Download or read book Becoming Superman written by J. Michael Straczynski and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-07-23 with total page 541 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[The] successful writer for TV, movies, and comics makes his debut as a memoirist with a stunning chronicle of survival”—introduction by Neil Gaiman (Kirkus). Joseph Michael Straczynski is the legendary writer behind Babylon 5, Sense8, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Marvel’s Thor, among many other beloved movies, TV shows and comics. In Becoming Superman, he reveals how the power of creativity and imagination enabled him to overcome the horrors of his youth and a dysfunctional family haunted by madness, murder, and a terrible secret. Joe’s early life nearly defies belief. Raised by damaged adults—a con-man grandfather and a manipulative grandmother, a violent, drunken father and a mother who was repeatedly institutionalized—Joe grew up in abject poverty, living in slums and projects when not on the road, crisscrossing the country in his father’s desperate attempts to escape the consequences of his past. Joe found refuge in comic books and his own dreams—imaginary worlds where superheroes used their amazing powers to overcome any adversity. The deeper he read, the more he came to realize that he, too, had a superpower: the ability to tell stories. But even as he found success, Joe could not escape a shocking family secret involving mass murder that he uncovered over the course of decades. Becoming Superman is the startling true story of a little boy who became the hero of his own life.

Download or read book Interacting with Babylon 5 written by Kurt Lancaster and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book makes a significant contribution to the growing body of scholarship surrounding the participatory communities--i.e. fandoms--that surround cult television shows and films. . . . It will cut across disciplines, finding a readership among sociologists, anthropologists, media scholars, and performance scholars, as well as among fans and lay readers." --Henry Jenkins, author of Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture Much of the pleasure of science fiction and fantasy stems from the genres' ability to transport fans into imaginary worlds that often feel more "real" than ordinary life. This pioneering book uses the insights of performance theory to explore how fans of the television show Babylon 5 actively immerse themselves in its imaginary environment by role-playing games and fan fiction, through which the fans perform--make real--fantasies they previously watched on television. Kurt Lancaster opens with a background analysis of Babylon 5, including creator-producer J. Michael Straczynski's online interaction with fans. Then he thoroughly examines the performance aspects of all the participatory media surrounding the show--the role-playing game, collectable card game, war game, CD-ROM "guidebook," fan fiction, and web pages. His use of performance theory offers a new way of understanding the enormous popularity of imaginary entertainment environments and the fandom surrounding other popular sites of science fiction and fantasy, including Star Trek, Star Wars, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.

Download or read book The Long Night of Centauri Prime written by Peter David and published by Random House Digital, Inc.. This book was released on 1999 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The beginning of an exciting new adventure that continues the Babylon 5 legacy . . . Bombed to the brink of oblivion, the planet Centauri Prime is starting the slow and painful process of rebuilding, under the watchful eye of Emperor Londo Mollari. But Londo is in turn being watched--and manipulated--by the conquest-hungry Drakh. The malevolent beings are reshaping the Centauri Republic into a secret seat of power from which to strike out at their enemies--especially the Interstellar Alliance. All but helpless to resist, Londo watches as his beloved Homeworld is transformed into a ruthless police state. And the Drakh have willing allies, including one of Londo's own countrymen--Durla, a powerful official with his own sinister agenda. As the abuses of the repressive new Republic escalate, the double-edged Drakh master plan begins to unfold. Their goal is to smash the Interstellar Alliance by assassinating its president, John Sheridan, and to obliterate Earth, using a fabled, monstrous Shadow weapon known as a Planet Killer . . .

Download or read book Babylon 5 Signs and Portents written by Jane Killick and published by Random House Worlds. This book was released on 1998-03-03 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive episode-by-episode guide to the first thrilling season of Babylon 5! Babylon 5: Signs and Portents, kicks off with a foreword by actor Michael O'Hare, better known to viewers as Commander Sinclair, and features a fascinating look at how series creator J. Michael Straczynski brought his ambitious vision to the screen. Then launch into a comprehensive overview of the groundbreaking premiere season, including in-depth, episode-by-episode summaries of all of the first twenty-two shows—from the pilot, “The Gathering,” through the climactic season finale, “Chrysalis”—with analysis by author and B5 expert Jane Killick. Veteran viewers or first-time fans, relive the adventure—or find out what you've been missing—with the complete companions to Babylon 5!

Download or read book Alas Babylon written by Pat Frank and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2005-07-05 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world.

Download or read book Out of the Darkness written by Peter David and published by Del Rey. This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This conclusion of the explosive "Centauri" trilogy reveals the fates of the Centauri Republic and of Emperor Londo Mollari, one of the most popular of the characters from the "Babylon 5" television series. Based on an outline by TV series creator J. Michael Straczynski.

