Copyright Date:
2021
Edition Date:
2022
Release Date:
11/16/21
Pages:
xx, 570 pages
ISBN:
0-393-63560-0
ISBN 13:
978-0-393-63560-7
Dewey:
741.5
LCCN:
2021024166
Dimensions:
25 cm
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
An ambitious attempt to comprehensively map the progression of comics in America."This book," writes Dauber, professor of Jewish literature and American studies at Columbia, "tries to cover the whole shebang, from [Thomas] Nast's cartoons to the latest graphic memoirs and transmedia corporate productions." If anything, he understates his intent, because "the whole shebang" also encompasses political and cultural upheavals reflected in the work; social concerns they addressed and the prejudices they reflected, from the explicitly racist and misogynist to restrictions within a field criticized as a White boys club; technological and distributional shifts, from printing presses to computers and from selling through magazine stands to headshops to comic book shops; shifts in the target demographics; and branding, merchandising, and multimedia concerns. Although the presentation of all this well-researched material leads to some narrative discohesion, there's plenty of delight and revelation for comics fans. Dauber effectively shows how profoundly Mad magazine shifted the landscape, in defiance of the codes to which others submitted, and how Maus and other literary graphic novels would erase the already blurring line between high and low culture that had kept comics on the wrong side of the tracks. There are also the oft-told stories of artists and developers never receiving their due-e.g., how Superman paid big dividends for so many other than its creators, or how Stan Lee received much of the glory at Marvel, at Jack Kirby's expense. Dauber seems to revel in minutiae, with as many as a half-dozen all but forgotten comics name-checked within a single paragraph as well as offhand references to dozens more. It's clear that the author, in his diligence, was worried about leaving something out, and the lack of supporting illustrations-the comics themselves-reinforces the adage that a picture is worth 1,000 words.Dauber clearly knows and cherishes his subject, and readers who share his passion will find plenty to love.
Bibliography Index/Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 451-537) and index.
Comics have conquered America. From our multiplexes, where Marvel and DC movies reign supreme, to our television screens, where comics-based shows like The Walking Dead have become among the most popular in cable history, to convention halls, best-seller lists, Pulitzer Prize-winning titles, and MacArthur Fellowship recipients, comics shape American culture, in ways high and low, superficial, and deeply profound. In American Comics, Columbia professor Jeremy Dauber takes readers through their incredible but little-known history, starting with the Civil War and cartoonist Thomas Nast, creator of the lasting and iconic images of Uncle Sam and Santa Claus; the golden age of newspaper comic strips and the first great superhero boom; the moral panic of the Eisenhower era, the Marvel Comics revolution, and the underground comix movement of the 1960s and '70s; and finally into the twenty-first century, taking in the grim and gritty Dark Knights and Watchmen alongside the brilliant rise of the graphic novel by acclaimed practitioners like Art Spiegelman and Alison Bechdel. Dauber's story shows not only how comics have changed over the decades but how American politics and culture have changed them. Throughout, he describes the origins of beloved comics, champions neglected masterpieces, and argues that we can understand how America sees itself through whose stories comics tell. Striking and revelatory, American Comics is a rich chronicle of the last 150 years of American history through the lens of its comic strips, political cartoons, superheroes, graphic novels, and more. FEATURING... * American Splendor * Archie * The Avengers * Kyle Baker * Batman * C. C. Beck * Black Panther * Captain America * Roz Chast * Walt Disney * Will Eisner * Neil Gaiman * Bill Gaines * Bill Griffith * Harley Quinn * Jack Kirby * Denis Kitchen * Krazy Kat * Harvey Kurtzman * Stan Lee * Little Orphan Annie * Maus * Frank Miller * Alan Moore * Mutt and Jeff * Gary Panter * Peanuts * Dav Pilkey * Gail Simone * Spider-Man * Superman * Dick Tracy * Wonder Wart-Hog * Wonder Woman * The Yellow Kid * Zap Comix ... AND MANY MORE OF YOUR FAVORITES!
Common Core
STEAM
High/Low
Chapter
Book
Large
Print
Series Tracker
Manga
Big
Book
Board
Book
Hot
Title
Adult
Language
Mature
Content
Ebook
Ebook
MUA (Multi User Access)
Light Novel
