This is the first in a two-volume retrospective―collecting full comics stories, unpublished art, ads, etc.―and biography of the famous Mad cartoonist. This is the first of two volumes reprinting copious amounts of comics stories and recounting the career of cartoonist Basil Wolverton. Based on his correspondence and journals, the biographical portion of the books follow Wolverton from childhood to adult day-to-day life as freelance cartoonist, itinerant handyman, persistent contest enterer, and local pastor of the Radio Church of God. Wolverton lived and worked in the Pacific Northwest, unique among the first generation of comic book pioneers. In the precious period before the industry calcified into a commercial institution, Wolverton was free to work under the radar to explore in detail his weird tales of the future. The book collects all of Wolverton’s non-humorous comic stories and a substantial selection of his humorous comics, alongside dozens of pages of unpublished artwork, unsold features, and never-before-seen correspondence, including rejection letters!

The complete collection of Wolverton's legendary costumed crusader. Basil Wolverton is one of the greatest, most idiosyncratic talents in comic book history. Though he is best known for his humorous grotesqueries in MAD magazine, it is his science-fiction character Spacehawk that Wolverton fans have most often demanded be collected. The wait is over, as The Complete Spacehawk features every story from Spacehawk’s intergalactic debut in 1940 to his final, Nazi-crushing adventure in 1942. Spacehawk is the closest thing to a colorfully-costumed, conventional action hero Wolverton ever created, yet the strip is infused with Wolverton’s quintessential weirdness: controlled, organic artwork of strangely repulsive aliens and monsters and bizarre planets, and stories of gruesome retribution that bring to mind Wolverton’s peer, Fletcher Hanks. Spacehawk had no secret identity, no fixed base of operations beyond his spaceship, and no sidekicks or love interests. He had but one mission in life: to protect the innocent throughout the Solar System, and to punish the guilty. He was a dark ― yet much more visually playful ― counterpart to Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.

Using a broad array of historical and literary sources, this book presents an unprecedented detailed history of the superhero and its development across the course of human history. How has the concept of the superhero developed over time? How has humanity's idealization of heroes with superhuman powers changed across millennia—and what superhero themes remain constant? Why does the idea of a superhero remain so powerful and relevant in the modern context, when our real-life technological capabilities arguably surpass the imagined superpowers of superheroes of the past? The Evolution of the Costumed Avenger: The 4,000-Year History of the Superhero is the first complete history of superheroes that thoroughly traces the development of superheroes, from their beginning in 2100 B.C.E. with the Epic of Gilgamesh to their fully entrenched status in modern pop culture and the comic book and graphic novel worlds. The book documents how the two modern superhero archetypes—the Costumed Avengers and the superhuman Supermen—can be traced back more than two centuries; turns a critical, evaluative eye upon the post-Superman history of the superhero; and shows how modern superheroes were created and influenced by sources as various as Egyptian poems, biblical heroes, medieval epics, Elizabethan urban legends, Jacobean masques, Gothic novels, dime novels, the Molly Maguires, the Ku Klux Klan, and pulp magazines. This work serves undergraduate or graduate students writing papers, professors or independent scholars, and anyone interested in learning about superheroes.

The 1940s saw the birth of many enduring superheroes like Superman, Batman, Captain America and Captain Marvel. Outside of the superhero genre, the golden age of comics also featured a host of lesser-known, evil-fighting action figures, and this book contains a wealth of information about these heroes without capes. Covered here are jungle heroines like Sheena, Rulah and Princess Pantha; science fiction stalwarts including Spacehawk, Hunt Bowman and Futura; adventurers such as Kayo Kirby, Werewolf Hunter and Senorita Rio; and Western heroes ranging from Tom Mix to the Ghost Rider.

This comics anthology includes Krigstein’s most famous story ― which broke both aesthetic and narrative boundaries ―plus material that’s never been reprinted since the 1950s. In addition to "Master Race,” this volume includes “The Flying Machine” (based on a story by Ray Bradbury). Other stories include: “Slave Ship,” an unpublished science fiction tale that was only discovered in the decades following EC’s demise, “The Monster From The Fourth Dimension,” a horror/science fiction shocker that has never been reprinted since its original appearance in 1954, and other Krigstein crime, horror, war, and science fiction stories covering the full gamut of EC titles, including Tales From the Crypt, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, Aces High, and Incredible Science Fiction.

Bursting with a cornucopia of gorgeous artwork and photos, this second of two volumes of the Eisner Award–nominated The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood also features the vivid personal recollections of the friends, colleagues, and assistants who knew him best. The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood Volume 2 completes this revealing, intimate portrait of the brilliant but troubled maverick comics creator (EC Comics, Mad, Daredevil, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, witzend, The Justice Society of America, The Wizard King). Contributors include Larry Hama, John Workman, Trina Robbins, Paul Krassner, Flo Steinberg, Tom Sutton, Bill Pearson, and Paul Levitz. Professor Ben Saunders reveals the meticulous handcrafted wizardry that made Wood’s most famous story, “My World” possible. A special tribute gallery includes artwork by Robert Crumb, Daniel Clowes, Dave Sim, Drew Friedman, and others. Introduction by Eisner Award–winning writer/artist Ed Piskor.

