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About this book
Superheroes! is the ultimate reference book about the men and women in tights who fight for what's right and the comic book phenomenon that conquered the world.
From their origins in stories created by barely grown men during an era of global war and printed on cheap paper for consumption by children, superheroes have grown into a popular culture whirlwind that has attracted millions of fans and crossed over into every form of media. Encompassing early coming books, indie outliers, and the mammoth fictional universes managed by DC and Marvel, Superheroes! chronicles the rise of a distinctly American invention, the modern-day evolution of the myths and legends of old.
Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Captain America, X-Men, the Justice League and the Avengersâthey all represent our greatest hopes, and sometimes our darkest fantasies. Pop culture expert Brian Solomon tells a story that goes from the Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages of comic book history right up to the Modern Age of multimillion-dollar Hollywood movies, and beyond. Perhaps no fictional genre has endured and blossomed over the past eighty years the way superheroes have. Learn all about the creators who have brought them to life: artists like Jack Kirby and Jim Lee, writers like Stan Lee and Alan Moore, actors like Christopher Reeve and Robert Downey Jr., and directors like Tim Burton and Joss Whedon. They're all here, in all their high-flying, eye-zapping, goon-punching glory. Up, up and away!
From their origins in stories created by barely grown men during an era of global war and printed on cheap paper for consumption by children, superheroes have grown into a popular culture whirlwind that has attracted millions of fans and crossed over into every form of media. Encompassing early coming books, indie outliers, and the mammoth fictional universes managed by DC and Marvel, Superheroes! chronicles the rise of a distinctly American invention, the modern-day evolution of the myths and legends of old.
Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Captain America, X-Men, the Justice League and the Avengersâthey all represent our greatest hopes, and sometimes our darkest fantasies. Pop culture expert Brian Solomon tells a story that goes from the Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages of comic book history right up to the Modern Age of multimillion-dollar Hollywood movies, and beyond. Perhaps no fictional genre has endured and blossomed over the past eighty years the way superheroes have. Learn all about the creators who have brought them to life: artists like Jack Kirby and Jim Lee, writers like Stan Lee and Alan Moore, actors like Christopher Reeve and Robert Downey Jr., and directors like Tim Burton and Joss Whedon. They're all here, in all their high-flying, eye-zapping, goon-punching glory. Up, up and away!
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Yes, you can access Superheroes! by Brian Solomon in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Comics & Graphic Novels Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Up, Up, and Away: An Introduction
- 1. LARGER THAN LIFE: THE MYTHOLOGICAL ROLE OF THE SUPERHERO IN SOCIETY
- Icons #1: The Man of Steel
- 2. ORIGIN STORY: THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF SUPERHEROES
- Icons #2: The Dark Knight
- 3. ON THE PRINTED PAGE: THE EARLIEST SUPERHEROES IN POPULAR CULTURE
- Icons #3: The Scarlet Speedster
- 4. GOLDEN AGE: THE COMIC BOOK EXPLOSION
- Icons #4: The Worldâs Mightiest Mortal
- 5. IN THE AIR AND ON THE AIR: SUPERHEROES IN RADIO AND MOVIE SERIALS
- Icons #5: In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night
- 6. SILVER AGE: THE MARVEL RENAISSANCE AND BEYOND
- Icons #6: The Sentinel of Liberty
- 7. A MODERN CRISIS: THE SUPERHERO DECONSTRUCTED
- Icons #7: The Amazon Princess
- 8. YOU WILL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY: DC AT THE MOVIES
- Icons #8: Clobberinâ Time!
- Photo gallery
- 9. MAKE MINE MOVIES: MARVELâS BUMPY ROAD TO THE BIG SCREEN
- Icons #9: The Green Goliath
- 10. THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: HOW THE HOUSE OF MOUSE AND THE HOUSE OF IDEAS TOOK OVER THE WORLD
- Icons #10: The Wall-Crawler
- 11. THE INCREDIBLE, UNBREAKABLE MYSTERY MEN: âOTHERâ SUPERHERO MOVIES THAT KICK-ASS
- Icons #11: The God of Thunder
- 12. TELEVISION TITANS: SUPERHEROES ON THE SMALL SCREEN
- Icons #12: The Genius, Billionaire, Playboy Philanthropist
- 13. SUPERVILLAINS: SAY HELLO TO THE BAD GUYS
- Icons #13: The Merry Mutants
- 14. CREDIT TO THE CREATORS: THE FOLKS WHO WROTE AND DREW THE HEROES YOU LOVE
- Icons #14: Wakanda Forever
- 15. THE WEIRD AND THE WONDERFUL: FROM CONDORMAN TO POWDERED-TOAST MAN, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
- Icons #15: Heroes on a Half Shell
- 16. A GLOBAL PHENOMENON: SUPERHEROES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
- Icons #16: The Hellspawn
- 17. EXCELSIOR: THE SUPERHEROâS PLACE IN A CHANGING WORLD