The Comic Book History of Animation: True Toon Tales of the Most Iconic Characters, Artists and Styles!

From the team behind The Comic Book History of Comics comes the perfect companion piece telling the story of the triumphs and tragedies of the filmmakers and beloved characters of the past century and a half -- essential for hardcore fans of the medium and noobies alike! It's all here, from Aardman to Zoetrope, Disney to Miyazaki, Hanna-Barbera to Pixar, and everything in-between!

Begin in the early 1900s with J. Stuart Blackton and the first American cartoon, Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur, and Felix the Cat! Find out about Margaret Winkler, the most powerful person in early animation, and Walt Disney, who revolutionizes cartoons with sound and color! Discover how Fleischer Studios teaches us to sing "Boop-boop-a-doop" and eat our spinach, and how Warner Bros' Looney Toons rivaled Disney's Silly Symphonies! Plus, icons of animation including Hanna-Barbera, Huckleberry Hound, The Flintstones, and Ruby-Spears; the Plastic Age of toy-based TV shows including G.I. Joe, Transformers, and He-Man; and the new Golden Age of TV animation launched by The Simpsons!

And go abroad to France with Emile Cohl's dynamic doodles in Fantasmagorie; to Japan, where Momotaro debuts the first full-length anime, Divine Sea Warriors, and Osauma Tezuka conquers TV as he conquered manga; and to Argentina, which beat out Snow White for the first feature length animated movie by two decades!

And finally, Jurassic Park and the computer animation revolution! Post-Little Mermaid Disney, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli conquer the world!

Fred Van Lente is the #1 New York Times bestselling writer of comics like Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Action Philosophers! (ALA Best Graphic Novel for Teens), and Cowboys & Aliens (with Andrew Foley), the basis for the feature film. His other titles include Resurrectionists, The Comic Book History of Comics, The Incredible Hercules (with Greg Pak), Marvel Zombies and The Amazing Spider-Man. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, playwright Crystal Skillman, and some ungrateful cats.

Ryan Dunlavey spends his days drawing cool stuff for the world's most charming and attractive art directors. He's the artist of the award-winning graphic novels Dirt Candy: A Cookbook (with Amanda Cohen); Action Philosophers, Action Presidents, and The Comic Book History of Comics (all with Fred Van Lente); and the comic strip Li'l Classix (with Grady Hendrix). On the occasions when he leaves his 100% cat-free home studio (allergies) he can be seen with graphic designer Liza Pagano and their two children as they explore New York City.