The Dead Spy in Zurich:Alerted to a global danger by a former assassin turned friendly asset, Special Agent Dagny Powers must race against time and an unknown enemy to avoid a global technology meltdown that would use the Internet to deal a deadly blow to the West. Everything from our national power grid, water supplies and banking services to the cars we drive, the food we eat and the emergency services upon which we depend could be shut down with a few keyboard co...

Superstar musician SCOTT "KID CUDI" MESCUDI makes his comics debut alongside Eisner Awardnominated co-writer KYLE HIGGINS (RADIANT BLACK) and breakout artist MARCO LOCATI in the extra-length first issue of the biggest book of 2024! Ramon is ready for a quiet life. Whatever went wrong on that failed moon mission, whatever happened in the missing minutes the cameras didn't capture, all he really wants is to settle down back home. But those missing minutes hold an Earth-shattering secret—and,...

A new perspective on developing shared joy in urban spaces.Our divided society is quickly reaching crisis level. We are no longer able to sustain social and economic prosperity nor ensure democracy. Fuelling this crisis is a growing sense of social isolation caused by the divisive nature of social media and the decline of infrastructure that used to bring communities together.But there is hope for rebuilding our collaborative society, and it is found in our...

Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007) was a pioneering figure in film studies, best known for his landmark book on silent cinema Film as Art. He ultimately became more famous as a scholar in the fields of art and art history, largely abandoning his theoretical work on cinema. However, his later aesthetic theories on form, perception and emotion should play an important role in contemporary film and media studies.In this enlightening new volume in the AFI Film Readers series, an inter...

On the heels of cult favorite Too Heavy to Become Sky, Scott Higgins delivers Whiteness of the Whale—a diary of madness and memory from the Covid fog. “The first time I read this book I felt a low electrical pulse flow through my brain. It’s almost a living thing that reveals a different side of itself each time one picks it up—it is unsettling. Beautiful words. Beautiful brain. I love this writer.” Polly O’/MamaUK

Like Dorothy waking up over the rainbow in the Land of Oz, Hollywood discovered a vivid new world of color in the 1930s. The introduction of three-color Technicolor technology in 1932 gave filmmakers a powerful tool with which to guide viewers' attention, punctuate turning points, and express emotional subtext. Although many producers and filmmakers initially resisted the use of color, Technicolor designers, led by the legendary Natalie Kalmus, developed an aesthetic that complemented the ...

Long before Batman, Flash Gordon, or the Lone Ranger were the stars of their own TV shows, they had dedicated audiences watching their adventures each week. The difference was that this action took place on the big screen, in short adventure serials whose exciting cliffhangers compelled the young audience to return to the theater every seven days.Matinee Melodrama is the first book about the adventure serial as a distinct artform, one that uniquely encouraged audience part...

We live in an era in which humankind is having a devastating impact on the planet. The climate is changing, wild animal populations are being decimated, extinction rates are at an all-time high, and the oceans are acidifying.Should Christians care? In this short book and accompanying bible study guide we say "Yes". A beautiful world offers a much needed corrective to layers of theological tradition that disconnect us from God's heart for all he has created.You will have the...

Most moviegoers think of editing and special effects as distinct components of the filmmaking process. We might even conceive of them as polar opposites, since effective film editing is often subtle and almost invisible, whereas special effects frequently call attention to themselves. Yet, film editors and visual effects artists have worked hand-in-hand from the dawn of cinema to the present day.Editing and Special/Visual Effects brings together a diverse range of film sch...

A veteran film critic offers a lively, opinionated guide to thinking and talking about movies -- from Casablanca to CluelessWhether we are trying to impress a date after an art house film screening or discussing Oscar nominations among friends, we all need ways to look at and talk about movies. But with so much variety between an Alfred Hitchcock thriller and a Nora Ephron romantic comedy, how can everyday viewers determine what makes a good movie...

Hollywood moviemaking is one of the constants of American life, but how much has it changed since the glory days of the big studios? David Bordwell argues that the principles of visual storytelling created in the studio era are alive and well, even in today’s bloated blockbusters. American filmmakers have created a durable tradition—one that we should not be ashamed to call artistic, and one that survives in both mainstream entertainment and niche-marketed indie cinema. Bordwell traces the...

Monaco's book was an instant classic when it first came out, and with new sections in its anniversary edition, is more essential than ever. A landmark in media studies, it is unique in its sophisticated understanding of both the art and technology of film. Molly Haskell, criticWhen it was first published in 1977, HOW TO READ A FILM established itself as a genuine classic in film studies and has been considered by many to be the source on film and media.Monaco's original boo...