Originating in 2010, Saving the Day: Accessing Comics in the Twenty-first Century is designed as a aid to furthering studies of the comics, comic art, and translations of comics into/from other media. The blog is associated with both The Arthur of the Comics Project, an effort of the Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain, and The Medieval Comics Project, an effort of the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture.
"WITH GREAT POWER THERE MUST ALSO COME -- GREAT RESPONSIBILITY!"
Stan Lee, "Spider-Man!" Amazing Fantasy No. 15 (Sept. 1962)
Marvel Worldwide recently released The Art of Captain America: First Avenger by Matthew K. Manning, and it can be ordered from the usual online dealers. The book includes a very brief introduction to the character of Captain America and his history and the remainder of the book presents a detailed look at making of the film with commentary by cast and crew. The book is well illustrated by pictures of costumes, weapons, and various concept art, though, as with Manning's The Art of Thor (2011), these do get somewhat boring after a while. In addition. unlike similar tomes, one never gets the sense here that either the filmmakers or stars had any connection with the character or his legacy; there are also few comments by comics creators, aside from some quotes by Joe Simon, Cap's creator, to connect the film to its origins. Instead, the filmmakers have become the spokesmen for the character and his legacy.
In contrast, Paul Ruditis's The Walking Dead Chronicles: The Official Companion Book(Abrams, 2011) is a well-illustrated and loving tribute to the television series and its comic book source. Forewords by show-runner Frank Darabont and series creator Robert Kirkman detail their involvement in the franchise, while the book itself, which features copious commentary by the cast and crew--all proponents of the comic and its TV adaptation--covers the history of The Walking Dead phenomenon from its initial proposal to hints for season two of the TV series, set to premiere on 16 October.
Other sections include detailed discussions on the makeup, visual effects and filming of the series, and, in addition to his narrative history Ruditis provides synopses of the first six issues of the comic, which parallel, events of the first season of the show and, later, synopses of each of the six television episodes.
Titan Books has recently published Joe Simon: My Life in Comics, an intimate look at the life and career of comics creator Joe Simon. It's a quick and interesting read that offers insight into the comic book industry and its history.
In his own words, this is the life of Joe Simon, one of the most important figures in comics history, and half of the famous creative team Simon and Kirby. Joe Simon co-created Captain America, and was the first editor in chief of Marvel Comics (where he hired Stan Lee for his first job in comics).
Simon began his prolific career in the Great Depression, and this book recounts his journey to New York City, his first comic book work, his meeting with Jack Kirby, and the role comics played in wartime America. He remembers the near-death of the comics, and the scramble to survive. And he reveals what it was like to bring comics out of their infancy, as they became an American art form.
I've been remiss of late in reporting on affairs in Marvel Comics. Important stories of late include the death of Ultimate Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a truly heart-wrenching tale (details at Comics Alliance, as reported by David Uzumeri) by creators Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley and published in Ultimate Spider-Man No. 160 that paves the way, ultimately, for the introduction of a new multiracial Spider-Man and, as also reported by Uzumeri at Comics Alliance, the end of the long-running Uncanny X-Men series in anticipation of the launching of a new Uncanny X-Men series and Wolverine and the X-Men featuring a splintering of the team as result of the Schism crossover event.
In case you're as deeply confused as me, I came across some interesting posts at Comics Alliance detailing how the New 52 universe differs from the established DCU. Primarily, the new universe is created as a result of the conclusion of Flashpoint (out in colected editions later in the year), and heroes have only been active for about 5 years! Detailed comments by David Uzumeri on the indivual books are in four parts: one, two, three, and four.
Recently, Barnes and Noble has announced that it will pull some of its stock of collected editions and graphic novels published by DC Comics from its physical stores after DC announced an exclusive deal with Amazon.com to distribute digital editions of those books solely on its Kindle platform. Further details and links at Comics Alliance.
It occurred to me that readers may not be familiar with the New 52 being published this fall by DC Comics, and I've come across a handy introduction to the series and its various components (with details on all 52 new books) at io9.com. Another article on the site includes an interview with some of creators, including Dan DiDio, the current co-publisher of DC, who states part of the logic for the re-envisioning of the brand is to "bring a more youthful feel across the entire line." This is a rather disturbing comment because, as noted on the various posts from PopMatters, the overwhelming majority of comics readers are older males in their 20s, 30s and beyond, a demographic equivalent to the majority of DC's creators. In moving out of its niche, DC runs the risk of alienating its established fan base for short-term profit and the curiosity of new readers.
As further evidence of the companies attempts to alienate old readers with the New 52, DC Comics has recently revealed that the new Wonder Woman has been retconned a father in the figure of the Greek god Zeus. Details at the Source, DC's blog, and a reaction at the New York Post.
Reaction to the new 52 has been dramatic, and Jill Pantozzi of Newsarama offers a particular strong reaction as a female fan in "Is THE NEW 52 The Wrong Relaunch?" (28 Sept.).
DC Comics recently rebooted the entire DC Universe in an effort to attract new readers. The initial details can most easily be accessed by an article on Newsarama. Now that the books are coming out, some of the fallout has been detailed on the PopMatters website. The following pieces were most insightful:
I've added a new section to the blog on "Heroes and Superheroes" to keep track of the interesting and/or insightful pieces I have come across in using heroes as a writing topic these past three years as an adjunct at the Community College of Rhode Island. I hope you find them useful and welcome further suggestions.
The Dartmouth College Library's digital collection now features downloadable PDFs of the following examples of nineteenth-century American comics alongside a variety of books, manuscripts, maps, and other material:
