Super-Folks
''Superfolks'' (also ''Super-Folks'' in its original cover art) is a 1977 novel by . The novel satirizes the superhero and comic book genres, and was aimed at a more adult audience than those genres typically attracted. ''Superfolks'' also examines comic book conventions and clichés from a more serious, "literary" perspective. The novel was influential on many writers of superhero comic books in the 1980s and 1990s, notably Kurt Busiek and Grant Morrison, the latter of whom brought the novel back to prominence in 1990 when he suggested that it had been a major influence on Alan Moore's ''Watchmen'', ''Marvelman'', and '' Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?'', a claim Moore has generally downplayed. Publication history A modest success upon publication (also featured as a special book club edition), ''Superfolks'' eventually fell out of print. It was republished in 2003 in limited quantities by About Comics with a new cover by ''Watchmen'' artist Dave Gibbons and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Mayer (journalist) (born 1941), Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appea ...
Robert Mayer may refer to: * Robert Mayer (ice hockey) (born 1989), Swiss ice hockey goaltender * Robert Mayer (philanthropist) (1879–1985), German-born British philanthropist * Robert Mayer (politician) (born 1957), president pro tem of the Missouri Senate * Robert A. Mayer (1933–2008), director of George Eastman House * Robert Mayer (journalist), author of the novel '' Superfolks'' (1977) * Bob Mayer (author) (born 1959) * Julius Robert von Mayer (1814–1878), German physician and physicist, and one of the founders of thermodynamics See also * ''Robert Mayer – der Arzt aus Heilbronn'', a 1955 East German film * Haldane Robert Mayer Haldane Robert Mayer (born February 21, 1941) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Education and military service Mayer was born in Buffalo, New York, to Haldane and Myrtle Mayer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist. The protagonist is the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist. The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having the protagonist develop as a result. A particularly noble, virtuous, or accomplished protagonist is commonly called a ''hero,'' though the terms are not synonyms. Etymology The term ''protagonist'' comes , combined of (, 'first') and (, 'actor, competitor'), which stems from (, 'contest') via (, 'I conten ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential people in the world during his lifetime. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry. Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness. As a film tycoon, Hughes gained fame in Hollywood beginning in the late 1920s, when he produced big-budget and often controversial films such as ''The Racket (1928 film), The Racket'' (1928), ''Hell's Angels (film), Hell's Angels'' (1930), and ''Scarface (1932 film), Scarface'' (1932). He later acquired the RKO Pictures film studio in 1948, recognized then as one ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Snoopy
Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. He also appears in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recognizable and iconic characters in the comic strip and is considered more famous than Charlie Brown in some countries. The original drawings of Snoopy were inspired by Spike, one of Schulz's childhood dogs. Traits Snoopy is a loyal, imaginative, and good-natured beagle who is prone to imagining fantasy lives, including being an author, a college student known as "Joe Cool", an attorney, and a World War I flying ace. He is perhaps best known in this last persona, wearing an aviator's helmet and goggles and a scarf while carrying a swagger stick (like a stereotypical British Army officer of World War I and World War II, II). Snoopy can be selfish, gluttonous, and lazy at times, and occasionally mocks his owner, Charlie Brown. B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Superhuman
The term superhuman refers to humans, humanoids or other beings with abilities and other qualities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. The related concept of a super race refers to an entire category of beings with the same or varying superhuman characteristics, created from present-day human beings by deploying various means such as eugenics, euthenics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and/or brain–computer interfacing to accelerate the process of human evolution. Throughout history, the discussion of superhuman traits and the idea of the ideal human in physical, mental, or spiritual form has influenced politics, policy, philosophy, science and various social movements, as well as featuring prominently in culture. Groups advocating the deliberate pursuit of superhuman qualities for philosophical, political, or moral reasons are sometimes referred to as superhu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous radiation that can weaken and even kill Kryptonians. Kryptonite radiation can be transmitted through any element except lead. There are other varieties of kryptonite, such as red and gold kryptonite, which have different but still generally negative effects. Adversaries of Superman and other characters are frequently depicted using kryptonite against Superman, with Lex Luthor incorporating it into weapons, Metallo being powered by it, and Titano being able to project rays of kryptonite radiation from his eyes after being altered by simultaneous exposure to kryptonite and uranium. Due to Superman's popularity, kryptonite has become a byword for an extraordinary exploitable weakness, synonymous with "Achilles' heel". Histo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Krypton (planet)
