Regarding my question about the first superhero back in October, Peter Coogan sent word about his upcoming book, Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre. "An exhaustive and entertaining study of the superhero genre, this volume traces the roots of the superhero in mythology, science fiction, and the pulps, and follows the superhero's development to its current renaissance in film, literature, and graphic novels."
Peter Schjeldahl, in a harsh review of graphic novels for the New Yorker (with particular contempt for Harvey Pekar), suggests that the artistic breakthrough of graphic novels has occurred, been recognized, and "that a process of increasingly strained emulation and diminishing returns has set in", citing Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan as the form's peak. Here's a positive review of Ware's newest collection.
Chris Ware's new book is out soon and Salon has an early review. Ware's Jimmy Corrigan is one of my favorite books of all time.
