Book Review| August 01 2022 Review: Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism, by Paul S. Hirsch Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism. By Paul S. Hirsch. (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2021. 344 pp.) Joshua Paddison Joshua Paddison Texas State University Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Pacific Historical Review (2022) 91 (3): 431–432. https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2022.91.3.431 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Joshua Paddison; Review: Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism, by Paul S. Hirsch. Pacific Historical Review 1 August 2022; 91 (3): 431–432. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2022.91.3.431 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentPacific Historical Review Search Pulp Empire explores the relationship between the U.S. government and the U.S. comic book industry from World War II to the 1960s, arguing that comic books became a central component of American cultural imperialism and Cold War propaganda. Comic books—cheap to produce, often melodramatic and lurid, compelling to both children and adults—became important weapons in the U.S government’s global fights against fascism and communism. As part of this effort, U.S. policymakers, working with cultural elites and law enforcement agencies, pressured comic book companies to produce pro-American messages, censored publishers and creators who jeopardized America’s global reputation, and distributed millions of propagandistic comic books to Europe, Latin America, and the decolonizing world. Ultimately, Paul S. Hirsh contends that “the American government shaped the form and content of the comic book” as much as “the comic book shape[d] U.S. foreign policy” (p. 35). The book’s seven chapters tell this story chronologically, beginning... You do not currently have access to this content.