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Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America
As American as jazz or rock and roll, comic books have been central in the nation's popular culture since Superman's 1938 debut in Action Comics #1. Selling in the millions each year for the past six decades, comic books have figured prominently in the childhoods of most Americans alive today. In Comic Book Nation , Bradford W. Wright offers an engaging, illuminating, and often provocative history of the comic book industry within the context of twentieth-century American society. From Batman's Depression-era battles against corrupt local politicians and Captain America's one-man war against Nazi Germany to Iron Man's Cold War exploits in Vietnam and Spider-Man's confrontations with student protestors and drug use in the early 1970s, comic books have continually reflected the national mood, as Wright's imaginative reading of thousands of titles from the 1930s to the 1980s makes clear. In every genre―superhero, war, romance, crime, and horror comic books―Wright finds that writers and illustrators used the medium to address a variety of serious issues, including racism, economic injustice, fascism, the threat of nuclear war, drug abuse, and teenage alienation. At the same time, xenophobic wartime series proved that comic books could be as reactionary as any medium. Wright's lively study also focuses on the role comic books played in transforming children and adolescents into consumers; the industry's ingenious efforts to market their products to legions of young but savvy fans; the efforts of parents, politicians, religious organizations, civic groups, and child psychologists like Dr. Fredric Wertham (whose 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent, a salacious exposé of the medium's violence and sexual content, led to U.S. Senate hearings) to link juvenile delinquency to comic books and impose censorship on the industry; and the changing economics of comic book publishing over the course of the century. For the paperback edition, Wright has written a new postscript that details industry developments in the late 1990s and the response of comic artists to the tragedy of 9/11. Comic Book Nation is at once a serious study of popular culture and an entertaining look at an enduring American art form.
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
December 26, 2022
Century spanning, insightful and highly informative political and American cultural analysis of the comic book industry and the accompanying shifting attitudes towards pop culture, youth, violence, patriotism and the American dream… great read! 8 out of 12, Four Stars.
2014 read
2014 read
March 27, 2016
A great overview, not only of comic book history, but of U.S. History and how various events and societal attitudes effected the comic book industry. It was not always a cakewalk for comic creators and it is interesting to read about the industry's evolving tactics to stay relevant in a changing world that is filled with competetors for the time/attention of the nation's youth. I found the conclusion to be a bit dreary and defeatest, ending by implying that comics appear to be losing out to other media. The book was written 15 years ago, prior to superheroes dominating the box office. That, coupled with several new series that hold more interest for an adult audience (Saga, Southern Bastards, Walking Dead, etc.), make me wonder how the conclusion would differ if the book was written today. In the end, I found this to be an interesting read and recommend it to comic fans, especially those interested in history and sociology.
May 1, 2013
Although this is nearly fifteen years old--the book was published before the the last decade saw super-heroes conquer the box-office, geek culture thrive, and a show about comic book nerds on prime time TV winning Emmys--there still an interesting history here. While the premise that comic books have interacted with and influenced culture in the United States is obvious, I'm not sure that chicken-and-egg problems don't arise here.
After finishing this book, I came away feeling more like so-called Youth Culture had more effect on comic books than the other way around.
He sticks with the mainstream publishers, too, for good reasons, but I can't help but think of the alternative comix scene in the sixties and the resurgence in the nineties and how much more relevant underground comics might have been to segments of Youth Culture. Alas, someone else will have to write that book.
After finishing this book, I came away feeling more like so-called Youth Culture had more effect on comic books than the other way around.
He sticks with the mainstream publishers, too, for good reasons, but I can't help but think of the alternative comix scene in the sixties and the resurgence in the nineties and how much more relevant underground comics might have been to segments of Youth Culture. Alas, someone else will have to write that book.
