Spider-Man: Folio Society Edition
Roy Thomas’s expert introduction will guide you through the tangled web of a Super Hero whose powers prove as much a tragic curse as a teenager’s dream come true. You’ll relive those crucial battles with Super Villains the Green Goblin and sinister symbiote Venom. You’ll also discover the moments of heartbreak that have impacted Peter Parker’s life over the years. Experience the shocking fate of Gwen Stacey, which devastated readers in 1973, as well as ’The Conversation‘ from 2002. In this low-key masterpiece, Peter’s frail Aunt May finally learns the horrifying truth that her beloved nephew is Spider-Man. Concluding with another subtle classic – 2018’s ’There For You‘ with award-winning art by this edition’s cover-artist Marcos Martín – Folio’s Spider-Man is a truly startling compendium that will show you the world through the eyes of a Super Hero.
Spider-Senses everywhere have been tingling in anticipation of this second volume in Folio’s acclaimed ‘Marvel Heroes’ series. The amazing Spider-Man collects twelve momentous tales of web-slinging action. Also included is a complete replica of The Amazing Spider-Man #1, created by the legendary team of Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Following Folio’s Captain America, this dazzling edition presents an exclusive portrait of an iconic Super Hero. And who better to curate and introduce this collection than former Marvel editor Roy Thomas? Thomas selects archetypal stories from almost sixty years of crime-fighting adventure. You’ll discover the debuts of Doctor Octopus and Venom, as well as Peter Parker’s first encounter with his young successor, Miles Morales. This hardback edition comes sheathed in a beautiful blue-and-red slipcase stamped with Spidey’s iconic sigil, while the cover features original artwork by Marcos Martín, the multiple-award-winning Marvel artist famed for his work on Spider-Man.
Ultramega Volume 1: Stand With Humanity by James Harren
A cosmic plague has spread, transforming everyday people into violent, monstrous kaiju. Only the Ultramega – three individuals imbued with incredible powers — hold the line against this madness. Their battles level cities and leave untold horror in their wake. Now, the final reckoning approaches for the Ultramega… but is this a war they can even win?
Fight monsters and stand with humanity in this new Skybound Original from the greatest artist of his generation, James Harren (Rumble, BPRD) and Eisner Award-winning colorist Dave Stewart (Black Hammer).
Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life by Linda H. Davis
In Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life, meet the legendary cartoonist behind the altogether ooky Addams Family in this first biography, written with exclusive access to Charles Addams’s private archives.
Take a front-row seat to the widespread rumors and storytelling genius behind one of America’s oddest and most iconic creators. Even as The Addams Family grew in fame, the life of Charles Addams remained shrouded in mystery. Did he really sleep in a coffin and drink martinis garnished with eyeballs? In reality, Addams himself was charismatic and spellbinding as the characters he created. Discover the real stories behind Addams’s most famous, and most private drawings, including the cartoon that offended the Nazis. From his dazzling love for sports cars and beautiful women—Jackie Kennedy and Joan Fontaine among them—to the darkest relationship of his life, this witty book reveals Addams’s life as never before.
With rare family photographs, previously published cartoons, and private drawings seen here for the first time, Linda H. Davis provides a fascinating journey into the life of a beloved American icon.
Panthers, Hulks, and Ironhearts: Marvel, Diversity and the 21st Century Superhero by Jeffrey A. Brown
Marvel is one of the hottest media companies in the world right now, and its beloved superheroes are all over film, television and comic books. Yet rather than simply cashing in on the popularity of iconic white male characters like Peter Parker, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, Marvel has consciously diversified its lineup of superheroes, courting controversy in the process.
Panthers, Hulks, and Ironhearts offers the first comprehensive study of how Marvel has reimagined what a superhero might look like in the twenty-first century. It examines how they have revitalized older characters like Black Panther and Luke Cage, while creating new ones like Latina superhero Miss America. Furthermore, it considers the mixed fan responses to Marvel’s recasting of certain “legacy heroes,” including a Pakistani-American Ms. Marvel, a Korean-American Hulk, and a whole rainbow of multiverse Spidermen.
If the superhero comic is a quintessentially American creation, then how might the increasing diversification of Marvel’s superhero lineup reveal a fundamental shift in our understanding of American identity? This timely study answers those questions and considers what Marvel’s comics, TV series, and films might teach us about stereotyping, Orientalism, repatriation, whitewashing, and identification.
