This book is an updated history of the American comic book by an industry insider. You'll follow the development of comics from the first appearance of the comic book format in the Platinum Age of the 1930s to the creation of the superhero genre in the Golden Age, to the current period, where comics flourish as graphic novels and blockbuster movies. Along the way you will meet the hustlers, hucksters, hacks, and visionaries who made the American comic book what it is today. It's an exciting journey, filled with mutants, changelings, atomized scientists, gamma-ray accidents, and supernaturally empowered heroes and villains who challenge the imagination and spark the secret identities lurking within us. Preface ix Introduction: History of the Comic Book World 1(8) The Platinum age: the First Comics 9(12) The Golden age: The First Superheroes 21(36) Seduction of the Innocent: a Comics Witch Hunt 57(12) The Silver Age: a New Kind of Superhero 69(30) The Bronze age: The Return of Superheroes 99(24) The Modern age: Darker Knights 123(26) Comic Wars: The Battle Over Marvel 149(20) The Postmodern age: a New Day For Comics 169(32) Collecting Comic Books for Fun and (Maybe) Profit 201(22) Afterword: Comics in Education, Education in Comics 223(4) Steve Geppi Comics Milestones: a No-Brains-Required Summary 227(4) Comics Industry Profiles: Fanboys Who Made it Happen 231(26) Cranking Up the Time Machine: a Comics Industry Timeline 257(18) Gadzooks: a Comics Glossary 275(14) Comic Book Quiz 289(6) Comic Book Quiz: Answers 295(2) Notes: Credit Where Credit's Due 297(30) Index 327