Download or read book Smart Pop Explains Marvel Movies and TV Shows written by The Editors of Smart Pop and published by BenBella Books. This book was released on 2022-07-05 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is Iron Man? What’s an Infinity Stone? When did Captain America become the first Avenger? Why does everyone love Loki even though he’s a bad guy? It’s easy for new fans to get overwhelmed by the sprawling mythology and complexity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which now spans more than 20 films and TV shows. Unlike encyclopedias and guides that offer diehard fans trivia, details, and deep dives into every on-screen moment, this first-of-its-kind explainer is an easy, fun, and accessible introduction to the hundreds of characters, plots, and interconnected stories that make up one of the greatest pop-culture franchises of all time. Do you want to enjoy Spider-Man, but don’t quite know what a Skrull is? Maybe you know that it was Agatha all along, but did maybe WandaVision leave you wondering about the multiverse of madness? Do you need a primer on Thor’s backstory so you can grasp how The God of Thunder became friends with The Guardians of the Galaxy? Or, maybe you just want to be able to join in when everyone shouts out “Wakanda Forever!” If you’re looking for an easy to access entry into what literally everyone is talking about, this is the book for you! As the perfect and unauthorized resource to keep on hand when watching something for the first—or tenth—time, Smart Pop Explains Marvel Movies and TV Shows like no one else could.
Download or read book Smart Pop Explains Marvel Movies and TV Shows written by The Editors of Smart Pop and published by BenBella Books. This book was released on 2022-07-05 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is Iron Man? What’s an Infinity Stone? When did Captain America become the first Avenger? Why does everyone love Loki even though he’s a bad guy? It’s easy for new fans to get overwhelmed by the sprawling mythology and complexity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which now spans more than 20 films and TV shows. Unlike encyclopedias and guides that offer diehard fans trivia, details, and deep dives into every on-screen moment, this first-of-its-kind explainer is an easy, fun, and accessible introduction to the hundreds of characters, plots, and interconnected stories that make up one of the greatest pop-culture franchises of all time. Do you want to enjoy Spider-Man, but don’t quite know what a Skrull is? Maybe you know that it was Agatha all along, but did maybe WandaVision leave you wondering about the multiverse of madness? Do you need a primer on Thor’s backstory so you can grasp how The God of Thunder became friends with The Guardians of the Galaxy? Or, maybe you just want to be able to join in when everyone shouts out “Wakanda Forever!” If you’re looking for an easy to access entry into what literally everyone is talking about, this is the book for you! As the perfect and unauthorized resource to keep on hand when watching something for the first—or tenth—time, Smart Pop Explains Marvel Movies and TV Shows like no one else could.
Download or read book Smart Pop Explains Harry Potter Books and Movies written by The Editors of Smart Pop and published by BenBella Books. This book was released on 2022-07-05 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is Snape? What’s a horcrux? When did Sirius Black escape from Azkaban? Why was Hermione sorted into Gryffindor? It’s easy for new fans to get overwhelmed by the sprawling mythology and complexity of the Harry Potter movies and books. Unlike encyclopedias and guides that offer diehard fans trivia, details, and deep dives into every on-screen moment, this first-of-its-kind explainer is an easy, fun, and accessible introduction to the hundreds of characters, plots, and interconnected stories that make up one of the greatest pop culture franchises of all time. Maybe you’re a First Year and need an entry level class on the magical Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Are you trying to figure out why Slytherins are so slippery? Trying to parcel out parceltongue? Having trouble sorting out when Dumbledore battled Grindelwald? Or maybe you’re a confident Ravenclaw who wants to understand why it’s leviOsa, not levioSA! If you’re a Muggle, witch, or wizard looking for an easy entry into what literally everyone is talking about then this is the book for you. As the perfect and unauthorized resource to keep on hand when watching something for the first—or tenth—time, Smart Pop ExplainsHarry Potter Movies and Books to you like no one could!