Krypton is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly appearing or mentioned in stories starring the superhero Superman as the world from where he came. The planet was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, and was named after the chemical element krypton. The planet was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938) and made its first appearance in Superman (comic book), ''Superman'' #1 (1939). Krypton is also the homeworld of Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Supergirl, Krypto, Krypto the Superdog, Beppo (comics), Beppo the Super-Monkey, Power Girl (in her case, an alternate-universe version designated "Krypton-Two"), and the supervillain General Zod. It has been consistently described as having been destroyed shortly after Superman's escape from the planet, although the exact details of its destruction vary by time period and writers. Kryptonians were the dominant species on Krypton. Krypton also makes an appearance in several tele ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll. Cronkite received numerous honors including two Peabody Awards, a George Polk Award, an Emmy Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Cronkite reported many events from 1937 to 1981, including bombings in World War II; the Nuremberg trials; combat in the Vietnam War; the Dawson's Field hijackings; Watergate; the Iran Hostage Crisis; and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr., and Beatles musician John Lennon. He was also known for his extensive coverage of the American space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle. He was the only non-NASA recipient of an Ambassador of Exploration aw ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used as early as an English morality play from the early 16th century: ''The Summoning of'' ''Everyman''. The play's protagonist is an allegorical character representing an ordinary human who knows he is soon to die; according to literature scholar Harry Keyishian he is portrayed as "prosperous, gregarious, ndattractive". Harry Keyishian"Review of Douglas Morse, dir.,''The Summoning of Everyman'' (Grandfather Films, 2007)" ''Shakespeare Bulletin'' ( Johns Hopkins U P), 2008 Fall;26(3):45–48. Everyman is the only human character of the play; the others are embodied ideas such as Fellowship, who "symbolizes the transience and limitations of human friendship". The use of the term ''everyman'' to refer generically to a portrayal of an ordin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Übermensch
The ( , ; 'Overman' or 'Superman') is a concept in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1883 book, '' Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' (), Nietzsche has his character Zarathustra posit the as a goal for humanity to set for itself. The represents a shift from otherworldly Christian values and manifests the grounded human ideal. The is someone who has "crossed over" the bridge, from the comfortable "house on the lake" (the comfortable, easy, mindless acceptance of what a person has been taught, and what everyone else believes) to the mountains of unrest and solitude. In English In 1896, Alexander Tille made the first English translation of '' Thus Spoke Zarathustra'', rendering as "Beyond-Man". In 1909, Thomas Common translated it as "Superman", following the terminology of George Bernard Shaw's 1903 stage play '' Man and Superman''. Walter Kaufmann lambasted this translation in the 1950s for two reasons: first, the failure of the English prefix "super" to capture the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, as well as in the performing arts and for entertainment. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body. In art history, especially sculpture, "mask" is the term for a face without a body that is not modelled in the round (which would make it a "head"), but for example appears in low relief. Etymology The word "mask" appeared in English in the 1530s, from Middle French ''masque'' "covering to hide or guard the face", derived in turn from Italian ''maschera'', from Medieval Latin ''masca'' "mask, specter, nightmare". This word is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Arabic ''maskharah'' مَسْخَرَۃٌ "buffoon", from the verb ''sakhira'' "to ridicule". However, it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Intelligence Agencies
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of information gathering are both overt and covert and may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public sources. The assembly and propagation of this information is known as intelligence analysis or intelligence assessment. Objectives Intelligence agencies can provide the following services for their national governments. * Give early warning of impending crisis; * Serve national and international crisis management by helping to discern the intentions of current or potential opponents; * Inform national defense planning and military operations, known as military intelligence; * Protect sensitive information secrets, both of their own sources and activities, an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |