Reitberger, Reinhold and Wolfgang Fuchs. Comics: Anatomy of a Mass Medium. Little, Brown, 1972. English-language edition of Comics: Anatomie eines Massenmediums.
  1. The Characteristics of Comics . . . 9
    2. Comics as a mass medium. History of comics. Methods of production. Forms and features.
  2. Humour and Everyday Life . . . 29
    3. The 'fall guy' and the grotesque. 'Kid' strips. The family strip--mirror of life. It's wonderful to be a teenager. Donald Duck & Co. High-flying imagination. Pogofenokee. Dogpatch, U.S.A. Peanuts. Beetle Bailey. The New Wave.
  3. Adventure and Melodrama . . . 60
    4. A successful double event. Back to nature. Science fiction. If you enjoy being scared out of your wits... The old tales of chivalry. High melodrama. Detectives and policemen. The adventurers. The war: G.I. Joe's heroic deeds. The western: the frontier--an American Garden of Eden?
  4. Super-heroes . . . 100
    5. Modern myths. History of the super-heroes. Marvel--a new era. The super-hero boom. Extended powers. Super-sex. The 'side-kick.' Motivation. The secret identity. Super-heroines. Super-villains. Brain vs. brawn.
  5. Criticism and censorship . . . 130
    6. Dr. Wertham on horror. History of crime comics. Code and censorship. Comics in the classroom.
  6. Society as Portrayed in Comics . . . 144
    7. The image of society imposed by censorship. Society's image in comics, expressed in statistics. Ethnic minorities. War: the great leveller. Law and order. Comics producers and public taste. Comics and advertising. Comics: an American institution.
  7. Inter-Media Dependencies . . . 156
    8. History of the mass-media. Pulps--forerunners of comic books. Radio series--comics without pictures. Interaction between film, radio, television and comics. The cartoon film.
  8. The European Comics Scene . . . 174
    9. The European comics tradition. Comics in Germany. Comics in France and Belgium. Comics in Italy. Comics in England and other countries.
  9. Sex and Satire . . . 208
    10. Intellectual--sexy--élitist. MAD. Comics from the Underground.
  10. The Art of Comics . . . 223
    11. Comics and the High Renaissance. Art in comics. Style and technique. Comics and Pop Art.
  11. Trends and Developments . . . 238
    12. Heroes are humanized. Ethnic minorities. Drugs and the liberalization of the Code. New Directions.
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