Download or read book Smart Pop Explains Peter Jackson s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Movies written by and published by BenBella Books. This book was released on 2022-08-30 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Return to Middle-earth ahead of Amazon Prime's new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power If you’re feeling lost on the way to Mordor, let Smart Pop be your guide—literally, with this handy crash course into the cinematic world of Hobbits and Orcs and Elves (oh my!) It’s easy for new fans to get overwhelmed by the sprawling mythology and complexity of the six films that make up Peter Jackson’s epic trilogies. Unlike encyclopedias and guides that offer diehard J.R.R. Tolkien fans trivia, details, and deep dives into every on-screen moment, this first-of-its kind explainer is an easy, fun, and accessible introduction to the characters, plots, and interconnected stories that make up one of the greatest pop culture franchises of all time. Smart Pop has all of your burning questions covered: Who is Frodo? Why are there so many rings? When did Gandalf the Grey have time to change outfits and become Gandalf the White? Why does everyone love Gollum even though he’s a bad guy? And more! As the perfect and unauthorized resource to keep on hand when rewatching the films for the first—or tenth time, or as a primer for the upcoming live action series, Smart Pop Explains Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Movies to you like no one could!
Download or read book Smart Pop Explains Peter Jackson s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Movies written by and published by BenBella Books. This book was released on 2022-08-30 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Return to Middle-earth ahead of Amazon Prime's new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power If you’re feeling lost on the way to Mordor, let Smart Pop be your guide—literally, with this handy crash course into the cinematic world of Hobbits and Orcs and Elves (oh my!) It’s easy for new fans to get overwhelmed by the sprawling mythology and complexity of the six films that make up Peter Jackson’s epic trilogies. Unlike encyclopedias and guides that offer diehard J.R.R. Tolkien fans trivia, details, and deep dives into every on-screen moment, this first-of-its kind explainer is an easy, fun, and accessible introduction to the characters, plots, and interconnected stories that make up one of the greatest pop culture franchises of all time. Smart Pop has all of your burning questions covered: Who is Frodo? Why are there so many rings? When did Gandalf the Grey have time to change outfits and become Gandalf the White? Why does everyone love Gollum even though he’s a bad guy? And more! As the perfect and unauthorized resource to keep on hand when rewatching the films for the first—or tenth time, or as a primer for the upcoming live action series, Smart Pop Explains Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Movies to you like no one could!
Download or read book Los Angeles Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 2005-03 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Los Angeles magazine is a regional magazine of national stature. Our combination of award-winning feature writing, investigative reporting, service journalism, and design covers the people, lifestyle, culture, entertainment, fashion, art and architecture, and news that define Southern California. Started in the spring of 1961, Los Angeles magazine has been addressing the needs and interests of our region for 48 years. The magazine continues to be the definitive resource for an affluent population that is intensely interested in a lifestyle that is uniquely Southern Californian.
Download or read book The Transmedia Construction of the Black Panther written by Bryan J. Carr and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-04-25 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the Black Panther character’s multimedia legacy against the backdrop of contemporary sociopolitical reality. The author critically analyzes the character’s role as a counter-narrative to regressive attitudes toward Africa and Black identity, as well as how he represents consolidated media reality.
Download or read book Joss Whedon Anarchist written by James Rocha and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2019-08-07 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Joss Whedon has created numerous TV series, movies, comics and one sing-along-blog, all of which focus on societal problems in the metaphorical guise of monsters-of-the-week and over-arching big-bads. The present work examines structural violence through interdimensional law firm Wolfram & Hart's legal representation of evil. We explore the limits of consent through the Rossum Corporation's coercion and manipulation. We rehearse the struggle to find meaningful freedom from the crew of Serenity. This book traces a theme of anarchist theory through the multiple strings of the Whedonverse--all of his works show how ordinary heroes can unite for the love of humanity to save the world from hierarchy and paternalism.
