The spirit comic book heroes jules feiffer

He knew at once that he wanted to be a comic book artist. Jules feiffer had raved about the spirit in the great comic book heroes and the sample he printed was cool, but when i saw the iw book i thought, this is what he was so crazy about. The great comic book heroes by jules feiffer goodreads. An introductory page with just the book title on it, used to separate the introduction from the reprints. Fantagraphics is proud to publish jules feiffer s long outofprint and seminal. Feiffers long career began with an apprenticeship to will eisner in the late 40s.

Oct 18, 2012 i first encountered will or bill, as the old comics guys called him eisners spirit comics when i got a copy of jules feiffers the great comic book heroes. The great comic book heroes is available from publisher fantagraphics books and from in either the slim essayonly or original hardcover formats, the latter with copious golden age reprints. Jules feiffer looks at some of the great heroes of the. His books include munro, tantrum, passionella, and sick, sick, sick, plus the groundbreaking comics history book, the great comic book heroes. In 1965, feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of the late 1930s and early 1940s, including. The great comic book of heroes by jules feiffer librarything. When i was an impressionable kid, i would spend hours pouring over the books at my local library. Feiffer ends his fabulous 1965 essay on comic book history with an argument that comics are junk, but that junk is good, even necessary. The great comic book heroes1965 jules feiffer hardcover book w dust jacket hi, im karen. The great comic book heroes by jules feiffer alibris.

Founded in 1997, has become a leading book price comparison site. Will eisners legendary newspaper comic creation was denny colt, a police detective that took on the identity of the masked vigilante, the spirit, upon seemingly being resurrected after his death. Between 1945 and 1950, i read quite a few comic books to our thenunlettered son. Jules feiffers historic essay, available again in a compact and affordable size. He spent his younger years idolizing comic book heroes and decided he wanted to illustrate for them. I dont recall how i learned of the great comic book heroes by jules feiffer. Jules feiffer began his career as an assistant to will eisner on the spirit newspaper section and went on to be a syndicated cartoonist, a playwright, and bestselling author.

Kingcati almost didnt connect with the spirit because the first spirit comic i read was an iw reprint of very mainstream noneisner stories. Includes 128 pages of accurate color reproductions of the most famous heroes of all. Jan 17, 2004 and there was also jules feiffer s landmark book, the great comic book heroes, which was originally published in 1965, and was returned to print by fantagraphics in 2002. He first appeared june 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16page, tabloidsized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the sunday edition of register and tribune syndicate newspapers. He wrote the animated short munro, which won an academy award for best animated short film in 1961. Fantagraphics is proud to publish jules feiffer s long outofprint and seminal essay of comics criticism, the great comic book heroes, in a compact and affordable size. Buy a cheap copy of the great comic book heroes by jules feiffer. Most of them, as i remember, were the rhymed adventures of bugpeople in a place called bugville. Feiffer may not be as well known as juster, but his contributions to american arts and letters are nearly as significant. Feiffer furthermore published the influential book the great comic book heroes 1965, one of the first essays on superhero comics. Written in 1964 the book traces the early days of comic strips and is well illustrated with the first issues of prominent superheroes. I first encountered will or bill, as the old comics guys called him eisners spirit comics when i got a copy of jules feiffers the great comic book heroes. In the book, feiffer writes about the unique place of comics in the space between high and low art and the power that this space offers both the.

He first appeared june 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16page, tabloidsized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the sunday edition of. Analyzes origins and developments of the peculiarly indigenous art form. The great comic book heroes jules feiffer offers a critical history of comic books. As feiffer would recall in the great comic book heroes.

However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Comic book artist, eisner award winner for best comicsrelated magazine, celebrates the lives and works of great cartoonists, writers and editors from all eras through indepth interviews, feature articles, and unpublished art. It was the great comic book heroes edited by jules feiffer. The illustrations are nicely reproduced, with several complete stories some origin stories, but for the most part the selections are unremarkable. A celebrated comic story, munro, 1959, about a fouryearold drafted into the army, was adapted into an academyawardwinning short. He designed his own strips, drew the characters and wrote the dialogue. Apr, 2003 jules feiffer s the great comic book heroes is a loving appreciation of the golden age of hero comics. Busy arnold, publisher of the quality comics comicbook line, began exploring an expansion into newspaper. Compiled, introduced and annotated by jules feiffer.

In this expanded intro and afterword to jules feiffers the great comic book heroes, he explains how the art and business of comic books has. The spirit is a 2008 american neonoir superhero film written and directed by frank miller and starring gabriel macht, eva mendes, sarah paulson, dan lauria, paz vega, scarlett johansson, and samuel l. In 1965, feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of the late 1930s and early 1940s, including plastic man, batman, superman, the spirit and others. Fantagraphics is proud to publish jules feiffers long outofprint and seminal. When jules feiffer, author of the great comic book heroes, was 8 or 9 years old in the late 1930s, comic books were in their infancy. The great comic book heroes, by jules feiffer fonts in use. In 1965, feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of the late 30s and early 40s, including plastic man, batman, superman, the spirit, and others. He labels comics junk only to vigorously defend our need for them. May 25, 20 when i was an impressionable kid, i would spend hours pouring over the books at my local library. Jules feiffers the great comic book heroes is a loving appreciation of the golden age of hero comics.

