Pilcher, Tim and Brad
Brooks. The
Essential Guide to World Comics.
Foreword by Dave Gibbons. London: Collins & Brown, 2005. 320pp.
ISBN 1843403005 (paper).
I. Foreword by Dave Gibbons ... 6
II. Introduction ... 10
1. United Superheroes
of America ... 18
- World-Class Creators: Jack
Kirby ... 52
2. Brit Lit ... 54
- World-Class Creators: Leo
Baxendale ... 86
3.
Manga Mania and Anime Angst ... 88
- World-Class Creators: Osamu
Tezuka ... 118
4.
Crouching Artists, Hidden Comics ... 120
- World-Class Creators: Tony
Velasquez ... 142
5.
The Ninth Art ... 144
- World-Class Creators:
Hergé ... 174
6.
Continental Comics ... 176
- World-Class Creators: Hugo
Pratt ... 204
7.
South of the Border ... 206
- World-Class Creators:
Breccia ... 240
8.
Snow, Ducks, and Phantoms ... 242
- World-Class Creators: Peter
Madsen ... 258
9.
Down Under Wonders ... 260
- World-Class Creators: Dylan
Horrocks ... 278
10.
Ashrams, Apartheid & Arabian Tales ... 280
- World-Class Creators: Anant
Pai ... 308
III. Index ... 310
IV. Bibliography ... 318
V. Acknowledgments ... 320
From
published reviews (courtesy of the authors):
- “The fans, the publishers,
the industry, you'’ll pretty much find it all here. Essential reading…
4/5”
Frannie Twinn, Latest 7 magazine
- “Even knowledgeable comics
exponents will find themselves flabbergasted by the depth of the
sequential art form when they read Tim Pilcher and Brad Brooks’
impressive survey… The authors obviously know their subject… Passionate
and well considered throughout, this is a book that opens up a world of
potential new titles and creators to the reader and treats the comic
art form with the respect that it deserves. 4.5/5.”
Charlie Hodge, SFX magazine
- Like TV film critics Siskel
and Ebert, this guide benefits from Pilcher and Brooks' dual viewpoint,
which strikes a balance between Brad's faith in comics as art and Tim's
more prosaic view of comics as fun… They pack in some great anecdotes,
masses of names, titles, facts and figures and rarely seen imagery from
lovely crumbling antiquities to obscure small press gems… a remarkable
achievement, colourful and sharply designed… this guide is a dream
round-the-world ticket.”
Paul Gravett, Comics International
- …A cracking overview of
World Comics… I found this a very entertaining insight into comics from
around the globe. While I'm familiar with some French, Italian,
Norwegian and Australian titles, for example, it came as a surprise to
learn of enthusiastic comics publishing in India and Africa, and the
sheer variety of featured creators and creations is simply astonishing.
The book is also useful as a "starting point" when it comes to
exploring some countries output… Packed with stunning imagery, the book
not only includes detailed but well-written guides to comics from
around the globe but also spotlights world-class talents such as Herge…
I'm happy to agree with Dave Gibbons, who describes The Essential Guide
to World Comics in his introduction as an enjoyable modern day comics
equivalent of the Victorian Baedeker's guide.”
John Freeman, Downthetubes.net
- This is an ambitious and
highly successful attempt to cover the world of comics… it's an amazing
compendium of information on how comics are treated, region by region…
It's highly readable, well-researched and comprehensively illustrated…
This is the first global survey of comics that I'm aware of, and a
welcome addition to anyone's library who has even a passing interest in
the genre.”
Paul Edmond
Norman, Gatewaymonthly.com
- Get to know your Peanuts
from your Manga: take a tour through the lives of Asterix and Bananaman
with [this] colourful new book…”.
Daily Telegraph
- Beautifully illustrated
guide to the global comics phenomenon.. Packed with fascinating
stories, statistics, and an amazingly diverse selection of comic art.
90% of this looks at comics outside the U.S., so there's a whole new
world here for the U.S. fan.”
Budplant.com
- Another excellent,
horizon-expanding guide. There's far, far more to comics than
superheroes and manga. This book will turn you on to some of the
unknown treasures out there in the big wide world. It's so good, I even
wrote the introduction!”
Dave Gibbons, Newsarama.com
recommended Christmas Gifts, 2005