Glen weldon comic book recommendations

The unauthorized biography by glen weldon is a nonfiction book chronicling the fictional history of the man of steel in comic books, radio, tv, theater, music and movies. I mean, if this guy is so handsome, so rich, and so strong, why the fuck is he putting on a batsuit. Confessions of a comic book guy christmas for geeks. Comics by scott mccloud the tencent plague by david hajdu comics and sequential art by will eisner.

After 75 years, an untarnished reputation for americas. I love a good deep dive and this certainly delivers. Weldon recommendations on free comic book day free comic book day. Whether or not you made it to the biggest pop culture convention on the east coast this month, youll find something to geek out about in one of these engaging and funfilled books. A graphic adaptation of a novel like fahrenheit 451 is more than just an illustrated version of the original. The vast majority of socalled kids comics have miniscule font. The unauthorized biography shows how the man of steel has changed through the years and how different generations have interpreted him, and how the character has endured despite some questionable creative decisions. May 07, 2020 okay, people have been asking for recommendations ever since the show started on what to read and where to get them.

In its lesssuccessful moments, however, it can feel like reading an especially extended encyclopedia entry on the hero, one thats become so exhaustive, its exhausting. Comiccon fans continue the epic battle between science. I also read the fiction short stories in the refrigerator monologues by catherynne m. The caped crusade takes an in depth look at the batman and. This is the batman narrative that now permeates the culturethe narrative that doesnt like nobody touching its. Theyll very likely be able to make recommendations in line with. Oct 15, 2019 by glen weldon is there any other comic book character more iconic and popular than batman. Why batman is the ultimate lightning rod for nerd rage wired.

This book has a lot of scope, covering comics, radio, tv, and film, from the origin of the comic up to, but not including, the movie man of steel. Weldon studio is an independent comic group, working to bring pulp stories from a world of hard men, tough women, frontier wilderness, myth, magic and adventure to the comic book page. Batman and the rise of nerd culture by glen weldon. Reeves superman was more fatherly than his comic book counterpart, a quality that promptly leached into the comics as well. Next month, there will be even more of their humorous history to enjoy. Npr book critic glen weldon explores 75 years of supermans history, his rise to cultural superstardom, and how fighting for truth, justice, and the american way has changed over the years in superman. Glen weldon booksmart beanie feldstein is a force of nature as a high school overachiever who, on the eve of her graduation, begins to wonder if she needed to work so hard. I was listening to pop culture happy hour for the billionth time, as is my wont i promise, a post about this is coming, and it was an old one in which glen weldon mentioned free comic book day. The unauthorized biography, nprs resident comic book expert, glen weldon, tells the life story of the worlds first, and still the most popular, superhero, from his creation to the present. Panel judge glen weldon is on record as loving this book.

Confessions of a comic book guy is a weekly column by steve bennett of superfly comics and games in yellow springs, ohio. I think i liked the comics industry a little less cbr. What is it about costumed superheroes that we love so much. Glen weldon is a contributor to nprs pop culture blog monkey see, where he posts weekly about comics and comics culture. Written by glen weldon, an npr comics writer and cohost of the pop culture happy hour podcast, superman is at its best when weldon is digging into the adjustments made to the character to fit each era. Dragon balls most disappointing saiyan is spoiler which makes no. Theyll very likely be able to make recommendations in line with your. Its free comic book day once again, so here we are, so here you are, and here i am, for i think the 12th time. Batman and the rise of nerd culture, npr book critic glen weldon charts the many ways fans relate toand interpretthe dark knight. Freelance writer glen weldon wrote on npr that the cardpenned comic.

I just finished reading the audiobook of the caped crusade. Glen weldon is an american writer, cultural critic, and podcaster. In this book glen weldon takes a look at supermans history and how he went from a comic book character to a cultural icon. From the printed page to the silver screen, batman has gone through countless eras, but our love for the dark knight has remained constant. This is either the previous amazon price or the list price. I thought fred van lente and ryan dunlaveys action presidents. The caped crusade book by glen weldon official publisher.

