Artbooks

Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television


Gladys L. Knight, “Female Action Heroes: A Guide to Women in Comics, Video Games, Film, and Television”
Greenwood | 2010-06-08 | ISBN: 0313376123 | 341 pages | PDF | 1,9 MB

Male action heroes are a staple in the media. Now women are starting to come to the fore as action heroes in their own right. In this title, author Knight showcases a broad spectrum of female protagonists (mainly from American culture) featured in twentieth-century mass media. The oldest, Joan of Arc, is included because of several film treatments. Among others who are discussed are Catwoman, Foxy Brown, Lara Croft, the Powerpuff Girls, and Princess Leia. In all, there are twenty-five women covered in alphabetically arranged chapters. A black-and-white image introduces each entry, which details origins of the character, creator and portrayer mini biographies, power suit and abilities, villains, analysis, and impact. A short list of further readings completes each chapter. Feminism is an ongoing undercurrent, and social issues of the day are noted. For example, Emma Peel, of the Avengers, is described as a precursor of women’s liberation, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a precursor of the third generation of feminists. Most chapters include sidebars addressing associated thematic concepts or other figures (e.g., Nancy Drew, Margaret Mead, Betty Friedan). A useful overview and selective time line can be found at the book’s beginning, and a selected bibliography and index at the end. The writing is engaging; the content is accurate and makes good reading. A fun addition to reference collections from high school and up.
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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:35 pm

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Graphic Novels: A Bibliographic Guide to Book-Length Comics


D. Aviva Rothschild, “Graphic Novels: A Bibliographic Guide to Book-Length Comics”
Libraries Unlimited | 1995-04-15 | ISBN: 1563080869 | 246 pages | EPUB | 1,3 MB

The first of its kind, this annotated guide describes and evaluates more than 400 works in English. Rothschild’s lively annotations discuss important features of each work-including the quality of the graphics, characterizations, dialogue, and the appropriate audience-and introduces mainstream readers to the variety and quality of graphic novels, helps them distinguish between classics and hackwork, and alerts experienced readers to material they may not have discovered. Designed for individuals who need information about graphic novels and for those interested in acquiring them, this book will especially appeal to librarians, booksellers, bookstore owners, educators working with teen and reluctant readers, as well as to readers interested in this genre.
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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:34 pm

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My Life in Vaudeville: The Autobiography of Ed Lowry


Ed Lowry, “My Life in Vaudeville: The Autobiography of Ed Lowry”
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press | ISBN 10: 0809330164 | 2011 | PDF | 256 pages | 3.1 MB

“Paul M. Levitt, a novelist and playwright of wit and verve, has rescued Ed Lowry’s extraordinary memoirs. My Life in Vaudeville, covering the Jazz Age to the dawn of World War II, provides a rich resource for theater history and enhances a lost era with captivating details.”—Alan Wald, H. Chandler Davis Collegiate Professor, University of Michigan
“This is an autobiography that brings to life not only its remarkable author but also the entire era and adventures of American vaudeville.”—Berel Lang, Department of Philosophy and College of Letters, Wesleyan University
Lowry’s story begins in the heyday of vaudeville in the early twentieth century. Starting at the age of fourteen, he played many small stages across the country, often penniless, making ends meet with a young wife by his side both offstage and on. Though he did find success, he never achieved the stardom of other vaudevillians like Burns, Benny, and Keaton.
Lowry recognized that movies and other forms of entertainment were the future, and thus branched out into radio, film, cabaret, and USO road shows. With wit and perception, he reveals his stage roots as an entertainer playing to his audience, and editor Paul M. Levitt’s introduction beautifully sets the stage for Lowry’s gags-to-riches tale, providing much-needed historical perspective.
My Life in Vaudeville is an unpretentious record of a time when thousands of young people went into show business to escape the boredom of daily life, and Lowry’s story is a view of vaudeville not often encountered. His story brings vaudeville to life and places it within the larger narratives of popular culture and popular entertainment of the twentieth century.
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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:34 pm

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Alternative Chinese Opera in the Age of Globalization: Performing Zero (Studies in International Performance)


Daphne P. Lei, “Alternative Chinese Opera in the Age of Globalization: Performing Zero (Studies in International Performance)”
Publisher: P*** M*** | ISBN 10: 023024565X | 2011 | PDF | 256 pages | 4 MB

Bringing the study of Chinese theatre into the 21st-century, Lei discusses ways in which traditional art can survive and thrive in the age of modernization and globalization. Building on her previous work, this new book focuses on various forms of Chinese “opera” in locations around the Pacific Rim, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and California.
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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:26 pm

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Reading Bande Dessinee: Critical Approaches to French-language Comic Strip


Ann Miller, “Reading Bande Dessinee: Critical Approaches to French-language Comic Strip”
Intellect Ltd | 2008-02-15 | ISBN: 1841501778 | 364 pages | PDF | 1,6 MB

Bande dessinée, or French comic strip, has always provoked controversy—labeled a danger to literacy and moral standards by its detractors, this polarizing art form has at the same time been deemed worthy of prestigious national centers in France and Belgium. Reading Bande Dessinée, the first English-language overview and critical study of this intriguing medium, traces the history and examines the cultural implications of French comics.
Ann Miller’s groundbreaking book not only parses bande dessinée as visual narrative art, but it shows readers how to study it, as she places these comic strips in the context of debates surrounding the form’s legitimization, approaches it from a cultural studies perspective, and examines bande dessinée in its relationship to subjectivity in the body. Miller here illuminates such disparate concepts as Astérix and the mythologizing of Frenchness, historical memory and the Algerian war, and characterizations of the new managerial bourgeoisie in the context of Francophone comic strips. Reading Bande Dessinée will help lay a scholarly foundation for the growing interest in this captivating art form in the Anglophone world.
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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:26 pm

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Music, Art, and Metaphysics: Essays in Philosophical Aesthetics


Jerrold Levinson, “Music, Art, and Metaphysics: Essays in Philosophical Aesthetics”
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA | ISBN 10: 019959662X | 2011 | PDF | 440 pages | 20.9 MB

This is a long-awaited reissue of Jerrold Levinson’s 1990 book Music, Art, and Metaphysics, which gathers together the writings that made him a leading figure in contemporary aesthetics. Most of the essays are distinguished by a concern with metaphysical questions about artworks and their properties, but other essays address the problem of art’s definition, the psychology of aesthetic response, and the logic of interpreting and evaluating works of art. The focus of about half of the essays is the art of music, the art of greatest interest to Levinson throughout his career. Many of the essays have been very influential, being among the most cited in contemporary aesthetics and having become essential references in debates on the definition of art, the ontology of art, emotional response to art, expression in art, and the nature of art forms.
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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:21 pm

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The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics


Denis Kitchen, Paul Buhle, Harry Shearer, “The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics”
Abrams ComicArts | 2009-06-01 | ISBN: 0810972964 | 256 pages | PDF | 77,3 MB

Harvey Kurtzman discovered Robert Crumb and gave Gloria Steinem her first job in publishing when he hired her as his assistant. Terry Gilliam also started at his side, met an unknown John Cleese in the process, and the genesis of Monty Python was formed. Art Spiegelman has stated on record that he owes his career to him. And he’s one of Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner’s favorite artists.

Harvey Kurtzman had a Midas touch for talent, but was himself an astonishingly talented and influential artist, writer, editor, and satirist. The creator of MAD and Playboy’s “Little Annie Fanny” was called, “One of the most important figures in postwar America” by the New York Times. Kurtzman’s groundbreaking “realistic” war comics of the early ’50s and various satirical publications (MAD, Trump, Humbug, and Help!) had an immense impact on popular culture, inspiring a generation of underground cartoonists. Without Kurtzman, it’s unlikely we’d have had Airplane, SNL, or National Lampoon.

The Art of Harvey Kurtzman is the first and only authorized celebration of this “Master of American Comics.” This definitive book includes hundreds of never-before-seen illustrations, paintings, pencil sketches, newly discovered lost E.C. Comics layouts, color compositions, illustrated correspondence, and vintage photos from the rich Kurtzman archives.

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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:13 pm

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Bart Simpson’s Guide to Life: A Wee Handbook for the Perplexed


Bart Simpson’s Guide to Life: A Wee Handbook for the Perplexed

Har-rPerennial | 2000 | ISBN: 006096975X, 0007110057 | 192 pages | PDF | 43.37 Mb

The world’s most popular delinquent reveals all in this guide to the hard knock facts of life, out now in paperback. Written and illustrated by Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, Bart Simpson’s Guide to Life is chock full of the kind of humour that keeps Simpsons devotees hooked to the show. Including such gems as Dr Bart’s Miracle Cures, Homer’s Dozen-Donut-A-Day Diet and the beauty secrets of Marge (‘Never pluck protruding nose hair, death may result. Instead, use a lightweight Weedwacker’) and Homer (‘The scent of chili dogs, onions and beer, when eaten in combination, makes women swoon’). With guest appearances by all the great Simpsons characters, including Lisa, Moe, Barney, Millhouse, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mr Burns and Smithers. Like the shows themselves, Bart Simpson’s Guide to Life has something to please all age groups and is so crammed full of fun that you’ll spot something new every time you read it.
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Posted by hotelforlove - October 3, 2011 at 2:10 pm

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Acting is Believing (10th Edition)


Acting is Believing (10th Edition)
W dsworth Pub hing | ISBN : 0495569445 | 2008 | 331 pages | PDF | 3,5 MB

Did you know that “an actor must believe to make his audience believe?” This is the key concept behind Acting is Believing. Authors Charles McGaw and Larry D. Clark have influenced thousands of actors, and Kenneth Stilson’s update which includes new exercises and updated scripts bring modern relevance to the text. Inside, you’ll learn the Stanislavski method and how to perfect using it, along with hundreds of other tips to help you be the flawless actor you are meant to be.

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Posted by hotelforlove - September 21, 2011 at 11:51 pm

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Ronald Searle, “Von Katzen und anderen Menschen”


Ronald Searle, “Von Katzen und anderen Menschen”
Publisher: Eulenspiegel | 1980 | ISBN: N/A | ASIN: B001ZCH7KS | German | PDF | 119 pages | 56.26 Mb

Works fine cartoonist • Ronald Searle • Funktioniert prima Karikaturist
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Posted by hotelforlove - September 21, 2011 at 11:50 pm

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