Boys of Steel at Guys Lit Wire
July 22nd, 2008 by jules
I’m going to keep this short, because it almost pains me to post on top of Eisha’s and Adrienne’s very fun post from yesterday. Scroll down a bit if you missed it then and take in the conversation, dear readers.
I’m over at Guys Lit Wire today with a bit about Marc Tyler Nobleman and illustrator Ross MacDonald’s new picture book biography, Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, released just this week by Knopf Books for Young Readers — and already met with a handful of starred reviews. It’s all about Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the two unsung heroes who created Superman. And I conducted a short Q & A with Nobleman as well; I didn’t give him the usually rather lengthy and Pivot-y 7-Imp treatment, since I’m guesting at another blog, but I did chat with him a bit about his new book — as well as his next project, a book for older readers about the uncredited co-creator and original writer of Batman.
Plus, you can find out who exactly a pionerd is if you go read what Marc has to say. “Pionerd” is currently my new favorite word.
Here’s the link. Enjoy!
Ooh, this DOES sound good. When I read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay a few years ago, I got really interested in the origins of comic books. I’m glad Nobleman decided to document some of this history for younger readers. And could there be a more perfect illustrator for that story than Ross MacDonald? I think not. Score, J.
Thanks, E. I’ve always wanted to read that book, too. Not surprisingly, it’s in our home, as Blaine owns it.
The beginning of the Booklist review for Nobleman’s book, incidentally, begins this way: “Though rich in thrilling big breaks and cultural touchstones, comic book history appears most often in books for adults, such as Michael Chabon’s Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000), inspired by the story of Superman’s creators. This book brings the young men behind the Man of Steel to a picturebook audience.”
So, you’re exactly right.
The book is released TODAY, I just confirmed. I had kept reading that but wasn’t 100% sure and didn’t wanna screw that up in my posts. And so I kept saying “this week,” but isn’t my timing nice? The book actually gets released today.
And, man, I finally just went into Blogger and turned the hyperlinks from dark-blue-on-black into red-on-black. So now you can see them over at the interview.
Ah, I’m too spoiled by WordPress!
Yesterday, via YouTube comments, I attempted to tell John Green and the nerdfighters about this post + the GLW post and the Pionerds portmanteau. YouTube kept eating my words. BAH.