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Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels Scott McCloud Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture in 1993 with Understanding Comics, a massive comic book about comics, linking the medium to such diverse fields as media theory, movie criticism, and web design. In Reinventing Comics, McCloud took this to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are generated, read, and perceived today. Now, in Making Comics, McCloud focuses his analysis on the art form itself, exploring the creation of comics, from the broadest principles to the sharpest details (like how to accentuate a character's facial muscles in order to form the emotion of disgust rather than the emotion of surprise.) And he does all of it in his inimitable voice and through his cartoon stand–in narrator, mixing dry humor and legitimate instruction. McCloud shows his reader how to master the human condition through word and image in a brilliantly minimalistic way. Comic book devotees as well as the most uninitiated will marvel at this journey into a once–underappreciated art form. |
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The Batman Files Matthew Manning Unearthed from the depths of the Batcave by Mathew K. Manning, The Batman Files begins with Wayne's childhood drawings and continues along a time line of significant events in Batman's life. Complete and authentic in every way possible, all of Batman's friends and foes--from Poison Ivy, Catwoman, the Riddler, and Penguin, to the Joker, Batgirl, Mr. Freeze, and of course, Robin--appear throughout the dossier to provide a framework of the Caped Crusader's entire career. Completely outlining Batman's war on crime, The Batman Files includes in-depth computer files, news articles, crime scene photos, blueprints, schematics, and actual maps of Gotham City that were collected, and in many cases even drawn, by the Caped Crusader himself. High production values include black matte gilding, as well as a high-tech fabric cover--complete with a metallic Batman emblem to secure the secret contents within. Each detail of Batman's life is carefully and faithfully detailed with the involvement of DC Comics inside The Batman Files--destined to be the must-have gift for every avid Batman fan and collector. |
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1,000 Comic Books You Must Read Tony Isabella Hero Worship!1000 Comic Books You Must Read is an unforgettable journey through 70 years of comic books. Arranged by decade, this book introduces you to 1000 of the best comic books ever published and the amazing writers and artists who created them. See Superman from his debut as a sarcastic champion of the people, thumbing his nose at authority, to his current standing as a respected citizen of the worldExperience the tragic moment when Peter Parker and a generation of Spider-Man fans learned that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility"Meet classic characters such as Archie and his Riverdale High friends, Uncle Scrooge McDuck, Little Lulu, Sgt. Rock, the kid cowboys of Boys' Ranch, and more.Enjoy gorgeous full-color photos of each comic book, as well as key details including the title, writer, artist, publisher, copyright information, and entertaining commentary.1000 Comic Books You Must Read is sure to entertain and inform with groundbreaking material about comics being published today as well as classics from the past. |
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The DC Comics Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition Michael Teitelbaum, Scott Beatty, Robert Greenburger, Daniel Wallace Following the success of the first edition, the updated and revised DC Comics Encyclopedia offers even more incredible DC detail and imagery than the original. 48 brand-new pages include major updates on characters and storylines (including the recent "Infinite Crisis" story arc). This spectacular, up-to-the-minute encyclopedia will delight comic fans of every age. |
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The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 41 SC (Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide) Robert M. Overstreet, Various Since 1970, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has been the definitive guide for comic collectors and dealers alike. Includes all-new insights, features, and data, along with the most comprehensive listing of comics and new entries in the "Overstreet Hall of Fame." Perfect for both new collectors and seasoned enthusiasts. Acclaimed artist Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion, Starslammers) supplies the Thor cover. |
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The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed Amer David Hajdu In the years between World War II and the emergence of television as a mass medium, American popular culture as we know it was first created--in the pulpy, boldly illustrated pages of comic books. No sooner had this new culture emerged than it was beaten down by church groups, community bluestockings, and a McCarthyish Congress--only to resurface with a crooked smile on its face in Mad magazine.
The story of the rise and fall of those comic books has never been fully told--until The Ten-Cent Plague. David Hajdu's remarkable new book vividly opens up the lost world of comic books, its creativity, irreverence, and suspicion of authority.
