Wonder Woman Psychology: Lassoing the Truth


Travis Langley - 2017
    Wonder Woman Psychology examines this powerful superhero—who was created by famous psychologist William Moulton Marston—through 20 essays. This collection will analyze:Marston’s important role in the history of forensic psychologyHow Diana’s relationship with her mother and Amazonian sisters shapes her to become a leader and the heroine called Wonder WomanThe ways differences in culture and gender can contribute to alienation but also to personal empowerment What roles emotion, strengths, virtues, and culture shock play in heroic behavior

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human


Grant Morrison - 2011
    1 in 1938, introduced the world to something both unprecedented and timeless: Superman, a caped god for the modern age. In a matter of years, the skies of the imaginary world were filled with strange mutants, aliens, and vigilantes: Batman, Wonder Woman, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and the X-Men—the list of names as familiar as our own. In less than a century, they’ve gone from not existing at all to being everywhere we look: on our movie and television screens, in our videogames and dreams. But what are they trying to tell us?For Grant Morrison, arguably the greatest of contemporary chroniclers of the “superworld,” these heroes are powerful archetypes whose ongoing, decades-spanning story arcs reflect and predict the course of human existence: Through them we tell the story of ourselves, our troubled history, and our starry aspirations. In this exhilarating work of a lifetime, Morrison draws on art, science, mythology, and his own astonishing journeys through this shadow universe to provide the first true history of the superhero—why they matter, why they will always be with us, and what they tell us about who we are . . . and what we may yet become.

The League of Regrettable Superheroes: Half-Baked Heroes from Comic Book History


Jon Morris - 2015
    So prepare yourself for such not-ready-for-prime-time heroes as Bee Man (Batman, but with bees), the Clown (circus-themed crimebuster), the Eye (a giant, floating eyeball; just accept it), and many other oddballs and oddities. Drawing on the entire history of the medium, The League of Regrettable Superheroes will appeal to die-hard comics fans, casual comics readers, and anyone who enjoys peering into the stranger corners of pop culture.

Star Wars Psychology: Dark Side of the Mind


Travis LangleyJenna Busch - 2015
    A group of expert contributors examines such topics as family ties, Jedi qualities, masculinity, girl power, and the values embodied in both the "dark" and "light" sides of this psychologically spellbinding world.

Civil War


Stuart Moore - 2012
    When a tragic battle blows a hole in the city of Stamford, killing hundreds of people, the U.S. government demands that all superheroes unmask and register their powers. To Tony Stark - Iron Man - it's a regrettable but necessary step. To Captain America, it's an unbearable assault on civil liberties.SO BEGINS THE CIVIL WARBased on the smash hit graphic novel - over HALF A MILLION COPIES have sold in print and digital formats!

The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture


Glen Weldon - 2016
    For more than three quarters of a century, he has cycled from a figure of darkness to one of lightness and back again; he’s a bat-shaped Rorschach inkblot who takes on the various meanings our changing culture projects onto him. How we perceive Batman’s character, whether he’s delivering dire threats in a raspy Christian Bale growl or trading blithely homoerotic double-entendres with partner Robin on the comics page, speaks to who we are and how we wish to be seen by the world. It’s this endlessly mutable quality that has made him so enduring.And it’s Batman’s fundamental nerdiness—his gadgets, his obsession, his oath, even his lack of superpowers—that uniquely resonates with his fans who feel a fiercely protective love for the character. Today, fueled by the internet, that breed of passion for elements of popular culture is everywhere. Which is what makes Batman the perfect lens through which to understand geek culture, its current popularity, and social significance.In The Caped Crusade, with humor and insight, Glen Weldon, book critic for NPR and author of Superman: The Unauthorized Biography, lays out Batman’s seventy-eight-year cultural history and shows how he has helped make us who we are today and why his legacy remains so strong.

Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours


Jim Butcher - 2006
    No evildoers have tried to flatten him in weeks, his marriage to Mary Jane is stronger than ever, and he's enjoying his job as a high school science teacher. Life is good. Naturally, that doesn't last. When Peter learns that his old enemy the Rhino is on a rampage in Times Square, he suits up as Spider-Man to stop the destructive villain in his tracks. But he's unexpectedly foiled in his attempts by the Black Cat, a former ally and old flame. The Cat informs Peter that the Rhino is just a distraction -- the real threat comes from a group of Ancients, members of the same race as the being called Morlun, who Spidey defeated in battle years earlier. The Ancients are now looking to exact revenge -- and hope to steal Spider-Man's life force in the process. To defeat such powerful beings, Spider-Man is going to need all the help he can get, especially from the Black Cat. But what will Mary Jane Parker have to say about that? Peter isn't sure which is worse -- the Ancients trying to drain his life force, or the wrath of a jealous wife....

The Death of Captain America


Larry Hama - 2014
    He lived for his country - and now, he has given his last final measure for the nation he loved, shot down in cold blood. In the aftermath of his death, Cap's longtime partner, the Falcon, makes revenge his first order of business. Sharon Carter finds herself spiraling out of control, a capti ve of the Red Skull's minions. And Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, must reconcile his own sordid past with the calling to become the new Captain America! Experience Marvel's blockbuster shakeup of the Captain America mythos like never before in this new adaptation!

Civil War: Front Line, Vol. 1


Paul JenkinsRoy Allan Martinez - 2007
    In the wake of the Stamford disaster, the public cries out for super-hero registration. This title collects stories from Civil War: Front Line numbered 1 to 6.

Forever Red


Margaret Stohl - 2015
    Trained from a young age in the arts of death and deception, Natasha was given the title of Black Widow by Ivan Somodorov, her brutal teacher at the Red Room, Moscow’s infamous academy for operatives.Ava Orlova is just trying to fit in as an average Brooklyn teenager, but her life has been anything but average.The daughter of a missing Russian quantum physicist, Ava was once subjected to a series of ruthless military experiments—until she was rescued by Black Widow and placed under S.H.I.E.L.D. protection. Ava has always longed to reconnect with her mysterious savior, but Black Widow isn’t really the big sister type.Until now.When children all over Eastern Europe begin to go missing, and rumors of smuggled Red Room tech light up the dark net, Natasha suspects her old teacher has returned—and that Ava Orlova might be the only one who can stop him. To defeat the madman who threatens their future, Natasha and Ava must unravel their pasts. Only then will they discover the truth about the dark-eyed boy with an hourglass tattoo who haunts Ava’s dreams…Black Widow: Forever Red features all the heart-pounding adventure readers expect from Marvel, written by #1 New York Times best-selling author Margaret Stohl. Uncover a new side of the Marvel Universe that will thrill loyal fans and newcomers alike, as Stohl reveals the untold story of Black Widow for the very first time.

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions


Randall Munroe - 2014
    It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. 'My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning, and we agreed that you should resolve it . . . ' He liked these questions so much that he started up What If. If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive? How dangerous is it, really, to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm? If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce? What if everyone only had one soulmate?When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British empire? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live?What would happen if the moon went away?In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, studded with memorable cartoons and infographics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read.

The Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration


Robin S. RosenbergSiamak Tundra Naficy - 2008
    Exposing the inner thoughts that these reclusive heroes would only dare share with trained professionals, heady experts give detailed psychoanalyses of what makes specific superheroes tick while answering such questions as "Why do superheroes choose to be superheroes?" "Why is there so much prejudice against the X-Men" "mutants?" "What makes Spider-Man so altruistic?" and "Why are supervillains so aggressive?" Additionally, the essays tackle why superheroes have such an enduring effect on American culture.Includes:- The positive psychology of superheroes by Christopher Peterson and Nansook Park- The social psychology of the Justice league of America by Wind Goodfriend- Superman's personality by Robin S. Rosenberg- Anti-heroism in the continuum of good and evil by Michael Spivey and Steven Knowlton- Positive psychology of Peter Parker by Robert Biwas-Diener- Prejudice lessons from the Xavier Institute by Mikhail Lyubansky- When I grow up I want to be a superhero by Bryan J. Dik- Is there a superhero in all of us? by Peter A. Hancock and Gabriella M. Hancock- Mind-reading superheroes by William J. Ickes- An appetite for destruction by Chuck Tate- The stereotypical (Wonder) woman by Chuck Tate- What would Freud say? by Andrew R. Getzfeld- Coming to terms with bizarro by Siamak Tundra Naficy- Coping with stress ... the superhero way by Stephanie R. deLusé- Arkham Asylum by Bradley J. Daniels- The incredible Hulk by Christopher J. Patrick and Sarah K. Patrick- Gender typicality and extremity in popular culture by Kerri L. Johnson, Leah E. Lurye, and Jonathan B. Freeman- Cracking the superhero's moral code by Peter DeScioli and Robert Kurzban.

New Avengers: Breakout


Alisa Kwitney - 2013
    Under secret orders to assassinate the Widow, the rough-edged marksman finds himself caught up in a violent prison break that releases some of the world's most vicious and powerful criminals. Defying his superiors, Hawkeye joins forces with the sultry Russian spy - and with a mismatched group of personalities that include Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, Captain America and Iron Man. Unexpected betrayals and shocking revelations will lead the team from Manhattan's top security Raft prison to the untamed jungle of the Savage Land in dramatically different take on Brian Michael Bendis' blockbuster Avengers comics debut. Learn the sizzling backstory of your favorite big-screen heroes in this adaptation, inspired by the best of page and screen!

Captain America: Reborn


Ed BrubakerJustin Ponsor - 2010
    Or is what they found something more sinister? The Red Skull's greatest plan to destroy Captain America has been in motion and its completion is almost at hand. Will Captain America be lost forever, or will he be Reborn?Collecting: Captain America: Reborn 1-6

All of the Marvels: A Journey to the Ends of the Biggest Story Ever Told


Douglas Wolk - 2021
    The Marvel story is a gigantic mountain smack in the middle of contemporary culture. Thousands of writers and artists have contributed to it. Everyone recognizes its protagonists: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men. Eighteen of the hundred highest-grossing movies of all time are based on parts of it. Yet not even the people telling the story have read the whole thing--nobody's supposed to. So, of course, that's what Wolk did: he read all 27,000+ comics that make up the Marvel Universe thus far, from Alpha Flight to Omega the Unknown.And then he made sense of it--seeing into the ever-expanding story, in its parts and as a whole, and seeing through it, as a prism through which to view the landscape of American culture. In Wolk's hands, the mammoth Marvel narrative becomes a fun-house-mirror history of the past sixty years, from the atomic night terrors of the Cold War to the technocracy and political division of the present day--a boisterous, tragicomic, magnificently filigreed epic about power and ethics, set in a world transformed by wonders.As a work of cultural exegesis, this is sneakily significant, even a landmark; it's also ludicrously fun. Wolk sees fascinating patterns--the rise and fall of particular cultural aspirations, and of the storytelling modes that conveyed them. He observes the Marvel story's progressive visions and its painful stereotypes, its patches of woeful hackwork and stretches of luminous creativity, and the way it all feeds into a potent cosmology that echoes our deepest hopes and fears. This is a huge treat for Marvel fans, but it's also a revelation for readers who don't know Doctor Strange from Doctor Doom. Here, truly, are all of the marvels.