Red Room: The Antisocial Network by Ed Piskor
A cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk masterpiece from the New York Times bestselling creator of Hip Hop Family Tree and X-Men: Grand Design!
Aided by the anonymous dark web and nearly untraceable cryptocurrency, a criminal subculture has emerged. It livestreams murders as entertainment. Who are the killers? Who are the victims? Who is paying to watch? How to stop it? Red Room is constructed as a series of interconnected stories, shining a light on the characters who exist in the ugliest of corners in cyberspace. Piskor cuts the graphic horror with his sharp sense of humor, gorgeous cartooning, and dynamic storytelling. Red Room peels back the curtain on the side of humanity few of us knew existed, let alone understood. Fans and followers of Piskor’s YouTube channel sensation, Cartoonist Kayfabe, have already made Red Room: The Antisocial Network one of the most eagerly anticipated and talked-about releases of 2021.
Robin and the Making of American Adolescence by Lauren R. O’Connor
Holy adolescence, Batman! Robin and the Making of American Adolescence offers the first character history and analysis of the most famous superhero sidekick, Robin. Debuting just a few months after Batman himself, Robin has been an integral part of the Dark Knight’s history—and debuting just a few months prior to the word “teenager” first appearing in print, Robin has from the outset both reflected and reinforced particular images of American adolescence. Closely reading several characters who have “played” Robin over the past eighty years, Robin and the Making of American Adolescence reveals the Boy (and sometimes Girl!) Wonder as a complex figure through whom mainstream culture has addressed anxieties about adolescents in relation to sexuality, gender, and race. This book partners up comics studies and adolescent studies as a new Dynamic Duo, following Robin as he swings alongside the ever-changing American teenager and finally shining the Bat-signal on the latter half of “Batman and—.”
American Comics: A History by Jeremy Dauber
The sweeping story of cartoons, comic strips, and graphic novels and their hold on the American imagination.
Comics have conquered America. From our multiplexes, where Marvel and DC movies reign supreme, to our television screens, where comics-based shows like The Walking Dead have become among the most popular in cable history, to convention halls, best-seller lists, Pulitzer Prize–winning titles, and MacArthur Fellowship recipients, comics shape American culture, in ways high and low, superficial, and deeply profound.
In American Comics, Columbia professor Jeremy Dauber takes readers through their incredible but little-known history, starting with the Civil War and cartoonist Thomas Nast, creator of the lasting and iconic images of Uncle Sam and Santa Claus; the golden age of newspaper comic strips and the first great superhero boom; the moral panic of the Eisenhower era, the Marvel Comics revolution, and the underground comix movement of the 1960s and ’70s; and finally into the twenty-first century, taking in the grim and gritty Dark Knights and Watchmen alongside the brilliant rise of the graphic novel by acclaimed practitioners like Art Spiegelman and Alison Bechdel.
Dauber’s story shows not only how comics have changed over the decades but how American politics and culture have changed them. Throughout, he describes the origins of beloved comics, champions neglected masterpieces, and argues that we can understand how America sees itself through whose stories comics tell. Striking and revelatory, American Comics is a rich chronicle of the last 150 years of American history through the lens of its comic strips, political cartoons, superheroes, graphic novels, and more.
The Pop Manga Sketchbook: A Guided Drawing Journal by Camilla d’Errico
A stylish sketchbook from acclaimed manga artist and painter Camilla d’Errico, featuring creative drawing prompts and a smattering of her signature cute, creepy, and quirky characters.
The Pop Manga Sketchbook is packed with ideas and inspiration from the instructional expert on manga, anime, and Pop Surrealism, Camilla d’Errico. With a brief introduction from the beloved artist, thirty drawing prompts, and fifty of d’Errico’s stunning sketches sprinkled throughout, this guided drawing journal is perfect for artists of all skill levels.
Fans of d’Errico’s instructional Pop Manga books and newcomers to manga and drawing will be swept into the artist’s uniquely colorful, surreal world in the pages of this sketchbook. A layflat binding provides plenty of room for artists to practice their drawing skills, and the sturdy paper is suitable for pencil, ink, and watercolor. Whether you are a beginner or a devoted fan, you will draw inspiration from The Pop Manga Sketchbook.
The Other 1980s: Reframing Comics’ Crucial Decade edited by Brannon Costello, Brian Cremins
Fans and scholars have long regarded the 1980s as a significant turning point in the history of comics in the United States, but most critical discussions of the period still focus on books from prominent creators such as Frank Miller, Alan Moore, and Art Spiegelman, eclipsing the work of others who also played a key role in shaping comics as we know them today. The Other 1980s offers a more complicated and multivalent picture of this robust era of ambitious comics publishing.
