Author: Shawn Conner
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147665011X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
In 1997, the superhero movie was all but dead. The last Superman flick had been released a decade earlier to disastrous reviews and ticket sales. The most recent Batman film was a franchise-killing bomb. And an oft-promised Spider-Man feature was grounded. Yet a mere five years later this once-derided genre would be well on its way to world domination at the box office and even critical respectability. How did this happen? And why, two decades later, does the phenomenon show no sign of abating? Here, for the first time, is an extensively researched soup-to-nuts history of the superhero movie, from the first bargain-basement black-and-white serials to today's multiverse blockbusters. Chronicling eight decades of stops and starts, controversies and creators, good guys and bad guys--onscreen and off--this entertaining account explains how and why our entertainment universe came to be overpowered by costumed crimefighters and their nefarious counterparts.
Superheroes Smash the Box Office
Author: Shawn Conner
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476676666
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
In 1997, the superhero movie was all but dead. The last Superman flick had been released a decade earlier to disastrous reviews and ticket sales. The most recent Batman film was a franchise-killing bomb. And an oft-promised Spider-Man feature was grounded. Yet a mere five years later this once-derided genre would be well on its way to world domination at the box office and even critical respectability. How did this happen? And why, two decades later, does the phenomenon show no sign of abating? Here, for the first time, is an extensively researched soup-to-nuts history of the superhero movie, from the first bargain-basement black-and-white serials to today's multiverse blockbusters. Chronicling eight decades of stops and starts, controversies and creators, good guys and bad guys--onscreen and off--this entertaining account explains how and why our entertainment universe came to be overpowered by costumed crimefighters and their nefarious counterparts.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476676666
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 249
Book Description
In 1997, the superhero movie was all but dead. The last Superman flick had been released a decade earlier to disastrous reviews and ticket sales. The most recent Batman film was a franchise-killing bomb. And an oft-promised Spider-Man feature was grounded. Yet a mere five years later this once-derided genre would be well on its way to world domination at the box office and even critical respectability. How did this happen? And why, two decades later, does the phenomenon show no sign of abating? Here, for the first time, is an extensively researched soup-to-nuts history of the superhero movie, from the first bargain-basement black-and-white serials to today's multiverse blockbusters. Chronicling eight decades of stops and starts, controversies and creators, good guys and bad guys--onscreen and off--this entertaining account explains how and why our entertainment universe came to be overpowered by costumed crimefighters and their nefarious counterparts.
The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, 2d ed.
Author: John Kenneth Muir
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786437553
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 705
Book Description
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a complete guide to over 50 years of superheroes on screen! This expanded and updated edition of the 2004 award-winning encyclopedia covers important developments in the popular genre; adds new shows such as Heroes and Zoom; includes the latest films featuring icons like Superman, Spiderman and Batman; and covers even more types of superheroes. Each entry includes a detailed history, cast and credits, episode and film descriptions, critical commentaries, and data on arch-villains, gadgets, comic-book origins and super powers, while placing each production into its historical context. Appendices list common superhero conventions and cliches; incarnations; memorable ad lines; and the best, worst, and most influential productions from 1951 to 2008.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786437553
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 705
Book Description
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a complete guide to over 50 years of superheroes on screen! This expanded and updated edition of the 2004 award-winning encyclopedia covers important developments in the popular genre; adds new shows such as Heroes and Zoom; includes the latest films featuring icons like Superman, Spiderman and Batman; and covers even more types of superheroes. Each entry includes a detailed history, cast and credits, episode and film descriptions, critical commentaries, and data on arch-villains, gadgets, comic-book origins and super powers, while placing each production into its historical context. Appendices list common superhero conventions and cliches; incarnations; memorable ad lines; and the best, worst, and most influential productions from 1951 to 2008.
A Brief History of Superheroes
Author: Brian J. Robb
Publisher: Robinson
ISBN: 1472110706
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
A fascinating written exploration of the superhero phenomenon, from its beginnings in the depths of Great Depression to the blockbuster movies of today. For over 90 years, superheroes have been interrogated, deconstructed, and reinvented. In this wide-ranging study, Robb looks at the diverse characters, their creators, and the ways in which their creations have been reinvented for successive generations. Inevitably, the focus is on the United States, but the context is international, including an examination of characters developed in India and Japan in reaction to the traditional American hero. Sections examine: the birth of the superhero, including Superman, in 1938; the DC family (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Justice Society/League of America), from the 1940s to the 1960s; the superheroes enlistment in the war effort in the 1940s and 50s; their neutering by the Comics Code; the challenge to DC from the Marvel family (The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and The X-Men), from the 1960s to the 1980s; the superhero as complex anti-hero; superheroes deconstructed in the 1980s (The Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Batman), and their politicization; independent comic book creators and new publishers in the 1980s and 90s; superheroes in retreat, and their rebirth at the movies in blockbusters from Batman to Spider-Man and The Avengers.
