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POV
Comic Books And Other Necessities Of Life
Collecting a selection of "Point of View" columns (including several that have never before been published) by comic book writer, essayist, and historian Mark Evanier. Topics covered range from the state of the art form and its leading practitioners -- including Jack Kirby and Carl Barks -- to convention-going and Mark's old comic book club. His acclaimed columns are surrounded by a new cover and interior illustrations by the award-winning MAD cartoonist (and Mark's collaborator of 20 years on Groo The Wanderer) Sergio Aragones.
- GenresComicsEssaysNonfiction
200 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
42 people want to read
About the author
Mark Evanier
676 books47 followersMark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 1, 2024
I have a lot of Mark Evanier comic books stashed in the pile of boxes in my basement, but as much as I may have enjoyed, say, his run on Blackhawk or his original series Crossfire and whatever the heck it is he does on Groo, I really prefer his nonfiction, especially these essays he wrote for his regular column in The Comics Buyer's Guide back in the day. I actually bought this book when it first came out in 2002, but the columns from the late 1990s seemed too fresh in my memory, so I set it aside to age a little bit. Twenty-two years seems about right.
Evanier writes about his decades-long journey from comics fan to industry professional, from his teenage fan club meetings to interning for Jack Kirby to writing a large chunk of Western Publishing's funny animal comics for a few years. He really shines in writing profiles and, alas, obituaries for comic book artists, writers, and editors from the Golden and Silver age.
And hey, he's still chugging along today on his blog at www.newsfromme.com, which I visit every day.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: Introduction -- Comics That Didn't Really Happen -- Big Mike -- A Real Comic Book Super-Hero -- Crime Comics -- Little Shops of Wonder -- One of the Good Guys -- Every Tuesday and Thursday -- When It Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There -- A Model Criminal -- It's Not Fannish, It's Cheap! -- Our Sick Little Club -- And Here's Me with the News -- Free Neal Adams Original Art! -- Defining the Golden Age -- The Meeting Will Come to Order (Not) -- The Cruelest Thing I Ever Did -- The Power of Attorneys -- Several Super Women -- The Comics Code, Part 1 of 3 -- The Comics Code, Part 2 of 3 -- The Comics Code, Part 3 of 3 (Collect the Set!) -- Cease Fire -- Faster Than a Speeding Plothole -- Don't Believe Everything You Read (Including This Column) -- The Duck Man -- A Marginal Talent -- Super-Heroics -- We Are All Clark Kent -- How I Became Dave Stevens -- By the Numbers -- Chase Craig -- And the Winner Is -- Big John -- Roz
Evanier writes about his decades-long journey from comics fan to industry professional, from his teenage fan club meetings to interning for Jack Kirby to writing a large chunk of Western Publishing's funny animal comics for a few years. He really shines in writing profiles and, alas, obituaries for comic book artists, writers, and editors from the Golden and Silver age.
And hey, he's still chugging along today on his blog at www.newsfromme.com, which I visit every day.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: Introduction -- Comics That Didn't Really Happen -- Big Mike -- A Real Comic Book Super-Hero -- Crime Comics -- Little Shops of Wonder -- One of the Good Guys -- Every Tuesday and Thursday -- When It Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There -- A Model Criminal -- It's Not Fannish, It's Cheap! -- Our Sick Little Club -- And Here's Me with the News -- Free Neal Adams Original Art! -- Defining the Golden Age -- The Meeting Will Come to Order (Not) -- The Cruelest Thing I Ever Did -- The Power of Attorneys -- Several Super Women -- The Comics Code, Part 1 of 3 -- The Comics Code, Part 2 of 3 -- The Comics Code, Part 3 of 3 (Collect the Set!) -- Cease Fire -- Faster Than a Speeding Plothole -- Don't Believe Everything You Read (Including This Column) -- The Duck Man -- A Marginal Talent -- Super-Heroics -- We Are All Clark Kent -- How I Became Dave Stevens -- By the Numbers -- Chase Craig -- And the Winner Is -- Big John -- Roz
January 23, 2018
Very enjoyable read. Mark Evanier loves the medium and knows a whole lot about it. If you like books about comics this is great. Also with amazing art by Sergio Aragonés!
