What is it that makes comics so special? What can this unique art form do that others can’t?In Why Comics?, comics scholar Hillary Chute reveals the history of comics, underground comics (or comix), and graphic novels, through deep thematic analysis, and fascinating portraits of the fearless men and women behind them. As Scott McCloud revealed the methods behind comics and the way they worked in his classic Understanding Comics, Chute will reveal the themes that Comics handle best, and how the form is uniquely equipped to explore them.The topics Why Comics? include:• Why Disaster: with such major works focusing on disasters, from Art Spiegelman’s work, which covers the Holocaust and 9/11 to Keiji Nakazawa’s work covering Heroshima, comics find themselves uniquely suited to convey the scale and disorientation of disaster.• Why Suburbs: through the work of Chris Ware and Charles Burns, Chute reveals the fascinating ways that Comics illustrate the quiet joys and struggles of suburban existence.• Why Punk: With an emphasis on DIY aesthetics and rebelling against what came before, the Punk movement would prove to be a fertile ground for some of the most significant modern cartoonists, creating a truly democratic art form.Chute has created an indispensable guide to comics for those new to the genre, or those who want to understand more about what lies behind their favorite works.

    Six titanic tales of triumph and tragedy in the mighty Marvel tradition! What If? (Vol. 1) No. 1 - What if Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four? What If? (Vol. 1) No. 2 - What if the Hulk Had Always had Bruce Banner's Brain? What If? (Vol. 1) No. 3 - What if the Avengers Had Never Been? What If? (Vol. 1) No. 4 - What if the Invaders Had Stayed Together After World War II? What If? (Vol. 1) No. 5 - What if Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II? What If? (Vol. 1) No. 6 - What if the Fantastic Four Had Different Super-Powers?

    Innovative 80s action The World's Greatest Super-Team joins Earth's Mightiest Heroes when the FF and Avengers coverge in the midst of an alien civil war that changes the face of the entire Skrull Empire Then, both teams return to Earth, where the FF inadvertently resurrects one of Marvel mutantdom's mightiest Collects Fantastic Four #285-286 & Annual #19, Avengers #263 & Annual #14 and X-Factor #1.

    These outrageous comic book images, censored by Congress in an infamous televised U.S. Senate subcommittee investigating juvenile delinquency in 1954, have rarely been seen since they were first published—and are revealed once again in all of their eye-popping glory. Jim Trombetta, in his commentary and informative text, provides a detailed history and context for these stories and their creators, spinning a tale of horror and government censorship as scary as the stories themselves.Bonus DVD--Confidential File, a rare 25-minute TV show that first aired on October 9, 1955, about the "evils" of comic books and their effect on juvenile delinquency is included with the book.  Please note that the enclosed DVD begins with a 58-second test pattern, followed by the tv show.  Praise for The Horror! The Horror!:"In addition to offering a generous helping of controversial comics . . . Trombetta's book provides insightful history." -New York Times Book Review

    The Big Elfquest Gatherum is the biggest and best place to find interviews, articles, portfolios, glossaries, and a wealth of Other behind-the-scenes glimpses into the fantastic world of Elfquest, such as its origins and some of the many faces it has Worn over nearly 20 years.The Big Gatherum collects material of interest to the casual and the committed reader that is available nowhere else.

    In the pages of MetaMaus, Art Spiegelman re-enters the Pulitzer prize-winning Maus, the modern classic that has altered how we see literature, comics, and the Holocaust ever since it was first published twenty-five years ago. Does he probe the questions that Maus most often evokes—Why the Holocaust? Why mice? Why comics?—and gives us a new and essential work about the creative process. MetaMaus includes a bonus DVD-R that provides a digitized reference copy of The Complete Maus linked to a deep archive of audio interviews with his survivor father, historical documents, and a wealth of Spiegelman’s private notebooks and sketches. Compelling and intimate, MetaMaus is poised to become a classic in its own right.