One of the most distinctive voices in mainstream comics since the 1970s, Howard Chaykin (b. 1950) has earned a reputation as a visionary formal innovator and a compelling storyteller whose comics offer both pulp-adventure thrills and thoughtful engagement with real-world politics and culture. His body of work is defined by the belief that comics can be a vehicle for sophisticated adult entertainment and for narratives that utilize the medium's unique properties to explore serious themes with intelligence and wit.Beginning with early interviews in fanzines and concluding with a new interview conducted in 2010 with the volume's editor,
Howard Chaykin: Conversations collects widely ranging discussions from Chaykin's earliest days as an assistant for such legends as Gil Kane and Wallace Wood to his recent work on titles including
Dominic Fortune,
Challengers of the Unknown, and
American Century. The book includes 35 line illustrations selected from Chaykin, as well. As a writer/artist for outlets such as DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and
Heavy Metal, he has participated in and influenced many of the major developments in mainstream comics over the past four decades. He was an early pioneer in the graphic novel format in the 1970s, and his groundbreaking sci-fi satire
American Flagg! was an essential contribution to the maturation of the comic book as a vehicle for social commentary in the 1980s.
About the AuthorBrannon Costello, Saint Gabriel, Louisiana, is associate professor of English at Louisiana State University and coeditor with Qiana J. Whitted of
Comics and the U.S. South (published by University Press of Mississippi).
Book InformationISBN 9781604739756
Author Brannon CostelloFormat Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint University Press of MississippiPublisher University Press of Mississippi
Series Conversations with Comic Artists SeriesWeight(grams) 616g