British Comics is a unique cultural history of British comic papers and magazines, from their origins in the late nineteenth century to the present day. It shows how comics were transformed in the early twentieth century from adult amusement to imaginative reading matter for children, and relates the rise of the major comic publishers and the emergence of the mighty duopoly of Amalgamated Press and D.C.Thomson that would dominate the industry for half a century. Beginning with the first British comic 'superstar', Ally Sloper - 'A Selection, Side-splitting, Sentimental, and Serious, for the Benefit of Old Boys, Young Boys, Odd Boys generally and even Girls' - whose various misadventures reflected the emergence of a middle-class leisure economy in the late nineteenth century, British Comics goes on to describe the heyday of comics in the 1950s and '60s, when titles such as School Friend and Eagle sold a million copies a week, and analyses the major genres including schoolgirl fantasies, sport and war stories for boys. The author charts the development of a new breed of violent comics in the 1970s, including the controversial Action and 2000AD, and also considers the attempt of an American comic publisher, Marvel, to launch a new hero for the British market in the form of Captain Britain. He goes on to document the appearance in the 1980s and '90s of adult-oriented comics such as Warrior, Crisis, Deadline and Revolver and alternative comics such as Viz, and concludes by considering the work of important contemporary comic writers including Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Ian Edginton, Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis. British Comics explains what children and adults thought of their comics and why some titles prospered while others failed, and also maps the changing structure of the comic publishing industry and how comic publishers, writers and artists have responded to the tastes of their consumers. Ultimately, the book argues that British comics are a distinctive kind of publishing that is different from (and certainly not inferior to) American, French and Japanese comics. An invaluable reference for comics collectors and fans world-wide, British Comics is a fascinating and thorough history that showcases the major role that comics have played in the imaginative lives of British juveniles - and some adults.
British Comics : A Cultural History
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'an invaluable resource for even the most laissez-faire of fans.' - Seven Magazine, Sunday Telegraph 'a valuable contribution to British comics history' - Comicbitsonline
About the Author
James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. He is the author of many books, including Cinemas of the World: Film and Society from 1895 to the Present (Reaktion Books, 2004) and War and Film (Reaktion Books, 2008).
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By J Whitgift
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an interesting book, though it would be a stretch too far to describe it as a `cultural history'; rather what this book does is to take a thematic (and somewhat selective) overview of the history of British comics (and graphic novels) from the mid-Victorian era, through to the present day. What it does not do is to chart how printed cartoons have interacted with, informed or been informed by British culture during the era, other than to explore the growth of war comics in the period post-1945. This is a shame, as more could have been done to highlight how the British psyche and self-image has been reflected in graphic novels, from the Imperial to post-Imperial Britain (as reflected in comics such as `Eagle' and through characters such as `Dan Dare') or how the post-war growth in horror comics reflects the changes taking place in British culture and society as it threw off its post-Victorian/ Edwardian shackles. Another avenue left under/ unexplored is the growth in violent comics, the growth of which mirrors the disenchantment and disenfranchisement of the 1970s.
Other comics such as 2000AD and `V for Vendetta' mark the rise of the new right in Britain (exemplified by Margaret Thatcher) and the increase in the Law and Order/ Surveillance society which developed during this period. (Chapman makes the important point that Judge Dredd displays both pro-right and pro-left/libertarian leanings depending on the story arc, marking the breakdown, post-1979, of the demarcations between the old Left and Right and of the development of a new, more centrist-right political settlement.)
This is therefore a book for comic and graphic novel aficionados, rather a book for those interested in how British culture has informed (and been informed by) comics and graphic novels. Thus it receives only 3 stars: five for its writing, which is clear and lucid; but only one for its content and lack of proper analysis/ analytical method on culture
Other comics such as 2000AD and `V for Vendetta' mark the rise of the new right in Britain (exemplified by Margaret Thatcher) and the increase in the Law and Order/ Surveillance society which developed during this period. (Chapman makes the important point that Judge Dredd displays both pro-right and pro-left/libertarian leanings depending on the story arc, marking the breakdown, post-1979, of the demarcations between the old Left and Right and of the development of a new, more centrist-right political settlement.)
This is therefore a book for comic and graphic novel aficionados, rather a book for those interested in how British culture has informed (and been informed by) comics and graphic novels. Thus it receives only 3 stars: five for its writing, which is clear and lucid; but only one for its content and lack of proper analysis/ analytical method on culture
2 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By mark1000
Format:Hardcover
british comics a cultual history by james chapman this claims to be a first of its kind but is yet another adult orientated nostalgia book dealing with comics from the victorian to the present yet again sections on dan dare pilot of the future and 2000AD and viz less on the funnies beano and danny just passed over and long section on little read brief issues of alternative comics and graphic novels one for the collector
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
