This book tells all about a lost, authentically legendary species: the divas. They were the first movie stars before Pickford and Garbo, there was Geraldine Farrar, Lina Cavalieri, and Mary Garden. They were the most stunning opera singers, their personalities perhaps even bigger than their voices. Their success and their lives filled the gossip columns. Their fans loved them, grand dukes covered them in jewels. They represented both the splendorous excesses of an era of elegance and luxury, and its swan's song. There is almost nothing that survives of them today. Thankfully, their image remains and reveals all. Along with unpublished pictures of the greatest divas of this century, rediscover their voices in the accompanying CD produced specially for this publication. 70 b/w & colour illustrations

ComicsAlliance and ComicsBlend Best Comic Book of the Year BUST Magazine “Lit Pick” Recommendation Certified Cool™ in PREVIEWS: The Comic Shop’s Catalog “Mike Madrid gives these forgotten superheroines their due. These ‘lost’ heroines are now found—to the delight of comic book lovers everywhere.” —STAN LEE Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle ruled the pages of comic books in the 1940s, but many other heroines of the WWII era have been forgotten. Through twenty-eight full reproductions of vintage Golden Age comics, Divas, Dames & Daredevils reintroduces their ingenious abilities to mete out justice to Nazis, aliens, and evildoers of all kinds. Each spine-tingling chapter opens with Mike Madrid’s insightful commentary about heroines at the dawn of the comic book industry and reveals a universe populated by extraordinary women—superheroes, reporters, galactic warriors, daring detectives, and ace fighter pilots—who protected America and the world with wit and guile. In these pages, fans will also meet heroines with striking similarities to more modern superheroes, including The Spider Queen, who deployed web shooters twenty years before Spider Man, and Marga the Panther Woman, whose feral instincts and sharp claws tore up the bad guys long before Wolverine. These women may have been overlooked in the annals of history, but their influence on popular culture, and the heroes we’re passionate about today, is unmistakable. Mike Madrid is the author of Divas, Dames & Daredevils: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics and The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines, an NPR “Best Book To Share With Your Friends” and American Library Association Amelia Bloomer Project Notable Book. Madrid, a San Francisco native and lifelong fan of comic books and popular culture, also appears in the documentary Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines.

A history of women playing American football in the United States, focused on the growth of the game since the passage of Title IX in 1972.

A comprehensive and fascinating illustrated look at women’s professional wrestling, including 100 profiles of superstars from around the world. Women’s pro wrestling has existed in the USA since the 1930s, and this colorful encyclopedia references the fashion, fun, and drama of the sport through the years and around the world. Focusing on 100 competitors—from current faves Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair, to Germany's Jazzy Gabert, Japan’s Io Shirai, and Canada's LuFisto, to legends like The Fabulous Moolah, Sable, Ivory, and Lita—it includes relevant stats and each one’s compelling story. Written by noted authority LaToya Ferguson, this engaging history is great for anyone interested in powerful women, fantastic costumes, and pro wrestling itself.

Women in Music: A Research and Information Guide is an annotated bibliography emerging from more than twenty-five years of feminist scholarship on music. This book testifies to the great variety of subjects and approaches represented in over two decades of published writings on women, their work, and the important roles that feminist outlooks have played in formerly male-oriented academic scholarship or journalistic musings on women and music.

Hardly any time has passed since the battle against Eshantel, and King Alnoa’s plan to seal the Demon King away once more is coming along perfectly. That is, until he receives an unexpected visitor named Luna, who is a Diva, a princess of Distania...and also Al’s former bride-to-be! With her arrival, the Divas break out into an all-out battle for the young king’s hand in marriage!

As seen on MTV.com At sixteen, Trudy Baxter is tired of her debutante mom, her deadbeat dad, and her standing reservation at the juvenile detention center. Changing her name to Trudy Sin, she cranks up her major chops as a singer and starts a band, gathering around other girls ill at ease in their own lives. Cassie Haywood, would-have-been beauty queen, was scarred in an accident in which her alcoholic mom was killed. But she can still sing and play her guitar, even though she seeks way too much relief from the pain in her body and her heart through drugs, and way too much relief from loneliness through casual sex. Still, it's Cassie who hears former child prodigy Harumi Yokoyama playing in a punk band at a party, and enlists her, outraging Harumi's overbearing first-generation Japanese parents. The fourth member is Esther Shealy, who joins as a drummer in order to be close to Cassie--the long-time object of her unrequited love--and Harumi, her estranged childhood friend. Together, they are Screaming Divas, and they're quickly swept up as a local sensation. Then, just as they are about to achieve their rock-girl dreams, a tragedy strikes.

