Challengers Of The Unknown Archives

Four years before Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created Marvel's Fantastic Four, there was another adventurous foursome co-created by Kirby that set forth to challenge the unknown.

Jack Kirby reinvented the superhero genre with his sprawling saga of the Fourth World—a bold storytelling vision that was decades ahead of its time. In honor of this extraordinary talent’s centennial, DC Comics is proud to re-present the groundbreaking work of the King of Comics in a brand-new series collecting his classic DC titles in all their four-color glory! After walking away from a seemingly un-survivable plane crash, test pilot Ace Morgan, mountain climber Red Ryan, heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Davis and underwater explorer Prof Haley make a pact to continue defying death and seeking out mystery around the world. Their motto is “Dare Anything,” and their assignments are the most unusual and incredible tasks ever encountered! There is no danger that they fear, or risk that they will not accept! They call themselves…the Challengers of the Unknown! Discover some of comics’ most daring writing and dynamic art—and thrill to the imaginative power of one of the medium’s greatest masters—in CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN BY JACK KIRBY, collecting all of the King’s stories from SHOWCASE #6-7 and 11-12 and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #1-8, accompanied by illuminating essays from former DC editor Paul Kupperberg and acclaimed Kirby historian John Morrow.

Conventional wisdom holds that comic books of the post-World War II era are poorly drawn and poorly written publications, notable only for the furor they raised. Contributors to this thoughtful collection, however, demonstrate that these comics constitute complex cultural documents that create a dialogue between mainstream values and alternative beliefs that question or complicate the grand narratives of the era. Close analysis of individual titles, including EC comics, Superman, romance comics, and other, more obscure works, reveals the ways Cold War culture--from atomic anxieties and the nuclear family to communist hysteria and social inequalities--manifests itself in the comic books of the era. By illuminating the complexities of mid-century graphic novels, this study demonstrates that postwar popular culture was far from monolithic in its representation of American values and beliefs.

Appealing to the casual comic book reader as well as the hardcore graphic novel fan, this ultimate AtoZ compendium describes everyone’s favorite participants in the eternal battle between good and evil. With nearly 200 entries examining more than 1,000 heroes, icons and their place in popular culture, it is the first comprehensive profile of superheroes across all media, following their path from comic book stardom to radio, television, movies, and novels. The best-loved and most historically significant superheroes—mainstream and counterculture, famous and forgotten, best and worst—are presented with numerous full-color illustrations, including dozens of classic comic covers. Each significant era of the superhero is explored—from the Golden Age of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s through the Modern Age—providing a unique perspective of the role of the hero over the course of the 20th century and beyond. This latest edition has been revised to reflect updates on existing characters, coverage of new characters, and recent films and media trends in the last several years.

They were outcast heroes, bound together by fate, led by their mysterious, wheelchair-bound Chief: Robotman, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man and Beast Boy.Their strange powers made them the objects of fear instead of hero worship. In the 1960s, they were the most unusual super-team comics readers had ever seen. In this fourth volume of their Archive series, the Doom Patrol faces such bizarre menaces as Mr. 103, Ultimax, and the Brotherhood of Evil, including the duo of the Braina disembodied, super-intelligent brainand Monsieur Mallah, an evil, talking ape who speaks with a French accent.

Most of us are unaware of how much we depend on quantum mechanics on a day-to-day basis. Using illustrations and examples from science fiction pulp magazines and comic books, The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics explains the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics that underlie the world we live in. Watch a Video

500th Anniversary Issue. Starring Batman and Robin. Guest-starring the Phantom Stranger, the Elongated Man, Hawkman and Hawkgirl.