Table of Contents

Contents: Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Superheroes for the Common Man: The Birth of the Comic Book Industry, 1933-1941 Chapter 2: Race, Politics, and Propaganda: Comic Books Go to War, 1939-1945 Chapter 3: Confronting Success: Comic Books and Postwar America, 1945-1956 Chapter 4: Youth Crisis: Comic Books and Controversy, 1947-1950 Chapter 5: Reds, Romance, and Renegades: Comic Books and the Culture of the Cold War, 1947-1954 Chapter 6: Turning Point: Comic Books in Crisis, 1954-1955 Chapter 7: Great Power and Great Responsibility: Superheroes in a Superpower, 1956-1967 Chapter 8: Questioning Authority: Comic Books and Cultural Change, 1968-1979 Chapter 9: Direct to the Fans: The Comic Book Industry since 1980 Epilogue: The Death of Superman or, Must There Be a Comic Book Industry? Spider-Man at Ground Zero: A 9-11 Postscript

Promotional Information

Congratulations to Bradford W. Wright for penning one of the most comprehensive and readable accounts of the pervasive effect that comic books have had upon generations of readers throughout America, and indeed-the world. -- Stan Lee

About the Author

Bradford W. Wright is an associate professor with the University of Maryland University College-European Division.

Reviews

A winner... a book that is trenchant, crisply written and absolutely jargon-free, with plenty of enthusiasm but no idolatry-and great fun to read... There should be a place for Comic Book Nation on the bookshelf of anyone who ever read comics for fun as a kid or has taken them seriously as an adult. -- Dennis Drabelle Washington Post Book World Comics fans ought to rejoice over this book. At a time of transition, with underground comics proliferating on the Web while major companies like Marvel try to pull themselves out of bankruptcy, Comic Book Nation offers a much-needed historical perspective. Tracing the industry's rise, Wright gives comics the scholarly attention they deserve, diligently filling in the back story of a medium that has both reflected and shaped American values for generations... Wright deserves credit for tackling the breadth of comics history, and he succeeds commendably in creating a testament to the genre's power. For anyone who has ever read comics or wanted to leap a building in a single bound, Comic Book Nation is worth a look. -- Damien Cave Salon Pow! Bam! Crash! Analysis! This insightful and highly entertaining political and cultural history [offers] an intelligent study not only of comics but of shifting attitudes toward popular culture, children, violence, patriotism, and America itself. Publishers Weekly (starred review) At last, a substantive book studying the effect of comic books on American culture and vice versa... [This] extremely well-organized book traces the genre's birth, expansions, and retractions from the 1930s to the present. The fascinating result highlights the increasingly intriguing interaction between pressing events in American society and what was written and published on colorfully paneled pages... A truly worthwhile study of comics as part of American culture. Library Journal (starred review) A fascinating history of comic books that is impressively researched, amply illustrated, smoothly written, carefully analyzed-and fun. It is a serious but not somber study, enlivened with droll humor and deft analogies. -- Neil A. Grauer Cleveland Plain Dealer Fluently animates the artistic, economic, and social history of comic books, from Superman as '30s hero of the downtrodden to debates over kids' consumption of violent imagery to fan culture. Paper Informative, humorous, and penetrating... [Wright's] theme is simple and persuasive: Comic books provide an acute lens through which to study shifts in popular culture, from World War II to Vietnam to the Reagan era. -- Jacob Heilbrunn Washington Monthly Solid... A well-documented comics-industry chronicle. Booklist An extremely well researched, engagingly written and long overdue attempt to evaluate the historical impact of comic books on American culture. -- Mike Tsichlis St. Louis Post-Dispatch This is a sweeping and ambitious history that is successful in explaining the business of comic book publishing and the ways in which the writers, artists, and publishers created an alternative world that appeals to many youthful readers... The book is well written and illustrated. -- Bernard Mergen Journal of American History I loved Wright's book...Wright succeeds in capturing my past-the smell of chestnuts, popcorn and bubble gum in Grampa's Mom and Pop store [where I bought comic books]-and making us value comics as important cultural artifacts, contributing to our concept of youth and nationhood. Since reading Comic Book Nation, I've rediscovered the joy of comics. -- Grant Tracey North American Review As interesting as it is well written, a serious comic fan might learn a few things NeedCoffee.com Wright's lively history of the form shows how comic books have molded as well as reflected young Americans as readers, consumers, citizens. -- Jennifer Howard Washington Post Book World Both educational and entertaining. Cercles

