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Tales to Astonish
by Ronin Ro
Review
by: L.I.
Rapkin
Ronin
Ro
is an expert pop-culture writer, so it's no surprise that
he's tackled the comic-book genre. Tales to Astonish:
Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution
is not what was I was expecting, which was how comic books
reflected the culture around them, and how they've become
mainstream. I was expecting social history and analysis. I
didn't get it---at least, not beyond a cursory background
level. Instead, I got something of an abridged, tell-all bio
of Jack Kirby, who drew some of the biggest names in comicdom
for decades. Tales to Astonish is also a history
of the various rises and falls of DC and Marvel, a blow-by-blow
description of the development of the Kirby Art & Copyright
Battle, a mini-course in the economics of the comics industry,
and a reasonably well-balanced look at the relationship between
artist extraordinaire Kirby and powerhouse editor Stan Lee
(best summarized as "a verbal contract isn't worth the paper
it's printed on"). In fact, a better subtitle would've been
How the Comics Industry Screwed Its Talent.
It's obvious
that a great deal of research went into the book, and Ro has
even managed to get quotes (some secondhand) from the famously
reclusive Steve Ditko, as well as the infinitely more accessible
Stan Lee and a host of writers, artists, inkers, and letterers.
Unfortunately, for all the drama, greed, childish behavior,
and pettiness that pervade the story, the prose is pedestrian
and uninspired. Sometimes it's also a bit confusing to wade
through; many writers and artists worked under several names,
and there are a lot of similar first names. I would have found
the tangled web much easier to navigate if Ro had chosen to
refer to people by last names. It may sound like
a picky detail, but truly, it can be difficult for a comics
novice to work out exactly who said what to whom. For someone
who has obviously tried to be as accurate as humanly possible,
Ro detracts from his hard work by creating this confusion.
I am also amazed that there are no illustrations---let alone
color plates---in the book, especially given the amount of
text devoted to descriptions of various comic characters.
It makes no sense whatsoever that a book centered on a visual
medium hasn't a single picture.
My overall
impression is that Tales to Astonish is definitely
for comics insiders. It's old hat to those who work in and
follow the industry, and comes off as clique-y to outsiders
like me. Sure, I've enjoyed Watchmen, Sandman,
Tank Girl, and League of Extraordinary Gentlman.
I suspect there are even a few well-worn issues of Wonder
Woman lurking about my parents' house. But I'm not a
collector and I speak comic only as a second language. However,
if you eat, breath, and sleep comics, you'll probably love
it. It's thorough, if nothing else, and although it doesn't
provide much insight into the comic culture, it does
shine a klieg light on the inner workings of the business.
In many ways, I'd say that Ro's style is the polar opposite
of Chuck
Klosterman's, and that Ro could learn a thing or two from
him about engaging one's readers.
I really,
really wanted to give this book more bananas. I wanted to
recognize the depth of research, the effort to portray the
anithetical positions of the major players. But I can't bring
myself to do it. It's better than OK, but misses great by
a large margin.
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