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July 2020
Selector: Cassidy Ulsh
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ Comic books to me are fairy tales for grown-ups ☆･ﾟ:*:｡★･ﾟ:*:･｡
-Stan Lee
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eBooks
Classics and Comics by
Since at least 1939, when daily-strip caveman Alley Oop time-traveled to the Trojan War, comics have been drawing (on) material from Greek and Roman myth, literature and history. At times the connection is cosmetic - as perhaps with Wonder Woman's Amazonian heritage - and at times it is almostirrelevant - as with Hercules' starfaring adventures in the 1982 Marvel miniseries. But all of these make implicit or explicit claims about the place of classics in modern literary culture.Classics and Comics is the first book to explore the engagement of classics with the epitome of modern popular literature, the comic book. The volume collects sixteen articles, all specially commissioned for this volume, that look at how classical content is deployed in comics and reconfigured for amodern audience. It opens with a detailed historical introduction surveying the role of classical material in comics since the 1930s. Subsequent chapters cover a broad range of topics, including the incorporation of modern theories of myth into the creation and interpretation of comic books, theappropriation of characters from classical literature and myth, and the reconfiguration of motif into a modern literary medium. Among the well-known comics considered in the collection are Frank Miller's 300 and Sin City, DC Comics' Wonder Woman, Jack Kirby's The Eternals, Neil Gaiman's Sandman, andexamples of Japanese manga. The volume also includes an original 12-page "comics-essay," drawn and written by Eisner Award-winning Eric Shanower, creator of the graphic novel series Age of Bronze.
ISBN: 9780199734191Publication Date: 2011-02-10
Comics As History, Comics As Literature by
This anthology hosts a collection of essays examining the role of comics as portals for historical and academic content, while keeping the approach on an international market versus the American one. Few resources currently exist showing the cross-disciplinary aspects of comics. Some of the chapters examine the use of Wonder Woman during World War II, the development and culture of French comics, and theories of Locke and Hobbs in regards to the state of nature and the bonds of community. More so, the continual use of comics for the retelling of classic tales and current events demonstrates that the genre has long passed the phase of for children's eyes only. Additionally, this anthology also weaves graphic novels into the dialogue with comics.
ISBN: 9781611475579Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Funnybooks by
Funnybooks is the story of the most popular American comic books of the 1940s and 1950s, those published under the Dell label. For a time, "Dell Comics Are Good Comics" was more than a slogan--it was a simple statement of fact. Many of the stories written and drawn by people like Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge), John Stanley (Little Lulu), and Walt Kelly (Pogo) repay reading and rereading by educated adults even today, decades after they were published as disposable entertainment for children. Such triumphs were improbable, to say the least, because midcentury comics were so widely dismissed as trash by angry parents, indignant librarians, and even many of the people who published them. It was all but miraculous that a few great cartoonists were able to look past that nearly universal scorn and grasp the artistic potential of their medium. With clarity and enthusiasm, Barrier explains what made the best stories in the Dell comic books so special. He deftly turns a complex and detailed history into an expressive narrative sure to appeal to an audience beyond scholars and historians.
ISBN: 9780520960022Publication Date: 2014-11-27
Projections by
When Art Spiegelman's Maus won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, it marked a new era for comics. Comics are now taken seriously by the same academic and cultural institutions that long dismissed the form. And the visibility of comics continues to increase, with alternative cartoonists now published by major presses and more comics-based films arriving on the screen each year. Projections argues that the seemingly sudden visibility of comics is no accident. Beginning with the parallel development of narrative comics at the turn of the 20th century, comics have long been a form that invites--indeed requires--readers to help shape the stories being told. Today, with the rise of interactive media, the creative techniques and the reading practices comics have been experimenting with for a century are now in universal demand. Recounting the history of comics from the nineteenth-century rise of sequential comics to the newspaper strip, through comic books and underground comix, to the graphic novel and webcomics, Gardner shows why they offer the best models for rethinking storytelling in the twenty-first century. In the process, he reminds us of some beloved characters from our past and present, including Happy Hooligan, Krazy Kat, Crypt Keeper, and Mr. Natural.
