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Jules Feiffer is considered the most widely read satirist in the United States. His list of publications and other achievements is incredible, from a Pulitzer Prize to an Oscar for an animated short film that he wrote. He is the author of many books, from novels to graphic novels, plays, screenplays and other works too numerous to mention. In this book he writes about the role of comic book heroes in his life and that of other boys of limited physical means like him. He also swings a few hayma
got bored of seduction of the innocent so i decided to read a book by someone who actually liked comics and i had a far better timepersonal standouts: jules feiffer being excited to learn that robin was supposedly gay, jules feiffer being notably disappointed wonder woman wasn’t gay enough
One of my earliest books, now stored in a box somewhere in Michigan, awaiting retrieval. The anthology collected mostly creation stories, making this the pop counterpart of Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I remember liking The Fantastic Four (so recently sullied with crap-ass movies), The Spirit, Plastic Man, Wonder Woman (wonder why) and Submariner, who was until the 80s about the most sociopathic of superheroes. Captain America was in here, too, and of course, S- and B-man. My copy has this cover:...
1965 hardcover, missing the dust jacket, alas. Feiffer gives us 45 pages of a brief history of the American comic book and it's super-heroes, before gliding through the Golden Age. We get origin stories and early adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, The Flash, The Human Torch, The Spectre, Captain America, Hawkman, Sub-Mariner, and The Spirit. Some of this stuff is wonderful, others not so much. It wasn't all Golden. Kirby, Cole, and Eisner couldn't draw everyt...
I got this when it first came out (I was five! or something). Spent hours poring over the pages. The illustration style was from another era, but I found it thrilling. Just dug out my original copy (covers are beat up, but the interior pages are still intact) and began to revisit. All the more meaningful now that I am making graphic novels. I remember being most taken by The Spirit segment. It was clear even to my 5-year-old eyes that Mr. Eisner was something special. What a delight!
I take personal issue with Feiffer's characterization of Wonder Woman but other than that this is one of the best pieces of culture writing I've ever read, maybe the best.
Cartoonist Jules Feiffer was both a fan of and a participant in what has come to be called the Golden Age of Comics: that period in the late 1930s and early 1940s when superheroes first appeared and took over what had been a bland and highly derivative comic book industry. Feiffer's humorous essays give us a feeling for what it was like to immerse oneself in the world of super heroes in that era. He also has some interesting thoughts on the super heroes themselves, as well as the strident critic...
The first history of comic books, cartoonist Feiffer, who later won a Pulitzer Prize, delivers a fascinating account of super heroes comics alongside some of the more obscure creators. For example, Detective Comics #1, the first National title that spawned the company's much better known by the nom de plume DC, received a full critique of the artists (future great Craig Flessel, pre-Superman Joe Schuster, text-heavy Tom Hickey, Caniff-wannabe Will Ely, and Mandrake-copier Fred Guardineer) and th...
This is a nice, early look at comic book heroes. It begins with a long, critical essay by Feiffer that's quite interesting. (He also addresses the Wertham debacle of the 1950s.) It includes early complete adventures from the 1930s and '40s of some of the best-known and most-popular heroes reproduced in color, including Superman, Captain Marvel, Batman, The Human Torch, The Flash, Green Lantern, The Spectre, Hawkman, Wonder Woman, The Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Plastic Man, and The Spirit. The...
It's fabulous I love the book
Feiffer wrote this book, really the first serious look at comic books and superheroes back in 1965. It ignores the Silver Age because he is taking a walk down his own personal memory lane so it focuses on the Golden Age. In light of what we know now about a lot of the history of comics some of it seems anachronistic. Keep in mind that the Wertham "Seductionof the Innocent" debacle was still fresh. We now know that Bob Kane didn't create all those Batman stories himself and how Siegel came back t...
Outstanding collection of short essays on the origin and evolution of heroes in comic books (not just super-heroes). There is little argument that comic book heroes fill psychological needs, but much more argument over which needs. A fascinating chronological analysis put in context of the social and economic landscapes of the time from a man who was a rabid fan and contributor.
Feiffer's 1965 essay is widely regarded as one of the earliest critical works on comic books. And this being Feiffer, it is at once funny, serious, sentimental, snarky, and all too on target. Here he celebrates the junk he grew up reading on the eve of World War Two when the medium was first discovering itself and no one involved was thinking of anything more than their next paycheck. Certainly there was no comprehension that an entire mythology was being created by a bunch of hack writers and a...
The first real comic book trade paperback that reprinted old stories for fans features some good reprints of some old stories. The Spirit tale is a little soft in terms of reproduction, but there are some fun stories here. Make sure you buy the the hardcover from 1965 or the paperback from the seventies, as they have the reprints. The new edition and e-book does NOT have the comic book stories.Without the reprints, this is not the best book of reminiscences about the industry, which is surprisin...
Apparently, in Feiffer's original edition of this essay, each chapter included a historical story about each of the characters that he discusses, but Fantagraphics opted to just reprint the essay itself, with only spot artwork. Sure would've been nice to see some of those stories reprinted (without paying $50 for an Archive!)...Regardless, economic reality is what it is. And Feiffer's essay is terrific work - a celebration of the trash-roots of comics. He offers intelligent insights into the ill...
Feiffer went to work in the comics industry as a boy, before becoming the author of his continuing work in the Village Voice. As a colorist, he decided to color in socks... on Will Eisner's lead character, The Spirit. This great book is full of choice anecdotes, since retold by others, not so funny as Feiffer, a bona fide original. This was the first memoir I ever read... and loved: one of the great, formative books in my life, and I recommend it to everyone who loves literature. This, the origi...
An amazing, well-observed essay that, in 1966, essentially put comic books on the radar as a cultural artifact, not just worthless junk for kids. The original edition also included reprints of more than a dozen representative stories from the Golden Age, including an episode of Will Eisner's "The Spirit" that helped draw Eisner back into the industry.
Short and to the point. For its length and date of publication it contains some really great insights into the superhero myth. Jules spends only a little time reflecting on his own memories and recollections and instead spends a majority of the book analyzing what about these heroes keeps us interested.
Arguably the first extended commentary on the literary and artistic virtues of comic books, this rightly famous essay has been acclaimed ever since. Written in 1965, it also serves as a history of the Golden Age of comics - but, rather than objectively, it's a deeply personal one, as told from Feiffer's childhood memories and point of view. This can sometimes frustrate, as he truncates or skips over subjects we'd like to hear more about, and his insights occasionally seem dated or mystifying (e....
This was one of the first serious looks at the art of sequential imagery that we call comic books. It covers the Golden Age of comics, and since I read the original edition of the book, it contains reprinted stories from that time period. An interesting look at the history of comics, at a time when comic book stores and such did not even exist yet.