Acknowledgements . . . vii

Introduction . . . ix

Chapter One: The Coming of Comics . . . 1

Chapter Two: The Birth of the Comic Book . . . 9

Comic Section for Chapter Two . . . 18
• Superman: "Lois Lane--Superwoman!" "Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster." Action Comics 60, May 1943 . . . 18
• Blackhawk: "Karlovna Had a True Underworld!" Lou Fine (a)? Blackhawk 14, Spring 1947. . . 24
• Plastic Man: "The Granite Lady." Jack Cole. Police Comics 51, Februray 1946 . . . 30
• Sheena: "[Professor Montreaux.]" Jumbo Comics 112, June 1948. . . 37
• "Baby Face Nelson vs. the U.S.A." George Tuska (a). Crime Does Not Pay 52, June 1947 . . . 43

Chapter Three: Dumb Animals . . . 49

Comic Section for Chapter Three . . . 57
• "The Fox and the Crow." James F. Davis. Real Screen Comics 42, September 1951 . . . 57

Chapter Four: The E.C. Revolution . . . 61

Comic Section for Chapter Four . . . 71
• "The Expert!" Joe Orlando. Weird Fantasy 14, July 1952 . . . 71
• "The Ad!" Joe Orlando. Weird Fantasy 14, July 1952 . . . 73
• "Big 'If"!" Harvey Kurtzman. Frontline Comics 5, May 1952 . . . 75
• "Julius Caesar!" Wally Wood. Mad 17, 1955 . . . 80

Chapter Five: The Comics Code Controversy . . . 83

Chapter Six: The New Comic Books . . . 91

Comic Section for Chapter Six . . . 104
• "The Success Story." Archie Goodwin (s), Al Williamson (a). Creepy 1, 1965 . . . 104
• "The Squaw!" Archie Goodwin (s), Reed Crandall (a), from the Bram Stoker original. Eerie 19, December 1969 . . . 107
• "Landscape!" Archie Goodwin (s), Joe Orlando (a). Blazing Combat 2, 1965 . . . 111
• "The Curse." Wally Wood (a, s). Vampirella 9, January 197i . . . 114

Color Comics Section . . . 119

"A Little Stranger!" Haunt of Fear 14, July 1952 . . . 119

Sub-Mariner: "The Sub-Mariner Meets a New Enemy...Fire!" Sub-Mariner June 1955 . . . 123

Batman: "Two-Face Strikes Again!" "Bob Kane." Batman 81, February 1951 . . . 125

Donald Duck: "[Tornado Fortune.]" Carl Barks. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories ?, 1951 . . . 131

Chapter Seven: Mighty Marvel . . . 135

Comic Section for Chapter Seven . . . 146
• Captain America: "The Vampire Strikes!" Captain America? Summer 1942 . . . 146
• "The Man in the Moon." Mickey Spillane. Captain America? Summer 1942 . . . 150
• "A Visit with the Fantastic Four." Stan Lee (s), Jack Kirby (a), Dick Ayers (i), Art Simek (l). Fantastic Four 11, February 1963 . . . 151
• "Dr. Strange, Master of Black Magic!" Stan Lee (s), Steve Ditko (a), Terry Szenics (l). Strange Tales 10, July 1960 . . . 156
• "At the Stroke of Midnight!" Steranko (s, a), Sam Rosen (l). Tower of Shadows 1, September 1969 . . . 159

Chapter Eight: Underground Comics . . . 165

Comic Section for Chapter Eight . . . 181
• "Mr. Sketchum Is At It Again!" Robert Crumb. Zap 0, 1967 . . . 181
• "Meatball." Robert Crumb. Zap 0, 1967 . . . 182
• "Doc Destiny." Kim Deitch. 1969 . . . 184
• Those Fabulous Furry Freak Freak Brothers: "The Freaks Pull A Heist!" Gilbert Shelton Radical America 2, 1969 . . . 185
• "Free!" Gilbert Shelton. 1968 . . . 189
• Nard n' Pat: [Classified Ad]. Jay Lynch. 1968 . . . 189
• Nard n' Pat: [Poot!]. Jay Lynch. 1969 . . . 190
• "Class War Comics." Skip Williamson. 1969. . . . 191
• "Arnold! You're Drooling!" "R. Scum." 1968 . . . 192
• "Skull #1." Irons. 1970. . . . 192
• "The Orgy, American Style." The Mad Peck Catalogue of Good Stuff. . . . 193
• "What Are You Smoking, Ace?" Ghost Mother Comics. . . . 193

Notes/Bibliography . . . 194

Index . . . 195

Barrier, Mike. "Comic Book Books." [Reviews of Bails and Ware, Who's Who in American Comic Books 1 (A-F) and Who's Who in American Comic Books 2 (G-M); Daniels, Comix: A History of Comic Books in America; Estren, A History of Underground Comics; Reitberger and Fuchs, Comics: Anatomy of a Mass Medium; Sheridan, Classic Comics and their Creators; and Steranko, The Steranko History of Comics Vol. One and The Steranko History of Comics Vol. Two.] The Comics Journal 104 (January, 1986): 85-90.