A Visual Guide to the Comic Book Universe

Product Description

The comic book universe is adventurous, mystifying, and filled with heroes, villains, and cosplaying Comic-Con attendees. This book by one of Wired magazine's art directors traverses the graphic world through a collection of pie charts, bar graphs, timelines, scatter plots, and more. Super Graphic offers readers a unique look at the intricate and sometimes contradictory storylines that weave their way through comic books, and shares advice for navigating the pages of some of the most popular, longest-running, and best-loved comics and graphic novels out there. From a colorful breakdown of the DC Comics reader demographic to a witty Venn diagram of superhero comic tropes and a Chris Ware sadness scale, this book charts the most arbitrary and monumental characters, moments, and equipment of the wide world of comics.

Features

• Used Book in Good Condition

Top Reviews

Fun Graphs and Graphic Design for Comic Book Lovers
by Scott Slemmons (5 out of 5 stars)
May 2, 2017

Infographics are great for folks who have trouble grasping complex data analysis - which really means they're great for almost everyone. It can be really hard to look at a column of statistics and be able to make hide nor hair of them. A good infographic makes data more clear to the layman, and if designed well, they can actually make data fun.

Tim Leong is a very good designer, a very good number cruncher, and he really likes comic books. And so we get "Super Graphic," a book full of infographics about comic books. It's an incredibly clever book, beautifully designed, and grand fun to read.

Among the other infographics in the book are graphs analyzing common superhero tropes, manga, the heights and weights of various superheroes, the histories (and mergings) of many comic book publishers, the ingredients of pizzas preferred by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a comparison of superhero-themed roller coasters, the political leanings of comic book characters, the stats on Charlie Brown's baseball team, the influence of comic books on hip hop, a flow chart on how the Punisher determines who he kills, and much, much, much more.

My primary quibble with this book is that I kinda wanted all of the graphics to include useful data, and some of them are just there for the sake of silliness or showing off Leong's design chops. For example, "A Personal History of Saying 'Good Grief' " is just a black zigzag on a yellow background - in other words, the pattern on Charlie Brown's shirt. It's cute, but that's about all it is.

But again, that's a quibble. I had a blast reading the book, pored over all the stats, gloried in the graphic design, and found plenty of things to laugh about and learn from. If you love comics - not just superheroes, but all kinds of comics - and you love the statistics and data and minutiae of hardcore comics continuity study, you should pick this up.
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Highly recommended for all fans of comics and art
by erikmalinowski (5 out of 5 stars)
July 18, 2013

Even with only a working knowledge of the history of comic books and all that that entails, I was stunned and sucked in by the level of detail and historical care that Tim Leong offers his book's subject material. From cover to cover, "Super Graphic" is a whimsical, thorough, and engaging look at the history of comics and it presents -- perhaps unintentionally but certainly without question -- a compelling narrative for how comics and graphic novels have inextricably woven themselves in the permanent pop culture fabric of today.

A fun and educational collection of visuals with strong re-read value, "Super Graphic" would give even the most fervent and dedicated comics fan some fresh eyes onto the world they thought they knew so well.
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Amazing, amazing book
by Jesse Chin (5 out of 5 stars)
July 17, 2013

Tim Leong constantly surprises me with the level of quality and accessibility to all of his work and Super Graphic is no exception. It's a piece of art that I recommend to any and everyone who has even a modicum of interest in the comic book subculture. The use of infographics continue to astound me as I never realized how much information could be packed into such a clear, concise image and I appreciate how varied the subject matter is. Whether you're a fan of men who dress like rodents or arachnids or into Euro-fare like Tin Tin this is the book for you.

I'd also highly recommend picking up any backissues of his magazine Comic Foundry if you can find them. It might be a little dated but it's passion and heart are timeless.
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A nice souvenir book
by ... (5 out of 5 stars)
February 10, 2019

I loved this book because it was a very nice exercise in data visualization, not so much because I was very interested in the superheroes. However, every person I have shown this book to has absolutely loved it.
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Buy it for your inner comic geek but study it for the graphics
by D. Kittrell (4 out of 5 stars)
September 18, 2013

Great fun for both comic fans and graphic artists. Some charts are a bit esoteric (to be expected given the subject matter). The thematic color choices on many diagrams are what I find most interesting (sometimes more so than the information content). The connection between color and good/bad/neutral allegiance in comics has been explored before but seldom in so many ways and with such interesting styles.
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Geek p0rn
by Kray (5 out of 5 stars)
December 31, 2013

This book is so great. I bought it for my little brother for Christmas and ended up getting one for myself, too. It features a nice mix of practical and goofy infographics, stretching the comic book spectrum, as well as a long period of time. You get to compare different features and elements of super heroes over time.

The infographics are beautifully made and this is a great book to pour over and discover something new each time. A great gift for geeks and comic book enthusiasts.
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Cool visuals
by Ultimate Consumer (5 out of 5 stars)
February 9, 2018

This is a great book! The visuals are fun to see how your favorite super hero's compare! My little nephew loved it.
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Fun exapmles
by B (5 out of 5 stars)
February 8, 2019

This book is cool. Interesting and a great example of fun charts and graphs.
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So inventive. Easily read in small chunks.
by D. Doescher (5 out of 5 stars)
January 1, 2014

To understand the depth of this books cleverness, you really have to hold it in your hands. It's a factual and visual treat. There's nothing like it, and zI can't believe no one before Tim Leong thought of it. If you like comics, you'll love this book. If, like me, you love comics and worked in graphic design, you'll LOVE IT!
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It attempts to be witty and funny but after the 10th page it's kind of the ...
by ReiNitalia (2 out of 5 stars)
December 17, 2016

I thought this book was going to be more informative but it's not. It attempts to be witty and funny but after the 10th page it's kind of the same thing over and over again.

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