Great British Comics [Paperback]

Most general books about comics tend to specialize or be skewed towards a certain genre, audience or era - think 'superheroes', 'alternative', '1960s'. It's a rare beast that eschews such temptations and goes all out for the historical sweep, without seeming superficial or conversely dragged down by the weight of facts and figures. Fortunately, comics historian Paul Gravett wears his extensive learning lightly and weaves an extremely readable overview of a dense field, aided by inviting layouts from the talented Peter Stanbury.

So who should buy this book? Just about anyone with an interest in British comics will get something out of it: the melange of visuals from a century and a half of comic strips will draw in the casual browser, while its authoritative blend of comics culture and history will appeal to the comics' cognoscenti.

Put simply, this is the best primer on British comics I've ever read. Put it on your shopping list now.

I have a few books on comics in general, and 'Great British Comics' beats all of them hands down. It is wonderfully written - not scholarly, not dumb, but perfectly readable, intelligent and also very positive about its subject matter, showing no snobbery or bias towards any one particular area. And talking of that, the diversity of genres and styles is quite astounding - British comics are incredibly rich in history and it is fascinating to see the quality of early strips and their development through the years. But they also have a rich future from the look of things, and Paul Gravett is enthusiastically upbeat about a medium that many thought lost along with their distant childhood... "Oh yeah, I remember comics! Do they still make them?". There is a current scene and it's alive and kicking, and there are plenty of examples here. Graphically the book is excellent - there's plenty to look at, and it's not just a gallery of impressive covers as is quite often the case with books of this nature, but actual strip pages - the storytelling itself, which is what comics are. Overall the book is an inspiration.

I know personally Paul Gravett, the joint author - and indubitably the leading spirit - of this book, and his personality is a great part of the much that is right and the somewhat that is wrong, or at least problematic, about it. Paul Gravett is quite probably the nicest person on Earth. It is possible to imagine that there may have been, somewhere, some time, one person whom he did not like; yes, possible, but very hard. He could get along with Timon of Athens. He is himself charming and a complete enthusiast about his subject, never tiring of exploring obscure historical byways and discovering forgotten comics and creators. And this book very much reflects his character. One has the impression that no comic book or strip ever published in the three kingdoms has escaped being placed somewhere in these pages, with an appreciative notice and some particularly well-chosen panels. But that is also the problem. Paul loves EVERYTHING; and when everything is brilliant, then nothing is outstanding. Now, to begin with, not every comic objectively deserves the enthusiasm Paul bestows on it. Our impression on leaving the book is that of a blazing, multi-coloured carnival and riot of invention and white-hot fun; and only personal acquaintance could tell us just how commonplace a great deal of these strips really were. Conversely, it also tends not to give honour where honour is due: when BRISTOW or AUGUSTA or ANDY CAPP or PERISHERS don't get any more space than any other newspaper strip, how are we to know that in their case, and specifically in their case, we are dealing with avatars of the national English genius for humour? With deserving equals of the Goons and of the Pythons, of Terry Pratchett, of JK Jerome and PG Wodehouse and Charlie Chaplin? Is it fair, is it even sensible, to give little more space to MODESTY BLAISE, the most successful and one of the most brilliant British comics of all time, as to, say, the comics adaptation of JAMES BOND? Let alone place her, completely out of position, among the girl characters, instead than in its proper hard-boiled context? And what about Alan Moore? The Greatest Living Englishman, as Neil Gaiman calls him with only moderate exaggeration, one of the greatest comics writers of all time, the most outstanding creative force in comics after Jack Kirby, an influence that has spread all over the world - he should have his own chapter, if nothing else because of the enormous amount of brilliant work he has produced. In fact he gets no more attention than anyone else.
Perhaps the saddest failure, however, is the failure to bring out the neglected brilliance of several old strips. After all, Alan Moore and MODESTY BLAISE hardly need this book's promotion, and neither do ANDY CAPP or EAGLE magazine. But how is anyone to know that BUCK RYAN, of which we only see a single daily strip, was as good an adventure/detective strip as anything by Milton Caniff or Frank Robbins? Who will explain to the public that Dennis Collins of PERISHERS was one of the finest artists the artform has ever seen? And sadder still, if possible: there is a strip called JANE, which is remembered, if at all, as a particularly dumb piece of wartime nostalgia. In fact, the wartime JANE was a very mediocre and forgettable strip, with gimmicky humour always leading up to the protagonist losing her clothes, and uninspired drawing; but someone really ought to stand up and show comics fans, and the rest of the public, that, in the fifties, a man called Mike Hubbard took over JANE and made it an extraordinary achievement, with a light touch in the humour/adventure writing, and some of the most wonderful artwork I have ever seen. This is the work of a master, utterly forgotten in his own home country, while JANE's poor wartime pratfall live for ever in the dubious medium of WWII nostalgia.
Having said all that, this is still a worthwhile book. Its learning is fabulous, its enthusiasm for its subject is commendable, and the warmth of its guiding spirit can be felt in page after page. As an introduction to the field of British comics, it is well worth having.