The twenty essays in The Other 1980s illuminate many works hailed as innovative in their day that have nonetheless fallen from critical view, partly because they challenge the contours of conventional comics studies scholarship: open-ended serials that eschew the graphic-novel format beloved by literature departments; sprawling superhero narratives with no connection to corporate universes; offbeat and abandoned experiments by major publishers, including Marvel and DC; idiosyncratic and experimental independent comics; unusual genre exercises filtered through deeply personal sensibilities; and oft-neglected offshoots of the classic “underground” comics movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The collection also offers original examinations of the ways in which the fans and critics of the day engaged with creators and publishers, establishing the groundwork for much of the contemporary critical and academic discourse on comics.
By uncovering creators and works long ignored by scholars, The Other 1980s revises standard histories of this major period and offers a more nuanced understanding of the context from which the iconic comics of the 1980s emerged.
Love, Sex, Gender, and Superheroes by Jeffrey A. Brown
Impossibly muscular men and voluptuous women parade around in revealing, skintight outfits, and their romantic and sexual entanglements are a key part of the ongoing drama. Such is the state of superhero comics and movies, a genre that has become one of our leading mythologies, conveying influential messages about gender, sexuality, and relationships.
Love, Sex, Gender, and Superheroes examines a full range of superhero media, from comics to films to television to merchandising. With a keen eye for the genre’s complex and internally contradictory mythology, comics scholar Jeffrey A. Brown considers its mixed messages. Superhero comics may reinforce sex roles with their litany of phallic musclemen and slinky femme fatales, but they also blur gender binaries with their emphasis on transformation and body swaps. Similarly, while most heroes have heterosexual love interests, the genre prioritizes homosocial bonding, and it both celebrates and condemns gendered and sexualized violence.
With examples spanning from the Golden Ages of DC and Marvel comics up to recent works like the TV series The Boys, this study provides a comprehensive look at how superhero media shapes our perceptions of love, sex, and gender.
Popeye Volume 1: Olive Oyl and Her Sweety by E.C. Segar
An irresistible alchemy of screwball comedy, tender romance, and rags-to-riches fantasy, Elsie Crisler Segar’s newspaper comic strip captivated readers of the Roaring Twenties and beyond. And Popeye, the sailor man, was the unlikely star of the show. Fantagraphics is thrilled to bring Segar’s whimsical world back into print, reviving the origins of the beloved spinach-eating American icon for a whole new readership. The E.C. Segar Popeye Sundays series collects the complete Popeye Sunday stories in four gorgeous full-color volumes, each packaged in a deluxe die-cut vertical slipcase.
Volume one (1931-1932) highlights Popeye’s riotous romance with his sweet patootie, Olive Oyl. As apt to hold hands as butt heads, they are ultimately meant for each other, and their enduring connection forms the warm heart of the comic. Outside the love nest, Popeye seeks fame and fortune as a prizefighter. Ever the under-dog, he must contend with a series of increasingly fearsome opponents, from the formidable Johnny Brawn to a literal gorilla!
Featuring tongue-twisting gags, sensational slugfests, and an endearing ensemble of characters, this revival of classic Popeye adventures really packs a punch and will captivate stalwart fans and new readers alike. Introduced with comic tributes by acclaimed cartoonists Sergio Ponchione and Cathy Malkasian.
The Art of Pulp Fiction: An Illustrated History of Vintage Paperbacks by Ed Hulse
The Art of Pulp Fiction: An Illustrated History of Vintage Paperbacks chronicles the history of pocket-sized paperbound books designed for mass-market consumption, specifically concentrating on the period from 1940 to 1970. These three decades saw paperbacks eclipse cheap pulp magazines and expensive clothbound books as the most popular delivery vehicle for escapist fiction. To catch the eyes of potential buyers they were adorned with covers that were invariably vibrant, frequently garish, and occasionally lurid. Today the early paperbacks–like the earlier pulps, inexpensively produced and considered disposable by casual readers–are treasured collector’s items.
Award-winning editor Ed Hulse (The Art of the Pulps and The Blood ‘n’ Thunder Guide to Pulp Fiction) comprehensively covers the pulp-fiction paperback’s heyday. Hulse writes the individual chapter introductions and the captions, while a team of genre specialists and art aficionados contribute the special features included in each chapter. These focus on particularly important authors, artists, publishers, and sub-genres.
