The first look at the philosophy behind the Green Lantern comics—timed for the release of the Green Lantern movie in June 2011 The most recent Green Lantern series—Blackest Night—propelled GL to be the top-selling comic series for more than a year, the latest twist in seven decades of Green Lantern adventures. This book sheds light on the deep philosophical issues that emerge from the Green Lantern Corps's stories and characters, from what Plato's tale of the Ring of Gyges tells us about the Green Lantern ring and the desire for power to whether willpower is the most important strength to who is the greatest Green Lantern of all time. Gives you a new perspective on Green Lantern characters, story lines, and themes Shows what philosophical heavy hitters such as Aristotle, Descartes, and Kant can teach us about members of the Green Lantern Corp and their world Answers your most pressing Green Lantern questions, including: What motivates Hal Jordan to be a Green Lantern? Does the Blackest Night force us to confront old male/female stereotypes? What is the basis for moral judgment in the Green Lantern Corps? Is Hal Jordan a murderer? Whether you're a new fan or an elder from Oa, Green Lantern and Philosophy is a must-have companion.

Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men explores the changing depiction of superheroes from the comic books of the 1930s to the cinematic present. In this anthology, scholars from a variety of disciplines including history, cultural studies, Latin American studies, film studies, and English examine the superheros cultural history in North America with attention to particular stories and to the historical contexts in which those narratives appeared. Enduring comic book characters from DC and Marvel Comics including Superman, Iron Man, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Avengers are examined, along with lesser-known Canadian, Latino, and African-American superheroes. With a sweep of characters ranging from the Pulp Era to recent cinematic adaptations, and employing a variety of analytical frameworks, this collection offers new insights for scholars, students, and fans of the superhero genre.

ÒSECRET ORIGIN OF THE GUARDIANS!Ó Learn the origins of the Guardians of the Universe as Hal Jordan teams up with Alan Scott to take on the GuardiansÕ oldest adversary...Krona!

Fifty years after John Stewart’s debut, this collection highlights the character’s greatest moments over the decades-both spacefaring and earthbound-from his first appearance in the legendary O’Neil/Adams Green Lantern run, to taking over from Hal Jordan as Earth’s Green Lantern, to being rechristened as the first mortal Guardian of the Universe. This volume includes Green Lantern Vol. 2 #87, #182, and #185, Green Lantern Vol. 3 #74 and #156, Green Lantern Vol. 4 #49, Green Lantern: Mosaic #18, and Justice League of America #110.

The sweeping story of cartoons, comic strips, and graphic novels and their hold on the American imagination. Comics have conquered America. From our multiplexes, where Marvel and DC movies reign supreme, to our television screens, where comics-based shows like The Walking Dead have become among the most popular in cable history, to convention halls, best-seller lists, Pulitzer Prize–winning titles, and MacArthur Fellowship recipients, comics shape American culture, in ways high and low, superficial, and deeply profound. In American Comics, Columbia professor Jeremy Dauber takes readers through their incredible but little-known history, starting with the Civil War and cartoonist Thomas Nast, creator of the lasting and iconic images of Uncle Sam and Santa Claus; the golden age of newspaper comic strips and the first great superhero boom; the moral panic of the Eisenhower era, the Marvel Comics revolution, and the underground comix movement of the 1960s and ’70s; and finally into the twenty-first century, taking in the grim and gritty Dark Knights and Watchmen alongside the brilliant rise of the graphic novel by acclaimed practitioners like Art Spiegelman and Alison Bechdel. Dauber’s story shows not only how comics have changed over the decades but how American politics and culture have changed them. Throughout, he describes the origins of beloved comics, champions neglected masterpieces, and argues that we can understand how America sees itself through whose stories comics tell. Striking and revelatory, American Comics is a rich chronicle of the last 150 years of American history through the lens of its comic strips, political cartoons, superheroes, graphic novels, and more. FEATURING… • American Splendor • Archie • The Avengers • Kyle Baker • Batman • C. C. Beck • Black Panther • Captain America • Roz Chast • Walt Disney • Will Eisner • Neil Gaiman • Bill Gaines • Bill Griffith • Harley Quinn • Jack Kirby • Denis Kitchen • Krazy Kat • Harvey Kurtzman • Stan Lee • Little Orphan Annie • Maus • Frank Miller • Alan Moore • Mutt and Jeff • Gary Panter • Peanuts • Dav Pilkey • Gail Simone • Spider-Man • Superman • Dick Tracy • Wonder Wart-Hog • Wonder Woman • The Yellow Kid • Zap Comix … AND MANY MORE OF YOUR FAVORITES!

"Originally published in single magazine form in Green Lantern 53-62"--T.p. verso.

Collecting Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #16 And Annual #2-3, Strange Tales Annual #2, Avengers (1963) #11, Daredevil (1964) #16-17 And #27, X-Men (1963) #35 And Fantastic Four (1961) #73 — And Material From Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #1, #8 And #14; Fantastic Four Annual #1; And Tales To Astonish (1959) #57. Celebrate 80 years of Marvel Comics, decade by decade — and see how Spider-Man became an icon of the (Web) Swinging Sixties! The ever-sociable wallcrawler helped build the connected Marvel Universe we know and love with these early team-ups (and tussles) with his fellow heroes — beginning with his bid to join the Fantastic Four! Witness the beginnings of Spidey’s amazing friendships with the Human Torch and Daredevil — and his first run-ins with the Hulk, Avengers, X-Men and more! Plus: The legendary Steve Ditko unites his signature characters, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange!

This book provides both students and scholars with a critical and historical introduction to the graphic novel. Jan Baetens and Hugo Frey explore this exciting form of visual and literary communication, showing readers how to situate and analyse graphic novels since their rise to prominence half a century ago. Several key questions are addressed: what is the graphic novel? How do we read graphic novels as narrative forms? Why is page design and publishing format so significant? What theories are developing to explain the genre? How is this form blurring the categories of high and popular literature? Why are graphic novelists nostalgic for the old comics? The authors address these and many other questions raised by the genre. Through their analysis of the works of many well-known graphic novelists - including Bechdel, Clowes, Spiegelman and Ware - Baetens and Frey offer significant insights for future teaching and research on the graphic novel.

Before he became the Green Lantern...before he unwittingly brought about the downfall of the Green Lantern Corps...before his rebirth as the universe's most powerful protector...Hal Jordan of Earth was just a washed-up test pilot with no way to fly...until the dying alien Abin Sur granted him his power ring, the most powerful weapon in the universe—and his entry into a reality he could never have imagined.