I am aware of the Bob Kane stories and it just wasn’t the place to write about them in reviewing the first issue of Jim’s History of Comics, so I didn’t. Sorry if that marred your enjoyment of my review.

I really don’t think Jim’s history was the first, by any means, but definitely the first by a comic book “insider”, for sure.

I first read this not long after it’s publication, because a friend of mine gave me one. (B-Day gift):

I was very happy to learn, from it, how Bob Kane, then teenager, created Batman in 1939. However, I now know that the real work was done by (the often uncredited) Bill Finger, who worked on many comics, over the years. Kane had a rich uncle lawyer- and you can guess the rest.

Now, didn’t Steranko, industry ‘insider’ know about this?

Well, yes. In his later years Steranko has traveled to conventions, and basically corrected himself, telling the real story.
You see, at the time, I figure the author was starting out- after working for a while for Marvel comics. I guess he needed to sell a book, get started in the publishing game, and maybe avoid offending others in the comic industry. So the books, part I and II fudge a few things, here and there.

I still very much credit Steranko. I believe (and please correct me if I am wrong) that this is the very FIRST time anyone actually wrote any history of the comics- and it’s from a pro in the field.

At one point, he confronted Kane at a convention. Obviously, this was when they were both in retirement age. Steranko ‘bitch slapped’ Kane. And for good reason, I think.

To clarify the story, Steranko is as fascnating in person, as a public speaker, as he was in the comic pages. You won’t understand it, until you look for it on YouTube. (The closest comparison, is the way that Harlan Ellison, bless his soul, could captivate an audience.)

Born in 1938, he missed the great depression, however had a rough life. For a time, he stole coal, to get by. Like Ellison, he often locked horns with his dad. Eventually, leaving home, he joined the carnival circuit, or circus, and learned stage magic. He worked as an escape artist, as well, and a magazine art director. He did a stint as a male model (see pictures of how he looks). As with so many big talents, he left employment from the comic publishers, to go out on his own. Few people realize that he designed the Indiana Jones costume. That is, depending on how accurate my information is.

One of my points is that the surrounding story tells as much about the comic industry, as any specific publication history. Another one is that ‘time will tell.’ The later stages in life should be a time of reflection and clarification. And if possible- try to seek out comic talents from the past, who have created the industry today. They have a limited time to tell the story straight.