Michael Uslan

Dynamic and debonair, Cesar Romero was best known for creating the role of the Joker in the 1960s Batman television series. As the first actor to play Batman and Robin's villainous nemesis, Romero established the character's giddy, manic tone and the iconic laugh that subsequent actors like Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix would use as the starting points in their own Oscar-nominated (Nicholson) and Oscarwinning (Ledger and Phoenix) performances. As a closeted gay man of Latin American descent, Romero gracefully faced many personal challenges while maintaining his suave public image and starring opposite legends ranging from Shirley Temple to Marlene Dietrich, Carmen Miranda to Frank Sinatra, and Kurt Russell to Jane Wyman. The first biography of the consummate entertainer, Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild, captures the critical moments of Romero's childhood, adolescence, and accomplishments in Hollywood. Author Samuel Garza Bernstein shares anecdotes regarding Romero's public and personal life, as well as Romero's private disdain for his reputation as the "Latin Lover," a discriminatory stereotype he found constrictive both in terms of his range as an actor and as a man who kept his sexuality private. Cesar Romero is an in-depth study of a significant Hollywood star and his impact on the entertainment industry. Batman made him immortal, but with more than four hundred film and television credits, his six-decade career as an actor, dancer, and singer made him a true Hollywood icon.

One of the oldest and most recognizable studios in Hollywood, Warner Bros. is considered a juggernaut of the entertainment industry. Since its formation in the early twentieth century, the studio has been a constant presence in cinema history, responsible for the creation of acclaimed films, blockbuster brands, and iconic superstars. These days, the studio is best known as a media conglomerate with a broad range of intellectual property, spanning movies, TV shows, and streaming content. Despite popular interest in the origins of this empire, the core of the Warner Bros. saga cannot be found in its commercial successes. It is the story of four brothers - Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack - whose vision for Hollywood helped shape the world of entertainment as we know it. In The Warner Brothers, Chris Yogerst follows the siblings from their family's humble origins in Poland, through their young adulthood in the American Midwest, to the height of fame and fortune in Hollywood. With unwavering resolve, the brothers soldiered on against the backdrop of an America reeling from the aftereffects of domestic and global conflict. The Great Depression would not sink the brothers, who churned out competitive films that engaged audiences and kept their operations afloat - and even expanding. During World War II, they used their platform to push beyond the limits of the Production Code and create important films about real-world issues, openly criticizing radicalism and the evils of the Nazi regime. At every major cultural turning point in their lifetime, the Warners held a front-row seat. Paying close attention to the brothers' identities as cultural and economic outsiders, Yogerst chronicles how the Warners built a global filmmaking powerhouse. Equal parts family history and cinematic journey, The Warner Brothers is an empowering story of the American dream and the legacy four brothers left behind for generations of filmmakers and film lovers to come.

Batman is one of the most recognized and popular pop culture icons. Appearing on the page of Detective Comics #27 in 1939, the character has inspired numerous characters, franchises, and spin-offs over his 80+ year history. The character has displayed versatility, appearing in stories from multiple genres, including science fiction, noir, and fantasy and mediums far beyond his comic book origins. While there are volumes analyzing Batman through literary, philosophical, and psychological lenses, this volume is one of the first academic monographs to examine Batman through a theological and religious lens. Theology and Batman analyzes Batman and his world, specifically exploring the themes of theodicy and evil, ethics and morality, justice and vengeance, and the Divine Nature. Scholars will appreciate the breadth of material covered while Batman fans will appreciate the love for the character expressed through each chapter.

A tale of super-heroics and family that has taken eighty years to be told, uncovering The Lone Ranger's familial link to the emergence of The Green Hornet! What is the blood connection that unites two masked heroes, separated by generations? What intense rift tears a family apart just when America desperately needs a great champion of justice?

A historic crossover seventy-five years in the making! The Shadow, Doc Savage, and The Avenger, the three iconic crime-fighters first introduced in the pulp magazines of Street & Smith Publications, come together for the first time ever to avert global catastrophe! Out of tragedy, a hero is born... and an alliance formed! When an airliner carrying industrialist Richard Henry Benson and his family disappears, it's the first strike in a secret cabal's master plan for world conquest. As genius adventurer Doc Savage and brutal vigilante The Shadow attempt to avert disaster with their science and bullets, Benson rises from the ashes with a fearsome new identity: The Avenger. Can three men of contrasting ideology and methodology cast aside their inherent differences and band together to conquer the overwhelming threat of the Voodoo Master and his mysterious allies?

An unstoppable power will plunge the world into darkness... unless the crime-fighting icons known as The Shadow, The Green Hornet, and Kato can stop it! When an invention capable of harnessing elemental forces falls into the hands of the maniacal Shiwan Khan, The Shadow races against time to prevent the utter destruction of all America's vital industries and financial institutions. To that end, he enlists The Green Hornet, a crusader masquerading as a crimelord, to infiltrate Shiwan's organization of saboteurs. Will the masked heroes prevent Khan's deadly plot to shatter a nation?

The eternal love triangle that has been the cornerstone of Archie comics for almost seven decades is finally untangled in this seven-part story written by Michael Uslan and illustrated by veteran Archie artist Stan Goldberg. The journey begins when Archie finds himself strolling up Memory Lane, and marries the wealthy and cultured Veronica Lodge. Later we see what happens when he strolls down Memory Lane and marries the wholesome, peppy girl next door, Betty Cooper. This pivotal series of seven issues is bound in hardcover, encased in a double diecut slipcase, and packaged with a reprint of a classic Archie comic. The book includes all-new material created especially for this edition, including script outtakes, never-before-seen sketches, annotations, vintage covers, and exclusive interviews with the creators.