The Master speaks. Famed for the freewheeling Spirit comic, Eisner has spent decades pushing sequential storytelling to the max. This book is based on a popular course he taught at New York’s School of Visual Art. Chapters cover imagery, timing, the frame, expressive anatomy, writing and more, with all illustrations by Eisner himself. “Ideas, theories, and advice on the practice of graphic storytelling.” Works for anyone trying to write a movie as well. GR

Publisher: Poorhouse
Paperback: 158 pages
Illustrated

Polish graphic artists are slightly mad, judging from the 46 plates in this book (dating from 1961 to ’77). And they’re brilliant enough to have the Muzeum Plakatu, near Warsaw, dedicated to their work. Bold colors, punchy dynamics, hand lettering and symbolic use of human body parts characterize the painterly Polish style. Some trends are evident: a whimsical trace of Surrealism à la Monty Python, a bright grasp of contemporary Pop Art; and a visceral feel for Dadaesque Psychedelia, a subversive quality not found in the American Fillmore posters of the same era. GR

Publisher: Dover
Paperback: 48 pages
Illustrated

Yowser! Yowser! “The colorful, if bizarre, story” of a phenomenally popular fad that magnetized the American public in the ‘20s and ‘30s, in which two-person teams were incarcerated for weeks at a time, deprived of sleep, and forced to run and walk daily in oddball races until they dropped—winner take all. “‘A Poor Man’s Nightclub,’ dance marathons were the dog-end of American show business, a bastard form of entertainment which borrowed from vaudeville, burlesque, nightclub acts and sports. What began as a craze soon developed into a money-making business which lasted thirty years… Dance marathons held a particular fascination for Americans since they projected traits and values pervasive in America then and now… [They] mirrored the sham side of American culture, its commercialism and opportunism.” This merry madness inspired Horace McCoy’s pulp classic They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? GR

Publisher: Bowling Green
Paperback: 215 pages
Illustrated

American values in Victorian times—the first Industrial Age culture to be mass produced—as told through their household furnishings. Explores the conflicts of that radically changing age as it was coded, commoditized and commercialized into the goods of the material world. “Culture pervades life in the form of things, behaviors, ideas, laws, morals and opinions. At its most effective, it is stealthy, lurking where we do not expect it… People in Victorian America were deeply conflicted over most of the central issues that occupy human societies—issues of power and power relations, the distribution of wealth and resources, gender roles and expectations… “
This moral ambivalence, especially toward nature, enters the Victorian vocabulary of design. Examines four major themes: entry hall styles (lots of mirrors, every hall an entry to a man’s Versailles); dining room furnishings (dining-room sideboards were often decorated with the spoils of human predation—hanging fowl, fishes and dead stags); framed mottoes (“Consider the Lilies,” “Touch Not, Taste Not, Handle Not,” etc.—”God Bless Our Home” was No. 1); and the exalted status of the parlor reed organ (the altar in a shrine to the conquering civilization). GR

Publisher: Temple University
Paperback: 265 pages
Illustrated

Examines a little-charted period in Dutch design during the ‘20s and ‘30s. Getting a late start on Streamline, Dutch artists were nonetheless able to synthesize it with Cubist, Egyptian and Mayan forms. Creamy oranges, reds, yellows and earthy browns predominate the vibrant ads and posters; blues and greens are used as startling accents. Subjects range from industrial to glamorous to everyday, each image angled and thrust to portray maximum artistic impact. GR

Publisher: Chronicle
Paperback: 132 pages
Illustrated

Snappy, corny put-downs for BOOZERS, BORES, CHISELERS, CHATTERBOXES, CREAMPUFFS, DUMBBELLS, FAILERS, FLAT TIRES, GOLD DIGGERS, HYPOCHONDRIACS, LIARS, MEANIES, and even NUDISTS: “She grins and bares it… There’s a mutual attraction between her and a young man in the camp—they’re in the nude for love… The only thing she wears are beads—of perspiration… She’s a fine specimen of the nuder gender… He’s a lawyer, and ever since he joined the colony, he hasn’t had a suit… He’s the camp athlete. He runs 100 yards in nothing… He was thrown out because he asked for dressing on his salad.” GR

Publisher: Citadel
Paperback: 412 pages

The heartbreak, the sorrow, the star trips—sorry! wrong book!—”Bob Denver takes us backstage and behind the scenes of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and Gilligan’s Island. Writing in a remarkably friendly and affable style, Denver tells us what it was like to be plucked from complete obscurity to portray America’s most celebrated beatnik, Maynard G. Krebs, and then to become Gilligan, the world’s favorite stranded castaway.” In addition, Denver reveals his 25 favorite Dobie episodes and his 50 favorite Gilligans. Features stories prop mishaps, how TV shows are put together, and anecdotes about all the cast members. GR

Publisher: Citadel
Paperback: 184 pages
Illustrated

Profiles the dime-magazine godfathers who influenced today’s popular superheroes, and traces the story histories of the costumed crimefighters as well as the “gaudy and glorious magazines that spawned them.” Interviews with “the amazing wordsmiths who churned out their monthly adventures” fill in the gaps. Top heroes who had their own mags include: Superscientist and Bronze Bombshell Doc Savage (the inspiration for Superman), who, along with his quirky sidekicks, stopped an Ice Age cold, and battled dinosaurs, ancient mummies, and even Adolf Hitler. Then there’s Master Aero-spy G-8 and his Battle Aces (sort of flying James Bonds), who took wing to fight Sky Monsters, Corpse Squadrons and Flying Dragons. And colorful Secret Service Operator #5 (a Nayland Smith type, always battling another Fu Manchu), who fought off the Yellow Vulture and the Purple Invasion. Plus a successful clone of the Shadow, “humanity’s paladin,” the Spider (playing a Bruce Wayne/Batman identity game), who was billed as a juggernaut of action and emotion. Says one writer: “The best Spider stories carry an emotional field strong enough to attract nails. They sweep you along, the paragraphs radiating emotion with almost physical intensity, numbing the critical sense. It is basic, simple stuff, overpowering in context. It works wonderfully well. You care for people.” Also features lesser-knowns like Green Ghost, Phantom Detective, Ka-Zar and Captain Future. “An affectionate look back at the outsized heroes who once occupied the imagination of loyal readers.” GR

Publisher: Mosaic
Paperback: 276 pages
Illustrated

Talk! Sing! Play! Reduce! Roar! Have Fun! Send Away Today! See sensational offers that leaped off the pages of comic books from the ‘40s and ‘50s, sandwiched between the adventures of Blue Bolt, Mighty Mouse and Nellie the Nurse. See! The Ant Farm, Nutty Putty, 50 Combat Action Toys for $1, and the Satellite Flashlight. See! The Original Kentucky Tavern Barbecue Ash Tray, Xmas Tree Lampshades, a Jaunty Jumper, a “Moon Glo in Silk” Jersey, and the Glow-in-the-Dark Necktie. A colorful glimpse into the lost, innocent world of lowbrow hucksterism. GR

Publisher: Chronicle
Paperback: 96 pages
Illustrated

Mini-histories and black-and-white cover shots of all the music mags teens craved in the glory days of rock ‘n’ roll. Includes both U.S. and U.K. titles. You could pick these mags up at the drugstore, man: Crawdaddy, Cheetah, Dig, Hep Cats, Hit Parader, Eye, Mojo-Navigator R&R News, Flip, Melody Maker, Rave, Tiger Beat and Sixteen. GR

Publisher: Shake
Paperback: 111 pages
Illustrated