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Sunshine in the Dark: Florida in the Movies
by Susan J. Fernandez Robert P. IngallsFlorida has been the location and subject of hundreds of feature films, from Cocoanuts (1929) to Monster (2004). Portraying the state and its people from the silent era to the present, these films have explored the multitude of Florida images and cliches that have captured the public's imagination--a nature lover's paradise, a wildlife refuge, a tourist destination, home to the "cracker," and a haven for the retired, the rich, the immigrant, and the criminal. Sunshine in the Dark is the first complete study of how the movie industry has immortalized Florida’s extraordinary scenery, characters, and history on celluloid.Historians Fernández and Ingalls have identified more than 300 films about Florida--many of them shot on location in the state--to analyze how filmmakers from the Marx Brothers and John Huston to Oliver Stone and Francis Ford Coppola have portrayed the state and its people. Prior to the 1960s, cinematic trips to Florida usually brought happy endings in movies like Moon Over Miami (1942), but since the 1970s, films like Scarface (1982) have emphasized the state's menacing aspects.In the authors' analysis of the films, which examines location settings, plotlines, and characters, they find a bevy of Florida stereotypes among the leading characters--from the struggling crackers in The Yearling (1946) to the drug-addicted con man in Adaptation (2002). Featuring more than 100 still photographs from movies, as well as filmographies by year and genre, the book is an encyclopedic resource for movie fans and anyone interested in Florida popular culture.
Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes
by Adilifu Nama&“A welcome overview of black superheroes and Afrocentric treatments of black-white relations in US superhero comics since the 1960s.&” –ImageTexT JournalWinner, American Book Award, Before Columbus FoundationSuper Black places the appearance of black superheroes alongside broad and sweeping cultural trends in American politics and pop culture, which reveals how black superheroes are not disposable pop products, but rather a fascinating racial phenomenon through which futuristic expressions and fantastic visions of black racial identity and symbolic political meaning are presented. Adilifu Nama sees the value—and finds new avenues for exploring racial identity—in black superheroes who are often dismissed as sidekicks, imitators of established white heroes, or are accused of having no role outside of blaxploitation film contexts.Nama examines seminal black comic book superheroes such as Black Panther, Black Lightning, Storm, Luke Cage, Blade, the Falcon, Nubia, and others, some of whom also appear on the small and large screens, as well as how the imaginary black superhero has come to life in the image of President Barack Obama. Super Black explores how black superheroes are a powerful source of racial meaning, narrative, and imagination in American society that express a myriad of racial assumptions, political perspectives, and fantastic (re)imaginings of black identity. The book also demonstrates how these figures overtly represent or implicitly signify social discourse and accepted wisdom concerning notions of racial reciprocity, equality, forgiveness, and ultimately, racial justice.&“A refreshingly nuanced approach . . . Nama complicates the black superhero by also seeing the ways that they put issues of post-colonialism, race, poverty, and identity struggles front and center.&” –Rain Taxi
Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes
by Adilifu Nama&“A welcome overview of black superheroes and Afrocentric treatments of black-white relations in US superhero comics since the 1960s.&” –ImageTexT JournalWinner, American Book Award, Before Columbus FoundationSuper Black places the appearance of black superheroes alongside broad and sweeping cultural trends in American politics and pop culture, which reveals how black superheroes are not disposable pop products, but rather a fascinating racial phenomenon through which futuristic expressions and fantastic visions of black racial identity and symbolic political meaning are presented. Adilifu Nama sees the value—and finds new avenues for exploring racial identity—in black superheroes who are often dismissed as sidekicks, imitators of established white heroes, or are accused of having no role outside of blaxploitation film contexts.Nama examines seminal black comic book superheroes such as Black Panther, Black Lightning, Storm, Luke Cage, Blade, the Falcon, Nubia, and others, some of whom also appear on the small and large screens, as well as how the imaginary black superhero has come to life in the image of President Barack Obama. Super Black explores how black superheroes are a powerful source of racial meaning, narrative, and imagination in American society that express a myriad of racial assumptions, political perspectives, and fantastic (re)imaginings of black identity. The book also demonstrates how these figures overtly represent or implicitly signify social discourse and accepted wisdom concerning notions of racial reciprocity, equality, forgiveness, and ultimately, racial justice.&“A refreshingly nuanced approach . . . Nama complicates the black superhero by also seeing the ways that they put issues of post-colonialism, race, poverty, and identity struggles front and center.&” –Rain Taxi
The Super Cool Science of Harry Potter: The Spell-Binding Science Behind the Magic, Creatures, Witches, and Wizards of the Potter Universe!