Illustrated with more than 500 memorable covers and original cover paintings. Hulse’s extensive captions, meanwhile, offer a running commentary on this significant genre, and also contain many obscure but entertaining factoids. Images used in The Art of Pulp Fiction have been sourced from the largest American paperback collections in private hands, and have been curated with rarity in mind, as well as graphic appeal. Consequently, many covers are reproduced here for the first time since the books were first issued.
With an overall Introduction by Richard A. Lupoff, novelist, essayist, pop-culture historian, and author of The Great American Paperback (2001).
The Most Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World
120 inspiring visual stories on environmentalism from key figures, charities, activists, and artists.
The Most Important Comic Book On Earth is a global collaboration for planetary change, bringing together a diverse team of 300 leading environmentalists, artists, authors, actors, filmmakers, musicians, and more to present over 120 stories to save the world.Whether it’s inspirational tales from celebrity names such as Cara Delevingne and Andy Serkis, hilarious webcomics from War and Peas and Ricky Gervais, artworks by leading illustrators David Mack and Tula Lotay, calls to action from activists George Monbiot and Jane Goodall, or powerful stories by Brian Azzarello and Amy Chu, each of the comics in this anthology will support projects and organizations fighting to save the planet and Rewrite Extinction.
The DC Book: A Vast and Vibrant Multiverse Simply Explained by Stephen Wiacek
If you want to truly understand DC Comics, The DC Book is your one-stop guide to the DC Multiverse. It is a unique and insightful examination of this mind-boggling comics universe that takes readers on a compelling journey from the dawn of Super Heroes to the formation of the Dark Multiverse… and beyond.
Meticulously researched and expertly written, The DC Book is packed with stunning, painstakingly selected artwork, illuminating infographics, and incisive, specially curated essays that shed new light on the ever-evolving DC Multiverse. From the world’s finest Super Heroes such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, to iconic villains like the Joker, Lex Luthor, and Darkseid, to mythic realms like Apokolips and Themyscira, to cosmic energies like The Source and The Speed Force, The DC Book explores the key concepts, characters, and events that have defined and shaped DC Comics over the past 80 years.
The book’s content is divided into key subject areas–The Multiverse, Dark Multiverse, and Metaverse; Weird Science and Super Tech; Down to Earth; Mysteries from Space; Mystic Realms and Dream Worlds; and Time Warps and Other Earths–that form the foundations of DC Comics. The DC Book is an invaluable roadmap to DC Comics that no fan will want to miss!
Crime Comics Confidential: The Best Golden Age Crime Comics by Steven Brower
Relive the days when gangsters ruled the streets in this gripping collection of notorious pre-Code crime comics!
True life criminals Al Capone, Legs Diamond, Pretty Boy Floyd, Dutch Schultz, Lucky Luciano, and John Dillinger are featured alongside colorful pulp fiction characters with rods ablaze. These mobsters flaunted their sexy gun molls and ill-gotten gains of big cars and fancy suits, living outside the law until getting their just deserts in the end.
Features masterful creators Charles Biro, Dick Briefer, John Buscema, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Fred Guardineer, Everett Raymond Kinstler, Bernie Krigstein, Mort Meskin, Bob Powell, John Prentice, Mike Sekowsky, Leonard Starr, Marvin Stein, Alex Toth, and many others. These Senate-investigated stories are fully restored–over 20 full-comic stories in all!
There are over 200 pages of action-packed comics plus an in-depth essay by editor and designer Steven Brower.
Meadowlark: A Coming-of-Age Crime Story by Ethan Hawke and Greg Ruth
Set against the quiet and unassuming city of Huntsville, Texas, Jack “Meadowlark” Johnson, and his teenage son, Cooper embark on a journey of epic proportions. Told over the course a single day, this electrifying graphic novel recounts Cooper’s struggle to survive the consequences of his father’s mistakes and the dangers they have brought home to his estranged family. As Cooper and his father desperately navigate cascading threats of violence, they must also grapple with their own combative, dysfunctional, but loving relationship.
Drawing on inspiration from the authors’ childhoods in Texas, their relationships with their own sons and from ancient myths that resonate throughout the ages, this contemporary crime noir is a propulsive coming-of-age tale of the shattering transition into manhood. While both father and son strive to understand their place in the world and each other’s lives, tension and resentment threaten to boil over. As emotionally evocative as it is visually stunning, this captivating graphic novel will appeal to fans of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men and Terrence Malick’s Badlands.
