'500 Great Comicbook Action Heroes' is both a great pocket reference tool for aficionados - and a superb introduction to a host of fascinating information for newcomers to the subject. Want to know when Superman or Batman first appeared, and who created them? Or how Flash Gordeon got his name? Or who illustrated the first X-Men stories? - the answers are all here! The book begins with a concise history of comics and action heroes and heroines, tracing their development from the first US comics - such as Busch's Max und Moritz, which was published in the 1870s - right up to present-day developments. The main part of the book is divided into six chapters, each covering a different category of action hero. Forty key characters are profiled on dedicated double-page spreads, while a typical spread profiles some four characters, providing all the core information the reader will require. Special stand-alone features are interspersed with these reference pages. Covering topics of particular interest in depth - whether it's the life and career of Stan Lee, the amazingly creative partnership of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, or how comic creators' perceptions of the Cold War influenced their storylines - these spreads provide a wealth of background information, and insights into the role comics have played in shaping popular culture. The book is illustrated in colour throughout - not just with classic artworks of famous characters' key scenes, but also with many rarely seen gems from the past.

Trying to undo the spell of the evil Dally Rumpe, Beatrice travels to a seaside resort, where she meets her father's great-uncle and cousins and learns about their connection to the evil sorcerer.

A companion to '500 Great Comicbook Action Heroes', '500 Comicbook Villains' takes a look at the dark side of the coin. It turns the spotlight on the fiendish foes without whom those fearless champions of justice and defenders of freedom would have no one to test their mettle against; nothing to give their existence meaning and substance. A veritable Who’s Who of comicdom’s criminal elite, '500 Comicbook Villains' features an awe-inspiring line-up of the best (or should that be the worst?) bad guys (and girls!) ever to commit a crime on the comic's page. Learn of the doers of dastardly deeds, the malevolent megalo-maniacs, the evil emperors, the mischievous miscreants and the would-be world conquerors. While some have dedicated their lives to evil, some simply enjoy a bit of mayhem and chaos and others are just plain bad ... or mad.

This multidisciplinary book focuses on the intersection between religion and science fiction. Several perspectives are addressed by scholars from different disciplines: theology, literature, history, music, and anthropology. From Frankenstein, by way of Christian apocalyptic, to Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and much more, and from the United States to China and back again, the authors who contribute to this volume serve as guides in the exploration of religion and science fiction as a multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and multicultural phenomenon.

Covering genres from adventure and fantasy to horror, science fiction, and superheroes, this guide maps the vast terrain of graphic novels, describing and organizing titles to help librarians balance their graphic novel collections and direct patrons to read-alikes. New subgenres, new authors, new artists, and new titles appear daily in the comic book and manga world, joining thousands of existing titles—some of which are very popular and well-known to the enthusiastic readers of books in this genre. How do you determine which graphic novels to purchase, and which to recommend to teen and adult readers? This updated guide is intended to help you start, update, or maintain a graphic novel collection and advise readers about the genre. Containing mostly new information as compared to the previous edition, the book covers iconic super-hero comics and other classic and contemporary crime fighter-based comics; action and adventure comics, including prehistoric, heroic, explorer, and Far East adventure as well as Western adventure; science fiction titles that encompass space opera/fantasy, aliens, post-apocalyptic themes, and comics with storylines revolving around computers, robots, and artificial intelligence. There are also chapters dedicated to fantasy titles; horror titles, such as comics about vampires, werewolves, monsters, ghosts, and the occult; crime and mystery titles regarding detectives, police officers, junior sleuths, and true crime; comics on contemporary life, covering romance, coming-of-age stories, sports, and social and political issues; humorous titles; and various nonfiction graphic novels.

Traces the origins of comic books and discusses the emergence of superheroes, censorship issues, their depiction of increased social diversity, and their impact on society.

Fictional war narratives often employ haunted battlefields, super-soldiers, time travel, the undead and other imaginative elements of science fiction and fantasy. This encyclopedia catalogs appearances of the strange and the supernatural found in the war stories of film, television, novels, short stories, pulp fiction, comic books and video and role-playing games. Categories explore themes of mythology, science fiction, alternative history, superheroes and "Weird War."

Attempts to define what comics are and explain how they work have not always been successful because they are premised upon the idea that comic strips, comic books and graphic novels are inherently and almost exclusively visual. This book challenges that premise, and asserts that comics is not just a visual medium. The book outlines the multisensory aspects of comics: the visual, audible, tactile, olfactory and gustatory elements of the medium. It rejects a synaesthetic approach (by which all the senses are engaged through visual stimuli) and instead argues for a truly multisensory model by which the direct stimulation of the reader’s physical senses can be understood. A wide range of examples demonstrates how multisensory communication systems work in both commercial and more experimental contexts. The book concludes with a case study that looks at the works of Alan Moore and indicates areas of interest that multisensory analysis can draw out, but which are overlooked by more conventional approaches.

In many ways, twentieth-century America was the land of superheroes and science fiction. From Superman and Batman to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, these pop-culture juggernauts, with their "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men," thrilled readers and audiences—and simultaneously embodied a host of our dreams and fears about modern life and the onrushing future. But that's just scratching the surface, says Jeffrey Kripal. In Mutants and Mystics, Kripal offers a brilliantly insightful account of how comic book heroes have helped their creators and fans alike explore and express a wealth of paranormal experiences ignored by mainstream science. Delving deeply into the work of major figures in the field—from Jack Kirby’s cosmic superhero sagas and Philip K. Dick’s futuristic head-trips to Alan Moore’s sex magic and Whitley Strieber’s communion with visitors—Kripal shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives. Expanded consciousness found its language in the metaphors of sci-fi—incredible powers, unprecedented mutations, time-loops and vast intergalactic intelligences—and the deeper influences of mythology and religion that these in turn drew from; the wildly creative work that followed caught the imaginations of millions. Moving deftly from Cold War science and Fredric Wertham's anticomics crusade to gnostic revelation and alien abduction, Kripal spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes and shot through with an awareness that there are other realities far beyond our everyday understanding. A bravura performance, beautifully illustrated in full color throughout and brimming over with incredible personal stories, Mutants and Mystics is that rarest of things: a book that is guaranteed to broaden—and maybe even blow—your mind.