In a town full of rumors, theirs is the hottest . . . Nicholas Knight has a dark, dangerous appeal that attracts Ali Charbonneau like a moth to a flame. There is an undeniable attraction between them, even though he is doing his level best to ignore it. To complicate matters further, Ali resembles Nicholas’s dead fiancée, stirring up the past and provoking many unanswered questions. Almost everyone in town believes he murdered the woman he claims to have loved. And Nicholas isn’t sure he didn’t . . .
High school is never easy--homework, peer pressure, dating--and that is no exception for the students at Littleton High; especially one student in particular named Stormy Knight who's a half vampire queen and half mortal being struggling to find her place in the human world. Overall, Stormy thinks she's doing a pretty decent job of fitting in, at least until the undead begin popping up around her school and her mom, Candi the Vampire Queen (who enjoys eating ghosts way too much), suddenly decides to start dropping into her life too. With all of the chaos that ensues, Stormy soon realizes that it's up to her and her friends, Marco and Corey, to figure out who's bringing back the dead--but will Stormy, blessed with super-human powers, be able to decide between what's right and what she's willing to sacrifice soon enough to stop the ghosts before they take over the world?!
If you can imagine it fully, completely, down to the last grain of sand, then it will become. That is the magic in imagication. The Imagicators tells of a world imagined so completely, down to the last grain of sand, that it became. Now, eighty years after a girl from our world first imagicated the world of Windemere, Windemere is crumbling. The King and Queen have separated, and the civil war rages between their forces. This chaos mirrors the turmoil in the lives of Spenser and Elaine, two youngsters from our world who are drawn into Windemere to uncover the cause of the rift, vanquish the usurper who thrives on the anarchy, and restore the balance. To do so, Spenser and Elaine must discover their own power to imagicate.
Batman is one of the most compelling and enduring characters to come from the Golden Age of Comics, and interest in his story has only increased through countless incarnations since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Why does this superhero without superpowers fascinate us? What does that fascination say about us? Batman and Psychology explores these and other intriguing questions about the masked vigilante, including: Does Batman have PTSD? Why does he fight crime? Why as a vigilante? Why the mask, the bat, and the underage partner? Why are his most intimate relationships with “bad girls” he ought to lock up? And why won't he kill that homicidal, green-haired clown? Combining psychological theory with the latest in psychological research, Batman and Psychology takes you on an unprecedented journey behind the mask and into the dark mind of your favorite Caped Crusader and his never-ending war on crime.
The television series Gotham gave viewers a unique perspective on the fascinating world of Batman, the legendary comic book character. More than a simple "origin story," the series introduces viewers to a pre-Batman Gotham City, where young hero-cop James Gordon fights a one-man war on crime. In a city where crime is evolving from traditional organized crime to a city plagued by flamboyant and psychotic "super villains," there is a desperate need for a Batman. All of this is witnessed by Bruce Wayne, who was orphaned after his parents were murdered. This book details how characters and story lines throughout the series touch on modern America: our ethics and flaws, our fears and aspirations. Chapters also explore the show's unique twists to classic depictions of the franchise's characters, who have been adored by millions of fans across the decades. Throughout the text, the authors examine Gotham for its insight into 21st-century America, concluding in the exhilarating and frightening conclusion that "We ARE Gotham."
Jo-anne Stevens’ dream of becoming Australia’s Top Model seemed to be coming true at last. There was only one problem; someone was trying to take her place. Escaping to her cottage on Pinto Island a new problem arises when after a storm a dark stranger is washed up in her little bay. Will Brad Peterson’s loving arms and passionate kisses bring true love at last or when her life is threatened will her rival win and shatter her dreams forever?
Dick Grayson--alter-ego of the original Robin of Batman comics--has gone through various changes in his 75 years as a superhero but has remained the optimistic, humorous character readers first embraced in 1940. Predating Green Lantern and Wonder Woman, he is one of DC Comics' oldest heroes and retains a large and loyal fanbase. The first scholarly work to focus exclusively on the Boy Wonder, this collection of new essays features critical analysis, as well as interviews with some of the biggest names to study Dick Grayson, including Chuck Dixon, Devin Grayson and Marv Wolfman. The contributors discuss his vital place in the Batman saga, his growth and development into an independent hero, Nightwing, and the many storyline connections which put him at the center of the DC Universe. His character is explored in the contexts of feminism, trauma, friendship, and masculinity.
Along with Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman, the Joker stands out as one of the most recognizable comics characters in popular culture. While there has been a great deal of scholarly attention on superheroes, very little has been done to understand supervillains. This is the first academic work to provide a comprehensive study of this villain, illustrating why the Joker appears so relevant to audiences today. Batman's foe has cropped up in thousands of comics, numerous animated series, and three major blockbuster feature films since 1966. Actually, the Joker debuted in DC comics Batman 1 (1940) as the typical gangster, but the character evolved steadily into one of the most ominous in the history of sequential art. Batman and the Joker almost seemed to define each other as opposites, hero and nemesis, in a kind of psychological duality. Scholars from a wide array of disciplines look at the Joker through the lens of feature films, video games, comics, politics, magic and mysticism, psychology, animation, television, performance studies, and philosophy. As the first volume that examines the Joker as complex cultural and cross-media phenomenon, this collection adds to our understanding of the role comic book and cinematic villains play in the world and the ways various media affect their interpretation. Connecting the Clown Prince of Crime to bodies of thought as divergent as Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, contributors demonstrate the frightening ways in which we get the monsters we need.
Audiences around the globe continue to flock to see the latest releases from Marvel and DC studios, making it clear that superhero films resonate with the largest global audience that Hollywood has ever reached. Yet despite dominating theater screens like never before, the superhero genre remains critically marginalized—ignored at best and more often actively maligned. Terence McSweeney examines this global phenomenon, providing a concise and up-to-date overview of the superhero genre. He lays out its narrative codes and conventions, exploring why it appeals to diverse audiences and what it has to say about the world in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Unpacking the social, ideological, and cultural content of superhero films, he argues that the genre should be considered a barometer of contemporary social anxieties and a reflection of cultural values. McSweeney scrutinizes representations of gender, race, and sexuality as well as how the genre’s conventions relate to and comment on contemporary political debates. Beyond American contributions to the genre, the book also features extensive analysis of superhero films from all over the world, contrasting them with the dominant U.S. model. The book’s presentation of a range of case studies and critical debates is accessible and engaging for students, scholars, and enthusiasts at all levels.
This book is an updated history of the American comic book by an industry insider. You'll follow the development of comics from the first appearance of the comic book format in the Platinum Age of the 1930s to the creation of the superhero genre in the Golden Age, to the current period, where comics flourish as graphic novels and blockbuster movies. Along the way you will meet the hustlers, hucksters, hacks, and visionaries who made the American comic book what it is today. It's an exciting journey, filled with mutants, changelings, atomized scientists, gamma-ray accidents, and supernaturally empowered heroes and villains who challenge the imagination and spark the secret identities lurking within us.
