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Our Gods Wear Spandex
''Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes'' is a 2007 book by Christopher Knowles, the former editor of '' Comic Book Artist'', with illustrations by Joe Linsner. The book examines superheroes as a modern evolution of mythological archetypes and the more modern history, as well as the mystical influences on comics. Overview The book looks at the evolution of the superhero through the early Egyptian, Greek and Roman myths to the modern era. In particular Knowles highlights the significance of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel ''The Coming Race'' and its concept of the Vril-ya, a super human race occupying the hollow earth. This was adopted and adapted by Theosophy into their concept of Ascended Masters which when mixed with Friedrich Nietzsche's Übermensch, became the template for the early superheroes. It then goes on to examine the influences of the pulp magazines on the development of what we would come to view as superheroes, looking at specific examples ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Knowles (comics)
Christopher Knowles (; born 1966) is an American comic book artist, writer and blogger who writes on comic books and broader pop culture topics. Career Knowles began his career in 1996, writing and drawing comics, particularly, ''Halo, an Angel's Story'', a mini-series published by Sirius Entertainment, and contributing to the art in a graphic novel based on the ''Saturday Night Live'' cartoon '' The X Presidents''. He was also the editor of the Top Shelf Productions magazine ''Comic Book Artist'' from 2000–2004 and has written articles for publications such as ''The Jack Kirby Collector'' and sites like Comic Book Resources. Knowles wrote a book called '' Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes'' (2007), which won an Eagle Award for "Favourite Comics-Related Book". He co-authored a book published in 2008 about ''The X-Files'' TV series called ''The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths, and the Movies''. In October 2010, Viva Editions published ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandrake The Magician
''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk before he created '' The Phantom''. Ron Goulart, ''The Encyclopedia of American Comics''. New York: Facts on File, 1990. . pp. 91, 249–250. ''Mandrake'' began publication on June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate. Ron Goulart, "The Glory Days, or Believe It or Not!" in Dean Mullaney, Bruce Canwell and Brian Walker, ''King of the Comics: One Hundred Years of King Features Syndicate''. San Diego: IDW Publishing, 2015. . pp. 119, 122. Mandrake, along with the Phantom Magician in Mel Graff's ''The Adventures of Patsy'', is regarded as the first superhero of comics by comics historians such as Don Markstein, who writes, "Some people say Mandrake the Magician, who started in 1934, was comics' first superhero." Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964, when Falk recruited a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being his inspiration for the character's appearance. Wonder Woman appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a founding member of the Justice League. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8 published October 21, 1941''All Star Comics'' #8 was cover-dated December/January 1941/1942, but published October 21, 1941. (SeLibrary of Congress ) with her first feature in ''Sensation Comics'' #1 in January 1942. The ''Wonder Woman (comic book), Wonder Woman'' title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously ever since. In her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira (DC Comics), Themyscira, her official title is Princess Diana of Themyscira. When b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amazons
In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, the ''Argonautica'' and the ''Iliad''. They were a group of female warriors and hunters, who beat men in physical agility and strength, in archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat. Their society was closed for men and they only raised their daughters, either killing their sons or returning them to their fathers, with whom they would only socialize briefly in order to reproduce. Courageous and fiercely independent, the Amazons, commanded by their queen, regularly undertook extensive military expeditions into the far corners of the world, from Scythia to Thrace, Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands, reaching as far as Arabia and Egypt. Besides military raids, the Amazons are also associated with the foundation of temples and the est ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover dated March 1941) from Timely Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics. Captain America was designed as a patriotic supersoldier who often fought the Axis powers of World War II and was Timely Comics' most popular character during the wartime period. The popularity of superheroes waned following the war, and the ''Captain America'' comic book was discontinued in 1950, with a short-lived revival in 1953. Since Marvel Comics revived the character in 1964, Captain America has remained in publication. The character wears a costume bearing an Flag of the United States, American flag motif (visual arts), motif, and he carries a Captain America's shield, nearly-indestructible shield that he throws as a projectile. Captain America is the