ISBN: 9780804781787Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book by
Based on interviews with Stan Lee and dozens of his colleagues and contemporaries, as well as extensive archival research, this book provides a professional history, an appreciation, and a critical exploration of the face of Marvel Comics. Recognized as a dazzling writer, a skilled editor, a relentless self-promoter, a credit hog, and a huckster, Stan Lee rose from his humble beginnings to ride the wave of the 1940s comic books boom and witness the current motion picture madness and comic industry woes. Included is a complete examination of the rise of Marvel Comics, Lee's work in the years of postwar prosperity, and his efforts in the 1960s to revitalize the medium after it had grown stale.
ISBN: 9781613742907Publication Date: 2004-09-01
Death, Disability, and the Superhero by
The Thing. Daredevil. Captain Marvel. The Human Fly. Drawing on DC and Marvel comics from the 1950s to the 1990s and marshaling insights from three burgeoning fields of inquiry in the humanities--disability studies, death and dying studies, and comics studies--José Alaniz seeks to redefine the contemporary understanding of the superhero. Beginning in the Silver Age, the genre increasingly challenged and complicated its hypermasculine, quasi-eugenicist biases through disabled figures.
ISBN: 9781628461183Publication Date: 2014-10-15
Girls and Their Comics by
In America, comics and comic books have often been associated with adolescent male fantasy--muscle-bound superheroes and scantily clad women. Nonetheless, comics have also been read and enjoyed by girls. While there have been many strong representations of women throughout their history, the comics of today have evolved and matured, becoming a potent medium in which to explore the female experience, particularly that of girlhood and adolescence. In Girls and Their Comics: Finding a Female Voice in Comic Book Narrative, Jacqueline Danziger-Russell contends that comics have a unique place in the representation of female characters. She discusses the overall history of the comic book, paying special attention to girls' comics, showing how such works relate to a female point of view. While examining the concept of visual literacy, Danziger-Russell asserts that comics are an excellent space in which the marginalized voices of girls may be expressed. This volume also includes a chapter on manga (Japanese comics), which explains the genesis of girls' comics in Japan and their popularity with girls in the United States. Including interviews with librarians, comic creators, and girls who read comics and manga, Girls and Their Comics is an important examination of the growing interest in comic books among young females and will appeal to a wide audience, including literary theorists, teachers, librarians, popular culture and women's studies scholars, and comic book historians.
ISBN: 9780810883765Publication Date: 2012-08-01
The New Mutants by
How fantasy meets reality as popular culture evolves and ignites postwar gender, sexual, and race revolutions. 2017 The Association for the Studies of the Present Book Prize Finalist Mention, 2017 Lora Romero First Book Award Presented by the American Studies Association Winner of the 2012 CLAGS Fellowship Award for Best First Book Project in LGBT Studies In 1964, noted literary critic Leslie Fiedler described American youth as "new mutants," social rebels severing their attachments to American culture to remake themselves in their own image. 1960s comic book creators, anticipating Fiedler, began to morph American superheroes from icons of nationalism and white masculinity into actual mutant outcasts, defined by their genetic difference from ordinary humanity. These powerful misfits and "freaks" soon came to embody the social and political aspirations of America's most marginalized groups, including women, racial and sexual minorities, and the working classes. In The New Mutants, Ramzi Fawaz draws upon queer theory to tell the story of these monstrous fantasy figures and how they grapple with radical politics from Civil Rights and The New Left to Women's and Gay Liberation Movements. Through a series of comic book case studies - including The Justice League of America, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, and The New Mutants -alongside late 20th century fan writing, cultural criticism, and political documents, Fawaz reveals how the American superhero modeled new forms of social belonging that counterculture youth would embrace in the 1960s and after. The New Mutants provides the first full-length study to consider the relationship between comic book fantasy and radical politics in the modern United States.
