"The most peculiar, imaginative and challenging work in British comics " -The New Statesman In 1978 British comics were changed forever with the release of Misty, the classic cult horror comic for girls. Masterminded by Pat Mills, the original editor of 2000 AD, this weekly comic featured the best comics talent working on haunting, terrifying tales. From high 70s glamour to chilling stories that have haunted readers for decades, this Essential Collection curates the creepiest, campest Misty serials and short stories alongside critical essays, in a volume perfect for readers old and new.

Fall into a web of terror! The Jaume Rumeu Collection is packed with four terrifying tales from the pages of Misty, which showcase the stunning art of Jaume Rumeu Perera, also known as Homero! Black widows, femme fatales, mad scientists and giant spiders abound in this nightmarish volume of classic Misty tales. This collection celebrates one of the most iconic villains in British girls' comics: the lethal Mrs. Webb, a raging femme fatale with killer style and a bone to pick with the British Establishment. Determined to take over the country with her army of giant arachnids, only two schoolgirls stand between her and global domination! Full of stunning artwork, terrifying twists, beautiful - but deadly - women, and, of course - giant spiders, this is an essential comic for any horror connoisseur.

Looks at literature in relation to a variety of media from print and ebooks to videogames so should have wide appeal Looks at the economic and industry impacts so should have a small applied/practical market (publishing courses etc) Global range of contributors draws on a broad range of examples, ensuring the book is relevant for a wide global market The clear structure allows for ease of use and easy applicability to courses

Providing an overview of the dynamic field of comics and graphic novels for students and researchers, this Essential Guide contextualises the major research trends, debates and ideas that have emerged in Comics Studies over the past decades. Interdisciplinary and international in its scope, the critical approaches on offer spread across a wide range of strands, from the formal and the ideological to the historical, literary and cultural. Its concise chapters provide accessible introductions to comics methodologies, comics histories and cultures across the world, high-profile creators and titles, insights from audience and fan studies, and important themes and genres, such as autobiography and superheroes. It also surveys the alternative and small press alongside general reference works and textbooks on comics. Each chapter is complemented by list of key reference works.

Today fans still remember and love the British girls' comic Misty for its bold visuals and narrative complexities. Yet its unique history has drawn little critical attention. Bridging this scholarly gap, Julia Round presents a comprehensive cultural history and detailed discussion of the comic, preserving both the inception and development of this important publication as well as its stories. Misty ran for 101 issues as a stand-alone publication between 1978 and 1980 and then four more years as part of Tammy. It was a hugely successful anthology comic containing one-shot and serialized stories of supernatural horror and fantasy aimed at girls and young women and featuring work by writers and artists who dominated British comics such as Pat Mills, Malcolm Shaw, and John Armstrong, as well as celebrated European artists. To this day, Misty remains notable for its daring and sophisticated stories, strong female characters, innovative page layouts, and big visuals. In the first book on this topic, Round closely analyzes Misty's content, including its creation and production, its cultural and historical context, key influences, and the comic itself. Largely based on Round's own archival research, the study also draws on interviews with many of the key creators involved in this comic, including Pat Mills, Wilf Prigmore, and its art editorial team Jack Cunningham and Ted Andrews, who have never previously spoken about their work. Richly illustrated with previously unpublished photos, scripts, and letters, this book uses Misty as a lens to explore the use of Gothic themes and symbols in girls' comics and other media. It surveys existing work on childhood and Gothic and offers a working definition of Gothic for Girls, a subgenre which challenges and instructs readers in a number of ways.

From reality television to celebrity gossip magazines, today's technologies have enabled a vast number of personal narratives that document our existence and that of others. Multiple academic disciplines now define the self as fluid and entirely changeable: little more than a performance that is chosen according to the situation. While news journalists still pursue the authentic narrative, advertising and politics might be accused of exploiting the narrative tendency, and across media the personal and public become increasingly merged. Real Lives, Celebrity Stories collects research from published and experienced professionals, practitioners and scholars who discuss narratives of real people across cultures and history and in multiple media. It uses narrative theory to interrogate the processes by which we create, promote and consume these stories of real people, and the ways in which we construct our own stories of self. By bringing together different disciplines it offers a theory of the production(s) of self in public spaces such as television, cinema, comics, fan cultures, music, news media, politics and cyberspace.

