The Best Of Comix Book

In 1974, legendary Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee approached underground pioneer Denis Kitchen and offered a way for them to collaborate. Their resulting series was called Comix Book and featured work by many of the top underground cartoonists including Joel Beck, Kim Deitch, Justin Green, Harvey Pekar, Trina Robbins, Art Spiegelman (first national appearance of Maus), Skip Williamson, and S. Clay Wilson. The Best of Comix Book showcases 150-pages of classic underground comix (printed on newsprint, as they originally appeared), many never before reprinted.

In 1974, Marvel publisher Stan Lee and underground pioneer Denis Kitchen collaborated on a series: Comix Book. Featuring underground comix by Joel Beck, Kim Deitch, Justin Green, Trina Robbins, Art Spiegelman (first national appearance of Maus), Skip Williamson, and S. Clay Wilson, this best-of collects them all! Introduction by Stan Lee. * Hardcover collection reprinting the best of the 1970s series Comix Book! * Introduction by the legendary Stan Lee and foreword by underground pioneer Denis Kitchen!

Comix – A History of Comic Books in America (1988) : Covers the whole history of comic books in America to 1970–the major creations, the major creators, the major comic book lines, the major comic book enemies. Co-authors Les Daniels and The Mad Peck tell the story of how comic books captured the imagination of millions and became an American institution, and whether or not they deserved to. Adjoining the text, providing an illustrated history of their own, is a large selection of complete comic book stories. No selected snippets. Full stories. “It seems safe to say,” the authors write, “that no book to date has contained such a wide range of comic book tales Where else can one find in the same volume such divergent personalities as the Old Witch and Donald Duck, or Captain America and Those Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers?

"Underground Classics" provides the first serious survey of underground comix as art, turning the spotlight on influential and largely under-appreciated artists, including Gilbert Shelton, Kim Deitch, and Trina Robbins. Illustrations throughout.

In a hilarious look at real life on the comedy circuit, some of America's most famous comics share their own stories of life on the road, gigs gone wrong, and unexpected, zany moments, with contributions by Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, Jeff Foxworthy, and others.

Funnybooks is the story of the most popular American comic books of the 1940s and 1950s, those published under the Dell label. For a time, “Dell Comics Are Good Comics” was more than a slogan—it was a simple statement of fact. Many of the stories written and drawn by people like Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge), John Stanley (Little Lulu), and Walt Kelly (Pogo) repay reading and rereading by educated adults even today, decades after they were published as disposable entertainment for children. Such triumphs were improbable, to say the least, because midcentury comics were so widely dismissed as trash by angry parents, indignant librarians, and even many of the people who published them. It was all but miraculous that a few great cartoonists were able to look past that nearly universal scorn and grasp the artistic potential of their medium. With clarity and enthusiasm, Barrier explains what made the best stories in the Dell comic books so special. He deftly turns a complex and detailed history into an expressive narrative sure to appeal to an audience beyond scholars and historians.

Ranging from the relatable to the utterly nonsensical and bizarre, The Book of Onions focuses on themes of loneliness, desperation, and failure. And misplaced optimism. And perverted talking fruit. Sort of like Gary Larson’s “The Far Side,” if Gary were way less accomplished and suffered from depression.

While mainstream comics have graced newsstands since the 1930s, there has long been an underground comics scene brewing deep beneath the surface. Underground comic books (which took the name “comix,” using the “x” to signify their adult nature) erupted in the 1960s as a reaction to ultraconservative and patriotic comics produced by the large corporations that featured characters like Captain America and Superman. Bored with moralistic tales, artists such as Robert Crumb, creator of Zap Comix and Fritz the Cat; and Gilbert Shelton, creator of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, produced a new and revolutionary style, freely attacking politicians, the war in Vietnam, and corporate America. Comix is an homage to both the motivation and the talent of the artists working then and now in the genre. Beautifully illustrated throughout with original artworks from the likes of R. Crumb, Denis Kitchen, and Gilbert Shelton, the book graphically expresses a range of attitudes on topics ranging from sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll to politics, big business, and women’s liberation. This is the first book to explore the artwork and countercultural legacy of comix, key events in the history of this medium, and biographies of its most influential artists and writers.