Comic Book Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to Characters, Graphic Novels, Writers, and Artists in the Comic Book Universe

I bought this book because I wanted a guide of comics but all the comics, marvel, dc, image, dark horse, press, etc, and this book has that.

Comic books have been around in one form or another since the 1920's, entertaining children of all ages. From the young readers to the old, there has been a strong following for a number of titles. In fact, some comic books have surpassed the printed page and reached the heights of stardom as movie characters. Some have gone beyond the realm of the animated feature and become quite real, as we've seen recently in X-Men, Spider-Man, Bat-Man, etc., etc. This Encyclopedia is the ultimate guide to anything dealing with the comic book universe, and very well put together. Art driven storytelling finally has a history book of its very own - from A-1 Comics to Zorro they're all listed here, complete with their own history blurb. Ron Goulart, an award winning SF and mystery writer, is considered one of the leading experts on comics, both nationally and internationally. This Connecticut native has written a number of his own comics and also published numerous books on the subject. I've been a collector of Vampirella since about the same time my eldest son was born, when the original publication sadly came to an end. An avid collector, it's nice to actually learn a little more about this dangerous lady and her history, such as - the most recent resurrection began in 2001 and still continues. Frank Frazetta penned the cover which showed Vampirella with one spiked heel resting on a human skull, and was basically put together for laughs. However, Vampi took off and when Tom Sutton became the artist in the eighth issue, things went from good to fantastic! A previous love interest collected Archie comics, and I will admit that they provide some wonderful entertainment. This is the best thing to read when you've got a headache or a fever and don't need to focus completely. According to the information in this encyclopedia, Archie is now in his second century as a teenager. That's a long time. However, there's been numerous changes to this comic along the way. Vic Bloom wrote the script for the very first story, and usually goes uncredited, he also apparently borrowed a character or two from an earlier comic entitled Wally Williams, in Jughead, Betty, and even Riverdale High. It wasn't all original! Another personal favourite is Heavy Metal and even it is found in these pages. Originally this magazine offered its older readers continuing tales of SF & F, along with some fantastic artwork by European artists. Initially it was made up of translated reprints, which was no big deal to anyone on this side of the Atlantic. Over time, Heavy Metal went the way of most publications and leaned into the sex scene, so it was a publication of SF & F with heavy erotica. I never knew that one half of the Ninja Turtles creative team took over as publisher in 1991 until I read Ron's blurb in the Encyclopedia. There is a huge amount of fascinating information to be found within the colorful covers of this tome. It is a must have for any comic fan!

"The Ultimate Guide" is a bit of a stretch as not a single b-list character from Marvel or DC that I used to collect as a kid is represented here, nor many of the creators I rank among my personal favorites, but it definitely offers a wide-ranging overview - emphasis on the word OVERVIEW - of the industry, past to present. There's a smattering of independent/alternative comics and a hefty load of Golden and Silver Age oddities I'd never even heard of. Overall, a perfect gift for the newcomer or casual fan, but I'd suggest letting the more experienced fan/collector decide whether to buy it for themselves.

This is a big, beautiful, richly illustrated book that covers a lot of territory-the history and development of comic books and graphic novels. It attempts to cover the entire field, characters, artists, writers, and give at least a basic understanding of the history. Unfortunately, as it says on the cover, "Nearly 400 BIG pages!", i.e., it's not quite four hundred pages. That's not enough space for in-depth treatment, it's made a bit more cramped by those beautiful illustrations (which, I must say, it would be a shame to lose.). The articles are mostly short, and characters one would have thought important enough for their own entries are reduced to mentions in broader entries. (Bugs Bunny, for instance, is barely mention in the "Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies" entry.) This is a good, fun book nevertheless, but possibly a better choice for the reader just getting seriously interested in comics, than for the established fan who already has an in-depth knowledge of the field.