Marvel By Design by Liz Stinson
As one of the most recognizable brands in the world, Marvel has spent the last 80-plus years inspiring generations of creatives through its approach to visual storytelling. Marvel’s comic books, in particular, established a distinct graphic language that has found its way into mainstream culture, including 1960s Pop Art, and present-day digital culture, gaming, advertising, and more. Marvel By Design will celebrate the company’s visual language with an in-depth exploration of the design process behind the brand’s most recognizable graphical elements including logos, covers, lettering, layout, and color palettes. Readers will learn how the renowned Marvel Method established a unique approach to the creative process and how that process can serve as a template for creatives working beyond comics.
Throughout the book, Marvel by Design will connect the dots between comic culture and its undeniable influence in every creative field including the evolution of graphic design, editorial design, movies, and visual culture at large. Highlights include an expansive, five-part visual encyclopedia, highlighting examples of Marvel’s exceptional approach to logos, layout, lettering, cover design, and color palettes. This section will feature insights from some of Marvel’s most renowned contributors including artist Klaus Janson and letterer Todd Klein, among others; essays from famous graphic designers including Mike Essl and Paul Sahre, as well as from well-known Marvel contributors including letterer Chris Eliopolous and designer/editor Carl Potts. An oral history of the making of House of X, featuring Jonathan Hickman, editor Jordan D. White, and designer Tom Muller; Case-studies that trace the visual evolution of ten iconic characters and hundreds of images from Marvel’s past and present.
Steranko Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Artisan Edition by Jim Steranko
In the mid-1960s, Jim Steranko burst into the Marvel Age of comics in a BIG way, and the innovative, cinematic techniques he introduced in his brief tenure at The House of Ideas stand to this day as a high-water mark in the history of graphic storytelling. More than any other series, Steranko is most associated with Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. This Artisan Edition collects the first 12 stories of Steranko’s run, from Strange Tales #151-162, as well as his covers from these issues. Additionally, there will be a select number of extras presented. And, as usual, nearly all the pages have been scanned from the original art, from Steranko’s private archives.
Story and art by Jim Steranko with additional script by Stan Lee and Roy Thomas. Additional Layouts by Jack Kirby.
An Artisan Edition presents complete stories with each page scanned from the actual original art. While appearing to be in black and white, each page was scanned in color to mimic as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual original art–for instance, corrections, blue pencils, paste-overs, all the little nuances that make original art unique. Each page is printed the same size as drawn, and the paper selected is as close as possible to the original art board.
The Art of Sushi by Franckie Alarcon
Fly to Japan and come discover all there is to know about sushi. After revealing the secrets of chocolate to us, Franckie Alarcon offers a gourmet panorama of this exceptional dish that has conquered the planet! But do you really know sushi?
The author traveled to Japan to meet all the players involved in the making of this true work of culinary art. From the traditional starred chef to the young cook who is shaking up the rules, including all the artisans and producers involved, this book covers the most emblematic of Japanese products from A to Z. A fascinating journey of discovery that, along the way, tells a lot about Japan itself. You’ll never believe the precision and detailed obsession with quality ingredients involved.
Hawkeye: The Saga of Barton and Bishop by Fraction & Aja
Matt Fraction and David Aja’s complete, acclaimed run in a single sharpshooting volume! Clint Barton continues his fight for justice — and good rooftop BBQs!
With Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he’s out to get some downtime from being one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes — but when the apartment building he’s moved into, and the neighbors he’s befriended, are threatened by a tracksuit-wearing, dog-abusing gang of Eastern European mobsters who say “bro” an awful lot, Clint must stand up and defend his new adopted family…any way he can. It’s Hawkguy, Katie-Kate, Pizza Dog and friends against the Clown, Madame Masque, the Tracksuit Draculas and more in a fantastic, Eisner Award-winning reinvention of the arrowed Avenger! Bro, you read this book. Okay, bro?
The DC Comics Encyclopedia New Edition by Matthew K. Manning
The definitive guide to the characters of the DC Multiverse and a vital addition to every comic book fan’s bookshelf.
Iconic Super Heroes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and The Flash have been transformed in recent years, along with many other DC characters. This new edition of the most comprehensive A-Z guide to DC’s pantheon of Super Heroes and Super-Villains includes the latest earth-shaking developments in the DC Multiverse, with profiles of more than 1,200 characters.