Publisher: Robinson
ISBN: 1472110706
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
A fascinating written exploration of the superhero phenomenon, from its beginnings in the depths of Great Depression to the blockbuster movies of today. For over 90 years, superheroes have been interrogated, deconstructed, and reinvented. In this wide-ranging study, Robb looks at the diverse characters, their creators, and the ways in which their creations have been reinvented for successive generations. Inevitably, the focus is on the United States, but the context is international, including an examination of characters developed in India and Japan in reaction to the traditional American hero. Sections examine: the birth of the superhero, including Superman, in 1938; the DC family (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Justice Society/League of America), from the 1940s to the 1960s; the superheroes enlistment in the war effort in the 1940s and 50s; their neutering by the Comics Code; the challenge to DC from the Marvel family (The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and The X-Men), from the 1960s to the 1980s; the superhero as complex anti-hero; superheroes deconstructed in the 1980s (The Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Batman), and their politicization; independent comic book creators and new publishers in the 1980s and 90s; superheroes in retreat, and their rebirth at the movies in blockbusters from Batman to Spider-Man and The Avengers.
Comic Book Movies
Author: Blair Davis
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813588790
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 151
Book Description
Comic Book Movies explores how this genre serves as a source for modern-day myths, sometimes even incorporating ancient mythic figures like Thor and Wonder Woman’s Amazons, while engaging with the questions that haunt a post-9/11 world: How do we define heroism and morality today? How far are we willing to go when fighting terror? How can we resist a dystopian state? Film scholar Blair Davis also considers how the genre’s visual style is equally important as its weighty themes, and he details how advances in digital effects have allowed filmmakers to incorporate elements of comic book art in innovative ways. As he reveals, comic book movies have inspired just as many innovations to Hollywood’s business model, with film franchises and transmedia storytelling helping to ensure that the genre will continue its reign over popular culture for years to come.
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813588790
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 151
Book Description
Comic Book Movies explores how this genre serves as a source for modern-day myths, sometimes even incorporating ancient mythic figures like Thor and Wonder Woman’s Amazons, while engaging with the questions that haunt a post-9/11 world: How do we define heroism and morality today? How far are we willing to go when fighting terror? How can we resist a dystopian state? Film scholar Blair Davis also considers how the genre’s visual style is equally important as its weighty themes, and he details how advances in digital effects have allowed filmmakers to incorporate elements of comic book art in innovative ways. As he reveals, comic book movies have inspired just as many innovations to Hollywood’s business model, with film franchises and transmedia storytelling helping to ensure that the genre will continue its reign over popular culture for years to come.
The Herald
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 554
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 554
Book Description
Film Review
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Motion pictures
Languages : en
Pages : 534
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Motion pictures
Languages : en
Pages : 534
Book Description
American Pop
Author: Bob Batchelor
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
Chronicles the history of popular culture in America from 1960 through 1989, and discusses advertising, architecture, print media, entertainment, fashion, food, music, sports, art, and more; and includes time line for each decade.
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
Chronicles the history of popular culture in America from 1960 through 1989, and discusses advertising, architecture, print media, entertainment, fashion, food, music, sports, art, and more; and includes time line for each decade.
The Rough Guide to Superheroes
Author: Paul Simpson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781843533863
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
Featuring the mind-bending truth about the world's bravest and baddest, this book includes all you need to know about the superheroes who save us - and their vile enemies.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781843533863
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
Featuring the mind-bending truth about the world's bravest and baddest, this book includes all you need to know about the superheroes who save us - and their vile enemies.
Superheroes!
Author: Roz Kaveney
Publisher: I.B. Tauris
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
Argues that this is a mistake, that, at their best, superhero comics are a form in which some writers and artists are doing fascinating work, not in spite of their chosen form, but because of it.
Publisher: I.B. Tauris
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
Argues that this is a mistake, that, at their best, superhero comics are a form in which some writers and artists are doing fascinating work, not in spite of their chosen form, but because of it.
The Great Monster Magazines
Author: Bobb Cotter
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
This work provides a critical overview of monster magazines from the 1950s to the 1970s. The term monster magazine is a blanket term, which, for the purposes of this study is used to describe both magazines that focus primarily on popular horror movies and magazines that contain stories featuring monsters which are illustrated in comic book style but printed in black and white.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
This work provides a critical overview of monster magazines from the 1950s to the 1970s. The term monster magazine is a blanket term, which, for the purposes of this study is used to describe both magazines that focus primarily on popular horror movies and magazines that contain stories featuring monsters which are illustrated in comic book style but printed in black and white.