It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a complete guide to over 50 years of superheroes on screen! This expanded and updated edition of the 2004 award-winning encyclopedia covers important developments in the popular genre; adds new shows such as Heroes and Zoom; includes the latest films featuring icons like Superman, Spiderman and Batman; and covers even more types of superheroes. Each entry includes a detailed history, cast and credits, episode and film descriptions, critical commentaries, and data on arch-villains, gadgets, comic-book origins and super powers, while placing each production into its historical context. Appendices list common superhero conventions and clichés; incarnations; memorable ad lines; and the best, worst, and most influential productions from 1951 to 2008.

John Kenneth Muir is the author of more than 20 reference books covering science fiction and horror on film and television. He is creator of the Internet sci-fi series The House Between (www.thehousebetween.com) and his popular blog can be found at reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com.

John Kenneth Muir

Format: hardcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 704
Bibliographic Info: 71 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3755-9
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9209-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi
Superheroes Re-Booted: A Preface to the Second Edition      1
“Thank God You’re Here!” An Introduction      3

PART I: A HISTORY OF FILM AND TELEVISION SUPERHEROES      9
PART II: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA      33
PART III: CONCLUSION      653

THE APPENDICES      655
Appendix A: Conventions and Clichés      655
Appendix B: Incarnations      666
Appendix C: Memorable Ad-Lines      669
Appendix D: The Best, Worst and Most Influential      671
Notes      675
Bibliography      681
Index      685

• New York Public Library Outstanding Reference Book
• A Library Journal Starred Review
• “valuable…useful…recommended”—Choice
• “coverage is extensive…a good addition to the pop-culture collection”—Booklist
• “amazing”—The New York Public Library
• “over-the-top, first-stop-in-pop-culture reference maven McFarland has unearthed another killer-kryptonite jewel…bounteous reference cornucopia…Muir knows the landscape like Aquaman knows Atlantis. If you can swing it, get two copies…you’ll need them both. Rock on, Muir and McFarland!”—Library Journal
• “a delight…recommended”—ARBA
• “fascinating and fun…will appeal to both enthusiasts of the superhero genre as well as serious students of popular culture…full of interesting facts and offbeat trivia”—Against the Grain
• “riveting…sheer quantity of information, much of it difficult or impossible to find elsewhere…a browser’s delight”—School Library Journal
• “unique…commendable…straightforward…well-researched…a good ready reference tool…valuable”—Reference Reviews
• “a work of impressive dimensions and enthusiastically recommended”—Midwest Book Review
• “entertaining data…must-have”—Animation Magazine
• “excellent commentary on the newer breed of super heroes…detail is mind-boggling. Muir is a good researcher and writer”—Classic Images
• “detailed”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly
• “cool…everything you need to know…all you could possibly wish to have at your fingertips”—Music Revue Magazine
• “for years I have been wanting a book on superhero movies, and this 600+ page brick goes one better by including TV shows, too…covers them all. Even the obscure…the book’s introduction is a terrific history of the genre, with Muir demonstrating he knows his stuff”—Hitch
• “Muir is well-grounded in the lore…well-chosen b/w photos throughout”—The Zone
• “filled with great anecdotal and historical information, the entries are illustrated with a smattering of photographs and add flavor and zest to the text…unique…a good resource…buy this book”—Penguin Comics
• “ultimate superheroes reference…highly detailed”—Burlington County Times
• “astonishing detail, every fact, story synopsis and concept behind each project…the ultimate lowdown on the film and video appearances”—Collectors’ Corner.