KC on Books About Superhero Comics
- Posted by Johanna on April 1, 2008 at 7:44 am
- Category: Books and Prose, KC
KC has a new column up at Westfield Comics in which he covers essential reading about superhero comics.
We were both surprised how many books we considered classics were no longer in print. Look at all of these!
- Comix: A History of Comic Books in America
- All in Color for a Dime
- The Comic Book Heroes
- The Steranko History of Comics Book 1
- The Steranko History of Comics Book 2
- Comic Book Artist Collection Volume 1
- The Warren Companion
- The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (It’s been five years since this incredible encyclopedia came out — I’d love to see an update, but I don’t envy the amount of work needed to do it!)
- The Great Comic Book Heroes (That’s the original version, with the story reprints. The essay material is back in print, but I like the original presentation.)
Yet Seduction of the Innocent is back in print. Who knew?
Thankfully, you can still find these books used, which is why I’ve included links to Amazon, which I find the most reliable source, due to their buyer protection program. Anyway, go read the column to see why he recommends these and which other titles he lists that are more easily available.
April 2, 2008 at 10:11 AM
That edition of SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT that’s back in print is a weird one.
It’s apparently published by some company called “Amereon” which near as I can tell is some tiny company that does really small printings of books aimed for (I think) library markets. That Amereon edition of SOTI has kicked around bibliophile circles for years. I feel like there should be a story behind why it’s back in print, but don’t know what it is.
But I’ve also turned up references to copyright infringement charges brought against a company called “Amereon” (http://tinyurl.com/99qjf ) which seems to be the same company, and the same sort of modest scope of publishing.
I know that various more established publishers have talked about reprinting SOTI over the years, some of whom have talked about working with the Wertham estate or official biographer or whomever, but none of those have seemed to have made it to print yet.
Of course anything is possible, so maybe that Amereon edition is an authorized edition meant for that publisher’s highly limited markets. But if SOTI is officially coming back in print, I would’ve thought it would have come back with slightly bigger fanfare than that Amereon edition.
Anyway. It’s a weird one.
April 2, 2008 at 10:51 AM
The Slings & Arrows Guide (2nd Ed.) single handedly got me back into comics after a decade away. An absolutely incredible resource!
April 2, 2008 at 3:16 PM
Arguing Comics, edited by Jeet Heer and Kent Worcester, is a fantastic anthology of historic critical essays about comics, from before the development of fandom. Absolutely essential reading, with lots of great anti-comics writings. Umberto Eco’s Superman essay is in there.
Comic Book Nation by Bradford Wright is a decent overview of mainstream comics’ relationship to 20th century American culture.
And while the Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics is a little short on editorial, it’s an amazing anthology of old comics.
April 2, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Thanks for that research, Tommy. Stranger and stranger! I remember attending a con in the mid-90s where Kitchen Sink was promoting that they were doing a reprint with additional academic context. As you say, that never happened.
My other question is whether the reprint includes the art, which is often cut out of original versions.
Thanks for your additions, Cole. I’m still meaning to read Comic Book Nation sometime.
May 31, 2008 at 11:03 AM
To clear the air up…Amereon is a small publishing house that reprints out-of-print and hard to find titles. This is often done without permission or license from copyright holders. They have been sued countless times. Seduction of the Innocent was bought “back into print” almost 2 years ago, but I believe in some legit fashion. While copyright pages may read, “this edition limited to X” copies that is simply not true. These “editions” are printed (copied) over and over again. They can be found in different cloth cover colors because of this. Hope it helps.
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