The ultimate compendium to everyone’s favorite participants in the eternal battle between good and evil! Profiles of more than 1,000 mythic superheroes, icons, and their place in popular culture. Superhuman strength. Virtual invulnerability. Motivated to defend the world from criminals and madmen. Possessing a secret identity. And they even have fashion sense—they look great in long underwear and catsuits. These are the traits that define the quintessential superhero. Their appeal and media presence has never been greater, but what makes them tick? their strengths? weaknesses? secret identities and arch-enemies? The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes is the comprehensive guide to all those characters whose impossible feats have graced the pages of comic books for the past one hundred years. From the Golden and Silver Ages to the Bronze and Modern Ages, the best-loved and most historically significant superheroes—mainstream and counterculture, famous and forgotten, best and worst—are all here: The Avengers Batman and Robin Captain America Superman Wonder Woman Captain Marvel Spider-Man The Incredibles The Green Lantern Iron Man Catwoman Wolverine Aquaman Hellboy Elektra Spawn The Punisher Teen Titans The Justice League The Fantastic Four and hundreds of others. Unique in bringing together characters from Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, as well as smaller independent houses, The Superhero Book covers the best-loved and historically significant superheroes across all mediums and guises, from comic book, movie, television, and graphic novels. With many photos and illustrations this fun, fact-filled tome is richly illustrated. A bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. It is the ultimate A-to-Z compendium of everyone's favorite superheroes, anti-heroes and their sidekicks, villains, love interests, superpowers, and modus operandi.

Evildoers, Take Heed! Justice has a new face, and it wears a mask. Who are we talking about? Ordinary folk like Mike McMullen, a.k.a. The Amazing Whitebread, who become something entirely new and occasionally borderline pathological: Real-Life Superheroes (RLSHs). "Being a singing superheroine is a way for me to not only pay the bills, it also helps me give the baddies such a headache." --Danger Woman Complete with costumes and all the gadgetry they can afford from selling old copies of Action Comics on eBay, RLSHs dish out their own brand of justice--while criminals go about their business and law enforcers roll their eyes. "Me and Shadowhare were walking past a bank and we stopped to make a phone call. As soon as we started walking away, the police came up and said, 'Do you know why we stopped you? Because you guys are wearing masks standing in front of a bank.'" --Mr. Xtreme McMullen spans the country, coach class, seeking to develop his own RLSH identity and address such weighty issues as: Sidekicks: Faithful wards or CPS bait? Bad Guys: Where the hell are they all hiding? Super-tights: How snug is too snug? So don your mask, suck in your gut, and join us. "Hey, you're with a superhero. . .what could go wrong?" --Geist, the Emerald Cowboy Michael McMullen, a.k.a. The Amazing Whitebread, was born in Wichita Falls, Texas. He earned an undergraduate degree in history and philosophy, and subsequently took the only employment option open to someone with the resultant lack of marketable skills: government service. He's worked as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Department of Justice for just over a decade and currently lives in Arlington, Texas, with his wife, Lauren, and their children, Grant and Gracie. His hobbies include aspiring to get some woodworking done, thinking about learning a musical instrument, and trying to get interested in any computer game other than Text Twist. He has had short pieces published in various science fiction/fantasy magazines and currently holds the record for "Worst-Kept Secret Identity."

Geisel Award-winner Ethan Long shows that every kid has the power to conquer school-day worries once and for all. In the darkest of nights, when all else is lost, Scotty is ready to vanquish any foe. After all, that's what a superhero does. But this hero is about to come face-to-face with his greatest fear, his only weakness: the first day of school! But just when Scotty thinks all hope is lost, he realizes that school is no match for a whole team of heroes--his new friends.

Inspired by the comics, movies and television shows, a select group of individuals identify themselves as superheroes. They wear costumes (masks, capes etc.), they have secret identities and they are here to help. In I, Superhero!!, author Mike McMullen sheds light on this unique subculture: travelling with them, talking to them, patrolling with them and providing an in-depth view of the world of these real-life superheroes. Amusing, absurd and irreverent: a fascinating look into the same subculture portrayed in the hit movie Kick Ass.

A Hero Like You looks at everyday heroes and highlights qualities such as loyalty, compassion, resourcefulness, justice, and courage. The lyrical rhyme and relatable illustrations remind us that we all have the opportunity to be a hero by helping others, doing right and making the world a better place. "What the world needs is a hero like you!"

Written by four-year-old Daxton Wilde with the help of his mother while he was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for a brain tumor, the book places Wilde as the central character, a superhero, fighting "a bad guy named Cancer" with the help of "Captain Chemo."

Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Avengers, the X-Men, Watchmen, and more: the companion volume to the PBS documentary series of the same name that tells the story of the superhero in American popular culture. Together again for the first time, here come the greatest comic book superheroes ever assembled between two covers: down from the heavens—Superman and the Mighty Thor—or swinging over rooftops—the Batman and Spider-Man; star-spangled, like Captain America and Wonder Woman, or clad in darkness, like the Shadow and Spawn; facing down super-villains on their own, like the Flash and the Punisher or gathered together in a team of champions, like the Avengers and the X-Men! Based on the three-part PBS documentary series Superheroes, this companion volume chronicles the never-ending battle of the comic book industry, its greatest creators, and its greatest creations. Covering the effect of superheroes on American culture—in print, on film and television, and in digital media—and the effect of American culture on its superheroes, Superheroes: Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of Comic Book Culture appeals to readers of all ages, from the casual observer of the phenomenon to the most exacting fan of the genre. Drawing from more than 50 new interviews conducted expressly for Superheroes!—creators from Stan Lee to Grant Morrison, commentators from Michael Chabon to Jules Feiffer, actors from Adam West to Lynda Carter, and filmmakers such as Zach Snyder—this is an up-to-the-minute narrative history of the superhero, from the comic strip adventurers of the Great Depression, up to the blockbuster CGI movie superstars of the 21st Century. Featuring more than 500 full-color comic book panels, covers, sketches, photographs of both essential and rare artwork, Superheroes is the definitive story of this powerful presence in pop culture.