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Feb 27, 2017 Issue # 59 - 15th Anniversary By Jeremy Nisen

Drew Friedman brings us another nearly four-score illustrations of comic creators from the past, with bios to accompany them. The clear writing and singular art are easily digestible, amusing, and informative—this is as good of a comic-book-related coffee table book as there could be. Binge-reading it in particular brings alive another era, when comics mostly meant guys in collared shirts and ties poring over panels. A time when you could start pushing a broom around as a teenager and be illustrating or editing books a few years later. It’s not only well-known names that we are treated to here. In addition to the likes of Nick Cardy, Dan DeCarlo, Ross Andru, and Otto Binder (among many other well-known comics giants), there are people who only worked in comics for a spell, or worked on titles mostly forgotten. And some surprises-such as Ray Bradbury’s inclusion for his work on EC titles.

Friedman’s portraits also captures a certain something-his art is an actor, emoting on behalf of his subjects in a way that the text cannot by itself. Most any comic fan should enjoy this, particularly those who want to delve into comics’ history on a moments notice. (www.fantagraphics.com)

Author rating: 7/10