Today fans still remember and love the British girls' comic Misty for its bold visuals and narrative complexities. Yet its unique history has drawn little critical attention. Bridging this scholarly gap, Julia Round presents a comprehensive cultural history and detailed discussion of the comic, preserving both the inception and development of this important publication as well as its stories. Misty ran for 101 issues as a stand-alone publication between 1978 and 1980 and then four more years as part of Tammy. It was a hugely successful anthology comic containing one-shot and serialized stories of supernatural horror and fantasy aimed at girls and young women and featuring work by writers and artists who dominated British comics such as Pat Mills, Malcolm Shaw, and John Armstrong, as well as celebrated European artists. To this day, Misty remains notable for its daring and sophisticated stories, strong female characters, innovative page layouts, and big visuals. In the first book on this topic, Round closely analyzes Misty's content, including its creation and production, its cultural and historical context, key influences, and the comic itself. Largely based on Round's own archival research, the study also draws on interviews with many of the key creators involved in this comic, including Pat Mills, Wilf Prigmore, and its art editorial team Jack Cunningham and Ted Andrews, who have never previously spoken about their work. Richly illustrated with previously unpublished photos, scripts, and letters, this book uses Misty as a lens to explore the use of Gothic themes and symbols in girls' comics and other media. It surveys existing work on childhood and Gothic and offers a working definition of Gothic for Girls, a subgenre which challenges and instructs readers in a number of ways.

Providing an overview of the dynamic field of comics and graphic novels for students and researchers, this Essential Guide contextualises the major research trends, debates and ideas that have emerged in Comics Studies over the past decades. Interdisciplinary and international in its scope, the critical approaches on offer spread across a wide range of strands, from the formal and the ideological to the historical, literary and cultural. Its concise chapters provide accessible introductions to comics methodologies, comics histories and cultures across the world, high-profile creators and titles, insights from audience and fan studies, and important themes and genres, such as autobiography and superheroes. It also surveys the alternative and small press alongside general reference works and textbooks on comics. Each chapter is complemented by list of key reference works.

From reality television to celebrity gossip magazines, today's technologies have enabled a vast number of personal narratives that document our existence and that of others. Multiple academic disciplines now define the self as fluid and entirely changeable: little more than a performance that is chosen according to the situation. While news journalists still pursue the authentic narrative, advertising and politics might be accused of exploiting the narrative tendency, and across media the personal and public become increasingly merged. Real Lives, Celebrity Stories collects research from published and experienced professionals, practitioners and scholars who discuss narratives of real people across cultures and history and in multiple media. It uses narrative theory to interrogate the processes by which we create, promote and consume these stories of real people, and the ways in which we construct our own stories of self. By bringing together different disciplines it offers a theory of the production(s) of self in public spaces such as music, literature, fanfic, television, cinema, comics, news media, journalism, and politics.

This book explores the connections between comics and Gothic from four different critical angles: historical, formal, cultural and textual. It identifies structures, styles and themes drawn from the literary Gothic and discusses the presence of these in British and American comics today, paying particular attention to the emergence of the DC Vertigo imprint. Part One offers a historical approach to British and American comics and Gothic: summarising the development of their respective creative content and critical models. It identifies parallel points including censorship, allusion, self-awareness and developments in criticism and audience. The second section brings together some of the narrative strategies of Gothic and comics. It uses Gothic to reinterpret established critical approaches to the comics medium, arguing for a holistic analytical model based around the symbols of the crypt, the spectre and the archive. Part Three then combines cultural and textual analysis: discussing the communities that have built up around comics and gothic artifacts and concluding with case studies of two of Gothic's most famous archetypes in comics: the vampire and the zombie.