The Superheroes Employment Agency

The Superheroes Employment Agency
Author: Marilyn Singer
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 45
Release: 2012
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0547435592

A volume of humorous poems about a group of oddball B-list superheroes in need of work introduces such haphazard wannabes as Blunder Woman, Muffy the Vampire Sprayer, and the Bulk.

Hench

Hench
Author: Natalie Zina Walschots
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2020-09-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0062978594

“This book is fast, furious, compelling, and angry as hell." -- Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author The Boys meets My Year of Rest and Relaxation in this smart, imaginative, and evocative novel of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption, told with razor-sharp wit and affection, in which a young woman discovers the greatest superpower—for good or ill—is a properly executed spreadsheet. Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy? As a temp, she’s just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called “hero” leaves her badly injured. And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she’s the lucky one. So, of course, then she gets laid off. With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks. Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing. And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance. It’s not too long before she’s employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world. A sharp, witty, modern debut, Hench explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of Millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a profound misunderstanding of quantum mechanics.

Do The Gods Wear Capes?

Do The Gods Wear Capes?
Author: Ben Saunders
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2011-06-02
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1441127224

Brash, bold, and sometimes brutal, superheroes might seem to epitomize modern pop-culture at its most melodramatic and mindless. But according to Ben Saunders, the appeal of the superhero is fundamentally metaphysical - even spiritual - in nature. In chapter-length analyses of the early comic book adventures of Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Iron-Man, Saunders explores a number of complex philosophical and theological issues, including: the problem of evil; the will-to-power; the tension between intimacy and vulnerability; and the challenge of love, in the face of mortality. He concludes that comic book fantasies of the superhuman ironically reveal more than we might care to admit about our human limitations, even as they expose the falsehood of the characteristically modern opposition between religion and science. Clearly and passionately written, this insightful and at times exhilarating book should delight all readers who believe in the redemptive capacity of the imagination, regardless of whether they consider themselves comic book fans.

The Undercover Superhero

The Undercover Superhero
Author: Anita Myers
Publisher:
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2019-07-12
Genre:
ISBN: 9781733263832

The author shares some of the most disheartening memories as a child, a young woman and the senseless abuse that she endured. She shows us how she persevered and still managed to choose life and love and move on without holding any grudges - she is powerful, she is brilliant. This book is a must read.

Even Superheroes Make Mistakes

Even Superheroes Make Mistakes
Author: Shelly Becker
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Total Pages: 40
Release: 2020-02-28
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1454941383

“A highly appealing read. . . . Children will readily gravitate to this book.” —School Library Journal What do young superheroes do when they’ve blundered and bungled? They don’t get mad; they get SMART! This fun follow-up to Even Superheroes Have Bad Days teaches kids another humorous lesson in overcoming adversity. Even superheroes sometimes slip up and err. And when that happens, do they say, “It’s not FAIR?” or give up in despair? NO! “Ashamed Superheroes who goofed up somehow . . . First STOP . . . then CONSIDER what’s best to do now.” Whether they’ve nabbed the wrong guy by mistake or bashed into a planet while zooming through space, all superheroes ‘fess up their mess-up, get on with their day, and keep on saving the world in the most super way!

Hanna-Barbera

Hanna-Barbera
Author: Jared Bahir Browsh
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2021-12-28
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476675791

With careers spanning eight decades, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were two of the most prolific animation producers in American history. In 1940, the two met at MGM and created Tom and Jerry, who would earn 14 Academy Award nominations and seven wins. The growth of television led to the founding of Hanna-Barbera's legendary studio that produced countless hours of cartoons, with beloved characters from Fred Flintstone, George Jetson and Scooby-Doo to the Super Friends and the Smurfs. Prime-time animated sitcoms, Saturday morning cartoons, and Cartoon Network's cable animation are some of the many areas of television revolutionized by the team. Their productions are critical to our cultural history, reflecting ideologies and trends in both media and society. This book offers a complete company history and examines its productions' influences, changing technologies, and enduring cultural legacy, with careful attention to Hanna-Barbera's problematic record of racial and gender representation.

