30 review for Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels: A History Of Comic Art

1. 

   4 out of 5

   Eric Orchard – Dec 25, 2009

   A fascinating rewriting of the history of comics placing superheroes as a footnote of adventure comics and pushing womens underground comics up with mens. After finishing I realized he does put alot of emphasis on 80s & 90s superhero comics and the dramatic way they changed the Market and outside perceptions. Altogether a smart,broad re-imagining of the history of comics.

2. 

   5 out of 5

   Jerry – Nov 29, 2016

   This is an interesting history of the growth/collapse cycles of the comic book industry in Britain and the United States, from the perspective of and written in the lingo of, a Brit. It is written very conversationally, which means lots of British slang; some of it, such as “snog”, I get from Harry Potter, but others were opaque even in context. With the Internet, of course, such cultural shibboleths are easily vanquished. The best part of this book are the samples. It is lavishly filled with com This is an interesting history of the growth/collapse cycles of the comic book industry in Britain and the United States, from the perspective of and written in the lingo of, a Brit. It is written very conversationally, which means lots of British slang; some of it, such as “snog”, I get from Harry Potter, but others were opaque even in context. With the Internet, of course, such cultural shibboleths are easily vanquished. The best part of this book are the samples. It is lavishly filled with comic book art from the 1800s into the 1990s, when the book was published. You may want to pick up some reading glasses, though, as the text in these reproductions is often very small—but the quality is enough that the text is usually readable under moderate magnification. It’s very nice to see the comix movement of the sixties and seventies, for example, in England, with examples, compared to United States offerings. Where the book falls down a bit is the historical analysis, which tends to be occasionally ideological and often superficial. This gets especially bad as the author reaches his present, and tries to make the case that even though the trend is for more entertainment to be delivered digitally than over physical media, “one is mobile, [paper books] and one isn’t Internet access].” But, of course, that’s the point of trends: they get to follow technological advancement and take advantage of them. But,I repeat: great pictures and a nice historical survey of major comics in Britain and the United States over time.

3. 

   4 out of 5

   Joseph – Jan 08, 2014

   Author Roger Sabin weaves together a tight narrative of the entire history of the comic book medium, moving from its beginnings in the Middle Ages (yes, that’s right, way back in medieval times) and how it has evolved into the art form and pop culture powerhouse we know and love today. Explore how the comic book moved from being newspaper fodder to hard-hitting social commentary and how it fell from grace before rising like a phoenix once the comic book witch hunt ended after the 1950′s. With pl Author Roger Sabin weaves together a tight narrative of the entire history of the comic book medium, moving from its beginnings in the Middle Ages (yes, that’s right, way back in medieval times) and how it has evolved into the art form and pop culture powerhouse we know and love today. Explore how the comic book moved from being newspaper fodder to hard-hitting social commentary and how it fell from grace before rising like a phoenix once the comic book witch hunt ended after the 1950′s. With plenty of great full-cover photo references to go along with the narrative, Sabin creates a helpful tome of comic book knowledge that will give you a one-up on all of your nerdy comic book friends who THINK they’ve heard everything there is to hear about comic books. I picked this book up at the library because I was writing a research paper and was pleased with just how much information was packed into its pages. It provided a good chunk of my research content and on top of that, I learned a ton of new stuff. I have seen some folks posting about this, saying it was biased or what have you, but I didn’t really get any of those vibes from anything within. It was a great trip down memory lane, too, seeing all the old comic book covers and comic book pages displayed throughout the entirety of the book. Give this a shot if you can find it. I think it’s on Amazon.com. It would make a killer addition to the coffee table collection, or in an office somewhere. JOE Rating: ★★★★★

4. 

   5 out of 5

   Jim – Sep 02, 2015

   The history of comics is too big to put together an exhaustive text. But this book tries, and tries hard. It's truly a fascinating overview of where comics came from and where they've been. If you want some background on the comics scene, this is your book. The history of comics is too big to put together an exhaustive text. But this book tries, and tries hard. It's truly a fascinating overview of where comics came from and where they've been. If you want some background on the comics scene, this is your book.

5. 

   5 out of 5

   Rafael Bernardo – Apr 20, 2016

   I'm only a couple chapters in, but I can tell this book is one I'm going to constantly come back to. It's highly informative (at times overwhelmingly informative tbh), insightful and the selected examples in each chapter are great as well. I'm only a couple chapters in, but I can tell this book is one I'm going to constantly come back to. It's highly informative (at times overwhelmingly informative tbh), insightful and the selected examples in each chapter are great as well.

6. 

   4 out of 5

   PJ Ebbrell – Nov 30, 2013

   An excellent read on comics from a British-American perspective. Some good illustrations of some characters that I have only just read about or seen one illo.

7. 

   4 out of 5

   Dixiana – Sep 23, 2012

   I guess i found it a bit biased, and not including authors I like.

8. 

   4 out of 5

   Joshua R Derke – Feb 10, 2016

   This was a fantastic look at the history of comics and graphic narratives. Highly recommended for those who love comics.

9. 

   4 out of 5

   Amanda –

10. 

    4 out of 5

    David Alex –

11. 

    4 out of 5

    Miriel –

12. 

    5 out of 5

    David T. –

13. 

    4 out of 5

    Lexi –

14. 

    4 out of 5

    Neil –

15. 

    5 out of 5

    Robert Boyd –

16. 

    4 out of 5

    Manfredovich –

17. 

    4 out of 5

    Edgar –

18. 

    4 out of 5

    Esti –

19. 

    5 out of 5

    Todd –

20. 

    5 out of 5

    Daniel –

21. 

    4 out of 5

    Bertie Fritsch –

22. 

    4 out of 5

    Harrington Swaddle –

23. 

    4 out of 5

    Jessica Allen –

24. 

    4 out of 5

    Godka –

25. 

    5 out of 5

    Aistė –

26. 

    4 out of 5

    Erik Zippa –

27. 

    5 out of 5

    Julie –

28. 

    5 out of 5

    Lone –

29. 

    4 out of 5

    Nora –

30. 

    5 out of 5

    Atenas –