The Overstreet World of Comic Books (1993) remastered & posted with permission by Gary Carter

Published 2023-11-12
"The Overstreet World of Comic Books," a 1993 documentary produced by Gary Carter and Tom Barker, offers a unique exploration of the comic book industry. It features insights from legendary figures such as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Will Eisner, delving into their creative processes and impact on the art form. The film examines the vibrant culture surrounding comic books, from fan conventions to the nuances of collecting. Highlighting both the artistic and commercial aspects of comics, it serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding the dynamics of this influential and ever-evolving medium. Gary Carter has given permission to improve the audio and video and post it here for archival educational purposes.

00:00 Introduction
00:03:22 Paul Levitz
00:03:46 Jerry Wiest
00:04:35 DC and more
00:04:46 Collectors
00:06:15 Conventions
00:11:02 Steve Geppi
00:11:40 Conventions
00:12:00 Murphy Anderson
00:12:42 Joe Quesada
00:13:20 Todd McFarlane
00:13:56 Golden Age panel
00:15:40 Julius Schwartz
00:17:59 Pete Coogan
00:19:26 Library
00:19:59 Stan Lee on Spidey
00:21:29 History of Comics
00:25:30 Roger Hill EC
00:28:12 Gary Carter CBM
00:28:30 History of Comics
00:29:57 Roger Hill EC 2
00:30:45 History of Comics
00:35:22 Carl Barks
00:40:00 Gladstone’s Bruce Hamilton
00:41:24 Duck Artists
00:43:27 Jack Kirby Highlight
00:44:03 Stan Lee on Jack Kirby
00:44:42 Gary Carter on Jack Kirby
00:45:10 Todd McFarlane on Jack Kirby
00:45:40 Jack Kirby Con Interview
00:54:07 Comic Highlights
00:54:35 Jim Shooter & Will Eisner
00:55:15 Image
00:55:30 Gary Carter on 90s Comics
00:55:58 Scott McCloud
00:56:33 Todd McFarlane vs Larry David
00:58:06 Todd McFarlane
01:00:30 Bob Overstreet
01:01:57 State of Comics Eisner Lee
01:02:45 Harlan Ellison
01:04:45 End

#ComicBooks, #ComicBookLegends, #StanLee, #JackKirby, #WillEisner, #ComicCulture, #VintageComics, #1993Documentary, #ComicArt, #Superheroes

All Comments (21)
  • @brunneng38
    I worked for a service company back in the late 90s and the Overstreets were one of my customers. Their basement was one large comic memorabilia museum. Very cool. There were stacks of his price guides randomly placed all around the first floor. Never got to meet him but his wife was a very nice lady.
  • @blackromulan
    I used to work at the warehouse for Mile High Comics back in early 90s. You have to know how hard this video got me nostalgia-ing about those days... Cheers!
  • @ericsred5440
    Great history lesson. I’ve been collecting comics for over 40 years and I learned a lot from this video. Well done!
  • @lazarusxtc
    Just before the comic book crash.I sold my first collection at about this time.
  • @DWNicolo
    This documentary came out right before the comic book industry imploded which sent comic book sales into a tailspin that lasted until the early 2000s. This is definitely a snapshot of what the comic book industry was like in the early 1990s.
  • @LandMisfitComics
    Thanks for the video. I was a full-time comic book and collectibles dealer than. Was an Overstreet advisor for a few years. Great times. I gave up the business in a few years once i got married and migrated it all online to eBay only. Had a 100% sale rate on eBay then :-) NOW i post my rarities to YT to let others enjoy the rarities from the Platinum Age and up in raw form vs slabbed.
  • Very excellent job well done. The over street guide was and is one of the best reasons I collected 😂
  • @cyberpunkholiday
    Thank you for this. It was fun to watch/listen to while I work on my comics.
  • @StillOnly35c
    Thanks so much for posting this, so good to see this vintage video. Can't believe some of those Sotheby prices, be interesting to see what grade those books were.
  • @MrEdWeirdoShow
    This documentary also features Gabe Yeh, who asks the musical question, "What is this for?"
  • @Checker222
    48:00 ah man, there is a BLOW HARD in the background that will not stop talking, and is dwarfing the great King Kirby!!!
  • @stampscapes
    I'm assuming that convention floor was San Diego? I'm not sure when it happened that it became so huge but in the early 2000s you could still decide to go to the show the morning of and park right at the convention center and Thursdays were really empty. I wonder if there's any footage of SDCC at the old convention center besides a couple of the old local news channel segments?
  • 😎Watched this Documentary when it first appeared Alex , sadly things progressed from the Funnies to the Monie$ where it's really no longer about the entertainment value but the market value. Favorite parts of this show was the comic books and the interviews especially Anderson , Kirby and most notably Barks and Ellison. My 2nd favorite Disney character is Carl's Gyro Gearloose ( Scamp is #1). Harlan was 100% accurate especially about the influence comics have on a fans creativity ; in my case whatever I draw or have written (short stories , one act plays , radio plays) has been inspired by the comics I've enjoyed. Disappointing that female contributions to the industry such as the Fiction House talents as well as Ramona and Marie were not acknowledged. My opinion on the EC scapegoat scandal remains to this day that it really wasn't the horror content that offended critics , regardless of how many gruesome covers appeared , it was the social commentary stories.especially about race relations that appeared in both the war titles and Suspenstories and the sci-fi story "Judgment Day" that caused concern. Eventually imitators would look at other content in ECs line and discover the creativity that could be mined with social commentary. If that seems doubtful I can only point out the absence of "others " , except in the resumed stereotypical appearances , during the post Code 50s through the Bronze Age 70s which did offer an inclusiveness that still played into familiar perceptions. Another slight disagreement I had with the historian about EC was that yes the company had top artistic talent involved but so did other companies with names like Bill Everett , Mort Drucker , Ogden Whitney , Harry Lucey , Syd Shores ... Okay I'm throwing out names that I appreciate but to say the best in the industry does no justice to many fine contributors to our beloved medium. Like Harlan stated that he claimed his creative influences were names people would expect but in truth it was the pop culture entertainments that he enjoyed which developed him. So the historian didn't have to follow the familiar script and could have said some of the best in the industry. We like what we like that's all that matters.