Created in full collaboration with DC, the encyclopedia features characters and art from every key crossover event, including Dark Nights: Metal and its sequel Dark Nights: Death Metal.
With a foreword by DC legend Jim Lee, a brand-new cover design, and thrilling comic artwork, the fun and excitement of more than 80 years of comics history explode off every page.
Experience the DC Multiverse like never before with The DC Comics Encyclopedia New Edition.
Godzilla: World of Monsters by Various
Monsters rule the world in this compendium collecting three graphic novels–Gangsters & Goliaths, Cataclysm, and Oblivion!
In Gangsters & Goliaths by John Layman and Alberto Ponticelli, Detective Makoto Sato is on a quest to bring down the Takahashi crime syndicate but Sato’s efforts earn him a one-way trip to a tropical getaway, courtesy of the Tokyo criminal underworld–MONSTER ISLAND! Alone and facing death at the hands of both gangsters and goliaths, Sato must use his wits to survive–and enlist the aid of some unusual friends.
In Cataclysm by Cullen Bunn and Dave Wachter, years have passed since a monster apocalypse nearly destroyed mankind. Now it is merely a distant, nightmarish memory for Hiroshi, an elder in one of the few remaining tribes of humans. Little does Hiroshi know that the apocalypse is not over, and that his memories of the past may yet save the future!
In Oblivion by Joshua Fialkov and Brian Churilla, a scientist has created a portal to another dimension–one where monsters rule supreme! An expedition begins into a world where hope has died and Godzilla is the unrivaled King of the Monsters. But what happens when a baby kaiju hitches a ride back to the original, monster-less dimension?
The American Superhero Encyclopedia of Caped Crusaders in History by Richard A. Hall
The American Superhero: Encyclopedia of Caped Crusaders in History covers the history of superheroes and superheroines in America from approximately 1938–2010 in an intentionally inclusive manner. The book features a chronology of important dates in superhero history, five thematic essays covering the overall history of superheroes, and 100 A–Z entries on various superheroes. Complementing the entries are sidebars of important figures or events and a glossary of terms in superhero research.
Designed for anyone beginning to research superheroes and superheroines, The American Superhero contains a wide variety of facts, figures, and features about caped crusaders and shows their importance in American history. Further, it collects and verifies information that otherwise would require hours of looking through multiple books and websites to find.
Outcast by Kirkman & Azaceta Compendium
This massive volume collects the complete best-selling horror series from The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman, and Paul Azaceta!
Kyle Barnes has been plagued by demonic possession all his life, and now he needs answers. Unfortunately, what he uncovers along the way could bring about the end of life on Earth as we know it.
The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry
The definitive story of how Marvel Studios created the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as told by the studio’s creatives, and the cast and crew of The Infinity Saga
The Story of Marvel Studios is the first-ever, fully authorized, all-access history of Marvel Studios’ creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as told by the producers, writers, directors, concept artists, VFX artists, cast, and crew who brought it to life. Year-by-year, project-by-project, the studio’s founding and meteoric growth are described through detailed personal stories, anecdotes, and remembrances of noteworthy challenges, breakthrough milestones, and history-making successes. Together, these stories reveal how each of the films evolved into one ongoing cinematic narrative, as coauthors Tara Bennett and Paul Terry (The Official Making of Big Trouble in Little China, 2017) chart the complete production history of The Infinity Saga’s 23 movies (from 2008’s Iron Man all the way up to, and including, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home).
Bennett and Terry were granted unprecedented access to Marvel Studios, which led to this years-in-the-making tome containing personal stories from more than 200 interviews, including every Marvel Studios producer; MCU writers and directors; the stars of The Infinity Saga; concept artists, costume designers, composers, and the talents behind the MCU’s dazzling visual effects; and more. Featuring previously unpublished behind-the-scenes photography and archival production material, as well as personal photos and memorabilia from cast and crew, The Story of Marvel Studios is the essential, collectible chronicle of how the Marvel Cinematic Universe was brought to life.
512 pages chart the entire history-making story of Marvel Studios—from its inception, through Phases One, Two, and Three, and to the dawn of Phase Four. Features more than 200 interviews with the studio’s staff, cast, and crew for all 23 movies in The Infinity Saga and includes more than 500 production photos, plus never-before-seen filmmakers’ archival materials and personal memorabilia from the cast and crew.
