The book that I am going to blog about is for a much older audience. There is nothing explicit or disgusting about it but there is a lot of jargon and can easily get boring. Why then should I write about this book? Well I have been trying to put off this book for a long time, but it continues to resurface in one way or another. The book is Comic Wars by Dan Raviv.
Right away you can see that the books artist has a good idea of the characters from the Marvel Universe. The book is made to look like a comic book, showing the two protagonists Carl Icahn and Ron Perelman. Captain America and She-Hulk look concerned while Wolverine sneers at the evil looking bankers with glowing eyes and dollar symbols. All the while Spider-Man delivers a punch line to the audience.
As I stated earlier the book drags a lot in the middle. If this were to be an activity book for youth, even older youth like junior and seniors in High School, I would recommend making a cliffs notes version of all but the first and last five chapters, or even try to make illustrations of what is going on. Dan introduced the book by having small descriptions of the characters and would show one page spreads of comics to help illustrate the sense of the chapter.
This is an important book because the comic book industry is suffering. You may not believe that considering how profitable the movies are, but the comic book sales are declining. It is like they are different worlds. Many creators are separating and starting their own comics or their own comic businesses. So far the successful ones bring up this book and how this has helped them not make the same mistakes over again. Also if you read this book you will see the name Avi Arad, who had the crazy idea of making the comic properties into movies, you will see his name in the credits of every movie even one I saw today, Venom.
Many people think they understand the comic book industry. When I was reading this my father told me the true hero of this story is Stan Lee. I didn't have the heart to show him the blurb on the back from Stan explaining that he gained a new understanding from it even though he was in the midst of it all. Although this is not intended for Youth, I think this could be an excellent teaching material to anyone who aspires to get in the comic industry (art classes.) This is good for anyone who wants to run a lucrative business (business class). There is even a lot of Hebrew and Yiddish vocabulary in the story because the main characters are Jewish (American History with a focus on the Jewish experience.) This book is potential. I am posting a link to a series I consider to be a sister series to help understand the industry behind comic books.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ2KzcSD1pE&t=55s
2 Comments
Katrina Pieri
10/22/2018 01:19:05 pm
This was kind of a bold book to review--not intended for youth, but with the potential to appeal to certain youth. And that's what I appreciated most about your post! I think that's an especially important criteria to consider when working with teens. The nonfiction written for teens at grade level may not be that appealing to them, and so a book technically written for adults may be a better fit. I think you're right that this book also has different kinds of appeal--those who read comic books may be interested to learn the history; those who are artistic may find it fascinating to learn about the business side of the comic book industry; etc.
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Joseph Lutholtz
11/19/2018 04:12:46 pm
This book looks great. While the cover reminds me a lot of those hokey modern comics that try to gain hype simply because they feature a modern president, the focus of the book itself seems legitimately fun and informative. As much as I love comics, I've hardly looked into their history beyond the highs and lows of the ages, rather than what might have led to those valleys and peaks. Even if it's not meant for kids, though, I bet a comic-centric teen would love this.
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