500 Comic Book Villains - Softcover

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[back cover]


Did you know? . . .



. . . that Lex Luthor waged war on Superman because Luthor was afflicted with premature baldness?



. . . that Batman was stalked by a mischievous imp from another dimension?



. . . that the Red Skull was trained by Hitler, who later came to fear his evil prot©g©?



You’ll find these facts plus many, many more in the pages of this superb companion volume to 500 Comic Book Action Heroes. From The Joker, Ming the Merciless, and the Mekon to more obscure but still fascinating evildoers like Professor Skinn and the Beauty Butcher, author Mike Conroy probes deep into hundreds of legends to give you the story behind the story of the greatest archenemies who tried—but always failed—to foil our favorite comic heroes. Open this book and enjoy brief biographical sketches of all your favorite villains. Then, savor the feature pages that catch evildoers in the act of living up to their wicked reputations. Filled with more than 300 color illustrations and succinct, entertaining text, 500 Comic Book Villains is a panorama of memorably malicious malfeasants who have prowled the pages of comic books from 1934 to the present day.



[front flap]


500 Comic Book

Villains


by Mike Conroy


Foreword by Roy Thomas



Here come the heels and hoodlums! The stars of this entertaining rogues’ review include Batman’s Joker, Dick Tracy’s Flattop and Pruneface, Flash Gordon’s Ming the Merciless, Spider-Man’s Green Goblin, and hundreds more villains that comics connoisseurs have always loved to hate. Written especially for comic book collectors and nostalgia buffs, 500 Comic Book Villains chronicles the fictional wickedness concocted by the world’s best comic book artists and serves as an encyclopedia of evildoers who lurk in countless comic book illustrations. Mike Conroy’s terrific collection of criminals also makes a great companion volume to his acclaimed 500 Great Comic Book Action Heroes. More than 300 color illustrations accompany a text that will please readers of all ages.



[back flap]


Mike Conroy is a veteran comics journalist and historian. He is the news editor of the U.K.-based trade paper Comics International, and the founder of the Eagle Awards, one of the comics industry’s major international prizes. His previous book, 500 Great Comic Book Action Heroes, is also published by Barron’s.



Roy Thomas has been a writer and editor in the comic book field since 1965. The memorable villains he has created over the years include Ultron, Tiger Shark, and The Squadron Sinister, to name just a few. He currently edits the second incarnation of the comic fanzine Alter Ego, and still finds time to write an occasional comic book.