"Comics are just words and pictures.
You can do anything with words and pictures."
jazz/book critic, writer of the autobiographical comic book series American Splendor
Welcome! Want to learn the history of super-hero comics books and how they reflect world wide events, social changes, political upheavals, religious fables and mythological arch-types?
You do?! FANTASTIC!
Did you know that Orson Welles and Hugh Hefner both used to read comic books regularly and that Hugh originally wanted to be a comic artist? Did you know that a pro-Nazi rally held in New York City actually burned Captain America in effigy soon before the U.S. entered World War II? Did you realize that Wonder Woman was created by a guy who helped create the lie detector? Ever considered the parallels between Aquaman and King Arthur?
I'm Alan Kistler, sometimes called "Sizzler" (or just "Sizz") by my friends. I am a long-time lover of novels, history, films, theatre and comic books (sometimes called "sequential art" or "graphic novels" these days). Simply put, I love STORIES in any form. And I just happen to know an absurd amount of information concerning comics.
When I was first getting into comics, I occasionally had trouble catching up on the history that had been established long before I started reading. And I had a tough time trying to find out about the stories behind the creation of certain characters and storylines. So most of this is to help new comic readers who find themselves in a similar situation. This site is not just for die hards who can name every member of the X-Men in under a minute. This, like my web-series Crazy Sexy Geeks, is to welcome new readers to the told and help older fans with info they may not have known.
This site is a collection of all my works, both essays I've previously published and new articles I continue to publish at ComicMix.com, ComicsAlliance.com, Newsarama.com and MTV.com. All my history essays get updated now and then. You'll also note that there is a glossary and guides if you are new to the world(s) of comics and wish a crash course on some of the lingo we hip, jive cats like to use. And on occasion, I post up my thoughts on something that's itching in my brain.
And whoever you are, wherever you're from, please remember one basic truth.
No matter what anyone tells you or what judgments they make, no matter what criticisms you hear about your loves and your hobbies and your nostalgic pleasures that have been with you since childhood ...
... You're never too old.
Cheers and glad tidings to you all,
Alan P. Kistler