When we picture the 1950s, we hear the sound of early rock and roll. The Ten-Cent Plague shows how--years before music--comics brought on a clash between children and their parents, between prewar and postwar standards. Created by outsiders from the tenements, garish, shameless, and often shocking, comics spoke to young people and provided the guardians of mainstream culture with a big target. Parents, teachers, and complicit kids burned comics in public bonfires. Cities passed laws to outlaw comics. Congress took action with televised hearings that nearly destroyed the careers of hundreds of artists and writers.
The Ten-Cent Plague radically revises common notions of popular culture, the generation gap, and the divide between "high" and "low" art. As he did with the lives of Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington (in Lush Life) and Bob Dylan and his circle (in Positively 4th Street), Hajdu brings a place, a time, and a milieu unforgettably back to life.
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The Quality Companion: Celebrating the Forgotten Publisher of Plastic Man Mike Kooiman, Jim Amash, Will Eisner, Louis K Fine, Jack Cole The Quality Companion provides the first dedicated look at the prolific Golden Age publisher which spawned a treasure trove of beautiful art and classic characters, including the modern-day Freedom Fighters - Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, Black Condor, The Ray, Human Bomb, and Doll Man - as well as Plastic Man, the Blackhawks, and others now under the DC Comics umbrella. It provides the first-ever A-Z, in-depth character profile of every Quality costumed hero, many of whom were superbly-produced but are now long-forgotten. It also reprints, in full-color, several 1940s key stories of these characters from such rare 1940s collector's items as Smash Comics, Police Comics, National Comics, Feature Comics, and Crack Comics, and features Golden Age art by the top artistic talents of that era, including Lou Fine, Reed Crandall, Jack Cole, Chuck Cuidera, Matt Baker, Will Eisner, and others! Creators who were instrumental in the revival of the Quality characters from the 1970s to today are also interviewed, including Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and Jimmy Palmiotti. |
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The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation Jonathan Hennessey Our leaders swear to uphold it, our military to defend it. It is the blueprint for the shape and function of government itself and what defines Americans as Americans. But how many of us truly know our Constitution? The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation uses the art of illustrated storytelling to breathe life into our nation’s cornerstone principles. Simply put, it is the most enjoyable and groundbreaking way to read the governing document of the United States. Spirited and visually witty, it roves article by article, amendment by amendment, to get at the meaning, background, and enduring relevance of the law of the land. What revolutionary ideas made the Constitution’s authors dare to cast off centuries of rule by kings and queens? Why do we have an electoral college rather than a popular vote for president and vice president? How did a document that once sanctioned slavery, denied voting rights to women, and turned a blind eye to state governments running roughshod over the liberties of minorities transform into a bulwark of protection for all? The United States Constitution answers all of these questions. Sure to surprise, challenge, and provoke, it is hands down the most memorable introduction to America’s founding document. |
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The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation Sid Jacobson, Ernie Colón The 9/11 Report for Every American
On December 5, 2005, the 9/11 Commission issued its final report card on the government's fulfillment of the recommendations issued in July 2004: one A, twelve Bs, nine Cs, twelve Ds, three Fs, and four incompletes. Here is stunning evidence that Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón, with more than sixty years of experience in the comic-book industry between them, were right: far, far too few Americans have read, grasped, and demanded action on the Commission's investigation into the events of that tragic day and the lessons America must learn.
Using every skill and storytelling method Jacobson and Colón have learned over the decades, they have produced the most accessible version of the 9/11 Report. Jacobson's text frequently follows word for word the original report, faithfully captures its investigative thoroughness, and covers its entire scope, even including the Commission's final report card. Colón's stunning artwork powerfully conveys the facts, insights, and urgency of the original. Published on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, an event that has left no aspect of American foreign or domestic policy untouched, The 9/11 Report puts at every American's fingertips the most defining event of the century.
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The Physics of Superheroes James Kakalios James Kakalios explores the scientific plausibility of the powers and feats of the most famous superheroes — and discovers that in many cases the comic writers got their science surprisingly right. Along the way he provides an engaging and witty commentary while introducing the lay reader to both classic and cutting-edge concepts in physics, including: - What Superman’s strength can tell us about the Newtonian physics of force, mass, and acceleration
- How Iceman’s and Storm’s powers illustrate the principles of thermal dynamics
- The physics behind the death of Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy
- Why physics professors gone bad are the most dangerous evil geniuses!
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