This week, bennett discusses free comic book day offerings and offers thoughts about why guardians of the galaxy vol. Mark evanier, commenting on the observation by howard chaykin that gil kane, joe kubert, carmine infantino and other dc artists regarded each other with distaste, frequently bordering on genuine loathing. But when i saw what the comic book industry was doing to them, i think i liked it a little less. The unauthorized biography, 20, npr panelist and popculture critic weldon comprehensively charts the nearly 80year history of batman through facts, opinions, interviews, visits to comic con, and. For the first time, marvel comics reveals the outsized personalities behind the scenes, including martin goodman, the selfmade publisher who forayed into comics after a getrichquick tip in 1939. Golden age superman color by riddsorensen on deviantart. Superman comics antigay writer faces backlash from major. And this year, several of these panels are devoted to the same issue the interplay of. This years announcement of silver sponsor comics includes such great titles as. A checklist for the comics agnostic by glen weldon april 28, 2010 posted by. Well, i put together a list about two years ago of my recommendations and then a month or two afterwards dc announced its big reboot and so a lot of my recommendations became obsolete, a continual problem due to the nature of monthly comic books getting cancelledrelaunchedetc.

Weldon covers this and a whole lot more in his meticulously researched, thesisinthemaking, the caped crusade, which provides the ultimate popculture look at all things batman. I was surprised at how much i enjoyed listening to a history of batman and comic books. The best audiobooks for comic geeks indepth analyses of your favorite characters, behindthescenes biographies of creators, and pulitzerwinning fiction theres something on this list for every flavor of comic book fan. Glen weldon s book is a roaring getaway car of guilty pleasures film gossip, comic book esoterica, tales of nerd rage for more than batfans. Comics worth reading independent opinions, news, and. Stan lee, the energetic editor who would shepherd the company through thick and thin for decades.

My son, rajiv, is sleeping with a student from my dante class. Im pretty sure that the series is geared towards more of a yaaudience, which i was both surprised and delighted when the story quickly went from outcast teenage. Hardcore superman fans will find little that surprises them in this book, but weldon has done a great job of digging to find all manner of supesrelated material, from the first issue of action. Free comic book day 2019 features an amazing selection of comic book titles for the industrys. Dec 05, 2017 nprs book concierge our guide to 2017s great reads.

A visual guide to the comic book universe by tim leong. Over the course of his career, he has spent time as a. Check out our favorite books from 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009. Every year for the past four decades, comic book fans dressed as comic congoers flaunt their geek credentials new hampshire public radio skip to main content. For thousands of superfans, new york comic con is the most wonderful time of the year. It works because the author ties everything together by constantly referring back to. This inspired me to look up the comic book stores around me on the free comic book day website. Apr 10, 20 glen is nprs goto comic book geek and in this comprehensive book, he takes the reader from 1938 when joe shuster and jerry siegel created superman to today. Want to learn more, you can purchase our comic books online at our comic shop. It turns out we have more independent comics shops. A passionate, precise documentation of batmans legacy and enduring popularity among nerds and normals alike. He reveals how this cultural icon has been continuously transformed, not just by time but by his travels through a variety of media, including.

Recurring readers know that im a big proponent of exposing kids to comic books and graphic novels, but, as ive complained about before, most comic books arent designed in a way to make them accessible to developing readers. Glen weldon is a regular panelist on nprs pop culture happy hour podcast. The 1940s and 50s saw increased scrutiny of comic books during a fervid species of. The heros evolution is the subject of a new book, superman.

You cant go anywhere on the internet without running into batman somewhere. As we mentioned earluer today, nprs glen weldon has organized aa titanic survery to name the 100 favoritee graphic novels. The caped crusade audiobook cd columbus metropolitan. Batman, this childrens character who dresses up in a costume to effect the change he wishes to see in the world via face punching, is serious. Weldon currently writes for the npr arts desk and is a panelist on the podcast pop culture happy hour pchh with stephen thompson and linda holmes in his work, weldon often draws on his life experience as a. Ellen silva designed by juan elosua, geoff hing, katie park and matthew zhang published dec. Jan 14, 2015 comic book recommendations chris pirillo plays.