The deluxe two-volume, foil-stamped cloth hardcover set, features an exclusive cover art by Ryan Meinerding (Marvel Studios Head of Visual Development), metallized reinforced slipcase with exclusive wrap-around MCU concept art montage, featuring art by Adi Granov, Ryan Meinerding, Andy Park, and Charlie Wen; a foreword by Kevin Feige (President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel), and an afterword by Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man).
The Other History of the DC Universe by John Ridley and Various
Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Let It Fall) examines the mythology of the DC Universe in this compelling new graphic novel! Reframing iconic moments of DC history and charting a previously unexplored sociopolitical thread as seen through the prism of DC Super Heroes who come from historically disenfranchised groups, John Ridley goes where no other has gone before!
This unique new series presents its story as prose by Ridley married with beautifully realized color illustrations from a selection of exciting illustrators and comics artists.
Extensively researched and masterfully executed, The Other History of the DC Universe promises to be an experience unlike any other. You may think you know the history of the DC Universe…but the truth is far more complex. The Other History of the DC Universe isn’t about saving the world–it’s about having the strength to simply be who you are.
The American Villain Encyclopedia of Bad Guys in Comics, Film, and Television by Richard A. Hall
Since the 1980s, pop culture has focused on what makes a villain a villain. The Joker, Darth Vader, and Hannibal Lecter have all been placed under the microscope to get to the origins of their villainy. Additionally, such bad guys as Angelus from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows have emphasized the desire for redemption―in even the darkest of villains. Various incarnations of Lucifer/Satan have even gone so far as to explore the very foundations of what we consider “evil.”
The American Villain: Encyclopedia of Bad Guys in Comics, Film, and Television seeks to collect all of those stories into one comprehensive volume. The volume opens with essays about villains in popular culture, followed by 100 A–Z entries on the most notorious bad guys in film, comics, and more. Sidebars highlight ancillary points of interest, such as authors, creators, and tropes that illuminate the motives of various villains. A glossary of key terms and a bibliography provide students with resources to continue their study of what makes the “baddest” among us so bad.
The Periodic Table of Marvel by Melanie Scott
Discover the elemental properties of iconic Marvel Comics characters.
From the volatile gamma-irradiated Hulk to the stable Super-Soldier Captain America, and the technologically enhanced Iron Man to the cosmically charged Silver Surfer, the Marvel Comics Universe boasts a diverse array of heroes and villains. Whether mutants or Asgardians, Celestials or Inhumans, The Periodic Table of Marvel expertly classifies key and lesser known Marvel characters to reveal the properties that bind them, the catalysts that created them, the chain reactions that energize them, and the underlying structures and formulas that underpin the Marvel Universe.
With more than 130 character profiles written by a Marvel expert, beautiful comic book art, and Marvel’s seal of approval, The Periodic Table of Marvel reveals the fascinating and surprising connections between the most incredible heroes and villains ever created.
EC Covers Artist’s Edition Edited by Scott Dunbier
Here is your chance to collect some of the most iconic comic book covers by some of the greatest artists to ever pick up a pencil!
EC Comics, under the guidance of publisher Bill Gaines, was–according to the editor of this collection–the greatest line of comics ever done. This once-in-a-liftime Artist’s Edition collects more than 140 EC covers by their best and brightest talents. The luminaries included in this gigantic (15 x 22 inches!) tome include:
Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Graham Ingels, Al Williamson, Johnny Craig, Frank Frazetta, Jack Davis, Al Feldstein, and more! To make a baseball analogy, this is a Murderers Row every bit as noteworthy as the ’27 Yankees!
Also includes an Introduction by noted EC scholar Thommy Burns.
Each cover in this collection has been scanned from the original art While appearing to be in black and white, these images were scanned in color, enabling the reader to see all the subtle nuances that make original art unique. Blue pencil notations, zip-a-tone, Duoshade, whiteout–all of these and more are clearly visible. Honestly, the only better way to see these covers is to be holding the original art in your hands!
Doctor Strange: The Book of the Vishanti: A Magical Exploration of the Marvel Universe
An immersive in-world guide to all things magical in the Marvel Universe
One of the most formidable and powerful items in the Marvel Universe, the sacred Book of the Vishanti contains an infinite number of potent spells, incantations, and lore from fantastic realms. Created thousands of years ago in the ancient city of Babylon to combat demons and those who wield dark magic, this tome has been passed down by the greatest sorcerers of the ages, each adding their own discoveries into its ever-expanding pages. Now in the possession of Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme and Earth’s foremost protector against mystical threats, the Book of the Vishanti acts as his first line of defense.
