Rise of the Superheroes: Greatest Silver Age Comic Books and Characters

by David Tosh

They Could Be Heroes

Rise of the Superheroes--Greatest Silver Age Comic Books and Characters is a visual and entertaining adventure exploring one of the most popular and significant eras of comic book history. From 1956 to 1970, the era gave us Spider-Man, The Avengers, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and a flurry of other unforgettable and formidable characters.

The Silver Age redefined and immortalized superheroes as the massive pop culture titans they are today.

Lavishly illustrated with comic book covers and original art, the book chronicles:

   • The new frontier of DC Comics, with a revamped Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, and new characters including Hawkman
   • Marvel's new comics featuring Thor and The Fantastic Four
   • The pop art years that saw Batman's "new look" and the TV series
   • Independent characters, including Fat Fury and T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
   • Spotlights new and re-imagined superheroes, like Wonder Woman, who have become central to modern pop culture
   • Includes values of these comics, which are popular with collectors
Thanks to the Silver Age, superheroes are bigger and badder than ever.

• ISBN10: 1440248168
• ISBN13: 9781440248160
• Publish Date: 8 May 2018
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 27 January 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Krause Publications
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 176
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781440248160

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Rise of the Superheroes from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Rise of the Superheroes is one of many books trying to help sum up the history of superhero comics into an easy to understand novel. Unlike other novels I’ve read though, David Tosh decided to add a more personal touch to his writing; expresses which comics were his favorite, parts he remembered in particular, and even adding context to the publishing time of comics by including larger known pop culture events. That made this a really fun read for me, as well as informative.
Tosh doesn’t delve as deeply into the history of comics or their printing, but instead does more of a surface and pop culture view. It’s a fantastic place to start for new readers or for somebody that was unfortunately not alive during the time to personally experience the growth of the comic book industry. I love this different perspective, and that alone makes this a worthwhile read, in my opinion.
This novel also includes a ton of favorite and popular images from comics, showing their evolution through time as well as just being fun to see (for some of us it’s even for the first time). I think it’d be great if Tosh came out with a follow up in a few years, covering the more recent decades of comics. I’d like to see his take on the modern runs.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks