The Ultimate Book Of British Comics

Illustrated throughout, this fact-filled and funny encyclopedia reveals the best of British comics, discussing how these quirky and colourful creations have shaped the lives of British children since the seventies.

Read by millions, British comics are world-famous. And for more than a quarter of a century, Britain’s writers and artists have had a significant influence on the American comic-book scene, revitalizing standards from Batman to X-Men and originating uniquely British characters of their own, such as Modesty Blaise and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Now, in a feast of cartoon graphics, Great British Comics celebrates the UK’s comic heroes, offering an invaluable resource for enthusiasts and collectors. Divided into themed chapters, and ranging from the 1920s to the 1990s, it charts the careers of all the familiar favorites. Featuring lively, informative text, Great British Comics is copiously illustrated with comic book covers, pages, and annuals, as well as toys, collectibles, and memorabilia. Paul Gravett, who has curated numerous exhibitions of comic art, is also the author of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics and Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know.

Visually amazing, this critical history of comic books, manga, and graphic novels is a must-have for any comic buff or collector. Over the centuries, comic books and their offshoots, such as graphic novels, manga, and bandes dessinées, have evolved into a phenomenally popular, influential, and unique art form with which we can express our opinions, our fantasies, our nightmares, and our dreams. In short: comics are emphatically no longer just for kids. This diverse, constantly evolving medium is truly coming into its own in the 21st century, from Hollywood's blockbuster adaptations of super-powered caped crusaders to the global spread of Japan's manga and its spinoffs, and from award-winning graphic novels such as Maus and Persepolis to new forms such as online webcomix. This volume is the perfect introduction to a dynamic and globally popular medium, embracing every graphic genre worldwide to assess the very best works of sequential art, graphic literature, comics, and comic strips, past and present. An international survey, this engaging volume is organized according to the year of first publication in the country of origin. An opening section acknowledges pioneering pre-1900 masterpieces, followed by sections divided by decade, creating a fascinating year-by-year chronicle of the graphic medium worldwide. The material includes the very earliest one-off albums to the latest in online comics and features some series and characters that have run for decades. Packed with fantastic reproductions of classic front covers and groundbreaking panels, this book is visually stunning as well as a trove of information--perfect for the passionate collector and casual fan alike.

Includes episodes of "Battle's" stories.

Mammoth Books: From history to manga, true crime to sci-fi, these anthologies feature top-name contributors and award-winning editors.

Subject: Exhiibtion catalogue published "on the occasion of the British Library exhibition ... 2 May-19 August 2014"--Title page verso

Combining volumes 1-6 of the BT Golden Age British Comics Collections (minus adverts) this is the ultimate for any Golden Age collector or historian or just plain comic lover. Features Ace Hart, TNT Tom, Electrogirl, Wonderman, The Phantom Raider, Captain Comet, Acro Maid, Phantom Maid, Dene Vernon, The Iron Boy, The Boy Fish, Professor Atom and MANY others

From the comics vault comes a classic tale of terror and intrigue introducing a villain equipped with an amazingly versatile exoskeleton and a brain to match — the British comics character, The Spider! His greatest ambition is to become the ‘King of Crime’. To achieve this goal, he organises a gang of criminals including such specialists as ‘Professor’ Pelham, a brilliant crooked scientist, and Roy Ordini, ace safecracker, and embarks on his felonious spree! Reprinted in hardback for the first time in forty years this collection brings together the earliest adventures of devious arch-criminal and twisted mastermind, the “King of Crooks”. Originally created by writer/artists Ted Cowan and Reg Bunn for British comic Lion, he was the ultimate anti-hero. In a time saturated by square-jawed and multi-colour superheroes, the British Spider character was in it for himself. These are extremely rare, long out of print stories not seen since the 1960s, and the collection also contains an introduction by IPC's Andrew Sumner, a story checklist, an article chronicling the history of the character, and a new cover by acclaimed artist Garry Leach. An amazing trip through the Silver Age of British comics, a piece of history every person interested in comics should own!

British comics' take on War of the Worlds beams down for some classic comics carnage! SPACE INVADERS! 1984. Skeletal-looking alien warriors have invaded the Earth, bringing many large cities like London to the brink of total destruction! Taken by surprise, mankind must now dig deep to survive! In Britain the tough-as-boots military outfit known as Storm Squad mount the fightback against the 'Spooks' while professor Ed Lomax looks into a way of permanently ridding the plant of this unearthly foe for good!