Graphic Lit: Vintage, Independent, Marvel, and DC
In what may be an expression of nostalgia, we carry a lot of the genius of newspaper-published graphic literature, a Golden Age that lasted from the 1930s to the departure of Bill Watterson's Calvin & Hobbes. The two comic book behemoths, Marvel and DC, are included here. We don’t cover the “universes” of each company. Occasionally, however, they publish some strikingly original or quirky work that suits our inventory. On this page we feature all our adult graphic literature (some of which, of course, is perfectly appropriate for children); our Young Adult graphic literature has its own page under that name.
Content note: I have moved all of Neil Gaiman’s work (Sandman and others) to his page here.
The Art of Pulp Fiction: An Illustrated History of Vintage Paperbacks
The Art of Pulp Fiction: An Illustrated History of Vintage Paperbacks
Judge these books by their covers! Get immersed in the definitive visual history of vintage pulp fiction paperbacks from 1940 to 1970. The mid-20th century saw paperbacks eclipse cheap pulp magazines and expensive clothbound books as the most popular delivery vehicle for escapist fiction. To catch the eyes of potential buyers they were adorned with covers that were invariably vibrant, frequently garish, and occasionally lurid. Today the early paperbacks–like the earlier pulps, inexpensively produced and considered disposable by casual readers–are treasured collector's items. Award-winning editor Ed Hulse (The Art of the Pulps and The Blood 'n' Thunder Guide to Pulp Fiction) comprehensively covers the pulp fiction paperback's heyday. Hulse writes the individual chapter introductions and the captions, while a team of genre specialists and art aficionados contribute the special features included in each chapter, which focus on particularly important authors, artists, publishers, and sub-genres. Illustrated with more than 500 memorable covers and original cover paintings. Hulse's extensive captions, meanwhile, offer a running commentary on this significant genre, and also contain many obscure but entertaining factoids. Images used in The Art of Pulp Fiction have been sourced from the largest American paperback collections in private hands, and have been curated with rarity in mind, as well as graphic appeal. Consequently, many covers are reproduced here for the first time since the books were first issued. With an overall Introduction by Richard A. Lupoff, novelist, essayist, pop-culture historian, and author of The Great American Paperback (2001).