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| Comix- A History of Comic Books in America, by Les Daniels; graphics by Mad Peck Studios |
Redartz: Good day, everyone! Anyone for a history lesson? I always am, especially when it's comics history. Which brings us to today's topic: learning about comics and the creators behind them.
Shortly after I first got hooked by the comic bug, early in 1974, I found this book on sale in the 'cutout's section of a Walden Books (remember them?). I'd never heard of the author, and was at the time unaware of the alternative comics referred to by the title's term 'comix'. Nonetheless, a quick browse through the book convinced me to buy it. Imagine, a book ABOUT comics, illustrated with the actual comics! Yes, there had been other histories; Steranko had his "History of Comics". There was Jules Feiffer's "The Great Comic Book Heroes". But overall, there weren't that many books yet about the medium of comics, or the wide variety of subjects found therein. So, long story short, "Comix" became my first comics history lesson.
And it was a rich lesson indeed. Published in 1971, early in our illustrious Bronze Age, "Comix" reached waaaay back to Richard Outcault and his "Yellow Kid", and followed up with a fascinating tour of comics throughout the 20th. Century. Writer Daniels gives the prose a bit of a countercultural feel (certainly to be expected, given the pop cultural background of the late 60's/early 70's). Yet it also reads as an engaging , entertaining overview of comics history; filled with fascinating anecdotes. Consider some of the chapter headings: "The Birth of the Comic Book". "Dumb Animals". "The E.C. Revolution". "The Comics Code Controversy". "Mighty Marvel". "Underground Comics". Yes, Daniels touched all the bases here. And it was pure manna for this comics-starved kid.
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| An example of a 40's "Crime" comic |
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| Jack Cole. Amazing composition... |
This book was my first exposure to EC Comics, to Golden age comics, to crime comics, to underground comics. So many genres I'd never dreamed of. Here, for the first time, I was introduced to some of the towering figures behind some of the stories I'd enjoyed: Will Eisner, Carl Barks, Harvey Kurtzman, Basil Wolverton. Further on, Daniels revealed to me the work of later creators such as Trina Robbins, Robert Crumb, and Gilbert Shelton. The story of the Comics Code Authority, and Fredrick Wertham? All that was in there as well. Oh, so much to absorb...
And it was easy to swallow this informative medicine: Daniels sweetened it with a generous dose of actual comics. Not only individual panels and pages, but many entire stories; color and black/white! He included some excellent examples, well chosen to give the reader a dose of the very best comics have to offer. We find Jim Steranko's entire story "At the Stroke of Midnight"from Tower of Shadows #1 (only complaint; wish this had been a color selection).
"A Visit With the Fantastic Four" by Lee and Kirby. From EC- "A Little Stranger" by Graham Ingles. A complete Barks Uncle Scrooge story. An early Two-Face story from Batman. Several great horror tales from Warren publishing. A "Mad" story by Wally Wood. An EC war story by Kurtzman. A Jack Cole Plastic Man story. And much, much more. Truly, it was an embarassment of comic riches. I devoured every page.Les Daniels, through this book, lit the spark of interest for the vast wonders of comics past and present. He showed me how much more there was besides superheros and funny animals. Daniels put the works of the masters before me, identified them, and through them fired a fascination that continues to this very day. For this, I owe him immensely. Les Daniels, years later, produced a fine book about Marvel Comics; if memory serves Doug and Karen once discussed that tome over at the BAB. As much as his first book affected me, his later one is something I also need to add to my library.
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| Two DC 'funny animals'; Fox and Crow |
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| A cool EC house ad |
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| A last word from Robert Crumb... |
Before reading this book, I loved Spider-man and the Fantastic Four; Batman and Superman. After reading it, I loved Comics. So now I ask you; was there any book about comics that roused your interest? Where did you first learn of the early names and faces of the medium? How did you discover the early tales of our heroes, and their predecessors? Tell us all about your 'history texts'...
14 comments:
Man, I remember being fascinated by the ad for Daniels' Comix in the various comic books back in the mid-'70s. I wondered what it was all about, but it seemed like something very important and very "adult." Fast forward about 35 or so years, and I stumbled onto that book on the shelves of some old guy, a comics fan among other things, here in Zagreb. I couldn't believe I was actually holding in my hand that book that so captivated me as a youngster. At the time, I thought about making an offer for it, but figured he probably wouldn't budge about selling.
