Scholarly books on comics

As if it's not obvious by now, I really love comics. I am fascinated by these worlds and would like to read some books that discuss the reasons for the multi-verse. I would like to learn how writers come up with X-men characters. I would like to learn how comics responded to national tragedies

What I don't want is something produced by Marvel or DC. I already own the DC coffee table book (it residing on a clean section of floor in my room as I fear it might break a shelf). Basically those books are good for the novice fan, but I'm looking for something more in-depth about the competition between the publishers. I want to learn more about why some people think of 90's comics as the "Dark Ages."

I found really fun book in a library called "Super Girls," by Mike Madrid which analyzed the origins of of the female superhero. I'm looking something like that. Any suggestions?

Comic Wars. It's a book about how Marvel almost went bakrupt in the 90s.

Ultimatum... it's umm how do you put it very scholarly! XD

There's a book on comic books and film that I read last year which was quite interesting. It was called Film and Comic books, edited by Ian Gordon, Mark Jancovich and Matthew P. McAllister.
Also check out The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture by Randy Duncan and Matthew Smith (features stuff on history of comics as well as industry and genre), and also A Comics Studies Reader, which is similar. I'm doing a dissertation on comic book movies so I've been seeking out all the books and there aren't all that many, unfortunately.
 
Oh, and there's also a very good book called Superman On The Couch, which reveals how comics are indicative of social consciousness. That might relate to your point of how comics respond to tragedies.

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a must-read.

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a must-read.