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Captain America and the American Journey, 1940-2022 by Richard A. Hall (2024)

When the powerful alliance of superheroes called The Avengers were called by Marvel Comics (or rather, by S.H.I.E.L.D.), each member represented certain traits, powers, mindsets and even ideologies. The “Sentinel of Liberty,” a nickname (turned nom-de-guerre at various occasions on countless missions) for Captain America, unlike other superheroes of the Golden Age not simply existed […]

The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Nicholas Carnes and Lilly J. Goren (eds.) (2022)

Marvel Comics, or rather, Marvel Entertainment as the corporation now has expanded into various companies responsible for diverse media enterprises, started out as one of many American comic book publishers. The many story arcs, story backgrounds, locations, family trees and so forth developed originally by Marvel‘s artists are by now complicated and span hundreds of […]

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 […]

Superhero Thought Experiments: Comic Book Philosophy by C. Gavaler and N. Goldberg (2019)

The main thesis of this book will be of interest to both philosophers and comic book fans, as strange as it may sound at first. In an unusual effort, thought experiments done by philosophers (ancient and recent), and the stories behind many superhero comics are evaluated, and their many similarities revealed. As both groups play […]

Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films … by Tom Lisanti and‎ Louis Paul (2016)

Intelligence work for centuries has been an important part of a nation’s security. Over the years, the profession of “the spy” was developed and particularly during the Cold War those people – no matter from which side of the Iron Curtain – were interested in securing their respective country an advantage in information or technology. […]

The Marvel Age of Comics 1961–1978 by Roy Thomas (2017)

Marvel Comics of New York, originally founded as Timely Publications in 1939, is one of the most important comic book publishers worldwide. Comic book fans all over the world are grateful for superheros as Captain America or the Sub-Mariner. And particularly for superheros of “a somewhat other kind,” as the mostly troubled, eccentric and characters […]

75 Years of Marvel Comics. From the Golden Age… by Roy Thomas and Josh Baker (2014)

After two big books on DC Comics, Taschen presents a heavy, heavy book on the other major name in comic publishing: Marvel Comics. Both publishers together dominate the US comic book market, approximately up to 80 percent of all superhero comics sold come from these two big players. The book on 720(!) pages commemorates not […]