Anyway, as for my own first encounter with comics history, or just serious discussion of comics, was when I bought a magazine called X-men Chronicles from a comics mail-order catalogue. I couldn't believe all of these serious, expertise-based articles on the X-men and their history it contained. I read that from cover to cover, and went back and re-read parts of it over from time to time. That one was published by a company called Fantaco, and they did four more, focusing on the FF, Daredevil, Avengers and Spider-man. I eventually bought the whole set, and also similarly absorbed everything inside them.
I have that "Comix" history book. I was fascinated by the history of comics when I was younger. I've read most of the major books on the subject, including a few books that cover just the history of one specific company like Marvel or DC, as well as books on the histories of individual characters like Spider-Man and Batman.
Some of the documentary movies and series have been pretty interesting as well. I always seem to learn at least one or two new facts whenever I read a new book or watch a new documentary.
Speaking of which, I watched the first episode of Robert Kirkman's new docu-series about comic books, and I have the rest on the DVR. I haven't gotten around to watching them yet, but I plan to. The first episode seemed like it was focused on the old "Stan Lee doesn't deserve all the credit he gets" argument I hear a lot from some people. I'm sure he doesn't deserve 100% of the credit for making Marvel what it was, but he surely deserves the lion's share of it. So, the Stan bashing gets a little old to me. I'll have to wait and see if the other episodes go the negative route before I make up mind on the series though.
Great article Redartz!
In the mid seventies my school library had a copy of The COMIC-BOOK BOOK. I gobbled it up sucking in all the information I could. It probably triggered my love for the Golden Age DC characters. I still to this day prefer the JSA to the JLA stories from the Bronze Age.
I always wanted that COMIX book and if I ever see it at an old book store I'll snatch it up.
I still have THE GREAT COMIC BOOK HEROES and THE GREAT COMIC BOOK ARTISTS ,and read them often.
Good topic.
My local library had a copy of 'The Great Comic Book Heroes' by Jules Feiffer. It's one of the first "serious" looks at comic book heroes and was the first time I read any Golden Age comic stories. It was re-published in the last 10 years or so, but the new edition doesn't have the reprinted stories, so try libraries or look for an old used copy.
I've read a few Comic History books, mostly on DC or Marvel. TwoMorrows put out a great series called American Comic Book Chronicles, with books on the 50s, the 60s (in two parts), the 70s, and the 80s. They go year by year and include other companies besides the big two. Lots of illustrations too.
And of course, there's always Alter Ego (for the Golden/Silver Ages) and Back Issue (for the Bronze Age) magazines.
I've mentioned before THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS by Richard O'Brien. I bought this when I was 9 and loved the golden age covers by Eisner, Lou Fine, CC Beck, Mac Raboy, Craig Flessel, etc. All reprinted on glossy paper with superb colors. Plus an intro talking about the golden age, and some interior pages by Eisner and Fine. It fired up my imagination and made me curious about the history of comics. I still love the art on these covers, especially the combo of Eisner penciling and Fine inking, like Wonderworld #7 (with The Flame) http://images.furycomics.com/viewer/5b/5bc91741a369f57d842c9e05080a818e/0.jpg
A later book I enjoyed was the Slings and Arrows Comic Guide from 1997: https://www.amazon.com/Comic-Guide-Slings-Arrows/dp/1854104861
They give assessments of comic series, and even if I didn't agree, it was interesting to read. I see they have a site, I'll have to check it out: http://theslingsandarrows.com/
There was also a book on comics that I read in the '70s, maybe someone here remembers it. It had an illustration inside by Burne Hogarth of Tarzan running, and the caption said that the pose was impossible in real life. Also there was a Wizard of Id strip inside, and arrows indicating how the reader's eye moved through the panels, looking at art and reading words. I also remember a number of illustrations of a barbaric swordsman by an unknown artist. That's about it! Ring any bells? The analysis of art and panels did have an impact on me.
I never read that much about the history of comics when I was younger. I was too much into the books themselves. I did read some history, however, and thought that I got the gist of it.
Most of the books on it nowadays I find are pretty unsatisfying and I originally thought that the folks who wrote them just weren't that good as researchers. Then in my one foray into actual scholarly writing on comics, I was flummoxed by how difficult it was. Finding the books you wanted to talk about was difficult, because not every library has them and even when they do, finding them is tricky, and access is usually restricted. There's no national database of all books and creators to consult, and so your end product can hardly make the claim to authority when gaps in knowledge are so entirely unavoidable.
It would be nice if one of the movie studios would set up some sort of grant with the money they make off superheroes for the conservation of comics like they do with silent films, but that's unlikely to happen. I know that I'm extremely reluctant to ever attempt to do any sort of pop culture writing again, and anyone who manages to produce anything of value, in the area of comics scholarship, merits the sort of kudos generally reserved for those who blend their skill and pain for entertainment in the fashion of sword-swallowers, fire-eaters and the like.