October 21, 2024
2024-10-21: the text is moronic at best. wright lives in a magical reality where things are so because he heard them somewhere. hence, the comics regress because of television. the proof? some salesperson once said 3/4 of american homes had television. really? how about the quality of the stories? how about the price of paper and ink? how about old dinosaurs failing to find new ideas? how about the censorship boards going in full gear for moralist stories? and so on. on the tv side: so because pops is watching his football game, and homemaker white breeder watches a popular show with cinema stars that means that junior is watching star trek reruns 20 years into the future instead of buying comic books. right.
and it is the commercial interest that make tv bland. right. no state intervention. no high wages making various groups ready to push their protegees? and tv is bland and, by contrast comic books are fun, hence, comic books are losing sales, and home appliance shops are making big money, the tv stations are making big money, the advertisers are making big money, because the tv is unwatchable to the 1992 entitled brat. that's hard science. and wright is the man to ask the difficult questions so he can come to stereotypical 1990s tv talk show observations.
still, some day, i will read this book.
and it is the commercial interest that make tv bland. right. no state intervention. no high wages making various groups ready to push their protegees? and tv is bland and, by contrast comic books are fun, hence, comic books are losing sales, and home appliance shops are making big money, the tv stations are making big money, the advertisers are making big money, because the tv is unwatchable to the 1992 entitled brat. that's hard science. and wright is the man to ask the difficult questions so he can come to stereotypical 1990s tv talk show observations.
still, some day, i will read this book.
June 11, 2024
A decent history of comic books if you're looking for a place to start. It does get caught up in the social aspects of funny books and seems to judge their merit based on that, but there is much more to these four color literary wonders.
December 11, 2018
El último capítulo fue un poco meh, pero el resto del libro es bastante interesante para ver la evolución del medio en Estados Unidos desde su origen hasta los años 2000 o así.
October 12, 2008
From my blog: Reviewing Comics
A clear understanding of the history and development of comics is crucial for any comprehensive study of the medium. Bradford W. Wright’s Comic Book Nation (2001) addresses this need by providing a socio-cultural history of the comics from their origins until today. It should be noted from the beginning that Wright focuses almost solely on the mainstream American comics but given the longevity and overall cultural influence of the genre, such a focus is only adequate.
Wright starts by the birth of the Superman and the superhero genre it spawned. Following the burgeoning medium into its first golden age, Wright also presents a very interesting and incisive analysis of the socio-cultural environment that provided such a fertile ground for the proliferation of comics.
Covering the reactionary movement against the comic books in the late 40's and 50's that has almost killed the industry, Wright covers the rejuvenation of the medium, consistently providing a very comprehensive analysis all the way up to the beginning of the twentieth century.
As I mentioned earlier, although it presents a through narrative of the history of mainstream comics in America, the real brilliance of Wright's work is its ability to provide a very solid commentary on this narrative.
With the authority of a historian who has done his research properly, Wright provides much valued insights into the causes and effects of significant events in the comics' history. His insights into the motivations and intentions of some of the great figures, like William Gaines and Jack Kirby, prove to be very useful in understanding what these pioneers really achieved.
It should also be noted that although Wright is an avid comic book fan himself, he achieves in being objective while assessing the merits and harms of the cases he presents. I have never got the impression that he is pushing a personal point of view on some figure or work.
Overall, Comic Book Nation is an immensely helpful book that anyone who is interested in studying comics would benefit from. By combining a through historical overview with an illustrative analysis objectively, Wright's work serves a great need in comic book studies and is certainly a highly recommended read.
A clear understanding of the history and development of comics is crucial for any comprehensive study of the medium. Bradford W. Wright’s Comic Book Nation (2001) addresses this need by providing a socio-cultural history of the comics from their origins until today. It should be noted from the beginning that Wright focuses almost solely on the mainstream American comics but given the longevity and overall cultural influence of the genre, such a focus is only adequate.
Wright starts by the birth of the Superman and the superhero genre it spawned. Following the burgeoning medium into its first golden age, Wright also presents a very interesting and incisive analysis of the socio-cultural environment that provided such a fertile ground for the proliferation of comics.
Covering the reactionary movement against the comic books in the late 40's and 50's that has almost killed the industry, Wright covers the rejuvenation of the medium, consistently providing a very comprehensive analysis all the way up to the beginning of the twentieth century.
As I mentioned earlier, although it presents a through narrative of the history of mainstream comics in America, the real brilliance of Wright's work is its ability to provide a very solid commentary on this narrative.
With the authority of a historian who has done his research properly, Wright provides much valued insights into the causes and effects of significant events in the comics' history. His insights into the motivations and intentions of some of the great figures, like William Gaines and Jack Kirby, prove to be very useful in understanding what these pioneers really achieved.
It should also be noted that although Wright is an avid comic book fan himself, he achieves in being objective while assessing the merits and harms of the cases he presents. I have never got the impression that he is pushing a personal point of view on some figure or work.