ISBN: 9781479814336Publication Date: 2016-01-22
80th Anniversaries Celebration
Both Batman and Marvel Comics celebrated their 80th anniversaries in 2019!
Batman's first appearance was in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939.
Marvel Comics started its life as a branch of Timely Comics in 1939, with its first release being the debut of the Human Torch.
Cheers comic fans, now for another 80 years!
Comic Fans Check These Out!
Official Online Events (Summer 2020)
- Comic-Con@Home
An online event that will combine parts of the convention experience with all the comforts of home.
This experience will be held on the same dates as the now-canceled Comic-Con, July 22-26, 2020, and online attendees are encouraged to use the official #ComicConAtHome hashtag to be included in the virtual activities. - DC FanDome
DC Comics is preparing to launch a free, 24-hour digital fan convention on August 22nd, 2020 at 10 a.m. PDT.
The event will offer fans a deep dive into the DC Multiverse, featuring new announcements from WB Games, Film and TV, as well as the comics, all while having an unprecedented opportunity to hear from the casts and creators of DC.
- Between the 15th and 19th centuries there are several instances of sequential artwork with text being used to tell stories. Below are some notable examples from each century.
- 15th century: Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch paints various paintings with sequential narratives that could be considered prototypical comics
- 16th century: Antonio Tempesta makes The Life of St. Laurentius, a sequential illustrated narrative with text underneath the images.
- 17th century: Francis Barlow draws political cartoons which feature text beneath the image and speech balloons.
- 18th century: British cartoonist James Gillray draws paneled cartoons.
- 19th century:
- 1830s: "Penny bloods" (also called "penny dreadfuls", "penny novels", and etc). are cheap, mass produced literature. A mixture of pictures and text, they embody a lot of what early comics came to be.
- 1841: The British satirical magazine Punch is launched. It becomes a haven for many British caricaturists and for prototypical comics.
- 1886: American newspapers begin to publish comic strips on Sundays, starting with The Yellow Kid by Richard Felton Outcault.
- Early 1900s: There are now over 150 comic strips in America, in addition to the numerous strips that are in publication in local papers.
- 1930s: The first comic book is officially published in 1933 called Funnies on Parade, followed the next year by Famous Funnies. Both were reprints of famous comic strips, but were wildly popular.
1938-1950
- June 1938: Action Comics #1, the introduction of Superman.
- The creation of the superhero archetype.
- WWII-era:
- Patriotic heroes, most notably Captain America.
- Late 1940: the popularity of superhero comics waned significantly.
- Comic publishers instead diversified into other genres
- War, romance, science fiction, westerns, crime, and horror were all very popular.
- Superhero titles were canceled or else converted to other genres.
- Comic publishers instead diversified into other genres
The video below about the Gold Age is from Flashback Comics in Woodbridge, VA. They offer a great overview of comic book history!
1950s-1970
- 1953: United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency
- Alleged links between comic books and juvenile delinquency
- Comics Code Authority was established to enact self-censorship
- Horror and crime comics were cracked down on.
- A resurgence in the commercial success of the superhero archetype, with a leaning towards science fiction origins.
- October 1956: First appearance of Flash in Showcase #4, considered to be the true kick-off point of the Silver Age.
- November 1961: Marvel and Stan Lee release The Fantastic Four #1.
- January 1966: The Batman live action TV show airs, taking comic book tropes and re-imagining them for a new audience.This kicked off multiple superhero-themed TV shows over the next few years.
- 1969: Archie comics are the best selling comics of the year, outpacing superhero comics.
The video below about the Silver Age is from Flashback Comics in Woodbridge, VA. They offer a great overview of comic book history!
1970-1986
- A return of darker stories and plot elements, more related to relevant social issues.
- April 1970: A Green Lantern issue deals with racism, slum lords, and the hero's own self-doubt.
