Men of Tomorrow
and over one 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? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"The fascinating and heartbreaking true story of the goniffs, shmendricks and shlemiels who gave birth to the superhero comics - written with all the verve and velocity of a golden age comic book." Art Spiegelman "This history of the birth of superhero comics highlights three pivotal figures. The story begins early in the last century, on the Lower East Side, where Harry Donenfeld rises from the streets to become the king of the 'smooshes' - soft-core magazines with titles like French Humour and Hot Tales. Later, two high school friends in Cleveland, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel become avid fans of 'scientification', the new kind of literature promoted by their favourite pulp magazines. The disparate worlds of the wise guy and the geeks collide in 1938, and the result is Action Comics No. 1, the debut of Superman. For Donenfeld, the comics were a way to sidestep the censors. For Shuster and Siegel, they were both a calling and an eventual source of misery: the pair waged a lifelong campaign for credit and appropriate compensation. The New Yorker"
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
Before The Incredibles, there were Batman and Superman, Spiderman and Captain America... Gerard Jones' book tells the story of the birth of the superheroes
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
An absolutely fascinating book covering the characters behind the birth of comic books in New York from the 20-30s onwards. It concentrates on Siegel and Schuster (the creators of Superman) before moving on to Batman and the horror comics of the 50s. It is very well researched and written by a writer who is obviously an expert in this field.
I read it in (nearly) one sitting. I would have given it five stars but it could have done with more illustrations.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I thought I knew a lot about American comics - who wrote them originally, who drew them, who edited them (even who INKED them). But after reading MEN OF TOMORROW, I realised how limited my knowledge was.
Gerard Jones' book is an absorbing and wonderfully informative read, charting the the biggest 'origin story' ever. These are the times and the places where mystery men, costumed heroes and super-powered crime fighters were born, creating fortunes for a few publishers at the top and (eventually) misery for a lot of the creators at the bottom.
Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale!
If you're a fan, you must read this. It rewards in spades.
Gerard Jones' book is an absorbing and wonderfully informative read, charting the the biggest 'origin story' ever. These are the times and the places where mystery men, costumed heroes and super-powered crime fighters were born, creating fortunes for a few publishers at the top and (eventually) misery for a lot of the creators at the bottom.
Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale!
If you're a fan, you must read this. It rewards in spades.
Format:Paperback
Ever wondered how Superman came into existence? Ever wondered how his originators got shafted and caught up in the politics of the day and never received all their full royalties for all the radio shows, movies, merchandising and other spin-offs that Superman delivered to DC Comics? Read this book - it is all revealed, together with information about how all the major superheroes had their origins - cooked up in the middle of the night, slaved over and presented to the publishers with almost impossible deadlines met - low pay - no copyright protection - a tale of American capitalism and greed, but more than that, a beautiful story about how good ideas, idealism and good characters will survive despite all the obstacles. I loved this book - 10/10 to the author.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
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.
|
