In 1954, the comic book industry instituted the Comics Code, a set of self-regulatory guidelines imposed to placate public concern over gory and horrific comic book content, effectively banning genuine horror comics.
The essays in this collection discuss how comics and graphic narratives can be useful primary texts and learning tools in college and university classes across different disciplines.
Although he is most remembered for his vast collection of science fiction memorabilia; his influential magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland; and his frequent sci-fi convention appearances, Forrest J Ackerman (1916-2008) also left a sizeable body of work in print.
In December 1977, struggling Canadian comic book artist Dave Sim self-published the first issue of Cerebus the Aardvark, a Conan the Barbarian satire featuring a foul-tempered, sword-wielding creature trapped in a human world.
This collection of essays analyzes the many ways in which comic book and film superheroes have been revised or rewritten in response to changes in real-world politics, social mores, and popular culture.
Since its debut manga RG Veda, CLAMP has steadily asserted itself as one of the most widely renowned teams of manga artists, leaving a durable imprint in every established genre while also devising novel formulas along the way.
Although the idea that graphic narratives represent an important literary form is still debated in academic circles, in recent years comics scholarship has emerged into wider contexts.
Since Superman first appeared on the cover of Action Comics #1 in 1938, the superhero has changed with the times to remain a relevant icon of American popular culture.
Alan Moore, the idiosyncratic, controversial and often shocking writer of such works as Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and V for Vendetta, remains a benchmark for readers of comics and graphic novels.
Conventional wisdom holds that comic books of the post-World War II era are poorly drawn and poorly written publications, notable only for the furor they raised.
A common misconception is that professors who use popular culture and fantasy in the classroom have abandoned the classics, yet in a variety of contexts--high school, college freshman composition, senior seminars, literature, computer science, philosophy and politics--fantasy materials can expand and enrich an established curriculum.
From his first comic-book appearance in 1939 through his many incarnations on the big screen, the archetypal superhero known as The Batman has never been far from the American consciousness.
Superhero adventure comics have a long history of commenting upon American public opinion and government policy, and the surge in the popularity of comics since the events of September 11, 2001, ensures their continued relevance.
Millions of Americans know and love Charlie Brown and Snoopy, Blondie and Dagwood, Doonesbury, Li'l Abner, Garfield, Cathy, Beetle Bailey and other such comic strip characters.
With their rakish characters, sensationalist plots, improbable adventures and objectionable language (like swell and golly), dime novels in their heyday were widely considered a threat to the morals of impressionable youth.
"e;Boys' love,"e; a male-male homoerotic genre written primarily by women for women, enjoys global popularity and is one of the most rapidly growing publishing niches in the United States.
These essays from various critical disciplines examine how comic books and graphic narratives move between various media, while merging youth and adult cultures and popular and high art.
To say that graphic novels, comics, and other forms of sequential art have become a major part of popular culture and academia would be a vast understatement.
It's a rare comic character who can make audiences laugh for well over half a century--but then again, it's a pretty rare cartoon hero who can boast of forearms thicker than his waist, who can down a can of spinach in a single gulp, or who generally faces the world with one eye squinted completely shut.
Throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the United States represented intelligence alternately as empowering or threatening.
A popular sub-genre of fantasy and science fiction, steampunk re-imagines the Victorian age in the future, and re-works its technology, fashion, and values with a dose of anti-modernism.
An amazing journey through the thriving worlds of fantasy and gamingWhat could one man find if he embarked on a journey through fantasy world after fantasy world?
A look at the revolution in game live streaming and esports broadcastingEvery day thousands of people broadcast their gaming live to audiences over the internet using popular sites such as Twitch, which reaches more than one hundred million viewers a month.
A critical history of the social media influencer's rise to global prominenceBefore there were Instagram likes, Twitter hashtags, or TikTok trends, there were bloggers who seemed to have the passion and authenticity that traditional media lacked.
Throughout its history, British television has found a place, if only in its margins, for programmes that consciously worked to expand the boundaries of television aesthetics.
Visitors to Colorados famous ski resorts embrace alpine adventures, luxurious amenities, and a glamorous nightlife, all against a backdrop of towering mountains and high-drifted snow.
Winner: North American Society for Sport History Book AwardIn the 1970s sitcom The Odd Couple, Felix and Oscar argue over a racing greyhound that Oscar won in a bet.