by Mark BrakeDiscover the scientific secrets of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, and more in J. K. Rowling&’s universe.Movie-goers and young readers the world over have been spellbound by the tales of &“the boy who lived.&” J. K. Rowling&’s stories have conjured ideas of magic and sorcery into our minds like no other book series before. But nature is its own magic. And Muggle scientists have uncovered answers for the weird and wonderful questions from the magic world. Questions such as: Who was the real Merlin?Who really was the last great wizard?Do real-life love potions work?Platform 9¾: are there real hidden railway stations in London?And many more!The Super Cool Science of Harry Potter is for any young fan of Harry Potter. You don&’t need to be a witch or wizard to weave your magical way through the facts about your favorite characters, potions, spells, and mysteries from the boy wizard&’s world!
The Super Cool Science of Star Wars: The Saber-Swirling Science Behind the Death Star, Aliens, and Life in That Galaxy Far, Far Away!
by Mark BrakeLearn about the science used by Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and more in the Star Wars galaxy.Star Wars has captured the hearts and imaginations of sci-fi fans worldwide. We all marvel at its dazzling variety of aliens, spaceships, and planets. That&’s because there&’s something revolutionary about the actual science in Star Wars. These painted pictures from the movies make us see the universe in a new light. They inspire us to ask questions such as:How much would it cost to build a Death Star?Did Star Wars predict the existence of exoplanets?Could a single blast from the Death Star destroy the earth?Could Starkiller Base suck the energy from a star?And many more!The Super Cool Science of Star Wars is a book for any young Star Wars fan. You don&’t need to be a Jedi scientist to make the jump to light speed and find the facts behind the Star Wars galaxy!
Super Cute Crochet: 10 Super Cute Projects for Animal Lovers (Crochet Kits)
by Janine HolmesYou’ll be hooked on these ten super cute crochet animals!Super Cute Crochet contains photos and illustrations to guide you in making ten super cute projects: including a panda, penguin, koala, lamb, sloth, llama, unicorn, hedgehog, piglet, and bunny. If you squeal with delight over furry and fuzzy creatures, you’ll be hooked on making these animals.
Super Duper Extra Deluxe Essential Handbook (Pokémon)
by ScholasticThe latest edition of the bestselling Super Extra Deluxe Essential Handbook is here -- and it includes all-new Pokemon! With 640 color pages and info on more than 1,000 Pokemon, this is a must-have for Pokemon fans of all ages.Gotta catch 'em all! This revised and updated edition of the mega-bestselling Essential Handbook and Super Extra Deluxe Essential Handbook has all the stats and facts fans need about the world of Pokemon. Need-to-know info on more than 1,000 Pokemon is jam-packed into 640 illustrated, full-color pages.The handbook is easy to read and organized simply and effectively into one comprehensive, user-friendly reference book. This updated edition features tons of extra pages devoted to the newest Pokemon from the Scarlet and Violet video games. It is truly essential for Pokemon Trainers of all ages.
Super Pop!: Pop Culture Top Ten Lists to Help You Win at Trivia, Survive in the Wild, and Make It Through the Holidays
by Daniel HarmonSuper Pop! offers a maximum-pleasure, minimum-effort way to become smarter, happier, and more likely to survive your next family function (or a shark attack). This hilarious and wide-ranging guide sorts nearly 500 different bestsellers, blockbusters, and underappreciated gems into quirky top ten lists, like "Outwit Death: Essential Lessons in Survival," and "Achieve Mindfulness: Movies That Will Show You the Way (With Wise Elders Now Included)." So whether you're looking for some motivational workout music, need help planning a July 4th double feature, or just want to pick up some knowledge without straining your brain, this book has you covered. With new insights on old classics and fresh ideas for jaded eyes, Super Pop! makes sense of pop culture — and then puts pop culture back to work!
Super Pop!
by Daniel HarmonSuper-Pop offers a maximum-pleasure, minimum-effort way to become smarter, happier, and more likely to survive your next family function (or a shark attack). This hilarious and wide-ranging guide sorts nearly 500 different bestsellers, blockbusters, and underappreciated gems into quirky top ten lists, like "Outwit Death: Essential Lessons in Survival," and "Achieve Mindfulness: Movies That Will Show You the Way (With Wise Elders Now Included)." So whether you're looking for some motivational workout music, need help planning a July 4th double feature, or just want to pick up some knowledge without straining your brain, this book has you covered. With new insights on old classics and fresh ideas for jaded eyes, Super Pop makes sense of pop culture - and then puts pop culture back to work!
Super Scratch Programming Adventure! (Covers Version 2): Learn to Program by Making Cool Games (Covers Version 2)
by The LEAD ProjectScratch is the wildly popular educational programming language used by millions of first-time learners in classrooms and homes worldwide. By dragging together colorful blocks of code, kids can learn computer programming concepts and make cool games and animations. The latest version, Scratch 2, brings the language right into your web browser, with no need to download software.In Super Scratch Programming Adventure!, kids learn programming fundamentals as they make their very own playable video games. They’ll create projects inspired by classic arcade games that can be programmed (and played!) in an afternoon. Patient, step-by-step explanations of the code and fun programming challenges will have kids creating their own games in no time.This full-color comic book makes programming concepts like variables, flow control, and subroutines effortless to absorb. Packed with ideas for games that kids will be proud to show off, Super Scratch Programming Adventure! is the perfect first step for the budding programmer.Now Updated for Scratch 2The free Super Scratch Educator's Guide provides commentary and advice on the book's games suitable for teachers and parents.For Ages 8 and Up
Super Scratch Programming Adventure! (Scratch 3)
by The LEAD ProjectComics! Games! Programming! Now updated to cover Scratch 3.Scratch is the wildly popular educational programming language used by millions of first-time learners in classrooms and homes worldwide. By dragging together colorful blocks of code, kids can learn computer programming concepts and make cool games and animations. The latest version, Scratch 3, features an updated interface, new sprites and programming blocks, and extensions that let you program things like the micro:bit.In Super Scratch Programming Adventure!, kids learn programming fundamentals as they make their very own playable video games. They'll create projects inspired by classic arcade games that can be programmed (and played!) in an afternoon. Patient, step-by-step explanations of the code and fun programming challenges will have kids creating their own games in no time.This full-color comic book makes programming concepts like variables, flow control, and subroutines effortless to absorb. Packed with ideas for games that kids will be proud to show off, Super Scratch Programming Adventure! is the perfect first step for the budding programmer.Covers Scratch 3
Super Simple Storytelling: A Can-Do Guide for Every Classroom, Every Day
by Kendall HavenDesigned for educators and other professionals who want to improve communication skills and boost learning, these simple storytelling techniques are as fun as they are effective. Haven's breakthrough approach helps you build on your natural storytelling abilities to refine your communication skills in the classroom, library, and even at home. This book has everything you need to get started, including detailed directions and guides for more than 40 powerful storytelling exercises to use with your class. You'll find the Golden List of what an audience needs from storytelling, a proven, step-by-step system for successfully learning and remembering a story, the Great-Amazing-Never-Fail Safety Net to prevent storytelling disasters, a comprehensive discussion of the proven value of storytelling in education, and more. The book also shows you how to effectively use storytelling across the curriculum to capture student interest and boost learning.
Super Sneak (Disney's Hannah Montana #3)
by Laurie McelroyWhen Miley is invited to a sneak preview of a local new movie, she's sure that her dad won't mind a bit. After all, she's famous. He can't say no, right? Wrong! It's exam time, and Miley's dad wants her to stay home and strictly study. But Miley just can't resist. She sneaks out of the house and off to the movies with Lilly and Oliver. Then, when her dad shows up at the same movie theater, Miley realizes that she's not the only one who has a secret. Mr. Stewart--who is single--is there on a date with a mystery woman! Who could she be, Miley wonders? And why would her dad hide from her? Maybe Hannah Montana can help Miley get to the bottom of things!
Super Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things: Power Devices with Your Plants, Modify High-Tech Toys, Turn a Penny into a Battery, Make Sneaky Light-Up Nails and Fashion Accessories, and Perform Sneaky Levitation with Everyday Things (Sneaky Books #8)
by Cy TymonyThe popular Sneaky Uses series continues with an all-new volume of more than thirty outlandish inventions made from ordinary objects and materials. Author and mad scientist Cy Tymony has turned his passion for tinkering into sneaky science movement, teaching parents and kids all over the world how to turn ordinary household items into amazing inventions. In this volume of his popular Sneaky Uses series, he shares more than thirty new projects, including homemade toys, games, fashion, science tricks, and more! Each activity begins with a complete list of materials followed by easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, and helpful illustrations. Fans of all ages will use their ingenuity to turn everyday objects into something extraordinary with the help of Super Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things.
Super Tricky Brain Teasers: 120 Challenging Riddles, Math Puzzles, and Logic Games
by Richard Malena-WebberGive your brain a workout with perplexing puzzles and games Solving brain teasers is a fun and effective way to exercise your mental acuity at any age. This book is filled with 120 mind-bending puzzles and riddles that boost your brainpower and provide hours of stimulating entertainment. What sets this book apart from other puzzle books for adults: It's not just for adults—Explore challenging brain games that adults, teens, and preteens will enjoy solving. Progressive difficulty—Warm up with some easier exercises, and then dive into brain puzzles that grow more complex as you progress. A variety of challenges—Solve an engaging mix of logic puzzles, ciphers, sequences, anagrams, crosswords, word chains, train puzzles, and more. Fascinating trivia—Discover intriguing factoids sprinkled throughout the book. For example, did you know that the longest palindromic word in English comes from the author James Joyce? Flex your mind muscles and have a blast with Super Tricky Brain Teasers.
Súperchistes. Los chistes más tronchantes sobre el lugar más aburrido del mundo: El cole
by Álex López López Pau Clua SarróDivertidos chistes que van acompañados con ilustraciones en blanco y negro.
Supercinema
by William BrownDrawing on a variety of popular films, including Avatar, Enter the Void, Fight Club, The Matrix, Speed Racer, X-Men and War of the Worlds, Supercinema studies the ways in which digital special effects and editing techniques require a new theoretical framework in order to be properly understood. Here William Brown proposes that while analogue cinema often tried to hide the technological limitations of its creation through ingenious methods, digital cinema hides its technological omnipotence through the use of continued conventions more suited to analogue cinema, in a way that is analogous to that of Superman hiding his powers behind the persona of Clark Kent. Locating itself on the cusp of film theory, film-philosophy and cognitive approaches to cinema, Supercinema also looks at the relationship between the spectator and film that utilizes digital technology to maximum, 'supercinematic' effect.
Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries
by Andy CohenThe star-studded and sidesplitting follow up to The Andy Cohen Diaries<P><P> The megapopular host of Watch What Happens: Live and executive producer of The Real Housewives franchise is back, better than ever, and telling stories that will keep his publicist up at night.<P> Since the publication of his last book, Andy has toured the country with his sidekick Anderson Cooper, hit the radio waves with his own Sirius station, Radio Andy, appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher despite his mother’s conviction he was not intellectually prepared, hosted NBC’s Primetime New Year’s Eve special, guest edited Entertainment Weekly, starred in Bravo’s Then & Now with Andy Cohen, offended celebrities with his ongoing case of foot-in-mouth disease, and welcomed home Teresa “Namaste” Giudice, from a brief stint in jail. Hopping from the Hamptons to the Manhattan dating world, the dog park to the red carpet, Cardinals superfan and mama’s boy Andy Cohen, with Wacha in tow, is the kind of star that fans are dying to be friends with. This book gives them that chance.<P> If The Andy Cohen Diaries was deemed “the literary equivalent of a Fresca and tequila” by Jimmy Fallon, Superficial is a double: dishier, juicier, and friskier. In this account of his escapades―personal, professional, and behind-the-scenes―Andy tells us not only what goes down, but exactly what he thinks of it.
Superficial: More Adventures from the Andy Cohen Diaries
by Andy CohenThe megapopular host of Watch What Happens: Live and executive producer of The Real Housewives franchise is back, better than ever, and telling stories that will keep his publicist up at night. Since the publication of his last book, Andy has toured the country with his sidekick Anderson Cooper, hit the radio waves with his own Sirius station, Radio Andy, appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher despite his mother’s conviction he was not intellectually prepared, hosted NBC’s Primetime New Year’s Eve special, guest edited Entertainment Weekly, starred in Bravo’s Then & Now with Andy Cohen, offended celebrities with his ongoing case of foot-in-mouth disease, and welcomed home Teresa “Namaste” Giudice, from a brief stint in jail. Hopping from the Hamptons to the Manhattan dating world, the dog park to the red carpet, Cardinals superfan and mama’s boy Andy Cohen, with Wacha in tow, is the kind of star that fans are dying to be friends with. This book gives them that chance.
The Superhero Blockbuster: Adaptation, Style, and Meaning
by James C. TaylorThe Superhero Blockbuster: Adaptation, Style, and Meaning builds an innovative framework for analyzing one of the most prominent genres in twenty-first-century Hollywood. In combining theories of adaptation with close textual analysis, James C. Taylor provides a set of analytical tools with which to undertake nuanced exploration of superhero blockbusters’ meanings. This deep understanding of the films attends to historical, sociopolitical, and industrial contexts and also illuminates key ways in which the superhero genre has contributed to the development of the Hollywood blockbuster. Each chapter focuses on a different superhero or superhero team, covering some of the most popular superhero blockbusters based on DC and Marvel superheroes. The chapters cover different aspects of the films’ adaptive practices, exploring the adaptation of stylistic strategies, narrative models, and modes of seriality from superhero comic books, while being attentive to the ways in which the films engage with the wider networks of texts in various media that comprise a given superhero franchise. Chapter 1 looks back to the first superhero blockbuster, 1978’s Superman: The Movie, examining its cinematic re-envisioning of the quintessential superhero and role in establishing Hollywood’s emerging model of blockbuster filmmaking. Subsequent chapters analyze the twenty-first-century boom in superhero blockbusters and examine digital imaging and nostalgia in Spider-Man films, Marvel Studios’ adaptation of a shared universe model of seriality in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the use of alternate timeline narratives in X-Men films. The book concludes by turning its analytical toolkit to analysis of DC Studios’ cinematic universe, the DC Extended Universe.
The Superhero Reader
by Charles HatfieldWith contributions from Will Brooker, Jeffrey A. Brown, Scott Bukatman, John G. Cawelti, Peter Coogan, Jules Feiffer, Charles Hatfield, Henry Jenkins, Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence, Gerard Jones, Geoff Klock, Karin Kukkonen, Andy Medhurst, Adilifu Nama, Walter Ong, Lorrie Palmer, Richard Reynolds, Trina Robbins, Lillian Robinson, Roger B. Rollin, Gloria Steinem, Jennifer Stuller, Fredric Wertham, and Philip Wylie Despite their commercial appeal and cross-media reach, superheroes are only recently starting to attract sustained scholarly attention. This groundbreaking collection brings together essays and book excerpts by major writers on comics and popular culture. While superhero comics are a distinct and sometimes disdained branch of comics creation, they are integral to the development of the North American comic book and the history of the medium. For the past half-century, they have also been the one overwhelmingly dominant market genre. The sheer volume of superhero comics that have been published over the years is staggering. Major superhero universes constitute one of the most expansive storytelling canvases ever fashioned. Moreover, characters inhabiting these fictional universes are immensely influential, having achieved iconic recognition around the globe. Their images and adventures have shaped many other media, such as film, videogames, and even prose fiction. The primary aim of this reader is twofold: first, to collect in a single volume a sampling of the most sophisticated commentary on superheroes, and second, to bring into sharper focus the ways in which superheroes connect with larger social, cultural, literary, aesthetic, and historical themes that are of interest to a great many readers both in the academy and beyond.
The Superhero Symbol: Media, Culture, and Politics
by Liam Burke Henry Jenkins Neal Curtis Jason Bainbridge Mitchell Adams Ian Gordon Tara Lomax Dan Golding Steven Conway Claire Langsford Vladislav Iouchkov John McGuire Naja Later Paul M. Malone Shan Mu Zhao Kevin Patrick“As a man, I'm flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed; but as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting”. In the 2005 reboot of the Batman film franchise, Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne articulates how the figure of the superhero can serve as a transcendent icon. It is hard to imagine a time when superheroes have been more pervasive in our culture. Today, superheroes are intellectual property jealously guarded by media conglomerates, icons co-opted by grassroots groups as a four-color rebuttal to social inequities, masks people wear to more confidently walk convention floors and city streets, and bulletproof banners that embody regional and national identities. From activism to cosplay, this collection unmasks the symbolic function of superheroes. Bringing together superhero scholars from a range of disciplines, alongside key industry figures such as Harley Quinn co-creator Paul Dini, The Superhero Symbol provides fresh perspectives on how characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Wonder Woman have engaged with media, culture, and politics, to become the “everlasting” symbols to which a young Bruce Wayne once aspired.
El superhombre de masas: Retórica E Ideología En La Novela Popular (Ensayo Ser. #Vol. 237)
by Umberto EcoUn análisis exhaustivo de los personajes que aparecen en las novelas. «Creo que se puede afirmar que la pretendida superhumanidad de Nietzsche tiene por origen y modelo doctrinal no a Zaratustra, sino al conde de Montecristo de Dumas.» Eco parte de esta afirmación de Gramsci para estudiar a los superhombres de las novelas populares, de Rocambole a Montecristo, de Arsène Lupin a James Bond, de Tarzán a Superman, sin olvidar a Rodolphe de Gerolstein, el príncipe de Los misterios de París. ¿Por qué y cómo se leen las novelas folletinescas? ¿Qué mecanismos entran en juego en su estructura narrativa? ¿Cómo funciona la ideología de la consolación (el héroe consuela al lector de no ser un superhombre)? Estas son algunas de las preguntas que se plantea Umberto Eco en esta recopilación de ensayos magistrales. La crítica ha dicho... «No es solo un punto de referencia imprescindible a la hora de enfrentarse al vasto mundode la literatura popular, es también una delicia por su chispeante estilo.»Joaquín Marco, ABC «Uno de los pensadores más influyentes de nuestro tiempo.»Los Angeles Times
Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon
by Ian GordonAfter debuting in 1938, Superman soon became an American icon. But why has he maintained his iconic status for nearly 80 years? And how can he still be an American icon when the country itself has undergone so much change?Superman: Persistence of an American Icon examines the many iterations of the character in comic books, comic strips, radio series, movie serials, feature films, television shows, animation, toys, and collectibles over the past eight decades. Demonstrating how Superman’s iconic popularity cannot be attributed to any single creator or text, comics expert Ian Gordon embarks on a deeper consideration of cultural mythmaking as a collective and dynamic process. He also outlines the often contentious relationships between the various parties who have contributed to the Superman mythos, including corporate executives, comics writers, artists, nostalgic commentators, and collectors. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of Superman’s appearances in comics and other media, Gordon also digs into comics archives to reveal the prominent role that fans have played in remembering, interpreting, and reimagining Superman’s iconography. Gordon considers how comics, film, and TV producers have taken advantage of fan engagement and nostalgia when selling Superman products. Investigating a character who is equally an icon of American culture, fan culture, and consumer culture, Superman thus offers a provocative analysis of mythmaking in the modern era.
Superman vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon
by Mark Millar Jake RossenTinseltown's fascination with the comic icon is detailed in this book, encompassing all the behind-the-scenes machinations that helped shape Superman into a screen legend--and all the derailed projects that have vilified everyone involved. These newly uncovered stories about the odyssey of bringing the Man of Steel to the big screen include the challenge of making Superman appear to fly, and the many casting processes, which at various points had Superman being played by the likes of Bruce Jenner, Robert Redford, Sylvester Stallone, Neil Diamond, Nicolas Cage, Justin Timberlake, Keanu Reeves, and even Muhammad Ali. Based on extensive interviews with producers, screenwriters, cast members, and crew, this exposé spills the beans on all the various TV shows, from the classic The Adventures of Superman to the current hit Smallville; the various animated efforts on both the large and small screens; and the movies--from 1979's smash hit Superman: The Movie to 2006's wildly expensive Superman Returns. Also included are the stories about the Superman movies that never made it to the screen, helmed by maverick directors Kevin Smith and Tim Burton, and featuring expenditures on scripts and sets that are even more eye-popping than the films' special effects.