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DEBUT SHOWING May 21, 2005, 7:30 PM on People TV Atlanta on Comcast Channel 24 | ||||||||||
| As part of The Breman Museum's exhibit of The Golden Age of Comic Books, writer Gerard Jones was invited to make a presentation based upon his book Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book. Jones' book goes into lavish detail of the state of the publishing world -- and society itself -- that led to what we now know as the comic book. | |||||||||||
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| While I knew of the first comic books (originally being reprints of newspaper comic strips until the need for new material led to the creation of stories specifically made for the new medium, I certainly wasn't aware of the men involved and what they were doing before that issue of New Fun Comics, and eventually Action Comics #1 which introduced the world to Superman.
Gerry's presentation (hey, I happen to have known him since the 80s from our days in Legion of Super-Heroes fandom through the apa Interlac, I can call him Gerry) unearthed many of the pulp magazines, including some quite lurid publications as well as "physique" magazines to illustrate not just the mind-set but the rationale for the direction which gave us a world of brightly colored costumed characters that we love today. The episode traces, among other things, how bootlegging during prohibition, love of art "usually found in only in France," and savvy businessmen pulled together to create one of the truly original American art forms. |
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| Production credits for Episode 6: Chris Companik, Camera, Director, Producer; Gerard Jones, Writer | |||||||||||
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GIANT SIZE COMIC BOOK SHOW is © Chris Companik and airs on People TV Atlanta on Comcast Channel 24, 7:30 PM every 4th Saturday night. All comic book/strip characters shown on this site as well as the show are © their respective owners.