Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. In addition to an introduction to the subject, each topic is individually analyzed and reviewed, examining its impact on popular culture or history. There's also a reference section that lists related web sites and weightier (and more expensive) books on the subject. For media buffs, students, and inquiring minds, these are great entry-level books that build into an essential library.

    Inside you'll find checklists, worksheets, insider advice, and in-depth sections on:How to personalize your weddingUpdated wedding etiquetteCreating a realistic budgetSneaky cost-cutting tipsDress shopping adviceTips for working with florists, caterers, officiants, and othersInvitation wordingVows and ceremony detailsUnique Wedding customsALL NEW SECTIONS ON: Planning Online and Destination Weddings, and a color-coded section with over 100 vibrant photographs

    The right-hand man to the god of Thunder. And now, a warrior without his best weapon. Beta Ray Bill is tired of playing second fiddle to Thor – and with Bill’s famous hammer, Stormbreaker, recently destroyed at the new All-Father’s hands, tensions are higher than ever. The Korbinite must strike out in search of a new weapon…and a new destiny. Assuming he can first defeat a Knullified Fin Fang Foom! Writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson (Extremity, Murder Falcon) and colorist Mike Spicer take Beta Ray Bill on a journey beyond the shadow of a god! Plus: This oversize first issue contains an exclusive conversation between Johnson and Beta Ray Bill’s creator, the legendary Walter Simonson!

    Learn more about Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, Brian, and friends than you can shake a stick at -- or, in Brian's case, shake a martini at!There's a ton of insider stuff too:Commentary from the show's creator, producers, writers, and voice-over artists, including thoughts about those guys at Fox who did the unthinkable (like canceling the show) ...and then the unheard of (like bringing it back to the network!)Behind-the-scenes jokes and pranksSubtle things you may have missedAnd lots moreIt's all here -- Family Guy, uncanceled, unbanned, and uncensored!It's a must-have for all Family Guy fans.

    The Autobots are reformatted by the Ark to resemble cars and trucks; the Decepticons take the form of jets, weapons or in the case of Soundwave, a cassette deck with tapes.The Decepticons wreak havoc, steal energy and build a fortress. The Autobots, seen here as very weak underdogs, unsuited for war, fight valiantly to stop their foes.Ultimately, it's the humans that the Autobots befriend that save the day. Buster Witwicky's dad, captured by the Decepticons to formulate a fuel for them, secretly poisons his captors.In the final battle, five Autobots take on the entire Decepticon army. On the cusp of defeat, the tainted fuel concocted by Mr. Witwicky kicks in and the Decepticons fall.The Autobots don't even have time to celebrate, however, as the 4-part mini-series ends with Shockwave making an appearance, blowing the remaining Autobots to pieces. This cliffhanger led directly into the monthly Marvel run, which began 3 months after the miniseries ended. (Issue #4 had a cover date of Mar. 1985; issue #5 had a date of June.)Starting with issue 5, The Transformers had more drastic changes. Before reaching its 30th issue, both Optimus Prime and Megatron had been killed off to make way for newer characters.Starting in issue 35 (cover-dated December, 1987), the events became less Earth-centric, as the Transformers repaired their spacecraft and were able to revisit their homeworld Cybertron and other planets. This aspect was particularly prominent in the Matrix Quest sub-plot.In issue 75 (cover-dated February, 1991), the Autobots and Decepticons had united under one banner after Autobot commander Optimus Prime surrendered to Scorponok, in order to end their civil war. United, they finally faced their ancient nemesis: Unicron. The Transformers won, but with heavy losses, including the deaths of Scorponok and Optimus Prime (again). Peace between the two Transformers factions was shortlived after Unicron's death. Bludgeon, the new Decepticon leader, tried to strand the Autobots on Cybertron, which was apparently destroying itself. His plan failed and the final confrontation between the two factions played out, with the Autobots lead again by Grimlock. Optimus Prime is united with Hi-Q (his Powermaster) and given life by The Last Autobot. He returns to battle to save the Autobots and then exiles the Decepticons forever (until Transformers: Generation 2). After the battle with Unicron, the comic ran for only five issues before being cancelled. The final issue had the mini series banner above the title; "#80 IN A FOUR ISSUE LIMITED SERIES".Most of the issues of Transformers Marvel US were written by two writers. Although the first four issues were written by Jim Salicrup, editor Bob Budiansky was the one who contributed the most to the story, writing the character bios and backgrounds for the Transformers, even giving names to some of them. After the mini-series became an ongoing comic, Budiansky was promoted to constant writer. Except for issue #16 (Plight of the Bumblebee, written by Len Kaminski), issue #43 (The big broadcast of 2006, a Transformers cartoon episode adaptation by Ralph Macchio) and the two-part story Man of Iron (imported from Transformers Marvel UK), Bob wrote all the Transformers comics until issue #55.Most famous story arcs and issues are Warrior's school featuring the introduction of the Dinobots and the first clash between Autobot medic Ratchet and Megatron; Prime Time! when Optimus Prime is finally freed from captivity and battles current Decepticon commander Shockwave; Smelting Pool and The Bridge to Nowhere brought the story back to Cybertron where only a handful of Autobots fight an underground war against Straxus's Decepticons, also introducing Blaster, Budiansky's most-used character who was radically different from his cartoon and Marvel UK version. Afterdeath and Gone but not forgotten saw the deaths (for a while, anyway) of Optimus Prime and Megatron, after which Grimlock took control of the Autobot forces in King of the Hill. Starting at issue #28, Blaster and Goldbug (a rebuilt Bumblebee) defected from the Autobots due to Grimlock tyrannical leadership, which ended with Grimlock and Blaster having a duel in Totaled. The next issue, People Power saw the return of Optimus Prime, as a Powermaster. The "Underbase saga" began in issue #47 and ended in issue #50, Dark Star, where Starscream, absorbing the power of the Underbase, kills most of the active Transformers of the time. (Budiansky admitted in an interview that Hasbro was forcing him to introduce new characters so quickly, he had to do an epic to "make room" for them.) Budiansky's last 5 stories were very mediocre, he himself said that he lost the interest in Transformers, and asked Hasbro to hand over the comics to a new writer.From issue #56, the by then well-known writer of Transformers Marvel UK, Simon Furman took over the reins, having been asked by Marvel US. Furman used the characterisation he used at Marvel UK for the Transformers, and introduced many characters to the US comic who have already appeared in the UK comic. He wrote all the issues until the comic's cancellation at issue #80.Furmnan's most famous story arcs include Back from the Dead, the return of Megatron who kidnaps Ratchet to help him in his revenge against both Autobots and Decepticons; Primal Scream! which introduced Primus and re-told the origin of the Transformer race to the US readers too; the "Matrix Quest" which features the Autobots sending numerous teams to locate the Matrix that was lost when Optimus "died" and his body was shot into space; and the Unicron story arc from #67 to #75, featuring the Transformers' ultimate battle against the Chaos Bringer.Sadly the comic was cancelled shortly after issue #75, so Furman had to "wrap up" the ending. According to some interviews with him, he planned to feature the Neo-Knights and the "demons" inhabiting Cybertron's underground more in the never-written issues

