Resources
Resources for Teachers
Books
Coogan, Peter. Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre. Austin: MonkeyBrain Books, 2006. This book gives a detailed background into the origin of superhero comics as a genre.
Fingeroth, Danny. Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004. This was such a helpful book in researching for this unit. It really gives a great insight into the superhero genre and what we as society have taken from this phenomenon.
Gresh, Lois H., and Robert Weinberg. The Science of Superheroes. New York: Wiley, 2003. This book analyzes the reality of certain superhero powers and the scenes that occur in various comic issues. The analysis decides if the situation is scientifically plausible in the real world.
Gresh, Lois H., and Robert Weinberg. The Science of Supervillains. New York: Wiley, 2004. This book analyzes the reality of certain supervillain powers and the scenes that occur in various comic issues. The analysis decides if the situation is scientifically plausible in the real world.
Klock, Geoff. How to Read Superhero Comics and Why. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002. An in-depth analysis of superhero comics giving theory for plot lines. In addition, the last chapter analyzes the movie Unbreakable as a plausible nod to superheroes and the genre.
Ndalianis, Angela, ed. Contemporary Comic Book Superheroes (Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies). New York: Routledge, 2008. A research based analysis of comic book superheroes.
Reynolds, Richard. Superheroes: A Modern Mythology. London: B.T. Batsford, 1992. This was an invaluable resource for writing this unit. It clearly goes through every aspect of comic books superheroes, breaking down the information into useful and manageable parts. The chapters include: masked heroes, costumed continuity, deciphering the myths, and three key texts. A great book for those in the know on comic books and those who are interested in expanding their knowledge.
Resources for the Classroom
Books
Lee, Stan. Bring On The Bad Guys: Origins of the Marvel Comics Villains. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976. This book details the origin stories of some of Marvel Comics supervillains. Some of the villains profiled are: Doctor Doom, Green Goblin, Loki, and Red Skull. This is a helpful guide when studying origin stories as the original comic is included as well as a prologue explanation by Stan Lee for each comic.
Lee, Stan. Son of Origins of Marvel Comics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975. This is a great book that compiles several origin stories into one resource. Stan Lee introduces and discusses the evolution of the character and then the original origin comic is included.
Siegel, Jerry and Joe Shuster. Superman: Sunday Classics. New York: Sterling Publishing Co, 1999. This is a collection of the first 183 strips of the Superman comic to appear in the Sunday paper. There is a nice introduction by Roger Stern explaining the origin of ideas by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster that created Superman. The strips are nicely colored and appear in sequential order as they would have in the Sunday comics beginning in 1939 and ending in 1943.
Teitelbaum, Michael. DK Readers: The Story of Spider-Man. New York: DK CHILDREN, 2001. This is an easy to read story explaining how Spider-Man originated and also extra facts about the comic. This book has lots of pictures and the language is for elementary students.
Teitelbaum, Michael. DK Readers: The Story of the X-Men, How It All Began. New York: DK CHILDREN, 2000. This is an easy to read story explaining how X-Men originated and also extra facts about the comic. This book has lots of pictures and the language is for elementary students.
Thomas, Roy and Stan Lee. Amazing Marvel Universe. New York: Sterling, 2006. A great interactive book explaining the Marvel characters. Includes interactive audio commentary by Stan Lee.
Waid, Mark. Secret Origins of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes. New York: DC Comics, 1991. This comic book style magazine gives an insight into the secret lives and stories for Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, and others.
