Editor: Maurice Horn
Book
Published by Century House 1998
$59.95

Reviewed by Andrew Wheeler

Describing itself as the first definitive and comprehensive reference work for comic books, THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA set new standards for appreciation of the medium when it was originally published in 1976. It took twenty-two years for a revised edition to appear, and in the intervening years very few other works of its kind have joined it on the bookshelf.

With 1,400 entries and over 1,000 pages, there is no doubting this is a weighty work. Editor Maurice Horn - a noted author, exhibitor and lecturer on comics - has compiled a serious and intelligent encyclopedia that will keep any dedicated fan distracted for months. Contributors include science fiction novelist Bill Blackbeard, editor and translator Wolfgang Fuchs, comics journalist Joe Brancatelli, and Disney and Marvel alumnus Mark Evanier.

The book's greatest strength is its breadth. Covering over 250 years and 42 countries, there is plenty to educate even the most well informed comic fan. Though there is still a heavy emphasis on America - and a disappointing showing for Japan - the book does at least strive to live up to its global title, with an especially comprehensive set of entries for Europe.

It also does an excellent job of covering the development of the medium, with as much emphasis on comic strips as comic books. For a fan looking to expand his horizons beyond superheroes, it is an excellent resource, although the entries on superheroes are also informative, displaying some interesting editorial choices. There are hardly any heroes listed from beyond the cusp of the Silver Age, and the names of Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino may not be as familiar today as once they were.

"The book's biggest flaw is how little space it gives to the modern age"

In fact, the book's biggest flaw is how little space it gives to the modern age. Of 1,400 entries, only 200 were added to cover the years since 1976. Frank Miller and Alan Moore are included. Neil Gaiman and Chris Claremont are not. The editor's assertion that each issue of WATCHMEN is intended to be only one minute long is clear evidence that the last twenty years have not been studied as closely as they deserve.

The modern age of newspaper strips gets much better coverage, with DILBERT, CALVIN & HOBBES, DOONESBURY, GARFIELD, THE FAR SIDE and many of their respective creators all earning a place. Another limitation is that the book only lists entries for creators and their creations. There are no entries for editors or other key figures, no entries for movements, schools or terms, and not even an entry for publishing houses like DC, Marvel or Archie.

Editor Maurice Horn is also something of a problem. While all his contributors maintain their academic distance and professionalism, Horn provides the bulk of the entries, and occasionally lets his own prejudices shine through. He calls MAUS a contrived and self-pitying work and accuses creator Art Spiegelman of facetiousness. He calls Stan Lee an egomaniac, and then defends Rob Liefeld a few pages later.

The prejudices work the other way, too; Horn's repeated reference to the inarguably pioneering, but not terribly enthralling KATZENJAMMER KIDS strips from the turn of the century can become somewhat wearing after a while. Horn's idiosyncratic and arbitrary style may in theory seem appealing, but in practice it's merely grating.

"Neither Kefauver nor Wertham merits his own entry, as neither one of them ever thought to create a comic strip"

Ranging from such diverse subjects as the Moomins to Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, via Sgt Fury and Modesty Blaise, the encyclopedia perhaps works best as a lucky dip, throwing up all kinds of fascinating insights and tidbits. Did you know that hard-boiled Mickey Spillane was once the writer on PLASTIC MAN? Or that LITTLE NEMO creator Winsor McCay once shared a theatre bill with Houdini and WC Fields?

The encyclopedia also offers more than just alphabetical entries. There are articles on the history of comics and of newspaper syndication; an analysis of the medium; a chronology; a glossary of terms; a special section on colour comics; the full Comics Code; and a transcript of the notorious 1954 US Senate Hearings into juvenile delinquency, featuring Senator Estes Kefauver and Doctor Frederic Wertham. Neither man merits his own entry, though, as neither one of them ever thought to create a comic strip. These additions and appendices are what really make the book stand out, giving the reader some valuable impressions of the wider world of comics culture beyond the limited information available in the creator and comics entries.

Taken all together, Horn's encyclopedia is certainly an absorbing and informative work, and a useful addition to the under populated bookshelf of any budding comics historian, researcher or fascinated fan. However, one cannot help thinking that there is still room up there for another, more definitive, more comprehensive book than this one, and perhaps Maurice Horn is not the man to provide it.

Recommended (with reservations: only for dedicated fans looking to find the industry's roots)

Andrew Wheeler is Editorial Consultant of PopImage.

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