Empire of the Superheroes

Empire of the Superheroes PDF Author: Mark Cotta Vaz
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477316477
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 489

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Book Description
Superman may be faster than a speeding bullet, but even he can't outrun copyright law. Since the dawn of the pulp hero in the 1930s, publishers and authors have fought over the privilege of making money off of comics, and the authors and artists usually have lost. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, got all of $130 for the rights to the hero. In Empire of the Superheroes, Mark Cotta Vaz argues that licensing and litigation do as much as any ink-stained creator to shape the mythology of comic characters. Vaz reveals just how precarious life was for the legends of the industry. Siegel and Shuster—and their heirs—spent seventy years battling lawyers to regain rights to Superman. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon were cheated out of their interest in Captain America, and Kirby's children brought a case against Marvel to the doorstep of the Supreme Court. To make matters worse, the infant comics medium was nearly strangled in its crib by censorship and moral condemnation. For the writers and illustrators now celebrated as visionaries, the "golden age" of comics felt more like hard times. The fantastical characters that now earn Hollywood billions have all-too-human roots. Empire of the Superheroes digs them up, detailing the creative martyrdom at the heart of a pop-culture powerhouse.

Empire of the Superheroes

Empire of the Superheroes PDF Author: Mark Cotta Vaz
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477316477
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 489

Get Book Here

Book Description
Superman may be faster than a speeding bullet, but even he can't outrun copyright law. Since the dawn of the pulp hero in the 1930s, publishers and authors have fought over the privilege of making money off of comics, and the authors and artists usually have lost. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman, got all of $130 for the rights to the hero. In Empire of the Superheroes, Mark Cotta Vaz argues that licensing and litigation do as much as any ink-stained creator to shape the mythology of comic characters. Vaz reveals just how precarious life was for the legends of the industry. Siegel and Shuster—and their heirs—spent seventy years battling lawyers to regain rights to Superman. Jack Kirby and Joe Simon were cheated out of their interest in Captain America, and Kirby's children brought a case against Marvel to the doorstep of the Supreme Court. To make matters worse, the infant comics medium was nearly strangled in its crib by censorship and moral condemnation. For the writers and illustrators now celebrated as visionaries, the "golden age" of comics felt more like hard times. The fantastical characters that now earn Hollywood billions have all-too-human roots. Empire of the Superheroes digs them up, detailing the creative martyrdom at the heart of a pop-culture powerhouse.

Empire State

Empire State PDF Author: Adam Christopher
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 0857661930
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 451

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Book Description
THE EMPIRE STATE IS THE OTHER NEW YORK. A parallel-universe, Prohibition-era world of mooks and shamuses that is the twisted magic mirror to our bustling Big Apple, a place where sinister characters lurk around every corner while the great superheroes that once kept the streets safe have fallen into dysfunctional rivalries and feuds. Not that its colourful residents know anything about the real New York… until detective Rad Bradley makes a discovery that will change the lives of all its inhabitants. Playing on the classic Gotham conventions of the Batman comics and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, debut author Adam Christopher has spun this smart and fast-paced superhero-noir adventure, the sort of souped-up thrill ride that will excite genre fans and general readers alike. File Under: Science Fiction [ Pocket Universe | Heroes or Villains | Speak Easy | Loyalties Divided ] e-book ISBN: 978-0-85766-194-4

Pulp Empire

Pulp Empire PDF Author: Paul S. Hirsch
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226829464
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Winner of the Popular Culture Association's Ray and Pat Browne Award for Best Book in Popular or American Culture In the 1940s and ’50s, comic books were some of the most popular—and most unfiltered—entertainment in the United States. Publishers sold hundreds of millions of copies a year of violent, racist, and luridly sexual comics to Americans of all ages until a 1954 Senate investigation led to a censorship code that nearly destroyed the industry. But this was far from the first time the US government actively involved itself with comics—it was simply the most dramatic manifestation of a long, strange relationship between high-level policy makers and a medium that even artists and writers often dismissed as a creative sewer. In Pulp Empire, Paul S. Hirsch uncovers the gripping untold story of how the US government both attacked and appropriated comic books to help wage World War II and the Cold War, promote official—and clandestine—foreign policy and deflect global critiques of American racism. As Hirsch details, during World War II—and the concurrent golden age of comic books—government agencies worked directly with comic book publishers to stoke hatred for the Axis powers while simultaneously attempting to dispel racial tensions at home. Later, as the Cold War defense industry ballooned—and as comic book sales reached historic heights—the government again turned to the medium, this time trying to win hearts and minds in the decolonizing world through cartoon propaganda. Hirsch’s groundbreaking research weaves together a wealth of previously classified material, including secret wartime records, official legislative documents, and caches of personal papers. His book explores the uneasy contradiction of how comics were both vital expressions of American freedom and unsettling glimpses into the national id—scourged and repressed on the one hand and deployed as official propaganda on the other. Pulp Empire is a riveting illumination of underexplored chapters in the histories of comic books, foreign policy, and race.