Overall, Comic Book Nation is an immensely helpful book that anyone who is interested in studying comics would benefit from. By combining a through historical overview with an illustrative analysis objectively, Wright's work serves a great need in comic book studies and is certainly a highly recommended read.
February 11, 2013
This book was very informative, but I had trouble getting past it's 2 most major flaws. The book completely neglects comics such as the Archie's, and gives a fairly poor explanation as to why. Also, the book focus too much on the genre of horror such as Tales from the Crypt. The reasoning for this is apparently that these were the comics that were instrumental in the origins of the banning of comic books and censoring of comic books. I found these two aspects frustrating because the Archie's and all of the spin-offs that went with it are devalued in a book that is attempting to give value to the medium of comic books... it just doesn't strike me as consistent or well thought through. Also too many other aspects are ignored in favour of the horror genre, which I found troublesome.
I am biased when I say that my favourite parts of the book were about the Marvel universe and how Stan Lee created his characters and why they appealed so much to the readership at the time they were conceived. Cultural/historical context is key here folks.
Another major flaw that really disappointed me was that Wright glosses over the subject of newer comic books. What he does reference/discuss he does so too quickly and does not give them enough, for lack of a better word, credit.
Over all Wright has written one of the only decent narratives on comic books and the comic book industry, but he still most certainly fell short.
I am biased when I say that my favourite parts of the book were about the Marvel universe and how Stan Lee created his characters and why they appealed so much to the readership at the time they were conceived. Cultural/historical context is key here folks.
Another major flaw that really disappointed me was that Wright glosses over the subject of newer comic books. What he does reference/discuss he does so too quickly and does not give them enough, for lack of a better word, credit.
Over all Wright has written one of the only decent narratives on comic books and the comic book industry, but he still most certainly fell short.
July 23, 2015
Maybe I'm too familiar with the subject, but this book seemed like a compendium of obvious observations. Too much of its length is comprised of synopses of individual issues and facile analysis that feels isolated from the society and history it is supposed to reflect -- remarkably like talking to someone who only knows comic books. My favorite chapter is the one on the Cold War, where the focus is less on the comics' content or which super hero was more popular and more on how the comics reflected societal values.
January 4, 2009
This was a great book for those who are devout comic readers, or for anyone who likes sociology and pop-culture. I'm sure to everyone else, it's subject matter is irrelevant. This book gives a great look at the history of comic books and how they became the staple they are today. It looks at everything from DC to Marvel and all the early stuff in between and the social issues they address and influence.
May 4, 2019
I could not have enjoyed this cultural history of comic books anymore than I did. Published in 2003, I can't help wonder what that author would make of the unbelievable success of Marvel movies in 2019, and the ubiquity of comic book culture in this day and age. The superheroes won, people. We are all living in Stan Lee's head.
This book is history, but along with the standard story of the comic book industry, there is a great deal of reflection on how comic books both shaped and reflected youth culture, and continue to have an outsized influence now on video games, on the internet, on social media, and on movies and tv shows. Pretty remarkable! I did skip the chapter on the Comic Book Code because I just read a whole book about it last summer, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America.
Probably the most interesting part of the book was the chapter on the 1980s, which is when I read comic books. Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and others were my jam back in the day. Dark, dystopian, kind-of-horror comics about the breakdown of society really appealed to me, and while I was never a super committed comic book devotee, I definitely read those guys. I still do.
So three cheers for comic books! I wonder what the author makes of the trend in digital comic books, which are my preferred way of reading them? Maybe he'll write an update.
This book is history, but along with the standard story of the comic book industry, there is a great deal of reflection on how comic books both shaped and reflected youth culture, and continue to have an outsized influence now on video games, on the internet, on social media, and on movies and tv shows. Pretty remarkable! I did skip the chapter on the Comic Book Code because I just read a whole book about it last summer, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How it Changed America.
Probably the most interesting part of the book was the chapter on the 1980s, which is when I read comic books. Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and others were my jam back in the day. Dark, dystopian, kind-of-horror comics about the breakdown of society really appealed to me, and while I was never a super committed comic book devotee, I definitely read those guys. I still do.
So three cheers for comic books! I wonder what the author makes of the trend in digital comic books, which are my preferred way of reading them? Maybe he'll write an update.
