The Superhero Book [Paperback]

Gina Misiroglu (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1578591546 | ISBN-13: 978-1578591541 | Publication Date: October 1, 2004 | Edition: First Edition

Modern mythology leaps into the popular culture from the pages of comic books and now propels the astounding growth of the graphic novel. Aimed at the genesis, The Superhero Book is the ultimate A-to-Z compendium of everyone’s favorite overachievers in the pitched battle between good and evil. With 300 entries examining more than 1,000 high-powered icons and their place in the popular firmament, The Superhero Book is the first comprehensive profile of superheroes across all media, following their path from comic-book stardom to radio, television, movies, and novels. It’s good to be super-great. With more than 150 full-color illustrations (including dozens of classic comic covers), The Superhero Book covers the best-loved and most historically significant superheroes—mainstream and counterculture, famous and forgotten, best and worst. Each significant era of the superhero is explored—the Golden Age (1938–1954), the Silver Age (1956–1969), the Bronze Age (1970–1979), and the Modern Age (1980–present)—providing the reader with unique perspective of the hero over the twentieth century and beyond. Readers will delight in the mountain of trivia, never-before revealed facts and finds, and insider information, written with insight and enthusiasm by a devoted team of comic-book, film, and pop-culture experts.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 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 --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Review

"Because of the universal interest in superheroes, fueled by the many successful superhero movies, TV shows, and video games, it seems there can never be english superhero reference books. Judging by what I've seen of "The superhero book: The ultimate encyclopedia of comic-book icons and hollywood heroes, 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."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 746 pages
• Publisher: Visible Ink Press; First Edition edition (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578591546
• ISBN-13: 978-1578591541
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice , but..., January 24, 2005

By 

Dr R. J. Lofaro (AL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Superhero Book (Paperback)

If you believe that you are getting a book where you will SEE illustrations of many, or even about 10%, of the superheros that there are info/articles on...think again. You may, or may not, read about your favorites and learn some interesting facts, but, you will not see them. Bizarre for a book on a very visual medium. As to the selection of superheroes and the (dis)proportionate length of some articles...well, call it author's choice...or bias. A tad light on the founding fathers, so to speak, of the 1940's. I am immediately selling mine.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Got a comic fan in your life? Make his/her day with this one, November 27, 2004

By 

M. B. RENTZLER (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Superhero Book (Paperback)

Their are other comic book encyclopedias out their. Some of them have flashier art (not that this doesn't) or higher page counts. But a when I read through this one I was impressed.

I challenged the book by looking for characters other than Spider-Man, such as MiracleMan and Phantom Lady and was pleased with the coverage they were given. Lots of nice tidbits and indepth coverage of many heroes including their crossovers into other media.

Buy it for the comic fan in your life.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good but not great, June 13, 2006

By 

H. Freeman (Centerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes (Popular Reference) (Library Binding)

Was it just me or did anyone else notice a lot of spelling errors in the book? Also under Greatest American Hero they called Robert Culp's character John Mackie and in the show he was called Bill Maxwell. Things like that bothered me and this is no way an "Ultimate Encyclopedia". They hardly touched on comic book characters like: Grendel, Whisper, American Flagg. Really a disappointing book.