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American Comic Book Chronicles, The 1980's 1980-1989
The American Comic Book Chronicles continues its ambitious series of FULL-COLOR HARDCOVERS, where TwoMorrows' top authors document every decade of comic book history from the 1940s to today! Keith Dallas headlines this volume on the 1980s, covering all the pivotal moments and behind-the-scenes details of comics during the Reagan years! You'll get a year-by-year account of the most significant publications, notable creators, and impactful trends, including: The rise and fall of Jim Shooter at Marvel Comics! The ascendancy of Frank Miller as a comic book superstar with works like Daredevil, Ronin and The Dark Knight! DC Comics' reboot with Crisis on Infinite Earths and its Renaissance with a British invasion of talent like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Neil Gaiman! The emergence of Direct Market-exclusive publishers like Eclipse Comics, Pacific Comics, First Comics, Comico, Dark Horse Comics and others! These are just a few of the events chronicled in this exhaustive, full-color hardcover.Taken together, American Comic Book Chronicles forms a cohesive, linear overview of the entire landscape of comics history, sure to be an invaluable resource for ANY comic book enthusiast!
- GenresComicsHistoryNonfiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published March 12, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 24, 2022
The American Comic Book Chronicles continues its ambitious series of documenting comic book and graphic novel history decade by decade!
The 1980s chapter, led by Keith Dallas covers the rise and fall of Jim Shooter at Marvel; the coming of Frank Miller as a comic book creator who has out together some of the most important works ever from his complete and unstoppable remaking of Daredevil to the genius of the Dark Knight! The 1980s also encompassed the first wholesale comic book universe reboot, which was done by DC with the now seminal Crisis on Infinite Earths; there was also a UK invasions from top talent Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis etc. This series really gets into the nitty gritty of the comic book world from inside the pages to the machinations happening in the businesses themselves! 8 out of 12.
2014 read
The 1980s chapter, led by Keith Dallas covers the rise and fall of Jim Shooter at Marvel; the coming of Frank Miller as a comic book creator who has out together some of the most important works ever from his complete and unstoppable remaking of Daredevil to the genius of the Dark Knight! The 1980s also encompassed the first wholesale comic book universe reboot, which was done by DC with the now seminal Crisis on Infinite Earths; there was also a UK invasions from top talent Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis etc. This series really gets into the nitty gritty of the comic book world from inside the pages to the machinations happening in the businesses themselves! 8 out of 12.
2014 read
April 8, 2024
This is but one volume in a series “chronicling” the history of American comic books in the 20th century. Each chapter covers a specific year, and here, we naturally begin in 1980 and end in 1989. When one finishes, one can buy other volumes, choosing to go forward to the 1990s or back to the 1970s and earlier.
I’m a child of the 1980s, so I unsurprisingly read this volume first. Nostalgia can be a strong force, after all, and TwoMorrows, publisher of AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES, knows this well. TwoMorrows’ entire output consists of magazines, books and other material devoted to comics history and old time comics creators, and much of its audience consists of aging comics fans such as myself.
That said, AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1980s offers more than nostalgia. It’s well sourced, for one thing, with endnotes and a large bibliography. Sources include contemporary coverage - from mainstream media, the fan press and serious comics publications such as THE COMICS JOURNAL and THE COMIC BUYERS GUIDE, comics creator memoirs and interviews (some of which were conducted specifically for this book) and various comics history publications (some of which are TwoMorrows’ products). The authors (Keith Dallas is credited as editor and main author, with “contributing writers” penning some individual titles), certainly did their homework.
AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1980s is also a slickly packaged book. It sports a hardcover, with glossy pages and plenty of illustrations. Many of these illustrations originate with 1980s comics and contemporary promotional material. For those wondering, the price tag is $48.95, although I’d argue that you get quite a bit for that money.
Each chapter covers in turn (and not necessarily in this order, as that varies) Marvel, DC and independent comics companies. The authors examine significant publications and creators while also touching on internal company affairs, such as policy, personnel and ownership changes, and occasional personality clashes. Industry trends are examined, and these include, among others, censorship debates and legal cases, the growth of the direct market, the increasingly older age of the readership, the so-called “black and white comics glut,” the growing popularity of “grim and gritty” content, the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the imitations that it spawned, and the “Batmania” sparked by a certain 1989 film.
For each year, there is a “timeline” of the year’s “significant comics, pop culture and history events.” I enjoyed these timelines, as they provided more context and I could take in their information at a glance. In fact, the whole book is useful as a reference source, and I suspect that I’ll be consulting it now and then, even though I’ve now read it.
I won’t lie, though: As much as I appreciated the volume’s contributions to comics scholarship, nostalgia was still a big draw for me. The descriptions of old comics series - including a few that are seldom mentioned anymore - certainly did get me feeling a little wistful. As noted, the book is chock full of visual matter, and contemporary images are a strong tool for spurring memories.
Obviously, I enjoyed this book a great deal and am glad that I own it. If I have a complaint, it’s that I would have liked a little more coverage of 1980s independent comics. Mind you, the book does cover quite a few “indy” companies and series, and for a few years, there’s as much - or almost as much - space devoted to indies as to either Marvel or DC. For other years, however, the indies receive only a few pages or less. I understand that some years will be more impactful than others, and I also understand that Marvel and DC books had a much larger readership and for that reason alone were arguably more influential. I also understand that most readers will be more interested in the Marvel and DC content. I still can’t help but wish for more indy coverage, nonetheless.
That minor quibble aside, I enthusiastically recommend AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1980s to comics fans, collectors and historians. As for me, I already own the 1990s volume, and it’ll be coming up shortly in my “to be read” stack. There’s an excellent chance that I’ll pursue other volumes, as well, even if most will not evoke the same feelings of nostalgia.
I’m a child of the 1980s, so I unsurprisingly read this volume first. Nostalgia can be a strong force, after all, and TwoMorrows, publisher of AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES, knows this well. TwoMorrows’ entire output consists of magazines, books and other material devoted to comics history and old time comics creators, and much of its audience consists of aging comics fans such as myself.
That said, AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1980s offers more than nostalgia. It’s well sourced, for one thing, with endnotes and a large bibliography. Sources include contemporary coverage - from mainstream media, the fan press and serious comics publications such as THE COMICS JOURNAL and THE COMIC BUYERS GUIDE, comics creator memoirs and interviews (some of which were conducted specifically for this book) and various comics history publications (some of which are TwoMorrows’ products). The authors (Keith Dallas is credited as editor and main author, with “contributing writers” penning some individual titles), certainly did their homework.
AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1980s is also a slickly packaged book. It sports a hardcover, with glossy pages and plenty of illustrations. Many of these illustrations originate with 1980s comics and contemporary promotional material. For those wondering, the price tag is $48.95, although I’d argue that you get quite a bit for that money.
Each chapter covers in turn (and not necessarily in this order, as that varies) Marvel, DC and independent comics companies. The authors examine significant publications and creators while also touching on internal company affairs, such as policy, personnel and ownership changes, and occasional personality clashes. Industry trends are examined, and these include, among others, censorship debates and legal cases, the growth of the direct market, the increasingly older age of the readership, the so-called “black and white comics glut,” the growing popularity of “grim and gritty” content, the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the imitations that it spawned, and the “Batmania” sparked by a certain 1989 film.
For each year, there is a “timeline” of the year’s “significant comics, pop culture and history events.” I enjoyed these timelines, as they provided more context and I could take in their information at a glance. In fact, the whole book is useful as a reference source, and I suspect that I’ll be consulting it now and then, even though I’ve now read it.
I won’t lie, though: As much as I appreciated the volume’s contributions to comics scholarship, nostalgia was still a big draw for me. The descriptions of old comics series - including a few that are seldom mentioned anymore - certainly did get me feeling a little wistful. As noted, the book is chock full of visual matter, and contemporary images are a strong tool for spurring memories.
Obviously, I enjoyed this book a great deal and am glad that I own it. If I have a complaint, it’s that I would have liked a little more coverage of 1980s independent comics. Mind you, the book does cover quite a few “indy” companies and series, and for a few years, there’s as much - or almost as much - space devoted to indies as to either Marvel or DC. For other years, however, the indies receive only a few pages or less. I understand that some years will be more impactful than others, and I also understand that Marvel and DC books had a much larger readership and for that reason alone were arguably more influential. I also understand that most readers will be more interested in the Marvel and DC content. I still can’t help but wish for more indy coverage, nonetheless.
That minor quibble aside, I enthusiastically recommend AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: THE 1980s to comics fans, collectors and historians. As for me, I already own the 1990s volume, and it’ll be coming up shortly in my “to be read” stack. There’s an excellent chance that I’ll pursue other volumes, as well, even if most will not evoke the same feelings of nostalgia.
