Was Superman A Spy?. Brian Cronin. Plume (2009)

This book is a very enjoyable tour around some of the urban legends and stories that are part and parcel of comic book history. While it is unlikely that anyone who was not a comic book fan to begin with would pick up the book, a reader would not have to be one to enjoy it. This is the major strength of the book, it is neither excessively fannish nor is it aimed exclusively at the non-fan. It is straightforward and clear, written in a plain accessible way that is a pleasure to read.

There are 130 stories in the book and they range from the truly odd and sad, one of the creators involved in Crime Does Not Pay was found guilty of manslaughter and served a prison sentence to the wonderful, the pieces about Superman being a spy. Brian Cronin wears his research lightly and provides all the details needed in a concise fashion required to appreciate the point of each story.

There is no particular theme to the book and this serves it well. The stories cover a wonderful range of back stage antics concerned with the comic book industry and the detail is impressive and frequently very amusing. The illustrations and excerpts are very well chosen and the quality of the reproductions is high. This book is both highly enjoyable and very informative, a pleasure.

Hellboy. The Companion. Stephen Weiner, Jason Hall, Victoria Blake. Dark Horse Books (2008)

Given the facts that only committed Hellboy fans are likely to buy this book and committed Hellboy fans would buy it pretty much regardless of the quality, this is accessible, entertaining and a treat for any Hellboy fan. In keeping with the quality control exercised throughout the franchise, this is thoughtful, well produced and literate. It does a very nice job of both extending and explaining the literary roots and context of Hellboy and diving headfirst into the details and revelling in them.

The core of the book are the character profiles by Victoria Blake and Rachel Edidin, these cover just about every character who cross any page in any Hellboy or B.P.R.D. book. This should be inaccessible to anyone but a committed fan and possibly even a step too far for a lot of them. Thanks to fine writing by Victoria Blake and Rachel Edidin this is a series of intriguing micro biographies of a wonderfully assorted cast of characters. There is a notable absence of referential defensiveness in the writing, the reader does not have to possess a degree of prior knowledge to enjoy the profiles. They are informative and comprehensive, the various illustrations, old and new, from Mike Mignola, has been chosen with care.

The Official Timeline by Jason Hall is really for committed fans only, it is also just fantastic. It has the correct level of detail, catches all the highways and byways that are explicit and implicit in the stories and creates a breathtaking view of the world of Hellboy. The Literary Heritage of Hellboy, an essay by Stephen Weiner, and the Further Reading section round of the volume in fine style with the essay showing the breath and depth of the influences and sources that Mike Mignola lovingly draws upon for his work.

I read this book straight through, I appreciated and enjoyed the authors care, attention and talent and they have increased my enjoyment of the various Hellboy comics and films greatly.