Review of "Golden Age of D. C. Comics 1935-1956," edited by Paul Levitz

Review of

Golden Age of D. C. Comics 1935-1956, edited by Paul Levitz ISBN 9783836535731


Five out of five stars

 This book is a combination of the history of the comic book characters, the characters that created them as well as some incredible and imaginative artwork. What we now call the DC line of comics has several points of origin, all of which are depicted in this definitive work.

 While many of the characters like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have managed to “live” in the funny pages for decades, other characters had brief runs and have essentially been forgotten. Other characters were born, died a natural comic death only to be reborn in an entirely different form. Two examples of that are the original Green Lantern and original Flash.

 Some of the long term characters have essentially been partially reborn, the most obvious example is Batman. His more recent incarnation as the Dark Knight is very different from the almost jolly form of the sixties. The recurrent villains that never learn their lesson and keep coming back for more rounds of conflict are what makes the comics succeed. For heroes must always battle powerful forces, otherwise they might as well be just another person in an outrageous costume.

 This is a great book that can be enjoyed for the comics, the artwork of the comics or both.