Blake Bell

Most comic book fans with even a minimal knowledge of the medium's history know of Bill Everett, creator of Sub-Mariner and co-creator of Daredevil. As Blake Bell points out in the aptly titled Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 1, the artist deserves far more attention and scrutiny. Everett worked on numerous comics throughout his lengthy career and this book explores his key contributions during the early Golden Age (1938-42) to titles such as Amazing Mystery Funnies, show more Amazing Man Comics, and Target Comics. Bell not only reprints several of the stories featuring the largely forgotten creations Skyrocket Steele, Amazing-Man, Hydro-Man, Sub-Zero Man, and others, but places Everett within the proper context of history through a brief bio of the artist during this period and notes about the individual pieces. Deserving a place in most graphic libraries, the handsome Amazing Mysteries: The Bill Everett Archives Vol. 1 successfully re-introduces the talented Everett to a new generation of readers. show less

Great collection of anecdotes and stories from Bill Everett's career that doesn't focus solely on his Marvel work and the Sub-Mariner. Fascinating stuff and some decidedly weird stuff as well.

If you're a fan of Golden Age comics, this is a must-read.

An interesting and well-done bio of Everett, all told.

Still, it was heavily padded-out by full page reprints of artwork and graphics to almost double its word-related page counts. As it's a book about an artist, that's to be expected (and actually added a star to its rank for me). The fact that much of the art hasn't been seen in good reproductions in 40 years also adds to its relevance in the book.

My primary gripe about the book is its graphic design--NEVER print white on black unless show more you're using a very very legible typeface at an easily-viewed size. Sheesh. I'm only 43 and I had to strain to read the far-too-numerous pages of white-on-black type. show less

The first critical retrospective of the co-creator of Spider-man, Strange and Stranger grants an inside look into the workings and artistic life of this unusual man. Bell successfully argues Ditko's place within the pantheon of great artists while at the same time presenting the many shortcomings of Ditko the person. Ditko's strong adherence to [author:Ayn Rand]'s philosophy of Objectivism ostracized and made a pariah out of the artist. Bell shines light on many diverse corners of the comics show more industry in an attempt to understand the reclusive Ditko. Lavishly illustrated throughout, Strange and Stranger: The World of [author:Steve Ditko] is a must for fans of the artist in particular and comic book history in general. show less