The Forensic Comicologist

 A childhood comic book fan turned comic book retailer, the author soon discovered the prevalence of scams in the world of comics collecting. This book is his tutorial on how to collect wisely and reduce risks. Drawing on skills learned from twenty years with the San Diego Police Department and as a Comic-Con attendee since 1972, he covers in detail the history and culture of collecting comic books and describes the pitfalls, including common deceptions of grading and pricing, as well as theft, and mail and insurance fraud.

A childhood comic book fan turned comic book retailer, the author soon discovered the prevalence of scams in the world of comics collecting. This book is his tutorial on how to collect wisely and reduce risks. Drawing on skills learned from twenty years with the San Diego Police Department and as a Comic-Con attendee since 1972, he covers in detail the history and culture of collecting comic books and describes the pitfalls, including common deceptions of grading and pricing, as well as theft, and mail and insurance fraud.

This action-packed, thrilling colour guide teaches you how to draw all types of fantasy creatures and scenes. Each project is presented as a step-by-step tutorial, taking you through the stages of character development, decision-making, drawing and colouring to produce a stunning final artwork. Themes include: • Dragon's Lair • Werewolf • Kraken • Rock-'n'-Roll Vampire

In celebration of its 85th anniversary, DC Comics reprints for the very first time its first-ever published comic book, New Fun #1, the comic that transformed the fledgling industry by being the first ongoing title made up of new stories instead of reprints of newspaper comic strips. First published in 1935, this landmark comic book carried a diverse set of original content features cowboys, spies, detectives, funny animals, space explorers, soldiers of fortune and more, including features that were written by Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the founder of the company that would become DC Comics. This tabloid-size, black-and-white comic is reprinted as a commemorative hardcover and will include essays by comics historian Roy Thomas and Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson, grand-daughter of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, and more. Collects New Fun #1.

Collects The United States Of Captain America (2021) #1-5. Captain America’s shield has been stolen! Nobody understand its value — scientific, inspirational, sentimental and strategic — like the people who have wielded it, so Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson set out on a road trip across America to chase down the thief. But instead they find…the Captains! Everyday people from all walks of life who’ve taken up the mantle of Captain America to defend their communities. And for some reason, the shield thief wants all of them dead. Can Sam and Steve find them first? Christopher Cantwell and Dale Eaglesham celebrate the Sentinel of Liberty’s 80th anniversary with a tour across the United States of Captain America — and some of the industry’s brightest talents join the star-spangled quest, telling the inspirational stories of each new Captain!

From the mind of #1 New York Times bestselling author Larry Niven, come twenty-six tales and vignettes from this interplanetary gathering place, collected for the first time in one volume. When a tremendous spacecraft took orbit around the Earth's moon and began sending smaller landers down toward the North Pole, the newly arrived visitors quickly set up a permanent spaceport at Mount Forel in Siberia. Their presence attracted many, and a few people grew conspicuously rich from secrets they learned from talking to the aliens. One of these men, Rick Schumann established a tavern catering to all of various species of visiting aliens, a place he named the Draco Tavern. This collection includes: "The Subject Is Closed": A priest visits the tavern and goes one-on-one with a chirpsithra alien on the subject of God and life after death. "Table Mannners: A Folk Tale": Rick Schumann is invited to hunt with five folk aliens, but he's not quite sure what their hunt entails, or if he will be the hunted. "Wisdom of Demons": The age-old question of wisdom vs. knowledge is asked when Rick is confronted by a human who has been granted the wisdom of an individual gligstith(click)optok alien. "Losing Mars" in this unpublished tale, a group of aliens who call Mars and its moon home, arrive at the Tavern only to find that humans have mostly forgotten about their neighboring planet. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Originally published in France and long sought in English translation, Jean-Paul Gabilliet's Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books documents the rise and development of the American comic book industry from the 1930s to the present. The book intertwines aesthetic issues and critical biographies with the concerns of production, distribution, and audience reception, making it one of the few interdisciplinary studies of the art form. A thorough introduction by translators and comics scholars Bart Beaty and Nick Nguyen brings the book up to date with explorations of the latest innovations, particularly the graphic novel. The book is organized into three sections: a concise history of the evolution of the comic book form in America; an overview of the distribution and consumption of American comic books, detailing specific controversies such as the creation of the Comics Code in the mid-1950s; and the problematic legitimization of the form that has occurred recently within the academy and in popular discourse. Viewing comic books from a variety of theoretical lenses, Gabilliet shows how seemingly disparate issues—creation, production, and reception—are in fact connected in ways that are not necessarily true of other art forms. Analyzing examples from a variety of genres, this book provides a thorough landmark overview of American comic books that sheds new light on this versatile art form.

The first appearance of Green Arrow and Aquaman! First, meet the costumed adventurer Green Arrow and his sidekick Speedy. Together, these expert archers use an array of trick arrows to defend the helpless! Then, the King of the Seven Seas, Aquaman, showcases his amazing powers!