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 the actual content. Feiffer follows the heroic trail in an approachable and engaging style. Still one of the finest introductory texts to the origins of the super hero comic book. The original hardcover volume included reprints of the comics that Feiffer mentions throughout. In 2003, Fantagraphics reprinted only the text portions in an affordable trade paperback. ( )

an absolutely necessary read for anyone interested in comics even a little ( )

Great color reprints of golden age comics along with their associated history. ( )

This homage by Feiffer to the great comic book heroes has become almost legendary since its first appearance in 1965, but it is mainly Feiffer's essays on the comic books that distinguishes it. The illustrations are nicely reproduced, with several complete stories (some origin stories), but for the most part the selections are unremarkable. A nice reference book, mostly for the obvious affection Feiffer has for his subjects. ( )

There are a couple of books that I got when I was a kid that are true gems; books that I never fully appreciated at the time. This is one of them. Mr. Feiffer tells about his discovery of superhero comics as a kid in the forties and a bit of how the genre progressed in that time. Then he gets done with the boring text pages and reprints a number of comic stories from that period. All great tales (for old comics) which would undoubtedly cost major bucks to obtain today. I don't think my mom realized what a treasure she gave on that Christmas Day, so many years past. (Or maybe she did. My mom has given me a lot of nice presents.) Anyway, now that I'm an old geezer, I can appreciate the text almost as much as the reprints. This one will stay on my shelf.
--J. ( )