Without a doubt the best books published on The Golden Age, until the internet became ubiquitous, were Sterankos History of Comics Vol 1 & 2. Treasury sized, original art by Kirby, Everett, Steranko, interviews with the actual creators... They were published in the mid 1970s. Can't recommend them enough! If you are patient you should be able to find for like $25 in excellent shape on eBay. I actually got two autographed by Steranko for like $30 each a couple years ago.
That being said I'm old enough to have bought Steranko off the spinner rack and I often wonder if you younger guys hold him in awe like us older guys might? His art was a mind blower like Dali meets Kirby lol.
Thanks for commenting today, history buffs!
Edo- those Fantaco books were pretty impressive. I had the Spider-Man edition, and about read the cover off of it.
William- thanks for bringing up those Robert Kirkman shows. I've seen the first three, and was quite impressed. Recommended viewing for anyone interested in the history of the hobby. As far as the first episode is concerned, I found it fairly even-handed. Not like some comic websites or facebook groups which will go unmentioned. But like you, I disagree with the Stan-bashers.
Killraven- yes, anytime you get a chance to pick up some comics history and minutae, it's a rewarding opportunity. I've actually seen that "Comix" book a few times at flea markets, but passed on it as I had a copy. Might have to grab it up next time...
J.A.- odd that the new edition you describe of Jules Feiffer's book doesn't have the stories. Copyright issues, perhaps?
Mike W.- great mention and plug for the fine folks at TwoMorrows publishing. They do offer some excellent publications, and I treasure the Eisner book my son ordered from them last year as a Christmas gift. Those American Comic Book Chronicles sound fantastic.
Garett- wish I could identify the book you describe. But nice mention of Eisner and Fine; truly some 'fine' art indeed.
Selenarch- your comments made me think of Geppi's Comic Museum. Perhaps that qualifies as a repository for at least some of comicdom's history. And the Grand Comics Database has proved absolutely invaluable to this writer, anyway. But you make a good point; there is so much to be covered, and so many of the field's pioneers are either gone or going.
Charlie- very impressive , your signed Steranko books! It's very cool how active he remains in promoting and participating in comics, yet today.
Redartz - I do agree the Kirkman documentary was pretty even handed with the subject of Stan Lee's role in Marvel, but just the fact that they pretty much focused on that aspect of the early days of Marvel (i.e. the perceived unfair treatment of Kirby and Ditko) was enough to make me feel like they were beating a dead horse a bit.
I mean, if you read between the lines Stan Lee is definitely a shameless self-promotor, but his larger-than-life personality is what really made Marvel what it was (and still is). His personal editorials, the way he gave nicknames to all the creators, the way he spoke directly to the fans. He was the heart and sole of Marvel Comics and it would definitely not have taken off like it did if not for him.
Jack Kirby and Steven Ditko were more introverted artist types, and I believe they were content to just create their art and stay out of the spotlight (at first). That is until the books started to obtain cult-like status and then they realized they should be getting more credit for what they were doing. But Stan had already established himself as the main creative voice of the brand, and he wasn't going to start taking a back seat. Which I don't think he should have. At Marvel Comics, Stan Lee was the lead singer, and everyone else was the band. Sometimes the lead guitarist writes a lot of the music, but the lead singer still gets most of the attention (and credit). You didn't see John Romita jumping ship and heading to DC.
I had the impression that Kirby was breaking out on his own in the 50s already, with a newspaper strip, to make more money. It sounds like there was litigation with his partners and he lost? In the 60s I had the sense it was about recognition and playing 2nd banana to Stan and that's why he left Marvel?
William- you make some good points. I'd certainly agree that Stan was the heart (and face) of Marvel. The whole 'feel'of Marvel as a friendly club was a reflection of his leadership and conception. Truly, without Stan there would be no Marvel.
Charlie- not sure about Jack's career in the 50's. And I'm no expert, but my understanding is that Jack left Marvel at the dawn of the Bronze age ,basically, for the reasons you mention. If anyone has more specific info (I know this has been covered extensively, I just haven't read those accounts), further comments would be welcomed...
Wow. I had forgotten that book existed. I stumbled across it in a bookstore back in the 70s and snatched it up immediately. It was one of the first books to give me any idea that people actually studied and analyzed comics as a form.
It was lost in my many moves, and i forgot its existence until seeing the cover pic on this post.
Thanks for the kick in the memory. I've got a copy on the way so i can revisit the book.
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