October 12, 2017
t's interesting to read a history of comic books from a social historian's point of view, even if he doesn't quite achieve the book he describes in the foreward. Wright does cover the broad changes in comics between 1938 and 1999 or so, but he diverges from his theme at times. It's interesting to note the early social justice themes of superheroes such as Superman, though I'm not convinced that was as wide-ranging in those first days of constant invention and experimentation as Wright claims. But, yeah, the super patriotic trend of WWII rings true, and the transformation in the post war era into crime and romance books, each in their own way reflecting the norms of youth who had, as Wright points out, begun during the war for the first time to really associate with each other more than previous generations. Wright does a great job discussing the anti-comics hysteria, and his discussion of EC Comics is filled with interesting tidbits. The superhero resurgence of DC doesn't seem to interest Wright as much, and I think he misses much of the irony and humor in early 60s DC books. He is more interesting on Marvel and the ways those comics were able to reach youth more interested in finding ways to rebel from the suburban norms. He covers the 70s "relevant" years and the 80s anti-heroes well, before going into the 90s collectors fetish and concluding with the now-normalized view that the entire culture is adolescent, so it's harder for comics to reflect youth.
May 23, 2019
Un petit bijou pour comprendre la société américaine à travers la "culture jeunesse". Se concentrant sur les comics en tout genre (et pas seulement DC et Marvel!) l'auteur nous fait découvrir les Etats-Unis des années 30 à nos jours! C'est un pavé mais ça vaut le coup par son incroyable analyse. Indémodable.
July 30, 2019
A fantastic analysis of the parallels between twentieth-century American culture and comic books. A must-read for any academic scholar of superhero fiction.
June 22, 2020
A surprisingly enjoyable read about the history of comic books and their impact on American culture through the 1990s.
Read
September 10, 2021A great text on how comics were formed and specifically the back story of the characters and how they originated.
November 9, 2022
i luv batman aka robert pattinson
Read
July 25, 2024didn’t need to read all of this for my project so dnf for now but a very enjoyable read
October 6, 2024
Excellent book. Insightful and really well researched.
March 10, 2025
I thought it was well written, but I didn't really find much new information in it.
November 21, 2009
Wright takes a close look at the history and emergence of the comic book in the United States and examines such books within a larger sociological context that deals with the two way relationship between comic books and society. The book looks at how the values and events of past decades have served as inspiration for comic book creators. With the country’s involvement in the Second World War, the comic industry created several patriotic characters and war driven stories. With the arrival of the 1950’s and the Cold War, comic stories embraced the conformity towards ideal American Values. And with the emergence of the baby boom driven youth culture, comic books created stories dealing with youth and the social problems facing the country. Wright also takes a close look at the complications that have plagued the comic book industry over the years. For example, he discusses how publishers such as EC comics went against the squeaky clean image of American society of the 1950’s and how such books ended up being attacked in courts. Wright also looks at comic books attempting to broaden up in order to include more female and racially diverse characters and how such attempts have often failed. The book, also, looks at the ups and downs of comics books in terms of sales and the creation of the direct distribution system, which helped lead to the contemporary comic book fandom.
I really enjoyed the book partly since it works as a good historical overview, but mostly since it looks at such history within a sociological context that shows just how much such books are a reflection of their society, and how they have shaped such society as well.
I really enjoyed the book partly since it works as a good historical overview, but mostly since it looks at such history within a sociological context that shows just how much such books are a reflection of their society, and how they have shaped such society as well.
October 27, 2011
Loved it without reservation. It would be obvious that Wright is a lively and sincere comics fan even if had been omitted, and it's because he loves them that he's able to give such an insightful, expansive history and occasional critique of the medium across its eighty year history. He rejects as hardly worth debate the notion that comics are juvenile and inconsequential, but ground his observations in the larger trends rather than jargon-laden "decoding." (Which I appreciated a great deal: to paraphrase Jim Carrey, the pen is blue, the pen is blue, sometimes the goddamned pen is just blue, all right?) He's blunt about the medium's flaws when it comes to gender, race, and sexuality (and inadvertently answered Marvel's own question about why they can't consistently snag a large percentage of female readers, as X-Men's female readership shot up with the inclusion of a multiplicity of complex female characters) and enthusiastic and thoughtful about its strengths. Most pleasing to me: in addition to focusing on what comic book heroes and villains can tell us about our society, he spends a fair amount of time talking about the way that they can also shape our society. We need our heroes, the ones in the firefighters' helmets and the ones who wear capes.
April 3, 2015
For a history lesson on comic books I found this book to be extremely interesting.
