Comic Book Century: The History of American Comic Books

by Stephen Krensky

Provides a history of comic books in America during the twentieth century, showing how it has influenced and been influenced by American culture. Includes an epilogue about comics in the early twenty-first century.

Genres: Nonfiction, Comics, History, Graphic Novels

112 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good basic book about comics history.

[Tamika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Stephen Krensky, a well known author of children's books, Comic Book Century details the history of the comic book in the United States. This 100 page non fiction book manages to effectively captures the the history of famous comic books such as Superman, Wonder Woman, The Archies and X Men from their beginnings in the 1930's to their continued prevalence in modern day popular culture. Original ideas for comic book characters and story lines were derived from everyday events chronicled in newspapers. The development of these characters and story lines was influenced by the Great Depression, World War II and the counterculture movements. Characters of different ethnicities, sexual orientations and social statues are featured in comic books today, creating an even broader audience. As someone who is a comic book fan I enjoyed reading this book. I liked how the author incorporated historical facts and events while still keeping the reading interested through illustrations and photographs.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looked interesting. I took it out. It seems to be aimed for fourth graders. (They had to explain in parentheses what hippies, feminists and the Vietnam War were, among other things.) Learned a bit. Probably learning more in the SmithsonianX MOOC on this topic that I drift to occasionally.

[Brian Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this book is geared towards younger readers, I thought it did a good job of providing a quick synopsis of the history of comics.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was a good read if you want to know about comic book history.