William A. Hilyerd (Louisville): Hi Superman, I'm a Lawyer: A Guide to Attorneys (& Other Legal Professionals) Portrayed in American Comic Books: 1910-2007. Forget the theory, enjoy the strips: Douglas Wolk's Reading Comics isn't afraid to take comics seriously. Shakespeare in Dogpatch: Of sonnets and comic strips. Why cover art matters: How else are readers supposed to judge books before they've read them - except by how they look? Has any other literary genre captured the drama of bookishness better than bookish thrillers? Publishing never had a golden age: So, today's book industry is focused on profit margins and it's tough for authors to get themselves in print. What's new? The Highs and the Lows of Rankings on Amazon: Some authors compulsively check their sales rank on Amazon.com while others try to game the system.
From Sign and Sight, Modernism enters the museum: As Berlin's famed housing settlements from the Weimar Republic compete to become Unesco world heritage sites, Dankwart Guratzsch visits the exhibition at the Bauhaus Archiv to assess their credentials. The art of modesty: The question of what constitutes "provincial art" seems pretty remote in times of globalism, overlapping art fairs and the online availability of images. A touch of Gothic: A review of God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain by Rosemary Hill. The paintings of Htein Lin, a former Burmese dissident who has given up politics for art, serve as something of an antidote to the regime's propaganda. The things we leave behind, one man's all-consuming art: Chris Jordan's pictures quantify the things we consume. Life beyond the lens: New novels frame two of photography's most compelling legends, Edward Curtis and Edward Steichen.
From Smithsonian, Broadway, Inc.: With shows like "Legally Blonde" and "Wicked," the era of the name-brand musical is in full swing. Terry Teachout on Shakespeare the Relevant: Actors and directors keep reminding us that the Bard's works never grow old. A review of A Short Introduction to the Ancient Greek Theater by Graham Ley. A review of Troy: From Homer's Iliad to Hollywood Epic. Art of darkness: Joseph Conrad’s "engine of demonism" has influenced a century of cinema. A review of Oscar Micheaux. The Great and Only: The Life of America’s First Black Filmmaker by Patrick McGilligan. A review of Bambi vs Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business by David Mamet (and more and more). A lot of White Russians, three German nihilists, one Vietnam vet and The Dude: Just why is The Big Lebowski such a celebrated cult film? The following is a list of most quotable films.
