The Superhero Book

(Visible Ink)
™ and © Visible Ink Press

There are quite a few super–hero reference books on the stands these days. Many of them are published by the comics companies and have self–interest at heart. Others are constrained by their own self–imposed limitations on format and/or content, such as Famous Black Supervillanesses. This one is actually a reference book that reads like one. Entries include characters, ranging from The Blonde Phantom to ShadowHawk. There are overviews of some companies’ heroic line–ups, such as “Ultraverse Heroes,” “Valiant Heroes,” and “Archie Heroes.” (The latter includes the likes of The Fly and The Comet. Pureheart the Powerful gets a passing nod under “Silver Age.”) Entries also include such topics as “The Secret Identity,” “One-Hit Wonders,” “International Heroes,” and “Anti–Drug Series.”

Being a “super–hero” book rather than a “comic book” book, it includes plenty of non–comics entries, such as The Greatest American Hero. Other characters, such as Batman, The Phantom, and the original Captain Marvel have separate listings for their media adventures. Happily, it has both a contents page and an index. Too many similar works possess neither.

— Jack Abramowitz

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