Produced by nicole cohen, rose friedman, petra mayer and glen weldon executive producer. His work has appeared in the new york times, the washington post, the new republic, slate, the atlantic, the village voice, the philadelphia inquirer, and many other places. Thats the focus of glen weldon s new book, the caped crusade. With the same gusto that characterized his debut superhero portrait superman. Comic book fans are known for their strong opinions, but one hero in particular seems to inspire more passionate. The resurgence of comic book characters has taken the country by storm for more than a decade. Nprs goto comic book geek, glen weldon, recounts supermans story from. Weldon documents how supermans persona shifted again in the 1960s and early 1970s as his middleaged writers started chasing the nations emergent youth culture, unintentionally turning him into our bemused, outof. The history of the gay subtext of batman and robin.

Free comic book day 2019 full list of comic books announced. I love nonfiction comics, particularly those that manage to both educate and entertain. Michael chabons pulitzer prizewinning novel the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay was number 45 on the list of book riot readers favorite novels nestled right in between middlesex by jeffrey eugenides and dune by frank herbert the book tells the story of two young men, joe kavalier, a jewish artist who has smuggled himself out of poland after a nazi invasion using his. Mar 18, 20 three books to read after the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay by michael chabon kim ukura mar 18, 20 michael chabons pulitzer prizewinning novel the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay was number 45 on the list of book riot readers favorite novels nestled right in between middlesex by jeffrey eugenides and dune by frank. A witty, intelligent cultural history from npr book critic glen weldon explains. Read glen weldons full recommendation tom barbash is a master of the intriguing first sentence. Read an excerpt from fahrenheit 451 in graphic novels, the art takes over a lot of the work from the writing. He has written for publications such as the washington post, the new york times, slate, the atlantic, and mcsweeneys.

Glen weldon quotes quotable quote i always had trouble with the bruce wayne in the comic book, burton said. The caped crusade details the cultural history of batman. Weldon s book, to stay within a theme, hangs between a historical look at the characters comic book origins, a healthy discourse on the adam west series from. The unauthorized biography, released just in time for the big guys 75th birthday, feels like hanging out at a local bar, shooting the breeze with a friend who knows a shitton about superman. Weldon is more interested in cultural reactions to batman, such as the gay stuff, as he jokingly calls it. Fans of steel can take an indepth look at the history and cultural impact of everyones favorite hero with this. A celebration of comic books by the women who love them was coedited by panelteer sigrid ellis and contains work by sigrid, jennifer smith, and caroline pruett. Comic book store owners have said they wont sell his superman comic. A witty, intelligent cultural history from npr book critic glen weldon explains batmans rises and falls throughout the ages, and what his story tells people about themselves. Why batman is the ultimate lightning rod for nerd rage ron phillipswarner bros. The chapters walk the reader through the changes that occurred with the character in each decade, all the movies, television shows superman, superboy and cartoons, newspaper strips.

He covers pop culture and comics for npr and joins me now. Batman and the rise of nerd culture by glen weldon, out now from simon and schuster lets get one thing absolutely clear. Glen weldon contained within this hardcovers 332 pages is the complete history of the man of steel, from his birth, by jerry siegel and joe shuster, through the tough times of the 1950s, his hollywood fame of the 1970s and 80s, his death and resurrection in the 1990s and finally ending with his recent reboot in the early. Affectionate, indepth analyses of the heros most beloved adventures, in and out of the comics his most iconic golden age tales, goofiest silver age exploits, and the contemporary film, television, and comics stories that keep him alive today written by npr book critic, blogger, and resident comic book expert, glen weldon. May 05, 2014 and lastly, i picked up courtney crumrin because it was one of glen weldons recommendations and because, as netflix would put it, i enjoy entertainment with strong female leads. Theyll very likely be able to make recommendations in line with your tastes. Im a regular panelist on nprs pop culture happy hour podcast and i contribute to nprs pop culture blog monkey see my second book,the caped crusade. The unauthorized biography, 20, npr panelist and popculture critic weldon comprehensively charts the nearly 80year history of batman through facts, opinions, interviews, visits to comiccon, and. Glen weldon on lgbt characters in graphic novels there are an increasing number of lgbt characters in mainstream superhero comics but visibility isnt everything. Weldon is a contributor to nprs podcast pop culture happy hour. Its a deep dive into the history of the character, but i hope its more than that.