Fast Guy Slows Down

Fast Guy Slows Down
Author: Wred Fright
Publisher: Frighty LLC
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2022-03-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Superman was first published in 1938, so how come he still looks to be about 25 years old in the stories set in 2022? Ditto for all the other superheroes from The Golden Age Of Comics still being published today. Why isn't Captain America collecting Social Security? Why isn't The Flash using a walker to get around? Why isn't The Human Torch complaining about his hip replacement? Why isn't Wonder Woman deciding what Medicare plan she wants? Why isn't Batman retired? Why isn't Plastic Man stretching his dollars to afford his nursing home bills? Why isn't The Green Lantern The Green Flashlight by now? Er, never mind about that last question. But the answer to the other ones is money. As long as the corporate comics companies can milk money out of them, these characters will be kept forever young, aside from the occasional "imaginary story" or whatnot. But in stunting their growth, only half the story gets told. What does happen when a superhero ages with the times and eventually becomes elderly? What's so super about getting old? Well, it probably beats being dead. Just ask Bucky. Er, never mind. Anyway, leave it to one of America's worstselling authors who hasn't given up yet to venture in and tell the rest of the superhero story. In the case of Harry Fox, the superhero known as Fast Guy, he finds he can't outrace time or death. His worst foe though is an existential crisis brought on by saving the world numerous times only to have it result in a shallow, selfish place populated mainly by morons and jerks, and sometimes even moronic jerks and jerky morons. Living alone in his old ranch house in a town filled with new McMansions, he is wondering what to do with himself and worrying about what will happen to the world when he is gone. And the reader is left wondering if Harry is really a superhero. Although he claims he's saved the world more times than he can remember from nuclear annihilation, he delights in pooping on world leaders, which sounds more like a supervillain, or, at the very least, a person with issues than it does a superhero. Or maybe he's just a lonely old man with a very active imagination. In a world less than super, can a senior citizen still be a hero? Find out in Fast Guy Slows Down!

Birthday on Mars!

Birthday on Mars!
Author: Sara Schonfeld
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2019-06-04
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 152479290X

Even robots have birthdays! Celebrate Curiosity and wish happy birthday to one of NASA's most famous Mars rovers in this beautiful picture book! "The book is adorable. . . a celebration of curiosity and exploration." - GeekDad.com Mars is our closest neighbor, and a little robot named Curiosity is investigating the planet for us. Join for a tour of the place this rover calls home. Get to know Mars through eye-catching illustrations of an alien landscape and the adorable robot in charge of exploring it all. And this rover's birthday is a perfect time to celebrate curiosity. For nerdy parents, fans of space, or those who are just curious, relive the moment when the Curiosity rover sang itself happy birthday in 2013 after one year on Mars.

Veiled Superheroes

Veiled Superheroes
Author: Sophia Rose Arjana
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2017-11-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1498536530

This groundbreaking study examines Muslim female superheroes within a matrix of Islamic theology, feminism, and contemporary political discourse. Through a close reading of texts including Ms. Marvel, Qahera, and The 99, Sophia Rose Arjana argues that these powerful and iconic characters reflect independence and agency, reflecting the diverse lives of Muslim girls and women in the world today.

Ordinary Superheroes

Ordinary Superheroes
Author: Christopher Lansdown
Publisher: Christopher Lansdown
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2014-02-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Millenia ago martian superheroes defeated an ancient evil, who was imprisoned on a moon of Jupiter. Neglected for centuries, the prison is about to fail, giving the ancient evil a second chance to wipe out all life in the solar system. Unfortunately, the martians have gone extinct so it’s up to earth’s superheroes to save the day. Worse, there’s only one man who even knows of the threat, and he’s not a superhero. On the plus side, training teams of superheroes to save the world is what he does. Mr Macho, Mockingbird, and the Mega Ninja were just ordinary college student/superheroes doing ordinary student things like attending class and ordinary superhero things like foiling bank robberies and catching drug dealers until one night when they returned to their apartment and found a strange old man with a mystical amulet sitting on their couch. Unfortunately, while he can teach them how to teleport to other planets, he has no idea how to repair the prison. Did the amulet pick correctly this time, and will they figure out what they need to do before it's too late?