A winner... a book that is trenchant, crisply written and absolutely jargon-free, with plenty of enthusiasm but no idolatry-and great fun to read... There should be a place for Comic Book Nation on the bookshelf of anyone who ever read comics for fun as a kid or has taken them seriously as an adult. -- Dennis Drabelle Washington Post Book World Comics fans ought to rejoice over this book. At a time of transition, with underground comics proliferating on the Web while major companies like Marvel try to pull themselves out of bankruptcy, Comic Book Nation offers a much-needed historical perspective. Tracing the industry's rise, Wright gives comics the scholarly attention they deserve, diligently filling in the back story of a medium that has both reflected and shaped American values for generations... Wright deserves credit for tackling the breadth of comics history, and he succeeds commendably in creating a testament to the genre's power. For anyone who has ever read comics or wanted to leap a building in a single bound, Comic Book Nation is worth a look. -- Damien Cave Salon Pow! Bam! Crash! Analysis! This insightful and highly entertaining political and cultural history [offers] an intelligent study not only of comics but of shifting attitudes toward popular culture, children, violence, patriotism, and America itself. Publishers Weekly (starred review) At last, a substantive book studying the effect of comic books on American culture and vice versa... [This] extremely well-organized book traces the genre's birth, expansions, and retractions from the 1930s to the present. The fascinating result highlights the increasingly intriguing interaction between pressing events in American society and what was written and published on colorfully paneled pages... A truly worthwhile study of comics as part of American culture. Library Journal (starred review) A fascinating history of comic books that is impressively researched, amply illustrated, smoothly written, carefully analyzed-and fun. It is a serious but not somber study, enlivened with droll humor and deft analogies. -- Neil A. Grauer Cleveland Plain Dealer Fluently animates the artistic, economic, and social history of comic books, from Superman as '30s hero of the downtrodden to debates over kids' consumption of violent imagery to fan culture. Paper Informative, humorous, and penetrating... [Wright's] theme is simple and persuasive: Comic books provide an acute lens through which to study shifts in popular culture, from World War II to Vietnam to the Reagan era. -- Jacob Heilbrunn Washington Monthly Solid... A well-documented comics-industry chronicle. Booklist An extremely well researched, engagingly written and long overdue attempt to evaluate the historical impact of comic books on American culture. -- Mike Tsichlis St. Louis Post-Dispatch This is a sweeping and ambitious history that is successful in explaining the business of comic book publishing and the ways in which the writers, artists, and publishers created an alternative world that appeals to many youthful readers... The book is well written and illustrated. -- Bernard Mergen Journal of American History I loved Wright's book...Wright succeeds in capturing my past-the smell of chestnuts, popcorn and bubble gum in Grampa's Mom and Pop store [where I bought comic books]-and making us value comics as important cultural artifacts, contributing to our concept of youth and nationhood. Since reading Comic Book Nation, I've rediscovered the joy of comics. -- Grant Tracey North American Review As interesting as it is well written, a serious comic fan might learn a few things NeedCoffee.com Wright's lively history of the form shows how comic books have molded as well as reflected young Americans as readers, consumers, citizens. -- Jennifer Howard Washington Post Book World Both educational and entertaining. Cercles

Pow! Bam! Crash! Analysis! According to this insightful and highly entertaining political and cultural history of comic books, Superman was not just "fighting for the American way"Dhe was inventing it. Comic books, perhaps the central staple of U.S. youth culture, have been fundamental in both shaping and reflecting the country's political, social, ethical and even sexual mores ever since Superman made his first appearance on the cover of Action Comics in 1938. Wright, a faculty member at the University of Maryland's University College, charts how these popular pulp stories (over 100 million comics were printed in 1949) mirrored myriad, often conflicting, political positions: Superman's first enemies were corrupt politicians and slum lords aligned against the New Deal; '50s books reflected national anticommunist hysteria as well as mixed messages about the Korean War; violent "crime comics" of the 1950s reflected the decade's social unrest; Iron Man in the 1960s found his earlier anticommunist politics shaken by the war in Vietnam. Wright explores how the politics of the writers and artists, usually liberals and often Jewish, were reflected in their work, while at the same time they had to conform to frequently more conservative cultural standards that often led to a backlash against the genre. By the late 1940s, comics were at the center of a full-fledged cultural war; claims that they corrupted youth and caused crime and juvenile delinquency, resulted in congressional hearings and laws that banned the books. Carefully placing comics in their broader social contexts and weighing seriously their critics' charges, Wright creates an intelligent study not only of comics but of shifting attitudes toward popular culture, children, violence, patriotism and America itself. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.