Welcome to...Comic Art Bookshelf

* Online fanzine with guided tours of comics history

*   Intersections with science fiction, film, pop culture kitsch and cultural commentary

* Exotic & esoteric surprises

 

I'm your host Steve Minton 

 

long-time collector, enthusiast/aficionado, blogger, writer and armchair historian of primarily American comic books (with a passing familiarity with some of the major European and Filipino stuff). The focus of this blog will be concise historical surveys and informed commentary on what I consider to be highlights of this often guttersnipe, renegade and reprobate field of narrative/visual entertainment, one which despite its limitations and often mind-numbing mediocrity, can go places, and offer a storytelling experience through an interdependent blend of text and graphic narrative, which can be found in no other artform. Here you'll find:

 

* Concise and informative historical surveys and critically insightful reviews, primarily on Bronze Age books from roughly 1970 to 1985, with plenty of attention also given to worthy examples from the Golden Age, EC age, Silver age and post-Watchmen age. Our bias will be for intelligently written, well-drawn material in the realistic mode of delineation and in the action-adventure and science fiction mold, along with a few oddities and unexpected gems from other genres and uniquely skewed visions that may resist facile categorization. My scope cannot be all-inclusive, but if you stick with me, I'm convinced that I'll provide a hell of a ride and provide points of view and connections you may encounter nowhere else.

* We'll check out the creative pioneers, big names among writers and artists, the publishers, mortal enemies,  noted critics, historians and fandom trailblazers who have forged comic books into what they are today, for better and for worse. Plus, when the occasion warrants, we'll dip into other fields of cultural commentary, written science fiction and vintage tabletop role playing games, when they are adjacent to the sorts of things hardcore comic book devotees may find to be of interest.  (Note: I've never played the rpg's myself, but I do dig the art and associated fandom lore, and want to share some of these new finds with a broader audience).

* Stay tuned for interviews with and guest posts from an interesting selection of comic book industry heavy-hitters and pundits. Also, some original art which straddles the line between fanboyish enthusiasm and semi-pro aspirations.

Thanks for dropping in. Keep coming back for new posts, and we hope to earn the right to captivate your attention for more than a fleeting span of time. The historical continuum of this (sometimes) great American popular art form will not preserve itself, you know. 

Happy hunting and don't step in the dross, 

Steve Minton

tsmintontucson at gmail dot com

facebook.com/tsminton