The greatest source of magical knowledge in our dimension, the Book of the Vishanti is the ultimate collection of spells, history, and personal accounts recorded by practitioners over centuries, including notes from Doctor Strange himself. Featuring detailed inscriptions, mind-bending illustrations, and everything you need to know about the heroes, villains, artifacts, creatures, and worlds that make up the mystical and supernatural side of the Multiverse, this book is a must-have for all Marvel fans.
Marvel Universe Map by Map by James Hill and Nick Jones
A premium, lavishly illustrated compendium of specially curated essays, boasting stunning, newly commissioned maps, illustrations, and diagrams, which explores iconic Marvel locations.
Navigate a universe of wonders.
Chart a journey across Marvel Comics’ vast and vibrant universe, from its Earthbound mean streets and hidden lands, to its mythic realms and cosmic outer reaches. This Marvel-approved compendium of specially curated essays features stunning, newly commissioned cartography, illustrations, and diagrams to help readers navigate their way around iconic locales such as Asgard, Wakanda, Atlantis, Olympus, Hell’s Kitchen, Latveria, Knowhere, The Savage Land, Battleworld, and many more.
Marvel Universe: Map by Map delineates the contours of the ever-expanding, complex, and interconnected Marvel Universe, illuminating the incredible locations, epic events, and extraordinary characters that have shaped it. Boasting dazzling new artwork, gorgeous comic book visuals, and insightful, authoritative text, this is a premium, indispensable way finder for any armchair explorer.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition.
From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become? Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.
Sapiens: A Graphic History, Volume 2: The Pillars of Civilization by Yuval Noah Harari
What if humanity’s major woes—war, plague, famine and inequality—originated 12,000 years ago, when Homo sapiens converted from nomads to settlers, in pursuit of the fantasy of productivity and efficiency? What if by seeking to control plants and animals, humans ended up being controlled by kings, priests, and Kafkaesque bureaucracy? Volume 2 of Sapiens: A Graphic History–The Pillars of Civilization explores a crucial chapter in human development: the Agricultural Revolution. This is the story of how wheat took over the world; how an unlikely marriage between a god and a bureaucrat created the first empires; and how war, plague, famine, and inequality became an intractable feature of the human condition.
But it’s not all doom and gloom with this book’s cast of entertaining characters and colorful humorous scenes. Yuval, Zoe, Prof. Saraswati, Cindy and Bill (now farmers), Detective Lopez, and Dr. Fiction, all introduced in Volume 1, once again travel the length and breadth of human history, this time investigating the impact the Agricultural Revolution has had on our species. The cunning Mephisto shows them how to ensnare humans, King Hammurabi lays down the law, and Confucius explains harmonious society. The origins of modern farming are introduced through Elizabethan tragedy; the changing fortunes of domesticated plants and animals are tracked in the columns of the Daily Business News; the story of urbanization is portrayed as a travel brochure, offering discount journeys to ancient Babylon and China; and the history of inequality unfolds in a superhero detective story; with guest appearances by historical and cultural personalities throughout such as Thomas Jefferson, Scarlett O’Hara, Margaret Thatcher, and John Lennon.
Fantastic Four No.1: Panel by Panel by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby; Chip Kidd & Geoff Spear
Timed for the 60th anniversary, the iconic and influential first issue of the Fantastic Four by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, deconstructed by award-winning designer Chip Kidd; with text by Marvel editor Tom Brevoort and historian Mark Evanier; and photographs by Geoff Spear
The first issue of Fantastic Four by legendary creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced fans to a now-iconic team of Super Heroes—Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing—ushering in the modern Marvel Age of comics. Kirby’s artistic contributions in this comic book revolutionized visual storytelling and brought a new reality to the way comics stories could be told, the ripple effects of which continue to influence comic book art to this day. Sixty years after its publication in November 1961, this reimagining by award-winning graphic designer Chip Kidd uses an original copy of the comic book (which initially sold for ten cents and now sells for astronomical prices in good condition) to present the classic story in a whole new way that is sure to engage both lifelong fans and the latest generation of Marvel enthusiasts.
The book also includes text by Marvel editor Tom Brevoort and historian Mark Evanier (Kirby: King of Comics). Stunningly photographed by award-winning photographer Geoff Spear, Fantastic Four no. 1 is showcased as you’ve never seen it before—oversized and up-close—a panel-by-panel exploration of the entire issue that captures every single detail and nuance of Lee’s story and Kirby’s groundbreaking artwork, making it a must-have for every comic book collection.