Download or read book The Marvel Art Of Star Wars written by Jess Harrold and published by Marvel Entertainment. This book was released on 2019-10-02 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Force is strong with the artists who have continued the adventures of Luke, Leia, Han and the rest since Star Wars returned to Marvel! This stunning volume celebrates the talents who have illustrated some of the finest covers and stories set in the galaxy far, far away - including John Cassaday, Stuart Immonen, Leinil Francis Yu, Salvador Larroca and Mike Deodato Jr.! Filled with insights from the artists themselves and those who've worked with them, and featuring never-before-seen behind-the-scenes artwork, this gorgeous volume spotlights all your favorites - including Lando, Chewbacca and, of course, Darth Vader - as well as new characters such as Doctor Aphra, Sana Starros and the killer droids Triple-Zero and Beetee!
Download or read book Cult Pop Culture written by Bob Batchelor and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-12-07 with total page 895 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This three-volume collection of original essays examines cult pop culture, the often-seedy underbelly of American popular culture. Cult Pop Culture: How the Fringe Became Mainstream is the first collection dedicated to the quirky, offbeat aspects of American popular culture that people have loved, enjoyed, (and in some cases) worshiped over the last 50 years. By examining the people and subjects we hold most dear, this three-volume set offers deep insights into what Americans think, feel, and cherish. Organized by subject, the collection enables readers to focus on a given topic or compare different subjects across cult phenomenon. Volume One of the set covers film and television topics, Volume Two examines music and literature, and Volume Three explores sports, clubs, and the cult industry. Through this investigation of sublime, transcendent, and idiosyncratic trends, readers will learn more about iconic individuals, topics, and subjects that form the vast underbelly of American culture. By revealing how tightly interwoven cult topics are with the public's broader notion of popular culture, the collection underscores the blurry line between normal and abnormal, grandiose and degradation.
Download or read book Substitute Creacher written by Chris Gall and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mr. Creacher, a multi-tentacled substitute teacher, warns his prankish students not to misbehave, recounting rhyming cautionary tales of the weird, spooky, and unexpected.
Download or read book Comic Book Movies written by Blair Davis and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-25 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comic Book Movies explores how this genre serves as a source for modern-day myths, sometimes even incorporating ancient mythic figures like Thor and Wonder Woman’s Amazons, while engaging with the questions that haunt a post-9/11 world: How do we define heroism and morality today? How far are we willing to go when fighting terror? How can we resist a dystopian state? Film scholar Blair Davis also considers how the genre’s visual style is equally important as its weighty themes, and he details how advances in digital effects have allowed filmmakers to incorporate elements of comic book art in innovative ways. As he reveals, comic book movies have inspired just as many innovations to Hollywood’s business model, with film franchises and transmedia storytelling helping to ensure that the genre will continue its reign over popular culture for years to come.
Download or read book All of the Marvels written by Douglas Wolk and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2023-10-03 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2022 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice The first-ever full reckoning with Marvel Comics’ interconnected, half-million-page story, a revelatory guide to the “epic of epics”—and to the past sixty years of American culture—from a beloved authority on the subject who read all 27,000+ Marvel superhero comics and lived to tell the tale “Thorough, fascinating, and joyfully executed, All of the Marvels is essential reading for fans and scholars alike.” —G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel) “A revelation, a tour both electrifying in its weird charisma and replenishing in its loving specificity . . . a testament, and a tribute.” —Jonathan Lethem “Brilliant, eccentric, moving and wholly wonderful. . . . Wolk proves to be the perfect guide for this type of adventure: nimble, learned, funny and sincere. . . . All of the Marvels is magnificently marvelous. Wolk’s work will invite many more alliterative superlatives. It deserves them all.” —Junot Díaz, New York Times Book Review The superhero comic books that Marvel Comics has published since 1961are the longest continuous, self-contained work of fiction ever created. Thousands of writers and artists have contributed to it. Everyone recognizes its protagonists. Eighteen of the hundred highest-grossing movies of all time are based on parts of it. And Douglas Wolk has read the whole thing. Wolk sees both into the ever-expanding story and through it, as a prism through which to view the landscape of American culture. In his hands, the mammoth Marvel narrative becomes a fun-house-mirror history of the past sixty years—a boisterous, tragicomic, magnificently filigreed epic about power and ethics, set in a world transformed by wonders. A huge treat for Marvel fans, this book is also a revelation for readers who don’t know Doctor Strange from Doctor Doom. Here, truly, are all of the marvels.
