The Saint

The Saint
Author: Burl Barer
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2003-06-13
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780786416806

The now legendary character created by Leslie Charteris has survived nearly three-quarters of a century of perilous action and narrow escapes with nary a hair out of place nor the slightest jolt to his jauntily tipped halo. From his earliest days battling "crooks, blood suckers, traders in vice and damnation" (and cracking the occasional safe on the side), the Saint has captured the imaginations of millions. Using the voluminous correspondence and writings of author Leslie Charteris and examining the many incarnations of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint," in other media, a detailed history emerges. Includes plot synopses of the radio and television programs, with air dates and production credits; descriptions of the movies and their credits; a bibliography, reviews of the books, and quotes from the principals.

Mystery in Space

Mystery in Space
Author: Gardner Fox
Publisher:
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1999
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN:

PULP FICTION LIBRARY: MYSTERY IN SPACE collects 33 of the greatest sciencefiction comic book stories ever told. Reprinting classic and nostalgic talesfrom 1946 through 1981, these short stories feature unforgettable adventurersfrom yesteryear such as Tommy Tomorrow, Space Cabby, Captain Comet, SpaceRanger, Star Hawkins, Adam Strange, Ultra the Multi-Alien, and the AtomicKnights. These sci-fi thrillers are enjoyable for both their retro campy natureas well as their historical value.

From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich

From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich
Author: Neale Barnholden
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2024-06-20
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1496851633

Between the 1930s and the invention of the internet, American comics reached readers in a few distinct physical forms: the familiar monthly stapled pamphlet, the newspaper comics section, bubblegum wrappers, and bound books. From Gum Wrappers to Richie Rich: The Materiality of Cheap Comics places the history of four representative comics—Watchmen, Uncle Scrooge, Richie Rich, and Fleer Funnies—in the larger contexts of book history, children’s culture, and consumerism to understand the roles that comics have played as very specific kinds of books. While comics have received increasing amounts of scholarly attention over the past several decades, their material form is a neglected aspect of how creators, corporations, and readers have constructed meaning inside and around narratives. Neale Barnholden traces the unusual and surprising histories of comics ranging from the most acclaimed works to literal garbage, analyzing how the physical objects containing comics change the meaning of those comics. For example, Carl Barks’s Uncle Scrooge comics were gradually salvaged by a fan-driven project, an evolution that is evident when considering their increasingly expensive forms. Similarly, Watchmen has been physically made into the epitome of “prestigious graphic novel” by the DC Comics corporation. On the other hand, Harvey Comics’ Richie Rich is typically misunderstood as a result of its own branding, while Fleer Funnies uses its inextricable association with bubblegum to offer unexpectedly sophisticated meanings. Examining the bibliographical histories of each title, Barnholden demonstrates how the materiality of consumer culture suggests meanings to comics texts beyond the narratives.

Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics

Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics
Author: Martha Cornog
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2009-08-25
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0313391203

This study of the graphic novel and its growth in the library helps librarians utilize and develop this extraordinarily popular format in their library collections. What does the surge of popularity in graphic novels mean for libraries? Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics: Insights and Issues for Libraries goes deeper into this subject than any other volume previously published, bringing together a distinguished panel of experts to examine questions librarians may encounter as they work to enhance their graphic novel holdings. Graphic Novels Beyond the Basics begins by introducing librarians to the world of the graphic novel: popular and critically acclaimed fiction and nonfiction titles; a wide range of genres including Japanese manga and other international favorites; recurring story and character archetypes; and titles created for specific cultural audiences and female readers. The book then offers a series of chapters on key issues librarians will face with graphic novels on the shelves, including processing and retention questions, preservation and retention, collecting related media such as Japanese anime films and video games, potential grounds for patron or parental complaints, the future of graphic novels, and more.

Superheroes Beyond

Superheroes Beyond
Author: Cormac McGarry
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2024-03-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1496850114

Contributions by Mitchell Adams, Frederick Luis Aldama, Jason Bainbridge, Djoymi Baker, Liam Burke, Octavia Cade, Hernan David Espinosa-Medina, Dan Golding, Ian Gordon, Sheena C. Howard, Aaron Humphrey, Naja Later, Cormac McGarry, Angela Ndalianis, Julian Novitz, Alexandra Ostrowski Schilling, Maria Lorena M. Santos, Jack Teiwes, and Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed In recent years, superheroes on the page and screen have garnered increasing research and wider interest. Nonetheless, many works fall back on familiar examples before arriving at predictable conclusions. Superheroes Beyond moves superhero research beyond expected models. In this innovative collection, contributors unmask international crimefighters, track superheroes outside of the comic book page, and explore heroes whose secret identities are not cisgender men. Superheroes Beyond responds to the growing interest in understanding the unique appeal of superheroes by reveling in the diversity of this heroic type. Superheroes Beyond explores the complexity and cultural reach of the superhero in three sections. The first, “Beyond Men of Steel,” examines how the archetype has moved beyond simply recapitulating the “man of steel” figure to include broader representations of race, gender, sexuality, and ableness. The second section, “Beyond Comic Books,” discusses how the superhero has become a transmedia phenomenon, moving from comic books to toys to cinema screens and beyond. The final section, “Beyond the United States,” highlights the vibrant but often overlooked history of global superhero figures. Together, the essays in this collection form important starting points for taking stock of the superhero’s far-reaching appeal, contributing the critical conversations required to bring scholarship into the present moment and beyond.

Keywords for Comics Studies

Keywords for Comics Studies
Author: Ramzi Fawaz
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2021-06-08
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1479825433

Introduces key terms, research traditions, debates, and histories, and offers a sense of the new frontiers emerging in the field of comics studies Across more than fifty original essays, Keywords for Comics Studies provides a rich, interdisciplinary vocabulary for comics and sequential art. The essays also identify new avenues of research into one of the most popular and diverse visual media of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Keywords for Comics Studies presents an array of inventive analyses of terms central to the study of comics and sequential art that are traditionally siloed in distinct lexicons: these include creative and aesthetic terms like Ink, Creator, Border, and Panel; conceptual terms such as Trans*, Disability, Universe, and Fantasy; genre terms like Zine, Pornography, Superhero, and Manga; and canonical terms like X-Men, Archie, Watchmen, and Love and Rockets. This volume ties each specific comic studies keyword to the larger context of the term within the humanities. Essays demonstrate how scholars, cultural critics, and comics artists from a range of fields take up sequential art as both an object of analysis and a medium for developing new theories about embodiment, identity, literacy, audience reception, genre, cultural politics, and more. Keywords for Comics Studies revivifies the fantasy and magic of reading comics in its kaleidoscopic view of the field’s most compelling and imaginative ideas.

The Law for Comic Book Creators

The Law for Comic Book Creators
Author: Joe Sergi
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2015-02-13
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476617333

Since the creation of the comic book, cases of legal conflict and confusion have often arisen where concepts such as public domain, unincorporated entities and moral rights are involved. As a result, comics creators are frequently concerned about whether they are protecting themselves. There are many questions and no single place to find the answers--that is, until now. Entertaining as it instructs, this book seeks to provide those answers, examining the legal history of comics and presenting information in a way that is understandable to everyone. While not seeking to provide legal advice, this book presents the legal background in plain English, and looks at the stories behind the cases. Every lawsuit has a story and every case has lessons to be learned. As these lessons are explored, the reader will learn the importance of contracts, the basics of copyright and trademark, the precautions necessary when working with public domain characters and the effects of censorship.