- Late 1970: Jack Kirby leaves Marvel for DC comics, breaking up his partnership with Stan Lee.
- Veteran writers of the Gold and Silver ages are retiring, making way for new blood and ideas.
- Shift in distribution from cheap paper at a newsstand to more expensive products sold at comic shops.
- More non-superhero related comics, some much darker in tone, rise to popularity.
- Some notable titles may be Ghost Rider, G.I. Joe, and Star Wars.
- 1975: The X-Men series is rebooted, with mutants as a metaphor for real-world minorities, and becomes wildly popular.
- 1985: DC revitalizes its popularity with Crisis on Infinite Earths, Watchmen, and Batman: the Dark Knight Returns among other titles.
The video below about the Bronze Age is from Flashback Comics in Woodbridge, VA. They offer a great overview of comic book history!
1985-1991
- The Copper Age is probably the most debated classification for comics, if only because sometimes it will get lumped together into the "Modern Age" while at other points it is its own separate entity.
- A rebooting of all major DC characters; where many characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, the Justice League, etc. are re-launched or rebooted.
- 1988: Superman's 50th anniversary, as well as "Batmania" in anticipation of Tim Burton's first Batman film in 1989.
- 1989 cont.: The Sandman comic by Neil Gaiman releases.
- The beginnings of variant and enhanced covers being used in special comic releases, as well as a boost in production quality and comic book stores offering exclusives and promotional materials.
The video below about the Copper Age is from Flashback Comics in Woodbridge, VA. They offer a great overview of comic book history!
Early 1990s-Present
- Sometimes combined with the Copper Age.
- 1992: a group of Marvel artists (including Jim Lee) leave to form the creator-owned Image Comics.
- Heard of The Walking Dead or Saga?
- Some dramatic changes to long-running characters, such as Death of Superman, Batman: Knightfall, and Spider-Man's The Clone Saga.
- 1997: Marvel vs. DC comic mini-series personifies the two comic universes as brothers who duel each other for supremacy before creating their own universe that uses characters that marry DC and Marvel together..
- 1998: Amalgam Comics creates more one-shot comics where DC and Marvel characters are mashed together to create their own heroes after the popularity of Marvel vs. DC.
- Can you tell what these superhero mashups are? Dark Claw, Spider-Boy, and Iron Lantern are some of the most popular.
- 1998: Amalgam Comics creates more one-shot comics where DC and Marvel characters are mashed together to create their own heroes after the popularity of Marvel vs. DC.
- End of the 1990s: The number of crossover comics, which were prevalent throughout the decade, decreases as fans criticize the need to buy so many different comics in order to follow a single storyline.
- 2003: The Walking Dead comic debuts.
- 2006: Marvel's Civil War comics debut.
- 2012: Saga debuts.
The video below about the Modern Age is from Flashback Comics in Woodbridge, VA. They offer a great overview of comic book history!
Electronic Journals, July 2020
Royalty free image from Pixabay
- Comic Books as the Modern American Mythology Przywalny, Dawid. Ad Americam Journal of American Studies Vol. 15, (2014): 117-128.
- Historical and Mythical Time in the Marvel and DC Series Marcello Serra Journal of Popular Culture, Vol.49, No.3 June 2016 p. 646-659
- Teaching History with Comic Books: A Case Study of Violence, War, and the Graphic Novel Alicia C. Decker and Mauricio Castro The History Teacher Vol. 45, No. 2 (February 2012), p.169-187.
- Up, Up and Across: Superman, the Second World War and the Historical Development of Transmedia Storytelling. Freeman, Matthew. Historical Journal of Film, Radio & Television. Jun.2015, Vol.35 No 2, p215-239.
- “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”: Cold War Culture and the Birth of Marvel Comics Robert Genter Journal of Popular Culture, Vol.40, No.6 December 2007 p. 953-978
- Comic Book Legal Defence Fund
The CBLDF is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers.
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