alter ego ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has since been featured in films, television shows, novels, video games, and plays. Spider-Man is the alias of Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash. Lee and Ditko had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and financial issues and gave him many supporting characters, such as Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, and Harry Osborn; romantic interests Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and the Black Cat; and foes such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin, and Venom. In his origin story, Spider-Man gets superhuman spider-powers and abilities from a bite from a radioactive spider; these include cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938).The copyright date of '' Action Comics'' #1 was registered as April 18, 1938.See Superman has been adapted to a number of other media, which includes radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games. Superman was born on the fictional planet Krypton and was named Kal-El. As a baby, his parents sent him to Earth in a small spaceship moments before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside, near the fictional town of Smallville. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark developed various superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil. Χριστός, Greek for the Hebrew Messiah occurs 41 times in the LXX and the Hebrew Bible. ''Ha-mashiach'' (), often referred to as ' (), is to be a Jewish leader, physically descended from the paternal Davidic line through King David and King Solomon. He is thought to accomplish predetermined things in a future arrival, including the unification of the tribes of Israel, the gathering of all Jews to ''Eretz Israel'', the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the ushering in of a Messianic Age of global universal peace, and the annunciation of the world to come. The Greek translation of Messiah is ''Khristós'' (), anglicized as ''Christ''. Christians ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comic Book Resources
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland created to discuss DC Comics' then-new mini-series of the same name. Comic Book Resources features columns written by industry professionals that have included Robert Kirkman, Gail Simone, and Mark Millar. Other columns are published by comic book historians and critics such as George Khoury and Timothy Callahan. In April 2016, Comic Book Resources was sold to Valnet Inc., a Montreal-based company based known for its acquisition and ownership of media properties including Screen Rant. The site was relaunched as CBR.com on August 23, 2016, with the blogs integrated into the site. The company has also hosted a YouTube channel since 2008, with 3.97 million subscribers as of December 21, 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, and the electromagnetic spectrum of emotional willpower. The characters are typically depicted as members of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency. The first Green Lantern character, Alan Scott, was created in 1940 by Martin Nodell with scripting or co-scripting of the first stories by Bill Finger during the Golden Age of Comic Books and usually fought common criminals in Capitol City (and later, Gotham City) with the aid of his magic ring. For the Silver Age of Comic Books, John Broome and Gil Kane reinvented the character as Hal Jordan in 1959 and shifted the origin of the character from fantasy to science fiction. Other notable Green Lanterns include Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel, also known as Shazam, is a superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently published by DC Comics. Artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker (comics), Bill Parker created the character in 1939. Captain Marvel first appeared in ''Whiz Comics'' #2 (cover-dated Feb. 1940), published by Fawcett Comics. He is the alter ego of Billy Batson, a boy who, by speaking the magic word "Shazam!" (acronym of six "immortal elders": Solomon, Hercules (DC Comics), Hercules, Atlas (mythology), Atlas, Zeus (DC Comics), Zeus, Achilles, and Mercury (mythology), Mercury), can transform himself into a costumed adult with the powers of superhuman strength, speed, flight, and other abilities. The character battles an extensive rogues' gallery, most of them working in tandem as the Monster Society of Evil, including primary Archenemy, archenemies Black Adam, Doctor Sivana and Mister Mind. Billy often shares his powers with other children, pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Age Of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known characters were introduced, including Superman, Batman, Robin, Captain Marvel, Captain America, and Wonder Woman. Etymology The first recorded use of the term "Golden Age" was by Richard A. Lupoff in an article, "Re-Birth", published in issue one of the fanzine ''Comic Art'' in April 1960. History An event cited by many as marking the beginning of the Golden Age was the 1938 debut of Superman in '' Action Comics'' #1, published by Detective Comics (predecessor of DC Comics). Superman's popularity helped make comic books a major arm of publishing, which led rival companies to create superheroes of their own to emulate Superman's success. World War II Between 1939 and 1941 Detective Comics and its sister company, All-American Publications, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