February 4, 2011
This book is a collection of columns Evanier wrote for the magazine Comic Buyer's Guide. Basically, this is a book of comics blogging before the internet made it easy.
What sets Evanier apart from your average fanboy is his work history. Evanier is a comic fan that has found himself working in every position in both the comic and animation industry. The title "apprentice to Jack Kirby" should make you stand up and pay attention. He also apparently glommed on to comic super-genius Sergio Aragones, and has rode the Groo-train to fame and success by doing... something?
At any rate, there are two tacks his columns take. The first is that he has actually met and worked with the people who have worked in the unfortunately less-than-glamorous comic industry. Evanier's warm-hearted reminiscences of the unrecognized artists of comicdom are worth the price of admission. To him, I'm the young philistine who knows nothing about people like Mike Sekowsky. But I care about comics and their history, and his recountings are priceless.
The other half of the book is his remembrances of growing up comics in an age where comics were the sole province of nerds. I caught up to comics twenty years later than Evanier (mostly due to the fact that I hadn't been born yet), but I'm old enough to be able to relate to the hidden outsider status of being a comics fan.
Today there are phenomenal creators pushing the envelope of what comics can be, and they are being recognized by the world at large. And, for better or worse, comics are currently receiving the back-handed compliment of being the basis for some of the most successful movies ever released.
But if you read this book, you will get a crash-course in why the artistry in comics was always good, silly as it has been. And Evanier personally knew those artists and has generously shared his personal remembrances of the people who made it so.
What sets Evanier apart from your average fanboy is his work history. Evanier is a comic fan that has found himself working in every position in both the comic and animation industry. The title "apprentice to Jack Kirby" should make you stand up and pay attention. He also apparently glommed on to comic super-genius Sergio Aragones, and has rode the Groo-train to fame and success by doing... something?
At any rate, there are two tacks his columns take. The first is that he has actually met and worked with the people who have worked in the unfortunately less-than-glamorous comic industry. Evanier's warm-hearted reminiscences of the unrecognized artists of comicdom are worth the price of admission. To him, I'm the young philistine who knows nothing about people like Mike Sekowsky. But I care about comics and their history, and his recountings are priceless.
The other half of the book is his remembrances of growing up comics in an age where comics were the sole province of nerds. I caught up to comics twenty years later than Evanier (mostly due to the fact that I hadn't been born yet), but I'm old enough to be able to relate to the hidden outsider status of being a comics fan.
Today there are phenomenal creators pushing the envelope of what comics can be, and they are being recognized by the world at large. And, for better or worse, comics are currently receiving the back-handed compliment of being the basis for some of the most successful movies ever released.
But if you read this book, you will get a crash-course in why the artistry in comics was always good, silly as it has been. And Evanier personally knew those artists and has generously shared his personal remembrances of the people who made it so.
August 27, 2012
An excellent book full of true life stories about youth and comic books among other things. These are the kind of essays that you can truly enjoy...then you realize that you have goose bumps as you finish the last page. The book let me meet many comic book legends that I will never get the chance to meet: John Buscema, Mike Sekowsky, Jack Kirby, Carl Barks and Archie Goodwin. I also got to visit various Los Angeles area used book stores that dealt with comics in the early 60s. And the very best was the stories are about the Los Angeles Comic Book Club in the 60s--not to be missed!
August 21, 2015
I like Mark Evanier's writing and always has. He writes entertaining columns on a wide variety of topics, with a clear and level head and while he may not always be laugh out loud funny, he's always smart and witty.
February 17, 2010
This book is good for serious comics book fans. It is not my type.
March 7, 2011
Another nonfiction book on my tally... Really good observations on the world of comic books and fandom.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews