp illustration and abstract caricature of newspaper strip cartooning to build his uncanny style suited for the superhero genre. Of course, his path to success wasn't easy; he had his fights and struggles. Meanwhile, the book cleverly mentions Stan Lee and their rivalry. It also explores how new comic book publishers and the shops that serviced them sprang up like mushrooms across Manhattan!
Walt Disney's Disney is a household name today, one of the magnates running the entertainment industry. The book details how it came to this stature, the Pentagon's involvement, and Walt's authoritarian run. After the Second World War ended, superheroes had to retire for a while, and then came Archie comics. Romance was in the air to counter the losses from the war. Just as romance was cooling down, "Crime Does Not Pay" took the spotlight: Biro and Wood were the first to put it in comic form. By 1948, "Crime Does Not Pay" hit a million copies, which was huge for that time. The authorities had to intervene as there were cases of comics imitating crimes.
Charles Moulton, aka William Moulton Marston, the creator of the lie detector test, brought Wonder Woman with his kink of BDSM and love for Greek and Roman mythology. His unconventional family life is detailed, and for a better idea of his life, you can watch "Professor Marston and the Wonder Woman." After Marston, comic books came under the microscope of psychologists, with Dr. Warshaw being one of the prominent psychologists criticizing comic books with his "Seduction of the Innocent." The book also sheds light on the eccentricities of William Maxwell "Bill" Gaines and the new chapter EC Comics took under his leadership. Bill advised Harvey Kurtzman to do something funny as his talent lies there, and that's how "Mad" started.
A committee was formed to investigate the implications and effects of comic books, especially regarding horror, crime, and depictions of sex. Bill Gaines testified, and his arguments were seen in a bad light. The parents and the public backlash, leading to a scheme where returning a comic book would get you a piece of literature in return. The acquired comic books were then burned, reminiscent of Fahrenheit 451. A comic book creator was seen as a child molester. The Comics Magazine Association of America was formed, with Archie's publisher John Goldwater as its president. CMAA almost brought Bill's EC to a close, but Harvey gave him the idea to turn "Mad" into a magazine. This led to the creation of the same "Mad" magazine that influenced generations of comedy writers and stand-ups. CMAA affected some comic book giants and paved the way for others. Disney, which never joined CMAA, flourished with the advent of television.
Superheroes made a comeback after their retirement, and DC bought EC. Due to bad blood between DC and Kirby, Kirby returned to the last place he wanted to be - with Stan Lee at Timely, aka Atlas, aka Marvel Comics. As the superhero trend began to rise, Kirby was back at Marvel. A relatively new artist, Ditko, joined the team, and Stan and the team began working on Fantastic Four, which became a hit! Soon, they created an entire universe of superheroes with Thor, X-Men, Hulk, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange... Regardless of the artist, one name that stood out to readers was Stan Lee; his dialogues were impeccable.
At a time when America was just introduced to the Auteur theory in cinema - the director being the author of his creation - Stan Lee was the Auteur of Marvel Comics. He garnered popularity that is unmatched by any other comic book artist. A lecture by Lee at Bard College drew a bigger audience than former President Eisenhower. European filmmakers heralded his genius, with Alain Resnais asking to collaborate with him on a screenplay. Federico Fellini even visited the Marvel offices. This created a conflict and tension between his collaborators, who were the ignored parts of the Marvel method. Ditko distanced himself from Marvel and Stan based on differences in principle beliefs through direct confrontation with the authority. Kirby's departure was a little low-key, but it brought a halt to the creative department of Marvel Comics.
The inception of Pop Art is nicely chronicled in the book, introducing Professor Hoyt L. Sherman's method and his student Roy Lichtenstein's rise to prominence. The book also touches on the legal case between Disney and the Air Pirates, making readers question copyright infringement in retrospect and as a whole.
Mickey Mouse was quite famous in the French-speaking world, but when the Third Reich conquered Western Europe in the early 1940s, the Germans cut off all American imports. This led to Georges Remi, aka Herge, creating Tintin, which gained popularity and led to the circulation of the comics all over Europe and the world. The publication of Tintin led to fame for Herge, who was even labeled a Nazi, for which he spent a day in a jail cell but was rescued by entrepreneur Raymond LeBlanc. Tintin the magazine debuted in September 26, 1946, and picked up right where Herge left off two years earlier. LeBlanc also secured a deal with Belgium's largest publisher, Casterman, to collect each completed Tintin saga into a single volume to be sold in the book market.
In France, the most successful comics magazine was Pilote, established in 1959, which premiered popular strips like Asterix and Blueberry. U.S. comics didn't dominate the French market after the war due to Cultural Protectionism. France is more open-minded than America in general, but they still have some "Community Standards" when it comes to comics content. Heavy Metal, which started as an outlet for translated European comics in the U.S., gained a wider audience and artists of their own. The book then explains the contrast in treatment of artists in France and America and why a single genre never dominated the comic book markets of France. The book also touches on the change in dynamics of comic book giants with the advent of Star Wars and its merchandise.
Copyright and "work for hire," the dreaded terms, are discussed in the book to help the audience understand the profitability of comic book retail, publishing, and distribution. The changes in the comic book model and the rise and fall of indie comics are well written. The book also covers the black and white bust, creative control, and the battle for rights in the industry. The struggle for creator's rights is severe, with victims like Kirby. Will Eisner, considered the father of the Graphic Novel, has his life and times detailed in the book. The book also explores the rise of
American art student Lynd Ward and his discovery of Flemish illustrator Frans Masereel's "Pictorial Narratives," leading to the creation of wordless comics.
Alan Moore's creation of Watchmen, the greatest superhero story, influenced the UK industry and new writers like Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison, Mark Miller, and Garth Ennis from the UK, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Moore's rise to fame is well known, but his adulthood struggles are conveyed in the book.
While the book primarily covers American comic books, it acknowledges that Japan is the king of all comics cultures. Japan's affinity for combining words and pictures in their writing, with writing itself being a form of drawing through ideograms, sets them apart. The life and times of manga, gekiga, and anime artist Osamu Tezuka are detailed with great care in the book. Tezuka was influenced by Disney, and Disney was influenced by Tezuka. Many other manga and manga styles inspired American comic books, like Samurai manga inspiring Frank Miller's classic run on Marvel Daredevil. Japan's highest honor is named after Tezuka: the Tezuka Awards.
The book also delves into the business side of comics, explaining the profitability of comic book retail, publishing, and distribution. It covers the changes in the comic book model, the rise and fall of indie comics, and the black and white bust. The book also discusses the distribution wars in the comic book industry, the rise of the internet, and the challenges posed by digital piracy.
Overall, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the comic book industry, its history, key players, and the evolution of the medium over time.
About Author
A cinephile, comicbook lover who has to earn a living by making autocad designs. Currently pursuing B.eD because she finally had a calling: teaching.
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