    Based on the AMAZING new animated series! What do you do when the world's evilest villains attack? Call Earth's Mightiest Heroes to save the day! In our first tale, CAPTAIN AMERICA and THOR face a threat bigger than BOTH of them! And in tale two, following the exploits of everyone's favorite arrow-flinger: HAWKEYE!

    Fear and Batroc the Leaper! They have just one job: save the city or die trying. But the secret to doing so means that some of the worst people in the Marvel Universe must head inside the nightmarish Ravencroft Institute! What could go wrong? Plus: the Red Queen Kate Pryde and her crew of mutant Marauders set sail against the forces of Knull! Captain Kate has pledged to fight for the needy…and a global disaster like Knull’s invasion will mean plenty of folks in need!COLLECTING: King In Black: Thunderbolts (2021) 1-3, King in Black: Marauders (2021) 1

    Collins (Sunglasses After Dark)! Vampirella is sent by the Vatican to investigate the kidnapping of a little girl by Ethan Shroud and the Chaos Cult, only to become the centerpiece of a ritual invoking Lady Umbra, the sister-bride of Chaos, that leaves her marked as a living sacrifice to the dark goddess who rules the shadows. Hunted by the Mallus Maleficarum, an elite hit-squad of monster-killers also known as “The Witch-Hammer”, she finds her world abruptly turned upside down… and herself unexpectedly allied with the strangest bedfellow imaginable!

    FEARLESS! The heroes of Krakoa are here to save the planet! Things might be complicated between the nation of Krakoa and the rest of the world, but to the X-MEN, things are simple — you do what’s right, you protect those who need protecting and you save the world we all share. Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Sunfire, Rogue, Wolverine, Synch and Polaris are the chosen champions of mutantkind, and they will not shrink from any battle for their home planet. Writer Gerry Duggan (MARAUDERS, DEADPOOL, UNCANNY AVENGERS) reteams with superstar artist Pepe Larraz (HOUSE OF X, X OF SWORDS, UNCANNY AVENGERS) to chart the course of the X-Men in a world of the Reign of X!

    But now, Eric is the only one who knows about a secret AIM plot to steal Pym's greatest invention! Can the two men get along long enough to save the day?Collects Ant-Man & Wasp #1-3.

    This is the essential book on health anxiety from David Veale, the bestselling author of 'Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder'.

    

    Marvel celebrates the greatest super-team the world has ever known with a magazine-sized extravaganza! Meet the creative legend who helped start it all, Jack Kirby, as we look back at his first year of Avengers artistry! Relive the history of Earth's Mightiest Heroes with a series of probing character profiles! Explore the Avengers' creative history with "Earth's Mightiest Interview," a roundtable with some of the greatest writers in the team's history, and have your mind blown by a gallery of all-time great Avengers artist John Buscema's finest work! All this and more, including a countdown of the greatest Avengers stories of all time! Earth's Mightiest Magazine is distributed free in April!

    Plant people from outer space have come to Earth and, wouldn’t you know it, they just happen to be here when millions of mutants rise as undead creatures hungry for human flesh.

    They frequently recreate the actions of presidents, military leaders, and soldiers. From Captain America punching Hitler in the jaw on his very first cover, to The Punisher surviving the battle of Firebase Valley Forge, there are countless instances when the military has crossed over to the pages of comic books.Soldiers and superheroes: A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jason Inman re-discovered his childhood love of comic books during long days at the Tallil Air Base in southern Iraq. He couldn’t help but ask why so many comic books are filled with service members. Maybe it’s their loyalty to everyday citizens and the never-ending quest for justice. The men and women who lace up their books and sacrifice their lives know that battle can change a person. What kinds of soldiers were these fictional characters, and how were they changed by war?Discover the super soldiers in Marvel comics, DC comics and beyond: Super Soldiers: A Salute to the Comic Book Heroes and Villains Who Fought for Their Country looks at the intersection between war and pop culture to understand these questions and more. Each chapter revisits military comic book characters and compares them to personal stories from Inman’s military career. Describing superhero soldiers from DC comics and Marvel comics, including lesser-known characters lost to time.