Download or read book Repent Harlequin Said the Ticktockman written by Harlan Ellison and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards: A science fiction classic about an antiestablishment rebel set on overthrowing the totalitarian society of the future. One of science fiction’s most antiestablishment authors rails against the accepted order while questioning blind obedience to the state in this unique pairing of short story and essay. “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” is set in a dystopian future society in which time is regulated by a heavy bureaucratic hand known as the Ticktockman. The rebellious Everett C. Marm flouts convention, masquerading as the anarchic Harlequin, disrupting the precise schedule with bullhorns and jellybeans in a world where being late is nothing short of a crime. But when his love, Pretty Alice, betrays Everett out of a desire to return to the punctuality to which she is programmed, he is forced to face the Ticktockman and his gauntlet of consequences. The bonus essay included in this volume, “Stealing Tomorrow,” is a hard-to-find Harlan Ellison masterwork, an exploration of the rebellious nature of the writer’s soul. Waxing poetic on humankind’s intellectual capabilities versus its emotional shortcomings, the author depicts an inner self that guides his words against the established bureaucracies, assuring us that the intent of his soul is to “come lumbering into town on a pink-and-yellow elephant, fast as Pegasus, and throw down on the established order.” Winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” has become one of the most reprinted short stories in the English language. Fans of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World will delight in this antiestablishment vision of a Big Brother society and the rebel determined to take it down. The perfect complement, “Stealing Tomorrow” is a hidden gem that reinforces Ellison’s belief in humankind’s inner nobility and the necessity to buck totalitarian forces that hamper our steady evolution.

Download or read book A Dream Given Form written by Ensley F. Guffey and published by ECW Press. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only comprehensive critical guide to the beloved sci-fi phenomenon A Dream Given Form provides an accessible, comprehensive, and critical look at Babylon 5, one of the most groundbreaking series of all time. Nearly 20 years after the show ended, this indispensable companion not only covers all five seasons of Babylon 5, but also the feature-length TV movies, the spinoff series Crusade (including three non-produced episodes), The Legend of the Rangers, The Lost Tales, the canonical novels, the DC comic book series, and the short stories set in the Babylon 5 universe. Each season and text is explored thoroughly with an in-depth look at how the individual episodes, books, stories, and comics fit into larger ongoing storylines. Carefully constructed to be enjoyed by both those who have watched the series multiple times and viewers watching for the first time, A Dream Given Form elucidates without spoiling and illuminates without nitpicking.

Download or read book Dining on Babylon 5 written by Emerson Briggs-Wallace and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book To Dream in the City of Sorrows written by Kathryn M. Drennan and published by Dell. This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The stand-along plot of this novel brings a critical new piece to the "Babylon 5" story line. Haunted by the explosive fate of Babylons 1 through 4, the inhabitants of Babylon 5 work together to make the station "our last, best hope for peace".

Download or read book The Touch of Your Shadow the Whisper of Your Name written by Neal Barrett and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A novel based on the television science-fiction series, Babylon 5, set aboard a massive space station in the year 2257. Positioned in a key sector of the galaxy and under the jurisdiction of the Earth Alliance, Babylon 5 serves as a space-borne port of call, open to travellers from anywhere.

Download or read book Clark s Law written by Jim Mortimore and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A novel based on the television science-fiction series, Babylon 5, set aboard a massive space station in the year 2257. Positioned in a key sector of the galaxy and under the jurisdiction of the Earth Alliance, Babylon 5 serves as a space-borne port of call, open to travellers from anywhere.

Download or read book In Valen s Name written by J. Michael Straczynski and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Summoning Light written by Jeanne Cavelos and published by Fawcett. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The explosive space epic continues, as the techno-mages come face-to-face with the devastating evil of the Shadows . . . War against the Shadows is inevitable, and the ruling Circle has ordered the techno-mages into hiding. Many are unhappy with this decision--none more so than Galen, the only mage who has faced the Shadows and lived. But the Shadows aren't Galen's only enemy--he is driven to hunt and kill Elizar, the traitor who murdered the beautiful mage Isabelle while Galen stood by helplessly, his hands tied by the Circle's sacred code he had sworn to follow. Now a new mission awaits as the Circle contrives a plan that may enable the five hundred mages to escape without leaving a trace. Dispatched to the Shadow's ancient capitol to uncover the enemy's plans, Galen will find everything he so desperately seeks--including a shocking legacy that threatens to consume his very soul. Babylon 5 created by J. Michael Straczynski

Download or read book Final Reckoning written by J. Gregory Keyes and published by Random House Digital, Inc.. This book was released on 1999 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tyrannical regime of the Psi Corps turns against its creator, Alfred Bester, forcing him to confront his own monstrous legacy.

Download or read book Science Fiction Television Series 1990 2004 written by Frank Garcia and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-09-27 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a detailed examination of 58 science fiction television series produced between 1990 and 2004, from the popular The X-Files to the many worlds of Star Trek (The Next Generation onward), as well as Andromeda, Babylon 5, Firefly, Quantum Leap, Stargate Atlantis and SG-I, among others. A chapter on each series includes essential production information; a history of the series; critical commentary; and amusing, often provocative interviews with overall more than 150 of the creators, actors, writers and directors. The book also offers updates on each series' regular cast members, along with several photographs and a bibliography. Fully indexed.

Download or read book Contemporary Television Series written by Michael Hammond and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2005-05-04 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engaging and provocative study of the contemporary prime-time 'quality' serial television format, this book gives a timely account of prominent programmes such as 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, The Sopranos and The West Wing and explores their influential position within the television industry. Divided into the areas of history, aesthetics and reception, the text provides an illuminating overview of an increasingly hybrid television studies discipline. Chapters consider the formal and aesthetic elements in the contemporary television serial through approaches ranging from those concerned with issues of gender and sexuality, national identity, and reception to industry history and textual analysis. The book also includes British examples of 'quality' serial television emphasizing not only their cultural specificity but also the transnational context in which these programmes operate. Features*Section introductions provide student-friendly explanations of the various approaches and methodologies employed in the book*Chapters are written by an international team of experts in the field of television studies*Ideal for use as a textbook on courses in contemporary television taught at undergraduate level