Chris Murray reveals the largely unknown and rather surprising history of the British superhero. It is often thought that Britain did not have its own superheroes, yet Murray demonstrates that there were a great many in Britain and that they were often used as a way to comment on the relationship between Britain and America. Sometimes they emulated the style of American comics, but they also frequently became sites of resistance to perceived American political and cultural hegemony, drawing upon...
Conflict and trauma remain among the most prevalent themes in film and literature. Comics has never avoided such narratives, and comics artists are writing them in ways that are both different from and complementary to literature and film. Harriet E. H. Earle brings together two distinct areas of research-trauma studies and comics studies-to provide a new interpretation of a long-standing theme. Focusing on representations of conflict in American comics after the Vietnam War, Earle claims that t...
Now even young readers can enjoy Shakespeare's stories in a bold new retelling that captures the drama and adventure of the original plays.
Peanuts Papers, The: Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life
by Andrew Blauner
A one-of-a-kind celebration of America's greatest comic strip--and the life lessons it can teach us--from a stellar array of writers and artists Over the span of fifty years, Charles M. Schulz created a comic strip that is one of the indisputable glories of American popular culture—hilarious, poignant, inimitable. Some twenty years after the last strip appeared, the characters Schulz brought to life in Peanuts continue to resonate with millions of fans, their beguiling four-panel adventures and...
Steaming into a Victorian Future
A popular sub-genre of fantasy and science fiction, steampunk re-imagines the Victorian age in the future, and re-works its technology, fashion, and values with a dose of anti-modernism. While often considered solely through the lens of literature, steampunk is, in fact, a complex phenomenon that also affects, transforms, and unites a wide range of disciplines, such as art, music, film, television, fashion, new media, and material culture. In Steaming into a Victorian Future: A Steampunk Anthol...
Ever wondered what a superhero eats for breakfast? Do they need a special diet to feed their superpowers? The odd metabolisms of superheroes must mean they have strange dietary needs, from the high calorie diets to fuel flaming bodies and super speeds, to not so obvious requirements for vitamins and minerals. The Secret Science of Superheroes looks at the underpinning chemistry, physics and biology needed for their superpowers. Individual chapters look at synthesising elements on demand, genet...
Superheroes have been an integral part of popular society for decades. Over time, superheroes have developed their own mythology. Though scholars and fans have recognized and commented on this myth, the structure of the mythology has gone largely unexplored until now. The lexicon at the heart of this book gives a structure that can be used to identify the mythology as it applies to characters, stories, and other forms of narrative. The lexicon is the first effort to codify the mythology and how...
Toys—a celebrated part of childhood and key figures in children’s imaginative play—have a fantastic history of heroism in print and on film. From the bears that safe guard the sleep of children to the plastic soldiers fighting alongside cowboy dolls as they lay siege to a block castle, toys are the heroes of the stories children inspire authors to tell. In this repository of original essays, literary scholars from around the globe examine the roles toys play as protectors of the child they lov...
In 1931, the Chicago Tribune introduced the public to an exciting new comic strip destined to become a classic: Dick Tracy. Tracy's creator, Chester Gould, would spend the next 46 years of his life developing the dynamic, crime-fighting character, and his work on the strip won him the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in both 1959 and 1977. A revolutionary in the comics industry, Gould invented both a genre and an icon. The personal story of this pioneer cartoonist is no...
Grant Morrison has made a career of redefining heroes, but his work with Batman has been the most comprehensive. From ARKHAM ASYLUM and JLA to his seven-year run on Batman, Morrison has redefined and reworked the Caped Crusader from the ground up. He's also introduced new characters (such as Damian Wayne) and new concepts (such as Batman, Inc.). THE ANATOMY OF ZUR-EN-ARRH analyzes Grant Morrison's Batman, including how it understands and reinterprets Batman's long history. Featuring an interview...
For the better part of three decades romance comics were an American institution. Nearly 6,000 romance comics were published between 1947 and 1977, and there was a time when one of every five comics sold in the U.S. was a romance comic.This is the first book devoted entirely to the rarely studied world of romance comics. The text includes information on several types of romance comics and their creators, plus the history, numbers, and publishing frequency of dozens of romance titles. The author...