The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes

by Gina Misiroglu

Overview

The ultimate compendium to everyone’s favorite participants in the eternal battle between good and evil! Profiles of more than 1,000 mythic superheroes, icons, and their place in popular culture.

Superhuman strength. Virtual invulnerability. Motivated to defend the world from criminals and madmen. Possessing a secret identity. And they even have fashion sense—they look great in long underwear and catsuits. These are the traits that define the quintessential superhero. Their appeal and media presence has never been greater, but what makes them tick? their strengths? weaknesses? secret identities and arch-enemies? The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes is the comprehensive guide to all those characters whose impossible feats have graced the pages of comic books for the past one hundred years.

From the Golden and Silver Ages to the Bronze and Modern Ages, the best-loved and most historically significant superheroes—mainstream and counterculture, famous and forgotten, best and worst—are all here:

The Avengers

Batman and Robin

Captain America

Superman

Wonder Woman

Captain Marvel

Spider-Man

The Incredibles

The Green Lantern

Iron Man

Catwoman

Wolverine

Aquaman

Hellboy

Elektra

Spawn

The Punisher

Teen Titans

The Justice League

The Fantastic Four

and hundreds of others.

Unique in bringing together characters from Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, as well as smaller independent houses, The Superhero Book covers the best-loved and historically significant superheroes across all mediums and guises, from comic book, movie, television, and graphic novels. With many photos and illustrations this fun, fact-filled tome is richly illustrated. A bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. It is the ultimate A-to-Z compendium of everyone's favorite superheroes, anti-heroes and their sidekicks, villains, love interests, superpowers, and modus operandi.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578593750
Publisher:	Visible Ink Press
Publication date:	04/01/2012
Edition description:	Second Edition, Second edition
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.74(w) x 9.84(h) x 0.74(d)
Age Range:	9 Years

About the Author

Gina Misiroglu has authored or edited more than three dozen books in the popular culture, biography, American history, folklore, and women’s studies genres. She is the editor of the Encyclopedia of Women and American Popular Culture, which explores women’s contributions to film, television, comics, music, fashion, and graphic art. Misiroglu was the co-editor of the first edition of The Superhero Book and its companion title The Supervillain Book, both of which received numerous accolades from the comics and film communities, including a Top Picks selection from SCOOP. She is a frequent speaker at the San Diego Comic-Con, where she moderates panels for the Comics Arts Conference, a gathering of scholars who publish in the American studies and popular culture genres.

Editorial Reviews

"Here's an 'ultimate' encyclopedia that lives up to its billing."— Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"This comprehensive encyclopedia of comic books and super heroes provides a detailed look at both famous and obscure characters and publications from the past eighty years of comics."— Book News

"From Adam Strange to Zorro, the second edition of The Superhero Book delivers on its promise to be the Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes. Just plain fun ..., this inexpensive volume delivers the goods with a biff!, bam!, and pow! Recommended."— Booklist

"...excellent compendium of comic book superheroes...."— Choice

"Being a 'super-hero' book rather than a 'comic book' book, it includes plenty of non-comics entries....Happily, it has both a contents page and an index."— Comic Buyer's Guide

"There’s plenty of information here which may well inspire hours of diversion."— Popmatters.com

"This colossal encyclopedia of all things superhero could not have come at a better time. With a slew of comic-book movies each year, kids are more interested than ever in anything to do with these heroes....It is a must-buy for comic readers interested in knowing the early roots and conceptions of comic-book heroes."— School Library Journal

"This book is alive with detail, generous with comic book cover reproductions, comprehensive, colorful, accurate, and, most of all, entertaining. It wants to cover as much ground as possible, and cover it right. The impressive thing is, it succeeds.... This encyclopedia is inspiring, and as a reference tool it is going to get a lot of use."— Silver Bullet Comics

It definitely fills a much-needed niche in the growing lore of the genre and will be a welcome addition to the collection of any fan of spectacular superhero sagas. Excelsior!"— Stan Lee, inventor of the modern superhero

From the Publisher

Along with her own articles, Misiroglu (The Supervillain Book) here presents pieces by Michael Eury, Andy Mangels, Michael A. Martin, Adam McGovern, Frank Plowright, David Roach, and Peter Sanderson, all of whom have well-established credentials as writers and editors in the comics business or the fan press. The book covers a surprising variety of superheroes, both popular and obscure, and is well illustrated with full-color reproductions of covers and panels. This is impressive given the reasonable page count and the extent of the entries, which recount each character's entire history to the present. Unfortunately, those virtues leave little room for the humor and liveliness suggested by the book's appearance and common in similar works; the title does not provide any analysis of, or opinions about, the subject matter. Fifteen years ago, comics fans would have found this resource useful whenever they needed to straighten out a character's convoluted backstory or learn about past superheroes from cancelled titles. Now a fan can use Wikipedia or a similar Internet site to get this kind of information but might read a book like this for fun. Other superhero fans might look to it for more insight into their favorite characters. This volume is suited to neither of these purposes. However, middle and high school students needing an authoritative source for an assignment, and who are often barred from the Internet at school, will find this helpful. VERDICT While not useful for the average fan wanting to know about a character, this is recommended for students in high school and below.—Robert Mixner, Bartholomew Cty. P.L., Columbus, IN

Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-This colossal encyclopedia of all things superhero could not have come at a better time. With a slew of comic-book movies each year, kids are more interested than ever in anything to do with these heroes. The collection includes hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries detailing how the character was first envisioned, highlights of important superheroes, and, when relevant, how they've been portrayed by Hollywood. The volume devotes as much attention to popular superheroes as it does to lesser-known figures such as Ant-Man, Nick Fury, and The Wasp. Only a limited number of commercial Hollywood icons are included, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Powerpuff Girls; none of the shows of the past are mentioned. While a strict definition of what the editors believe makes up a superhero is lacking, this is nonetheless a fairly thorough collection. While one might wish for a lot more illustrations, it is a must-buy for comic readers interested in knowing the early roots and conceptions of comic-book heroes.-Scott La Counte, Anaheim Public Library, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal