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Comic book Fever
George Khoury has written and co-written a number of books about comics including Kimota! The Miracleman Companion; modern Masters volumes on Kevin Maguire, John Romita Jr., Ron Garney, and others; Age of TV Heroes; The amazing works of Alan Moore; and lots of others. Comic book Fever, his new book from TwoMorrows, is scheduled to arrive in June. Khoury told Westfield’s Roger Ash what to expect in this new volume.
Westfield: What is Comic book Fever?
George Khoury: Comic book Fever is a book that celebrates the essential comics era of 1976-1986. It’s a love letter to the medium, the era, and its creators, but it’s also a bit a lot more than that because every chapter and sidebar carry a story, and all these stories together paint a larger picture of the entire comics industry. We’ve added lots of layers to this book because we wanted to make it fun and easily accessible to everyone. We tried to capture it all.
Westfield: how did the book come to be?
Khoury:Well, I feel like everything I’ve done has brought me here. for years I had all these story ideas circling in my head until I finally had an epiphany that all of this was the making of an exceptional book. I wanted to revisit the era that made my generation and me fall in love in with this medium, and I wanted to share that excitement with everyone who reads the book.
Westfield: Your personal golden age seems fairly similar to my own. What were some of the books and who were some of the creators that you loved at the time?
Khoury: I became cognizant of comic books in 1976 around the time I entered grammar school. Afterward, I mostly read comics that my friends would lend me. In 1982, I finally had an allowance and the excruciating wait for the release of Return of the Jedi motion picture lead me to find a copy of star Wars #68 at the local spinner rack. after that star Wars comic, I was hooked and spent my time getting every title that caught my eye. My golden age would be from 1982 to 1985. It only ended in 1985 because my family moved overseas.
Westfield: There are some interviews in the book. who are some of the people you spoke to?
Khoury: I interviewed over seventy people for this book during the five years that I serviced it. I used those interviews to tell our story. Inside the book are folks such as Neal Adams, John Romita, George Pérez, Marv Wolfman, Alan Moore, Denny O’Neil, Jim Starlin, José Luis García-López, The Pinis, The Hernandez Brothers, The Buscema Brothers, Stan Lee, Jack Davis, Rick Barry, Kevin Eastman, Chris Claremont, Gerry Conway, and lots of others. We covered a ton of ground here.
Westfield: The service of comic has changed a lot considering that the ‘70s and ‘80s. With all that has changed, do you think the personal golden age still happens for young readers today?
Khoury: Yes. There may not be as lots of youngsters as there once was but it does still happen. kids will always be kids. By nature, They will always be curious. They will always seek things that speak to them. and in their pursuit of happiness, some lucky ones will discover bliss inside the world of comics.
Westfield: any closing comments?
Khoury: I just want everyone to take pleasure in this book. We’ve spared no expense or imaginative idea into making Fever as happy and complete of a reading experience as the comics themselves. We covered it all, even some of the greatest ads.
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Comic book Fever