I swiped ideas diligently from the swipers, drew sixtyfour pages in two days, sometimes one day, stapled the product together, and took it out on the street where kids my age sat behind orange crates selling and trading comic books. He won the pulitzer prize in 1986 as americas leading editorial cartoonist, and in 2004 he was inducted into the comic book hall of fame. The book was designed by paul bacon, who passed away in. Cartoonist jules feiffer born january 26, 1929 put together this homage to the comic books of his youth in 1965. The great book heroes annotated and compiled by jules feiffer is a collectors delight. The great comic book heroes, the origins and early.

In 1965, jules feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of. Sep 21, 2010 the great book heroes annotated and compiled by jules feiffer is a collectors delight. Jules ralph feiffer born january 26, 1929 is an american cartoonist and author, who was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. In 2011, ign ranked the spirit 21st in the top 100 comic book heroes of all time. In the book, feiffer writes about the unique the place of comics in the space between high and low art and the power which this space offers both the. There was only one great comic book in the 40s and 50s, the days when comic books were in their first muscular prime. In 1965, bonanza books released the great comic book heroes, a 192page book of reprinted 1940s comic book stories compiled, introduced and annotated by jules feiffer. A hardcover book he wrote in 1966 the great comic book heroes, is the first tome on comic book history, combining feiffers reminisces of the golden age of comics with reprints of pivotal stories from the 1930s and 40s. This copy of the great comic book heroes is the 1965 big hardcover book by jules feiffer, published by the dial press. That led to my acquiring, with a hardearned seven bucks, for feiffers book of. He illustrated norton justers beloved childrens book the phantom tollbooth 1961. The flash green lantern the spectre hawkman wonder woman sub mariner captain america plastic man the spirit afterword.

Jul 26, 2012 i dont recall how i learned of the great comic book heroes by jules feiffer. In 1965, feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of the late 30s and early 40s, including plastic man, batman, superman, the. Great comic book heroes 1965 hc w dj by jules feiffer. Feiffer, however, made his strongest impact as an editorial cartoonist. Busy arnold, publisher of the quality comics comic book line, began exploring an expansion into newspaper. The spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter created by cartoonist will eisner. He wrote the animated short munro, which won an academy. Alone among comic book men, eisner was a cartoonist other cartoonists swiped from.

The film is based on the newspaper comic strip the spirit, by will eisner, and produced by oddlot and lionsgate films. He started his career cowriting episodes of will eisners the spirit 19401952 and creating his own gag comic clifford 19491951 as an extra. The great comic book heroes by jules feiffer, paperback. Out of print for over 30 years, the great comic book heroes is widely acknowledged to be the first book. The book is slender and offers little text by feiffer, but reprints in color early stories of the original superheroes. It was about comic characters from the golden age of comics approximately 19391946 your mileage may vary. This stunning book, which i got for christmas in 1966, was a chance for a 1960s kid to see for the first time what comic books had been like in the 1940s.

Taken on their own terms, comics deliver exactly w. Fantagraphics is proud to publish jules feiffer s long outofprint and seminal essay of comics criticism, the great comic book heroes, in a compact and affordable size in 1965, feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of the late 1930s and early 1940s, including plastic man, batman, superman, the spirit and othe. In the book, feiffer writes about the unique place of comics in the space between high and low art and the power that this space offers both the creator and the reader. Jules feiffer s historic essay, available again in a compact and affordable size. Affable and friendly, feiffer has a wiseguy attitude about him, leveled off with a genuine modesty and friendliness. He created a satirical volume, munro, about a little boy accidentally drafted and stuck in a military that could not get paperwork straightened out. Great comic book heroes great comic book heroes by feiffer, jules. This homage by feiffer to the great comic book heroes has become almost legendary since its first appearance in 1965, but it is mainly feiffers essays on the comic books that distinguishes it. The great comic book heroes, the origins and early adventures of the classic superheoes of the comic books. Its an enjoyable and nostalgic, if brief, ride, and worthwhile if the price is right.

Jules ralph feiffer born january 26, 1929 1 2 is an american cartoonist and author, who was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. Feiffer, who later wrote a great little book of memoirs called the comic book super heroes, went on to serve in the army during the korean war. Along the way they discuss tantrum a novelinpictures, not a graphic novel the impetus behind the classic the great comic book heroes, his experiences writing for film and the theater, and his relationship with will eisner and his time on the spirit. Spirit 1974 warren magazinekitchen sink comic books. Jules feiffer is widely regarded as one of the most famous and influential u. Fantagraphics is proud to publish jules feiffers long. Fantagraphics is proud to publish jules feiffers long outofprint and seminal essay of comics criticism, the great comic book heroes, in a compact and affordable size. The great comic book heroes, the origins and early adventures of the classic superheoes of the comic books, in glorious color jules feiffer on.