He is the author of many books, from novels to graphic novels, plays, screenplays and other works too numerous to mention. His list of publications and other achievements is incredible, from a Pulitzer Prize to an Oscar for an animated short film that he wrote. Jules Feiffer is considered the most widely read satirist in the United States.
If you want a good beginning collection of Golden Age comic book feature reprints, pick up an older edition of this book - just don't bother reading the commentary. If you want proper Feiffer, pick up his novel Ackroyd (one of my favorite books) or a collection of his comic strips. There's no real joy through most of the book just a lot of whingeing. The "art" of comics (particularly other peoples' comics) appears to have been lost on him as he grew older and the industry went through changes that forced him to adapt the juvenile outlook he had at the start. His commentary comes off as droll, boring, and almost confrontational at times. Without the reprints, this is not the best book of reminiscences about the industry, which is surprising considering Jules Feiffer is normally one of my favorite comic creators and a veritable legend in many industries. The new edition and e-book does NOT have the comic book stories.
Make sure you buy the the hardcover from 1965 or the paperback from the seventies, as they have the reprints. The Spirit tale is a little soft in terms of reproduction, but there are some fun stories here.
The first real comic book trade paperback that reprinted old stories for fans features some good reprints of some old stories.
With wit and insight Feiffer discusses what the great comic book heroes meant to him as a child and later as an artist. Out of print for over 30 years, Feiffer's book discusses the role that the patriotic superhero played during World War II in shaping the public spirit of civilians and soldiers, as well as the escapist power these stories held over the zeitgeist of America. The Great Comic Book Heroes is widely acknowledged to be the first book to analyze the juvenile medium of superhero comics in a critical manner, but without denying the iconic hold such works have over readers of all ages. In the book, Feiffer writes about the unique the place of comics in the space between high and low art and the power which this space offers both the creator and reader. In 1965, Feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of the late 1930s and early 1940s, including Plastic Man, Batman, Superman, The Spirit and others. Fantagraphics is proud to publish Jules Feiffer's long out-of-print and seminal essay of comics criticism, The Great Comic Book Heroes, in a compact and affordable size.
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