The Comic Book Heroes: The First History of Modern Comic Books - From the Silver Age to the Present

By Will Jacobs and Gerard Jones

The Comic Book Heroesbegins with that first issue of the Flash, an event that would alter American pop culture forever. It's the story both of the superheroes and their all-too-human creators. From "the avuncular chipmunk," Julius Schwartz, to Todd McFarlane and his bloody Spawn, the writers, artists, and editors have cast the heroes for generations of American kids in the mold of their own personalities and inner struggles. From the Flash's 1956 debut until his death in 1986, from the relevance movement of the '70s to the ultra-violence of the '90s, and from the kid-driven market of the past to the speculator-driven market of the present,The Comic Book Heroesshows how America has changed since the '50s-and makes some provocative points about what America's kids are reading today. Completely revised and updated from the 1985 edition,The Comic Book Heroesis the most complete, engaging, and opinionated history of comics ever. Mind-blowingly detailed, breathtakingly informative, and fascinating reading, this is the one history of comics you absolutely must have! About the Authors Gerard Jones has written the adventures of the world's greatest heroes, including the Justice League, Batman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, and the X-Men, the Hulk, and his own creation, Prime, for Marvel Comics. Will Jacobs is a former contributing editor toThe National Lampoonand the cocreator (with Jones) of the comic book series,The Trouble with Girls.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761503935
• ISBN13: 9780761503934
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 2.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 1.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A great resource.

It may not be of much interest to casual readers, but to longtime fans, I couldn't recommend this book enough. It doesn't just sit on my shelf, I've reread it dozens of times because the intimate details it contains on this often misunderstood industry are priceless. Of particular interest to me were the sections on the 70s, the beginning of fandom, the evolution of characters, and the pop culture phenomenon as we know it taking shape. It's simply amazing, as though Jones and Jacobs are sitting right there with you recounting these stories. Even as someone who's loved every aspect of comics since before I could read, I was still surprised by all the drama that was going on behind the scenes during these years of entertainment I have fond rememberances of. If there's a flaw, it's that the authors sound a little bitter at times, but that's because they were there in the thick of it during much of the time that this all occured.

Essential history of comic books and their creators.

To Jacobs and Jones, the real "comic book heroes" are the artists, writers and editors who created the grand adventures and heroes. While they acknowledge that comics have historically led to tragedy for their creative people, they show how real-world heroes like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Steve Gerber, Carmine Infantino and many others endured tragedy to create memorable heroes and stories. It is an essential work for anyone interested in popular culture, as entertaining to read as it is informative. Note: Gerald Jones is currently revising and updating this book for a release sometime in the next two years - but this book is so satisfying you shouldn't wait.