Download or read book Strange Academy Bright Side written by Skottie Young and published by Outreach/New Reader. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Doctor Strange created by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko."
Download or read book The Cult of Smart written by Fredrik deBoer and published by All Points Books. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named one of Vulture’s Top 10 Best Books of 2020! Leftist firebrand Fredrik deBoer exposes the lie at the heart of our educational system and demands top-to-bottom reform. Everyone agrees that education is the key to creating a more just and equal world, and that our schools are broken and failing. Proposed reforms variously target incompetent teachers, corrupt union practices, or outdated curricula, but no one acknowledges a scientifically-proven fact that we all understand intuitively: Academic potential varies between individuals, and cannot be dramatically improved. In The Cult of Smart, educator and outspoken leftist Fredrik deBoer exposes this omission as the central flaw of our entire society, which has created and perpetuated an unjust class structure based on intellectual ability. Since cognitive talent varies from person to person, our education system can never create equal opportunity for all. Instead, it teaches our children that hierarchy and competition are natural, and that human value should be based on intelligence. These ideas are counter to everything that the left believes, but until they acknowledge the existence of individual cognitive differences, progressives remain complicit in keeping the status quo in place. This passionate, voice-driven manifesto demands that we embrace a new goal for education: equality of outcomes. We must create a world that has a place for everyone, not just the academically talented. But we’ll never achieve this dream until the Cult of Smart is destroyed.
Download or read book Apropos of Nothing written by Woody Allen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-03-23 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Long-Awaited, Enormously Entertaining Memoir by One of the Great Artists of Our Time—Now a New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller. In this candid and often hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. Beginning with his Brooklyn childhood and his stint as a writer for the Sid Caesar variety show in the early days of television, working alongside comedy greats, Allen tells of his difficult early days doing standup before he achieved recognition and success. With his unique storytelling pizzazz, he recounts his departure into moviemaking, with such slapstick comedies as Take the Money and Run, and revisits his entire, sixty-year-long, and enormously productive career as a writer and director, from his classics Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Annie and Her Sisters to his most recent films, including Midnight in Paris. Along the way, he discusses his marriages, his romances and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from in equal measure. This is a hugely entertaining, deeply honest, rich and brilliant self-portrait of a celebrated artist who is ranked among the greatest filmmakers of our time.
Download or read book Star Wars on Trial The Force Awakens Edition written by David Brin and published by BenBella Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Order in the Court! Star Wars: the most significant, powerful myth of the twenty-first century or morally bankrupt military fantasy? Six films. Countless books. $20 billion in revenue. No one can question the financial value or cultural impact of the Star Wars film franchise. But has the impact been for the good? In Star Wars on Trial's courtroom—Droid Judge presiding—Star Wars stands accused of elitist politics and sexism, religious and ethical lapses, the destruction of literary science fiction and science fiction film, and numerous plot holes and logical gaps. Supported by a witness list of bestselling science fiction authors, David Brin (for the prosecution) and Matthew Woodring Stover (for the defense) debate these charges and more before delivering their closing statements. The verdict? That's up to you. Covering the films from A New Hope to The Force Awakens, Brin and Stover provide new forewords that explore the newest generation of Star Wars films and what JJ Abrams must do to live up to—or redeem—the franchise.