The Author takes up from the birth of comics and the struggles it went through. Pointing out how they reflected what America was going through at certain times.
I thought it was a well written book about the history of comics. I enjoyed learning where it all started and the complications they had to endure and how they would pull themselves out of ruts and when they either had new ideas for new comic characters or they just pulled old ones back out and modify them.
Being new to the whole comic scene I found this book extremely informative as well as interesting. I’d recommend this to anyone like me who find the history of comics to be something they want to learn more about.
The Author takes up from the birth of comics and the struggles it went through. Pointing out how they reflected what America was going through at certain times.
I thought it was a well written book about the history of comics. I enjoyed learning where it all started and the complications they had to endure and how they would pull themselves out of ruts and when they either had new ideas for new comic characters or they just pulled old ones back out and modify them.
Being new to the whole comic scene I found this book extremely informative as well as interesting. I’d recommend this to anyone like me who find the history of comics to be something they want to learn more about.
May 25, 2013
I'm glad that book was not just a "story of comic books" with a short expression of author's preferences and personal tastes. Instead I saw here a great anthropological research of this industry - thing I don't read every day (supposedly because where I live such books are rarely published and written or known). It's definitely a great research, though lacking in some parts, but fairly objective. Though I still feel like the audience here was left out of the author's attention. Great book to read for everybody who requires high-quality research of comic books as social and cultural fact. Boring reading for those who just wants to know more about comic books.
December 4, 2012
Wright succeeds in using comic books to reflect cultural shifts and changes in America. Superman changes with America as he evolves from a 1930s superhero helping the poor and touting a New Deal philosophy, to a hero of the 1950s engaging containment and conservatism. Anyone who enjoyed reading comic books as a child will find Wright’s writing as a warm reminder of times gone by, but he will do so in a way that will cause you to see comic books in a new light: as evidence of cultural shifts. I hope to do in my research with apocalyptic communities what Wright has done with comic books. I want to see how shifting beliefs of the apocalypse reflect broader shifts in American culture.
September 13, 2008
Great history of US comics, as far as I know. Liked that he covered the role of comics in culture, and placed it pretty solidly in the context of the time.
I do wish he'd covered some more recent comics (even at the time of publication "Watchmen" was definitely not the only example of "comics as art"), and provided more analysis about whether comics affected culture or if they were just influenced by culture.
I do wish he'd covered some more recent comics (even at the time of publication "Watchmen" was definitely not the only example of "comics as art"), and provided more analysis about whether comics affected culture or if they were just influenced by culture.
September 26, 2011
I really enjoyed this approach to studying comics and appreciate the vast amount of research required to present this information.
His foreword emphasizes the importance of reading comics, at least in part, for a sense of enjoyment and escapism, and he mentions how he wrote his book while listening to rock and roll music. Comic books, like rock and roll, certainly have a lot of roots in American culture and reflect/influence our youth's values and morals.
Would recommend this to anyone interested in comics as a cultural survey as well as history buffs.
His foreword emphasizes the importance of reading comics, at least in part, for a sense of enjoyment and escapism, and he mentions how he wrote his book while listening to rock and roll music. Comic books, like rock and roll, certainly have a lot of roots in American culture and reflect/influence our youth's values and morals.
Would recommend this to anyone interested in comics as a cultural survey as well as history buffs.
November 8, 2012
This was an incredibly fun read that combined scholarly rigor and fluid narrative effortlessly. In addition to the fundamental gap in American cultural studies that this book begins to fill, it also has consistently well written topic sentences, well integrated visuals every few pages, and huge margins for note-taking. Stan Lee is the clear hero of Wright's narrative, and it falls apart a bit in the pitfalls of millennial panic and post-9-11 exceptionalism at the end, but I was on board until the epilogue(s)!
April 30, 2013
I had to read this for my U.S. History class, and although I thought I would enjoy it, I did not. I had trouble getting through the book. Honestly, I ended up skimming through a large portion of it too. We had read "The Devil in the White City" earlier, and I was ready for another exciting and interesting book. This just wasn't it.
I think it has some good history and comic book facts, but not being the biggest fan of the subject history already, it didn't capture me. I do believe, however, that if you like comic books, history, or even both, this book may just be for you!
I think it has some good history and comic book facts, but not being the biggest fan of the subject history already, it didn't capture me. I do believe, however, that if you like comic books, history, or even both, this book may just be for you!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews