Conversations with Denis Kitchen offers an in-depth exploration of the multifaceted career of Denis Kitchen (b. 1946), one of the most influential figures in the world of comics. This book, comprised of interviews spanning decades, provides a rare glimpse into the mind of a man who has worn many hats—publisher, cartoonist, writer, and advocate. Beginning with Kitchen’s early days selling his self-created Mom’s Homemade Comics at a parade in 1969, the interviews chronicle ...

At first sight, superheroes and economics seem to occupy completely different dimensions – but a clash of dimensions is a classic comic book storyline! In this first-of-its kind book, an economist and a business writer assemble an A-team of academic talent to explore the intersection of superhero mythology and economic theory in ten accessible chapters.Superheroes and Economics uncovers basic economic truths that are integral to the comic stories from some of the genres most famous...

Acclaimed author and futurist Rob Salkowitz in his new book, Young World Shining: Dispatches from the Expanding Frontiers of Innovation, shows how digital technology is empowering billions of youth across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East to spark an explosion of entrepreneurship. Salkowitz brings his trademark combination of analysis, advocacy, reporting and tactical guidance to help business leaders understand the world's most dynamic new markets. Young World Shining combin...

Action! Excitement! Transmedia! Step inside Comic-Con to discover the cultural trends that will shape our world“I’ve been in comics so long I sometimes think I invented ’em! But I just read Rob Salkowitz’s terrific new book and, y’know what? Even I learned new stuff! If you’re a comic book nut like me, miss it at your own risk!”—Stan Lee, Legendary Comic Creator and Publisher“Salkowitz tells it pretty much like it is: the good, the b...

Technology and demographics are on a collision course. Digital Natives, Boomerang Boomers, and Generation X-ecutives are all grappling with the transformative implications of Web 2.0 technologies, and organizations are scrambling for the best ways to unlock the talents of a multigenerational workforce in a connected world. Generation Blend ventures deep into the technology age gap and provides real-world solutions to combine the best that younger and older workers have to offer.Gen...

A New Yorker and Fortune Best Book of the Year"A must-read for all Americans who want to remain the ones deciding what they can read, watch, and listen to.” —Arianna HuffingtonAnalyzing the strategic maneuvers of today’s great information powers—Apple, Google, and an eerily resurgent AT&T—Tim Wu uncovers a time-honored pattern in which invention begets industry and industry begets empire.It is easy to forget that e...

Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, the Avengers, the X-Men, Watchmen, and more: the companion volume to the PBS documentary series of the same name that tells the story of the superhero in American popular culture.Together again for the first time, here come the greatest comic book superheroes ever assembled between two covers: down from the heavens—Superman and the Mighty Thor—or swinging over rooftops—the Batman and Spider-Man; star-spangled, l...

Non-profits are big business. According to a recent Johns Hopkins report, third-sector institutions in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Japan, the U.S. and Canada have been growing at an average rate that is twice the growth rate of their GDPs. Canada is home to the second largest non-profit workforce in the world, employing 2 million paid staff and contributing $112 billion to our economy each year. We are also recognized worldwide as an important generator of ideas and agent of social change...

During the heyday of the studio system spanning the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s, virtually all the American motion picture industry’s money, power, and prestige came from a single activity: selling tickets at the box office. Today, the movie business is just a small, highly visible outpost in a media universe controlled by six corporations–Sony, Time Warner, NBC Universal, Viacom, Disney, and NewsCorporation. These conglomerates view films as part of an immense, synergistic, vertically integrate...

Hailed as the definitive work upon its original publication in 1975 and now extensively revised and updated by the author, this vastly absorbing and richly illustrated book examines film as an art form, technological innovation, big business, and shaper of American values.Ever since Edison's peep shows first captivated urban audiences, film has had a revolutionary impact on American society, transforming culture from the bottom up, radically revising attitudes toward pleasure and se...

This fun and accessible guide offers super advice for business success.Top venture capitalist and self- proclaimed ?comic book geek? Sean Wise reveals how to create a winning business persona through valuable strategies from great comic book icons. In this engaging and insightful guide, Wise takes readers on a guided tour through the world of superheroes and their lessons, directly relating them to essential business tactics people need to master in order to succee...

Looks at the development and changing organization of the star system in the American film industry. Tracing the popularity of star performers from the early "cinema of attractions" to the Internet universe, Paul McDonald explores the ways in which Hollywood has made and sold its stars. Through focusing on particular historical periods, case studies of Mary Pickford, Bette Davis, James Cagney, Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, and Will Smith illustrate the key conditions influencing the star syst...