Heroes Masked and Mythic
Heroes Masked and Mythic

Author: Christopher Wood

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2021-01-04

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1476683158

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Epic battles, hideous monsters and a host of petty gods--the world of Classical mythology continues to fascinate and inspire. Heroes like Herakles, Achilles and Perseus have influenced Western art and literature for centuries, and today are reinvented in the modern superhero. What does Iron Man have to do with the Homeric hero Odysseus? How does the African warrior Memnon compare with Marvel's Black Panther? Do DC's Wonder Woman and Xena the Warrior Princess reflect the tradition of Amazon women such as Penthesileia? How does the modern superhero's journey echo that of the epic warrior? With fresh insight into ancient Greek texts and historical art, this book examines modern superhero archetypes and iconography in comics and film as the crystallization of the hero's journey in the modern imagination.

Superheroes and Gods
Superheroes and Gods

Author: Don LoCicero

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2007-10-29

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0786431849

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The work provides a unique study of superheroes and gods in literature, popular culture, and ancient myth. The author selects a number of mythological figures (e.g., Babylonia's Gilgamesh and Enkidu), ancient gods (e.g., Greece's Eros and Tartarus), and modern superheroes (e.g., the United States' Superman and Captain Marvel) and identifies the often striking similarities between each unique category of characters. The author contends that the vast majority of mythological superheroes follow the same archetypal character patterns, regardless of each hero's unique time period or culture. Each of the first nine chapters examines the heroes and gods of a particular region or country, while the final chapter examines modern descendants of the hero prototype like Batman and Spiderman and several infamous anti-heroes (for example, Dracula and The Hulk). Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The Mythology of the Superhero
The Mythology of the Superhero

Author: Andrew R. Bahlmann

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-04-27

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1476662487

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Superheroes have been an integral part of popular society for decades and have given rise to a collective mythology familiar in popular culture worldwide. Though scholars and fans have recognized and commented on this mythology, its structure has gone largely unexplored. This book provides a model and lexicon for identifying the superhero mythos. The author examines the myth in several narratives--including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Green Arrow and Beowulf--and discusses such diverse characters as Batman, Wolverine, Invincible and John Constantine.

The Rise and Reason of Comics and Graphic Literature
The Rise and Reason of Comics and Graphic Literature

Author: Joyce Goggin

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0786457619

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

These 15 essays investigate comic books and graphic novels, beginning with the early development of these media. The essays also place the work in a cultural context, addressing theory and terminology, adaptations of comic books, the superhero genre, and comic books and graphic novels that deal with history and nonfiction. By addressing the topic from a wide range of perspectives, the book offers readers a nuanced and comprehensive picture of current scholarship in the subject area.

Super-History
Super-History

Author: Jeffrey K. Johnson

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2012-04-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780786465644

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the less than eight decades since Superman's debut in 1938, comic book superheroes have become an indispensable part of American society and the nation's dominant mythology. They represent America's hopes, dreams, fears, and needs. As a form of popular literature, superhero narratives have closely mirrored trends and events in the nation. This study views American history from 1938 to 2010 through the lens of superhero comics, revealing the spandex-clad guardians to be not only fictional characters but barometers of the place and time in which they reside. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel (Max's Lucha Libre Adventures #1)
Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel (Max's Lucha Libre Adventures #1)

Author:

Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press

Published: 2011-10-18

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 1935955349

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Margarito acts like any other eleven-year-old aficionado of lucha libre. He worships all the players. But in the summer just before sixth grade, he tumbles over the railing at a match in San Antonio and makes a connection to the world of Mexican wrestling that will ultimately connect him—maybe by blood!—to the greatest hero of all time: the Guardian Angel. A 2012 Pura Belpré Author Honor Award winner! Xavier Garza was born in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. An enthusiastic author, artist, teacher, and storyteller, his work is a lively documentation of the dreams, superstitions, and heroes in the bigger-than-life world of south Texas.

Classical Mythology
Classical Mythology

Author: William F. Hansen

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 0195300351

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Classical Mythology offers newcomers and long-time enthusiasts new ways to navigate the world of Greek and Roman myths, beginning by exploring the landscapes where the myths are set. It then provides a richly detailed timeline of mythic episodes from the origin of the cosmos to the end of the Heroic Age--plus an illustrated mythological dictionary listing significant characters, places, events, objects, and concepts.

Goliath as Gentle Giant
Goliath as Gentle Giant

Author: Jonathan L. Friedmann

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2022-01-17

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 1666904708

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the Hebrew Bible and stories loyal to it, Goliath is the stereotypical giant of folklore: big, brash, violent, and dimwitted. Goliath as Gentle Giant sets out to rehabilitate the giant’s image by exploring the origins of the biblical behemoth, the limitations of the “underdog” metaphor, and the few sympathetic treatments of Goliath in popular media. What insights emerge when we imagine things from Goliath’s point of view? How might this affect our reading of the biblical account or its many retellings and interpretations? What sort of man was Goliath really? The nuanced portraits analyzed in this book serve as a catalyst to challenge readers to question stereotypes, reexamine old assumptions, and humanize the “other.”

Hero with an African Face
Hero with an African Face

Author: Clyde W. Ford

Publisher: Turtleback Books

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780613216999

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Drawing on extensive research and his own wide travels, Ford vividly retells ancient African myths and tales and brings to light their universal meanings.

Seasoned Authors for a New Season
Seasoned Authors for a New Season

Author: Louis Filler

Publisher: Popular Press

Published: 1980

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9780879721435

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This collection of essays probes the values in a variety of authors who have had in common the fact of popularity and erstwhile reputation. Why were they esteemed? Who esteemed them? And what has become of their reputations, to readers, to the critic himself? No writer here has been asked to justify the work of his subject, and reports and conclusions about this wide variety of creative writers vary, sometimes emphasizing what the critic believes to be enduring qualities in the subject, in several cases finding limitations in what that writer has to offer us today.