As the most successful movie franchise in history, Star Wars has generated millions of fans worldwide, not to mention the billions of dollar revenue it created already. Soon after the first movie release, critics and academics began their study of the background, intentions and inspirations of the saga. This project until today remains mostly incomplete, […]
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Category: Comic Book Culture
Marvel Comics Library. Avengers. Vol. 1. 1963–1965 by Kurt Busiek and Kevin Feige (2022)
Merely six months after the last XXL version of the Marvel Comics Library edition – featuring Spiderman – arrived, Taschen is out to surprise us again. This time with an equally massive edition of the most powerful superheroes that joined forces and became THE AVENGERS. Again, the first 20 (!) comic books that feature the […]
Marvel Comics Library. Spider-Man. Vol. 1. 1962–1964 by David Mandel and Ralph Macchio (eds.) (2021)
Just when you think the last TASCHEN comics themed book was a heavyweight, and one could not expect a volume any bigger and more exciting, be ready for a surprise. Comic book legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in the Silver Age of comics created a large pool of superheroes for Marvel, among them a […]
The Modern Myths: Adventures in the Machinery of the Popular Imagination by Philip Ball (2021)
The days when (ancient) myths – be they Greek, Nordic or from whatever region – were rather important to man as they served as guidelines and offered counsel are long gone; or so it seems. Because popular culture has created books, tales and stories that are inhabited by artificial men, werewolves, vampires, ghost hunters or […]
Pulp Empire: The Secret History of Comic Book Imperialism by Paul S. Hirsch (2021)
Comic books as media today would not raise much attention if they featured heavy use of violence or representations of vigilantes who take the law into their own hands. On the contrary, the media now is deeply absorbed into the popular canon of the US. “The comic book, whether in the form of a collectible […]
Excavating Indiana Jones. Essays on the Films and Franchise by Randy Laist (ed.) (2021)
The stories of the fictional archaeologist and adventurer Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr. drew millions to the movie theaters, as his tales, for one reason or another, satisfied a number of interests altogether. Such as 1930s style heroic high-paced action, stereotypical enemies, mysterious riddles, occult worship, exotic settings, and the unique chance to witness the […]
The History of EC Comics by Grant Geissman (2020)
The history of the most influential comic book publishers will list two large companies still in business today. They are DC Comics and Marvel. The third important publisher, unique in its own way, very modern, daring and at times famous for using outrageous covers, was EC Comics. In EC’s early years, then still going by […]
Secondary Superheroes of Golden Age Comics by Lou Mougin (2020)
Even with comic book superheroes, there have been the fortunate ones, the famous gang, and then, the “others,” in this case describing the many clones or rather, imitators of the likes of Superman or Bat-Man (as he originally was named in the golden age). As it should be clear that in the Golden Age of […]
Robots in American Popular Culture by Steve Carper (2019)
The idea of building, commanding and using artificial creatures, based on mechanical components that would assist mankind doing anything from work, transportation or pleasure goes back to very early stories of creation such as the Gilgamesh epic. And mythology from ancient Greece and other regions. That idea also demonstrates man’s wish to become the creator […]