This collection includes all 15 of Elder’s humorous Panic stories (The Night Before Christmas” got the first issue banned in the entire state of Massachusetts); all seven of his science fiction tales from the pages of Weird Science and Weird Fantasy (including two Ray Bradbury adaptations, "The King of the Grey Spaces!” and “The Million-Year Picnic"); and a special horror story that hasn’t been seen since its original publication more than 60 years ago.

When John Bandicut encounters an alien intelligence on Neptune’s moon Triton, his life changes irrevocably. Urged by the alien quarx now sharing his mind, he accepts an audacious mission—to steal a ship and hurtle across the solar system in a desperate bid for Earth’s survival. Book 1 of The Chaos Chronicles, by the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity’s End—with an Afterword by the author. Appeared in print from Tor Books. DRM-free ebook edition. REVIEWS: One of the best SF novels of the year — Science Fiction Chronicle “Masterfully captures the joy of exploration.” — Publishers Weekly “One of the very best things Carver has written, a traditional adventure filled with mystery and wonder and featuring a likable and believable protagonist thrust onto a stage for which he is ill prepared.” — Science Fiction Chronicle “Jeff Carver is a hard sf writer who gets it right—his science and his people are equally convincing. Neptune Crossing combines his strengths, from a chilling look at alien machine intelligence, to cutting-edge chaos theory, to the pangs of finite humans in the face of the infinite. If you like intriguing ideas delivered in an exciting plot, this is your meat.” —Gregory Benford, author of the Galactic Center series “Reveals an alien encounter brushing hard against a soul, and takes us from there to the far reaches of the cosmos, all with the sure touch of a writer who knows his science. Jeff Carver has done it again!” —David Brin, author of Existence “A complex and believable protagonist—an ordinary man rising to extraordinary circumstances—and an alien presence that is at once convincingly strange and deeply real. I’m really glad to have read this one.” —Melissa Scott, author of Dreamships and Trouble and Her Friends “A roaring, cross-the-solar-system adventure of the first water. The kind of stuff that made us all love science fiction.” —Jack McDevitt, author of Seeker and Chindi “High-octane space adventure: mystery, humor, theoretical physics, and one of the more interesting SF aliens you’ve likely encountered in a long while.” —Allen Steele “With works such as The Infinity Link... and his popular Star Rigger novels, Carver won acclaim as a master craftsman of compelling hard science fiction. This captivating opener to a new series incorporating the emerging science of chaos theory should keep that reputation flourishing... Carver has created yet another electrifying scenario as well as a winning combination in Bandicut and the sometimes vulnerable yet superintelligent quarx. First-rate entertainment.” — Booklist

Invasion sparked a mystery, then a nightmare... and finally the courage to take back our planet! When 98% of the world disappears, decimating the cities, the rural survivors must fend for themselves and decipher the cause while fighting off a new breed of reptiles. After they trace the source to a viral cloud—a preamble to an alien invasion—they must track down a relic, an alien starship in the Arctic, and fly it into deep space to seek help from the enemies of our new enemies. To save Earth, they must rekindle an old war and bring it to our doorstep. And Earth's own spiders, mutated by the cloud, may be our last line of defense. An adventure that starts on a post-apocalyptic Earth and continues into the stars to a lonely starbase left by our ancestors, Sons of Neptune is an epic sci-fi saga that spans 4 books and 1,525 pages with creatures, spaceships, aliens and humans who can sometimes do the impossible in times of war. “A fast-paced sci-fi thrill ride from start to finish. The ending was so bleepin’ gratifying!” — Top2040 Books "Earthweeds [Sons of Neptune 1] takes its time revealing its greatest twists and surprises, keeping readers on their toes..." — BookLife Prize, Publishers Weekly (rated 9/10 for Plot/Idea and Originality) Over 1000 positive reviews: over a thousand 4- and 5-star reviews on the four individual books (on all platforms). This set contains all 4 books, the complete Sons of Neptune series bundled: Book 1 - Earthweeds Book 2 - Revenge of the Spiders Book 3 - The Last Starbase Book 4 - The Boneyards of Nebula

This book is a continuation from the third book in this series, the last being entitled...'The Psychology of Uranus.This is about our two heroes, Alex and Richard, having had to escape from a maddened crowd, make their way to a Hippy Commune in Wales, where they get up to their old mad tricks... It's an astrological madhouse!