Funeral Diva is the Winner of the Lambda Award for Lesbian Poetry! A poetic memoir about coming-of-age in the AIDS era, and its effects on life and art. "Sneed is an acclaimed reader of her own poetry, and the book has the feeling of live performance. . . . Its strength is in its abundance, its desire for language to stir body as well as mind."—Parul Sehgal, The New York Times Book Review "She is a writer for the future, in that she defies genre."—Hilton Als "This notable achievement, traveling from youth to adulthood, is a harrowing account of how Sneed transforms violence and pain into an artist's life."—Claudia Rankine, author of Citizen: An American Lyric "There's an eerie sense of timeliness to this book, which features prose and poetry by the writer and teacher Pamela Sneed and is largely — though not entirely — about mourning Black gay men killed too soon by a deadly virus."—Tomi Obaro, Buzzfeed "OH MY GOODNESS, it was amazing. I was in tears by the end. What starts off as beautiful memoir evolves into incredibly moving poetry, painful and sweet and lovely."—Marie Cloutier, Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY "Balancing and mixing, with rhyme and reason, love and anger, good and bad, memory and the created present, all to tell the story of a life, a memoir unrestrained, devoid of artificial forms. Honest. Free."—Anjanette Delgado, New York Journal of Books In this collection of personal essays and poetry, acclaimed poet and performer Pamela Sneed details her coming of age in New York City during the late 1980s. Funeral Diva captures the impact of AIDS on Black Queer life, and highlights the enduring bonds between the living, the dying, and the dead. Sneed’s poems not only converse with lovers past and present, but also with her literary forebears—like James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde—whose aesthetic and thematic investments she renews for a contemporary American landscape. Offering critical focus on matters from police brutality to LGBTQ+ rights, Funeral Diva confronts today's most pressing issues with acerbic wit and audacity. The collection closes with Sneed's reflections on the two pandemics of her time, AIDS and COVID-19, and the disproportionate impact of each on African American communities. "Riveting, personal, open-hearted, risky and wise."—Sarah Schulman, author of Conflict Is Not Abuse " . . . a tour de force about the collision between a coalescing 1980s 'Black lesbian and gay literary and poetic movement' in New York and the onslaught of AIDS."—Donna Seaman, Booklist "Pamela Sneed's Funeral Diva is deft, defiant, and devastating."—Tommy Pico, author of Feed "Funeral Diva is urgent and necessary reading to live by. This is writing at its finest. Keep this book close to your heart and soul."—Karen Finley, author of Shock Treatment "Reminiscent of Audre Lorde’s Zami, Pamela Sneed’s memoir is, in itself, a healing balm, affirming in its truths and honesty. I cannot remember ever reading a book that illustrates the impact of the AIDS epidemic on our community more poignantly than Funeral Diva."—Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy "Pamela Sneed takes enormous risks in this book. She tells the truth with fierce concentration and an abiding sense of purpose.”—Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina

Being that the book cover is pink, one may assume that this book is for women only and since the author is a woman this must be a great resource to help women develop in business and personal matters, correct? My friends your assumptions are only partially correct; from the start I can promise you two things. 1) This book is filled empowering information. It is a resource and tool for any gender and any age! 2) Real men do wear pink! Before you read any further, please allow me to share a brief educational moment with you. I would like to clear the air and show you the relationship between men and their direct connection to the diva status. Divas (female) and Divos (male) do exist! Originating from a rich heritage and musical culture directly related to the Opera. Divas and Divos were the grandest stars with the most beautiful voices. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diva A few years ago, I was asked to give the graduation address at a high school. My good friend, I affectionately call Aunt Star went with me for moral support. On the way she was listening to my speech to make sure that I did not bore the young adults I had to speak to. Just before I was introduced, she turned to me and said, Are you ready Ms. Diva? For a brief moment, I thought, humis THAT what you really think of me? What a cheap shot just before I go on stage. She then smiled and said, Life has taught you many lessons, you know who you are and can now share your experiences to help others, go get them girlfriend! At that moment, I was released and felt proud to share my success AND mistakes to the audience. Soon after that event, I was invited to another organization to speak about empowerment for young girls. It just so happens that the organization was a church. Upon my arrival, the church had a gracious representative that attended to my every need. With-in my tradition and long standing reputation of keeping it real I will admit that the attention felt, well, sort of, kind of good. I keep praying that they ask me to come back one day. Anyway, just before I addressed the audience, the humble representative turned to me and said, Are you ready Ms. Diva? I almost lost my religion, because, I know, just like YOU know, that the adjectives used to describe a diva are simply put, words we care NOT to use in anyones church! Matter-of-fact, the typical actions of a diva will get you sat down or drop kicked by the ushers in any faith. The very moment I almost lost my religion, I also found it at the same time. I felt my calling, the need to help change the stigma for true Divas everywhere. The word diva has historically been used to categorize someone who is demanding, demeaning and downright witchy. My thoughts about the encouraging words from my Aunt Star and the humble personal care the representative was giving me at the church as her honored guest, gave me the true Diva wake-up call. Though their comments, they were simply letting me know, that they knew who I was, supporting me, reminding me to never forget my strength to be a conduit to connect and help others. The real beauty that comes from being a Diva comes only when you share strength with others to empower them. I was not asked to speak to the young ladies because my name is Monica Sparks, but the organization thought my message of empowerment would encourage, help to heal and guide the young ladies in the audience. The supportive words and care I was provided, was a way to thank me for my concern and service. I was appreciated for sharing and giving the gift of my experiences. The light came on for me, so every time I speak and have the opportunity to offer encouragement, I do! I learned that Divas are not necessarily rude and obnoxious people. They are people who know who they are and gladly give back to help others. It is that spark of loving yourself and others that drive Divas to have creative, positive energy that allows them to network with