Movies
The Dark Knight. DVD. Directed by Christopher Nolan. 2008; Burbank: Warner Home Video. Batman (Christian Bale) teams with Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to continue dismantling Gotham City's criminal organizations in this sequel to Batman Begins. But a psychotic new villain known as the Joker (Heath Ledger) threatens to undo all their good work. (PG-13)
Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer. DVD. Directed by Tim Story. 2007; Tucson: 20th Century Fox. This sequel to the 2005 blockbuster follows Fantastic Four superheroes Reed (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue (Jessica Alba), Johnny (Chris Evans) and Ben (Michael Chiklis) as they battle the enigmatic Silver Surfer (Doug Jones), who travels the earth preparing it for total destruction. Director Tim Story's comic book adventure introduces viewers to the space-faring explorer Silver Surfer, created in 1966 by legendary Marvel writers Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. (PG)
Hancock. DVD. Directed by Peter Berg. 2008; Culver City, CA: Sony Pictures. Will Smith stars as a down-and-out superhero who must employ a public relations person (Jason Bateman) to help boost his image. The publicist tries to show Hancock how to interact politely with the public and gain respect. During the course of events Hancock finds out about his past and his origins which he previously was unaware. (PG-13)
The Incredible Hulk. DVD. Directed by Louis Leterrier. 2008; Washington DC: Universal Studios. Edward Norton stars as Bruce Banner in this version of the classic comic book tale about a doctor who searches for a cure for his exotic condition, which causes him to transform into a huge green monster when under duress. Drawing closer to finding a remedy, Dr. Banner becomes sidetracked as he's pursued first by the military and then by a rival monster known as the Abomination. (PG-13)
Iron Man. DVD. Directed by Jon Favreau. 2008; Los Angeles: Paramount Pictures. After ultra-rich inventor and weapons maker Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) escapes from kidnappers using makeshift power armor, he turns his invention to good by using it to fight crime. But when he must face the evil Iron Monger, his skills are stretched to the limit. (PG-13)
Spider-Man 3. DVD. Directed by Sam Raimi. 2007; Culver City, CA: Sony Pictures. The seemingly invincible Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) goes up against an all-new crop of villains including the shape-shifting Sandman in the third installment of this blockbusting comic book adventure series directed by Sam Raimi. While Spidey's superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) and gets caught up in a love triangle. (PG-13)3)
Superman - The Movie. DVD. Directed by Richard Donner. 1978; Burbank: Warner Home Video. Superman is introduced to the Hollywood audience through this exciting film which included special effects that were seamless for its time. It was the beginning of an era where Christopher Reeve became the face of Superman to the entire world. (PG)
X-Men. DVD. Directed by Bryan Singer. 2000; Tucson: 20th Century Fox. They are genetically gifted mutants the world's newest, most persecuted minority group. Amidst increasing fear and bigotry, Professor Charles Xavier provides a safe haven for powerful outcasts like Wolverine, Rogue and Storm. But can the X-Men triumph over Magneto and his band of evil mutants? (PG-13))
X-Men 3 - The Last Stand. DVD. Directed by Brett Ratner. 2006; Tucson: 20th Century Fox. When scientists develop a miracle drug to treat unwanted mutations, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his heroic band of X-Men must battle a group of mutants known as the Brotherhood, led by Xavier's former ally (Ian McKellen). (PG-13)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine. DVD. Directed by Gavin Hood. 2008; Tucson: 20th Century Fox. This action-packed prequel to the popular X-Men films explores Marvel Comics character Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) past and the events that influenced the mutant before the Weapon X program bonded his skeleton with the powerfully strong metal alloy adamantium. After the death of his girlfriend, Wolverine seeks vengeance against supervillain Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber). (PG-13)
Websites
"DCU | Heroes and Villains." DC Comics. http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/heroes_and_villains/ (accessed July 12, 2009). This is the DC Comics website which contains origin stories for superheroes and supervillains.
Marvel Universe: The definitive online source for Marvel superhero bios." Marvel: The Official Site | Marvel.com. http://marvel.com/universe/Main_Page (accessed July 10, 2009). Marvel is the creator of many superheroes used in this unit. This website is the official comic book website and offers a wealth of information on each character Marvel owns.
"Paramount Pictures [us]." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). http://www.imdb.com/company/co0023400/ (accessed July 14, 2009). Internet Movie Database has endless pages of information about movies, actors and directors. The website was used specifically for this unit for the upcoming productions for Paramount Pictures.
Siegel, Jerry, and Joe Shuster. "DCU | Heroes and Villains." DC Comics. http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/heroes_and_villains/?hv=superman_dailies_vol_1&p=13 (accessed July 12, 2009). This is the DC Comics website which contains the beginning strips of Superman.
"Spider-Man (Peter Parker) - Marvel Universe: The definitive online source for Marvel superhero bios." Marvel: The Official Site | Marvel.com. http://marvel.com/universe/Spider-Man_(Peter_Parker) (accessed July 12, 2009). Marvel is the creator of many superheroes used in this unit. This website is the official comic book website and offers a wealth of information on each character Marvel owns.
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