Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood [Paperback]

Gina Misiroglu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

“I wish that The Supervillain Book could be required reading so that all the bizarre knowledge that fans like me have on the subject would be shared by everyone.” – Alex Ross, artist of Kingdom Come and Justice (DC Comics). What would a good guy be without the bad guy? Boring. Drawing from sources in comic books, film, live-action and animated television, newspaper strips, toys, and manga and anime, The Supervillain Book exhaustively explores the extraordinary lives and careers of hundreds of overachieving evildoers. This definitive A-to-Z guide to supervillains—nefarious masterminds, sinister societies, and destructive dominators that have battled super- and other fictional heroes—is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Superhero Book. A must-read for anyone ever enthralled with mythic wickedness, The Supervillain Book investigates each character’s origin, modus operandi, costumes, weapons and gadgetry, secret hideouts, chief henchmen, and minions, while serving a super-sized trove of fascinating trivia. It also takes you behind the scenes, describing the creation and development of these marvelously malicious, menacing, and malevolent characters. Splashing the pages in full glorious color are exciting film stills and comic-book images of villains in action, plus entertaining sidebars galore. The dark side has never been so inviting. “Sinfully good.” —The Daily Bugle. The Supervillain Book contains everything you ever wanted to know about the bad guys in comics, film, and television—all in one complete volume for the first time. The Supervillain Book is an indispensable guide to pop culture’s most menacing masterminds, costumed criminals, sinister societies, and destructive dominators that have battled superheroes and fictional heroes of comics, TV, and film.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Mr. Mxyzptlk vs. Superman. Voldemort vs. Harry Potter. Khan vs. Captain Kirk. This volume is a comprehensive reference guide to bad guys from Abomination to Zurg, tracking each villain through its various incarnations including film and television, comics, video games, and even action figures. The introduction explains the criteria for inclusion in this book; minor bad guys are not included. Characters from the comics get the most attention, from the Golden Age to contemporary nemeses. The entry on Modern Age Supervillains (1980-present) will help readers understand the evolution of villainy. The index will greatly assist readers looking for their favorite characters, who can appear in several categories. Venom, for example, has his own entry and also appears in Arachnid Adversaries. Color and black-and-white images of many characters make this an eye-catching read. This book will be an enjoyable and educational resource for fans of all ages, whether theyre teens just entering the world of comics or grown-up nerds who still havent moved out of their parents basements. A fascinating title that will provide hours of evil entertainment.–Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

From Booklist

Librarians may not be familiar with Sesshomaru and Skeletor, but many of their younger patrons are and would welcome this volume exploring characters from the dark side. A companion to The Superheroes Book (2004), its more than 400 entries examine villains from Lex Luthor to Lord Voldemort. Also here are entries for topics such as Aquatic supervillains and Villains from the toy box. The many illustrations will appeal to fans. Mary Ellen Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 466 pages
• Publisher: Visible Ink Press (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578591783
• ISBN-13: 978-1578591787
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,847,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two excellent surveys are recommended picks, October 15, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood (Library Binding)

Two excellent surveys are recommended picks for any library strong in cartoons or graphic novels. Gina Misiroglu ad Michael Eury's THE SUPERVILLAIN BOOK: THE EVIL SIDE OF COMICS AND HOLLYWOOD draws from sources not just in comic books but in film animated TV, toys, newspaper and more, providing an exploration of the plots and lives of definitive evil characters. An A-Z reference organization makes it easy to look up character origins, costumes, weapons, and facts - but this is more than a listing of evil. Discussions also include plenty of history, surveys of early influences, and more.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

5.0 out of 5 stars Far better than expected, February 5, 2010

By 

Sam Walker - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood (Paperback)

Despite reviews that were disappointed with the lack of graphics, the information was wonderfully fun. Single entries are mostly from comics, but I think that is where most readers come for. There are also dozens of combined entries, such as for anime or manga series, or groups like the villains of the Adam West Batman show (with a photo of the whimsical King Tut). For graphics, yes, look elsewhere such as your web browser, but for a scrumptious read of either nostalgia for your old villains of your youth, or introductions to many newer ones, this should be a relatively inexpensive edition to your comics collection. It inspired me to purchase the preceding book on heroes, although villains are always more delicious, aren't they?

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPEREVIL, October 15, 2007

By 

Capital One - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood (Paperback)

This book on Super villians was better than the book on superheros. its long enough to find out about each villian and the heros that they fight and get right to the point on why that hero they are fighting. Great book for all to read.