From 1966 to 1968, both on ABC and in theaters, America embraced Batman as a campy cultural icon. But in the ensuing decades, many vilified the show as an embarrassment that needed to be swept under the rug if Batman -- and super-heroes -- were to be taken seriously. Now, we can return to Adam West's Gotham... to the unapologetic fun of colorful, cackling villains hatching bizarre schemes... to phrases like "Atomic batteries to power " and "Same bat-time, same bat-channel ..". to deadpan heroes climbing walls and defying deathtrap cliffhangers... and find these aspects rich with cultural...

Grant Morrison redefined comics in the 1980s and early '90s, from his trailblazing creation of ZENITH, through his metatextual innovations in ANIMAL MAN, to his Dadaist super-heroes in DOOM PATROL. Along the way, he also addressed Batman with his multi-layered ARKHAM ASYLUM and his literary "Gothic" storyline. Callahan examines all five works in detail, drawing out their evolving themes and exploring Morrison's sometimes difficult texts in plain language. Rounding out the volume: an exclusive interview with Morrison, a foreword by popular comics writer Jason Aaron, and an appendix addressing...

Grant Morrison's THE INVISIBLES has been hailed as an ambitious comics masterpiece, the key to Morrison's entire body of work, and the inspiration for THE MATRIX. But it's also frequently written off as incomprehensible. Using a conversational, accessible style, Patrick Meaney (director of GRANT MORRISON: TALKING WITH GODS) opens up THE INVISIBLES through in-depth analysis that makes sense of the series's complicated ideas, fractured chronology, and delirious blend of fiction and reality. Meaney also explores how the series's fictional conspiracy theories fare in the wake of 9/11 and the War...

MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT examines WATCHMEN from a variety of perspectives and uncovers surprising answers about the history of scientific theory, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, WATCHMEN's murder mystery, Rorschach and Steve Ditko, the secrets of Captain Metropolis and the Minutemen, whether the Comedian was right, who shouldn't read WATCHMEN, and how the motion picture adaptation illuminates the original text. From Sequart Research & Literacy Organization. More info at http: //Sequart.org

This essay collection, from fans and scholars alike, is as diverse as Legion history. Essays examine significant runs (by Jim Shooter, Paul Levitz, and Keith Giffen); the Legion's science, future architecture, and fashion; the role of women, homosexuality, and race; the early Legion's classical adaptations, its teenage cruelty, and its relation to the early Justice League; Lightning Lad's death and resurrection; whether the Legion should be allowed to age; the Amethyst saga; the themes of the reboot Legion; and the so-called Threeboot's relationship to adult adolescence and generational...