Superman, Spider-Man, Disney, Pirates, Sandwiches And Video Games

From Quirk Books comes six titles that any self-respecting pop culture collector is sure to want to own and read. Five of them deal with pop culture phenomenon and one with the second most important thing any pop culture fan’s life: food!


Three handbooks are available that teach readers how to be a hero or a scoundrel.


The Superman Handbook, written by Scott Beatty delves into what it means to be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and much more.


This training manual instructs on how to tackle a criminal, how stop a runaway train, how to treat wounds and other non-superhero activities. Of course no book about Superman would be complete unless it talks about Superman’s powers, exploits and rogue’s gallery.


The Spider-Man Handbook by Seth Grahame-Smith takes on a similar tone with Spidey serving up his own brand of justice and heroics and offers day-to-day heroic deeds civilians can take part in. It too is filled with superhero exploits of the arachnid variety complete with a showcase of Spidey’s powers and his bevy of bad guys.


On the slightly less heroic side comes The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook that offers a Swashbuckling Guide from Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean on how to be a proper pirate.


You’ll learn all about the different types of pirates, how to pass your time, how to climb rigging, how fire a cannon and all the other scourge of the Seven Seas shenanigans buccaneers hold so dear.


There are also lessons on how to cheat death, how to acquire booty, how to develop people skills and an examination of the mysteries of the deep.


I’ve never been a believer of Astrology but after looking over Disneystrology from Quirk Books I may reconsider the possibilities. After all, who can argue about individual character traits when they are compared to Disney characters?


On my birthday I’m compared to Stitch (a fair comparison), my wife mirrors Friend Owl’s personality, my son Tug the bear and my daughter Nemo the fish. Surprisingly the descriptions fit in all four cases.


This is fun book filled with funny observations, pages filled with Disney’s characters and a clever way to bring a little magic into your life.


The Art Of The Video Game by Josh Jenisch looks at the current state of video games and how much they have changed since they were first introduced. Pages are packed with character studies, environment designs, different game genre scenarios and lots of technical talk and mumbo jumbo for the diehard video game player and hopeful game designer.


The book breaks down how a game is conceptualized, designed and finally produced with lots of insider insights and instruction. If you love video games then this book fits the bill.


Finally, perhaps comes the most important book in the recent releases: The Encyclopedia Of Sandwiches. Author Susan Russo and photographer Matt Armendariz provide a guided tour through the wonderful world of sandwiches and it is a visual treat.


Inside readers are treated to images of sandwiches from all over the world and recipes on how to make them. The photographs looks so good it’s tempting to almost tempting to eat the book! Lovers of foods stuffed between two slices of bread get their appetites stirred in this wonderful homage to everyone’s favorite type of food: sandwiches!