Superheroes!

Superheroes! PDF Author: Laurence Maslon
Publisher: Crown Archetype
ISBN: 0385348592
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 708

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Book Description
Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Avengers, the X-Men, Watchmen, and more: the companion volume to the PBS documentary series of the same name that tells the story of the superhero in American popular culture. Together again for the first time, here come the greatest comic book superheroes ever assembled between two covers: down from the heavens—Superman and the Mighty Thor—or swinging over rooftops—the Batman and Spider-Man; star-spangled, like Captain America and Wonder Woman, or clad in darkness, like the Shadow and Spawn; facing down super-villains on their own, like the Flash and the Punisher or gathered together in a team of champions, like the Avengers and the X-Men! Based on the three-part PBS documentary series Superheroes, this companion volume chronicles the never-ending battle of the comic book industry, its greatest creators, and its greatest creations. Covering the effect of superheroes on American culture—in print, on film and television, and in digital media—and the effect of American culture on its superheroes, Superheroes: Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of Comic Book Culture appeals to readers of all ages, from the casual observer of the phenomenon to the most exacting fan of the genre. Drawing from more than 50 new interviews conducted expressly for Superheroes!—creators from Stan Lee to Grant Morrison, commentators from Michael Chabon to Jules Feiffer, actors from Adam West to Lynda Carter, and filmmakers such as Zach Snyder—this is an up-to-the-minute narrative history of the superhero, from the comic strip adventurers of the Great Depression, up to the blockbuster CGI movie superstars of the 21st Century. Featuring more than 500 full-color comic book panels, covers, sketches, photographs of both essential and rare artwork, Superheroes is the definitive story of this powerful presence in pop culture.

Primos

Primos PDF Author: Al Madrigal
Publisher: Upshot
ISBN: 9781953165343
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
Centuries ago, two Mayan brothers constructed a spacecraft that sent them hurtling into outer space. Returned to Earth, only to find their culture and civilization destroyed, one of the brothers vows revenge and seeks to decimate the planet with intergalactic technology gathered on his travels. To prevent this, his sibling creates a contingency plan that activates the world’s protectors – descendants of their own Pacal family. Now, the fate of the planet lies in the hands of three cousins scattered throughout Central and North America who have never even met.

Seven Wonders

Seven Wonders PDF Author: Adam Christopher
Publisher: HarperCollins Audio
ISBN: 9780857661951
Category : New York (N.Y.)
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description
When Tony Prosdocimi finds himself with super-powers he decides to use them to take down the local supervillain, the Cowl, which gets him in trouble with the local superhero team, the Seven Wonders..

Hero of the Empire

Hero of the Empire PDF Author: Candice Millard
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0385535740
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
From the bestselling author of Destiny of the Republic, this thrilling biographical account of the life and legacy of Wintson Churchill is a "nail-biter and top-notch character study rolled into one" (The New York Times). At the age of twenty-four, Winston Churchill was utterly convinced it was his destiny to become prime minister of England. He arrived in South Africa in 1899, valet and crates of vintage wine in tow, to cover the brutal colonial war the British were fighting with Boer rebels and jumpstart his political career. But just two weeks later, Churchill was taken prisoner. Remarkably, he pulled off a daring escape—traversing hundreds of miles of enemy territory, alone, with nothing but a crumpled wad of cash, four slabs of chocolate, and his wits to guide him. Bestselling author Candice Millard spins an epic story of bravery, savagery, and chance encounters with a cast of historical characters—including Rudyard Kipling, Lord Kitchener, and Mohandas Gandhi—with whom Churchill would later share the world stage. But Hero of the Empire is more than an extraordinary adventure story, for the lessons Churchill took from the Boer War would profoundly affect twentieth century history.

Empire

Empire PDF Author: Mark Waid
Publisher: IDW Publishing
ISBN: 9781631403057
Category : Comic books, strips, etc
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Originally published by DC Comics as Empire issues #0-6.

The Ultimate Superhero Movie Guide

The Ultimate Superhero Movie Guide PDF Author: Helen O'Hara
Publisher: Carlton Books
ISBN: 9781787392601
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Ultimate Superhero Movie Guide is a thrilling journey through the history of the world's favourite movie genre.

Secret Empire

Secret Empire PDF Author: Derek Landy
Publisher: Marvel Entertainment
ISBN: 1302500287
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
A crucial companion volume that expands on the events in Secret Empire! A new world order has arrived, but it's not one that everybody agrees with. Not by a long shot! But what can be done about it? Prepare for the reign, the resistance...and the revolution! Starring some of the greatest heroes of the Marvel Universe - including Black Widow, the Champions and the Uncanny Avengers! COLLECTING: SECRET EMPIRE: UNITED #1, SECRET EMPIRE: UNDERGROUND #1, SECRET EMPIRE: UPRISING #1, UNCANNY AVENGERS #24-25.