11 biographies of comic book creators

Although he can’t remember well today, Lev Gleason was a comic book giant of the Golden Age. He even invented a whole new genre of comics: the detective comic. Ironically, the police comics helped hasten the demise of his own business (although his blatant Communist sympathies didn’t help in the ultra-paranoid 1950s). Gleason’s great-nephew, Brett Dakin, paints a compelling portrait of an influential and fearless publisher.

If you’ve ever seen a Batman cartoon, a movie, whatever, you’ve seen “created by Bob Kane” marked somewhere in the credits. But was he yet? Nobleman and Templeton argue (and it’s now generally accepted among fans) that the answer is a harsh “ish”. This short, illustrated biography tells the story of Bill Finger, who never received the credit he deserved for bringing one of comics’ most iconic characters to life.

If you want Kane’s version of events, you can check out his 1989 autobiography, Batman and me. Given the appearance of his tombstone, however, I would prepare for some terminal self-aggrandizement.

Now available for pre-order, Cartoon women is a necessary counterweight to the male-centric biographies that dominate this list. Brunet and Davis take a fresh look at the early days of comics, focusing on the women who helped grow the industry – and who were later erased from the history books.

Fox was a most unlikely candidate for an influential comic book creator. A lawyer hit hard by the Great Depression, he ended up writing comics for a side income. Along the way, he happened to help invent or reinvent icons like Flash, Hawkman, and Batgirl. He even, as I pointed out earlier, invented the very concept of a superhero multiverse.

Like I said in the intro, comics have long been dominated by white voices. However, it was not always so seamless. In the early days, when comic book creation was nowhere near as respectable as it is today, color designers, including black men, were more common. Kevin Quattro’s Eisner Award book pays homage to these men, both as individuals and as contributors to an industry that seems eager to forget about them.

Once upon a time, “comic book” did not refer to the comic strip books but to the comic bands. Jackie Ormes was the only black designer of her time. A talented and influential artist, Ormes nonetheless clashed with the FBI: unsurprisingly, in the mid-1950s, his leftist politics were unpopular with the US government.

In comic book history, there is only one man with the talent, versatility, vision, and impact to call himself “King”, and that man is Jack Kirby. Kirby’s friend and collaborator Mark Evanier tells the story of his life and how his seemingly endless creative energy allowed him to help create the Marvel Universe. The book also includes plenty of original Kirby artwork to drool over.

Colorists usually don’t get as much attention as these glitzy artists and writers. (They weren’t even regularly credited until the ’60s!) Of all the colorists, Marie Severin, who has spent decades working on some of Marvel’s biggest titles, is perhaps the most famous – and rightly so. title ! Cassell and Sultan tell his story through interviews, photos and of course, works of art.

Lee is arguably the most famous – and most polarizing – figure in all of comics. This is probably why there are biographies about him everywhere. This book isn’t even the only one on Lee coming out this year! However, Fingeroth knew Lee and his associates personally, which gave him a unique perspective from which to write.

For Lee’s take on his life story, you can check out his 2002 autobiography, Excelsior! : The Amazing Life of Stan Lee.

While his work on the Superman franchise (and this guy, I guess) is best remembered, Binder’s influence extends far beyond superheroes. In this book, you’ll learn all about how Binder’s work changed science fiction as we know it, as well as the terrible personal tragedies that darkened his later years.

No list of creator biographies would be complete without a book chronicling the lives of the very first superhero creators, Siegel and Shuster. Even if you know the general rhythms of their history – how they created Superman together, sold the rights for a paltry $ 130, and had to fight for decades for even a tiny slice of the profits – this book will teach you a lot about the The Ohio Teens Who Started It All.