Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman gives a comprehensive look into the world of comics that even the non-comic book lover can appreciate. As the editors state in the preface , this book “…explores how these significant characters and creators, these icons of our culture, reflect the American experience out of which they sprang and how they have achieved relevance by adapting to, and perhaps influencing, the evolving American character” (xiii).

Set up in two volumes, the book lists each of its one hundred icons alphabetically. From Neal Adams to Zap Comics, each entry is comprised of the history of the icon, the impact on the comic genre, the impact that icon has had on American culture and a summary of all of the information listed. Many of the entries also include a list of materials for further reading. The entries themselves range from two to ten pages. Some entries do include images however; all are in black and white.

When reviewing this title, a few things caught my attention. I enjoyed the break-down of each entry into categories. If the reader was only looking for the impact of the icon on comics, he or she could go directly to the labeled passage. However, I would have liked to have seen the icons themselves categorized by date instead of alphabetically. I think it would have given the reader an interesting look into the evolution of comics over time. Another thing that caught my attention was that all the images were in black and white. In Ron Goulart’s Comic Book Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to Characters, Graphic Novels Writer’s and Artists in the Comic Book Universe, the author chose to use color images which I feel enhanced the readers experience especially when discussing aspects of the genre related to costumes and illustration (It Books, 2004). Goulart’s comic book encyclopedia is also condensed into one volume and includes not only comic book icons, but icons from the world of graphic novels as well. When comparing the two texts, it would seem that although Goulart’s book is in color, Duncan and Smith’s book seems better suited for the academic library with its in depth descriptions of the characters impact on culture and not just background information.

Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman explores the world of the comic book industry introducing us to not only to the characters we know and love but to their ideals and what they represent to us in our society. Recommended for public and academic libraries.