Bill Schelly – författare

The American Comic Book Chronicles continues its ambitious series offull-color hardcovers where TwoMorrows' top authors document every decade ofcomic book history from the 1940s to today! Bill Schelly authors the volume onthe 1950s era of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, with a year-by-year accountof the most significant publications, notable creators, and impactful trends,including: the rise of the great EC "New Trend" titles (Tales of theCrypt, Weird Science), Harvey Kurtzman's Mad, and Carl Barks'classic work on Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge! Plus, read about the publicationof Dr. Fredric Wertham's notorious anti-comics book, Seduction of theInnocent, and the Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency that led to thecreation of the Comics Code, changing the face of comics for decades tocome!

This sequel to Alter Ego: The Best of the Legendary Comics Fanzinepresents more fantastic features from the fabled magazine begun in 1961 by JerryBails and Roy Thomas — covering undiscovered gems from all 11 originalissues published between 1961 and 1978! Editors Roy Thomas and Bill Schellyuncover never-revealed secrets about the first super-hero fanzine everpublished, with vintage articles about Tor, Hawkman, the Spectre, Blackhawk, theJustice League of America, the All-Winners Squad, Robotman, Wonder Woman, theHeap, the Lensmen/Green Lantern connection, and so much more! Plusrarely-seen comics stories by Joe Kubert, Ronn Foss, and Roy Thomas and SamGrainger, as well as Roy's entire "Bestest League of America" parody, collectedfor the first time ever!

Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary chronicles the career of Otto Binder, from pulp magazine author to writer of Supergirl, Captain Marvel, and Superman comics. As the originator of the first sentient robot in literature ("I, Robot," published in Amazing Stories in 1939 and predating Isaac Asimov''s collection of the same name), Binder''s effect on science fiction was profound. Within the world of comic books, he created or co-created much of the Superman universe, including Smallville; Krypto, Superboy''s dog; Supergirl; and the villain Braniac. Binder is also credited with writing many of the first "Bizarro" storylines for DC Comics, as well as for being the main writer for the Captain Marvel comics. In later years, Binder expanded from comic books into pure science writing, publishing dozens of books and articles on the subject of satellites and space travel as well as UFOs and extraterrestrial life. Comic book historian Bill Schelly tells the tale of Otto Binder through comic panels, personal letters, and interviews with Binder''s own family and friends. Schelly weaves together Binder''s professional successes and personal tragedies, including the death of Binder''s only daughter and his wife''s struggle with mental illness. A touching and human story, Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary is a biography that is both meticulously researched and beautifully told, keeping alive Binder''s spirit of scientific curiosity and whimsy.

A fascinating story of growing up as a gay fan of comic books in the 1960s, building a fifty-year career as an award-winning writer, and interacting with acclaimed comic book legendsAward-winning writer Bill Schelly relates how comics and fandom saved his life in this engrossing story that begins in the burgeoning comic fandom movement of the 1960s and follows the twists and turns of a career that spanned fifty years. Schelly recounts his struggle to come out at a time when homosexuality was considered a mental illness, how the egalitarian nature of fandom offered a safe haven for those who were different, and how his need for creative expression eventually overcame all obstacles. He describes living through the AIDS epidemic, finding the love of his life, and his unorthodox route to becoming a father. He also details his personal encounters with major talents of 1960s comics, such as Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man), Jim Shooter (writer for DC and later editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics), and Julius Schwartz (legendary architect of the Silver Age of comics).

James Warren was the visionary publisher of Famous Monsters of Filmland, the magazine that fuelled the movie monster craze of the 1960s, and inspired such future filmmakers as Steve Spielberg, George Lucas, and Joe Dante. He went on to produce numerous other influential publications working with Harvey Kurtzman, Gloria Steinem, Terry Gilliam, Robert Crumb, and Diane Arbus, among others. His most famous creation (co-created with Forrest J. Ackerman) was the sensual Vampirella who debuted in her own magazine in 1969, and who continues to be published today. Bill Schelly's Empire of Monsters features numerous eye-opening, often outrageous anecdotes about Warren, a colourful, larger-than-life figure whose ability as a publisher, promoter, and provocateur makes him a fascinating character study. For this heavily researched biography, Schelly offers insight from new interviews with Warren's colleagues, editors, and friends, augmented by unpublished interviews gathered in past years with Frank Frazetta, Archie Goodwin, Al Williamson, Bill DuBay, Tom Sutton, Bernie Wrightson, Richard Corben, and Warren himself. The author digs beneath the hype and myth-making and tells the true story of one of the 20th century's most influential and independent publishers: his childhood in the slums of south Philadelphia, a traumatic military injury during the Korean War, the hard scrabble origins of Warren Publishing, its great success and ignominious end - as well as his reemergence on the public scene in the 1990s, and the lawsuit to regain ownership of his literary properties. Originally published in 2019, Empire of Monsters quickly sold out. Fantagraphics is pleased to make this groundbreaking biography of one of comics' central historical figures available again in an affordable paperback edition.