March 7, 2022
Ah... the 1980s.... This book does a great job of covering the decade that defined me. It reminded me of so many events that I have almost forgotten, and a few that I wished that I could forget!
The layout of each chapter is great and the overall look & design of this book (and the rest in the series) are top notch. It looks great on my bookcase.
Content wise, it could have had a lot more added to it. Some areas were glossed over. Some events were left out. I think that this should have been a two part book (actually, I think that the entire series should've been two-parters )
But it did motivate me to go and pull out a couple short boxes and reread some classic stories... CAMELOT 3000, anybody?
The layout of each chapter is great and the overall look & design of this book (and the rest in the series) are top notch. It looks great on my bookcase.
Content wise, it could have had a lot more added to it. Some areas were glossed over. Some events were left out. I think that this should have been a two part book (actually, I think that the entire series should've been two-parters )
But it did motivate me to go and pull out a couple short boxes and reread some classic stories... CAMELOT 3000, anybody?
November 16, 2019
Very good analysis of the decade!
Every major player and character gets it’s due.
The tension between DC and Marvel are well explored and exposed.
The rise and fall of many independents are outlined in detail.
And also, the whole change in the retail of comics and its distribution are brought to light.
Very, very good!
Every major player and character gets it’s due.
The tension between DC and Marvel are well explored and exposed.
The rise and fall of many independents are outlined in detail.
And also, the whole change in the retail of comics and its distribution are brought to light.
Very, very good!
March 29, 2024
A solid history of a fascinating time in comics history, although it's weighted a little too heavily towards Marvel and DC's antics -- I would like to have seen more exhaustive coverage of what the independent publishers were doing.
July 27, 2024
Fantastic overview of 1980's comic book industry.
This book covers not just Marvel and DC but the explosion of Independent publishers that debuted when the direct market became the defining force in the industry. Not only does this cover the main events you would expect, such as Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, but also the behind the scenes drama that unfolded when creative people don't always get along.
I am familiar with TwoMorrows Publishing through the monthly Alter Ego and Back Issue publications. This is on par with both of those: easy to read, tons of covers and illustrations, and designed so you get a nice overview of every publisher on a year by year basis.
Can't wait to find more volumes online covering the 70s and 90s.
Highest possible recommendation!
This book covers not just Marvel and DC but the explosion of Independent publishers that debuted when the direct market became the defining force in the industry. Not only does this cover the main events you would expect, such as Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, but also the behind the scenes drama that unfolded when creative people don't always get along.
I am familiar with TwoMorrows Publishing through the monthly Alter Ego and Back Issue publications. This is on par with both of those: easy to read, tons of covers and illustrations, and designed so you get a nice overview of every publisher on a year by year basis.
Can't wait to find more volumes online covering the 70s and 90s.
Highest possible recommendation!
January 2, 2023
I really enjoyed this book but I need a volume two to tell what's missing in such an iconic era in comic book history. I'm glad that we can also unveiled the story of other publishers besides the two main powerhouses. Can't wait to read the other volumes. Now I need one about Marvel and one about Dc.
December 26, 2015
An in-depth exploration of the comic book industry during the decade of excess. This book is a wealth of information on an industry that changed so dramatically. The book explores each year chronologically and covers all the major events, including: the maturation of the direct market; the birth of the crossover; the rise of independents; the power of movie and promotional tie-ins; comic books as art; important (social) changes to the Comic Code; comic book writers and artists as celebrities.
The level of detail is intense, and the author does his best to remain objective. As a result, the narrative definitely takes a backseat to the facts; sometimes it feels like you're reading an encyclopedia. It's still worth the time investment if you're a fan. Don't be surprised if you go looking for the other volumes when you're finished (I did).
The level of detail is intense, and the author does his best to remain objective. As a result, the narrative definitely takes a backseat to the facts; sometimes it feels like you're reading an encyclopedia. It's still worth the time investment if you're a fan. Don't be surprised if you go looking for the other volumes when you're finished (I did).
July 25, 2013
A most vibrant decade is given at best a cursory glance without bringing the players and events to life. This is far closer to a first draft than a complete history of the era with far too many moments, people, and events missing to be truly comprehensive. There's a lot of dot connecting missing and contributions of creators absent. Maybe this needed two volumes to give Keith and company the breathing space the explosive decade demands.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews