BATMAN! SUPERMAN! FLASH GORDON! THE GREEN HORNET! CAPTAIN MARVEL!
All of these colorful characters, and many others from the comics, pulps, and radio,
made their silver screen debuts as multi-part serials, in which the hero would face certain
death at the end of each chapter, urging their fans to return week after week to continue
their thrilling adventures.
Now, you can relive these hair-raising chapterplays, and thrill to hundreds of images of rare
and seldom-seen movie poster material, in CAPES, CROOKS & CLIFFHANGERS: HEROIC SERIAL
POSTERS OF THE GOLDEN AGE, the newest collectibles book from Ivy Press.
"Wow! Talk about a page turner! I picked up a copy of Capes, Crooks & Cliffhangers thinking I'd
thumb through it for a couple of minutes before my favorite TV show came on. Two hours later, when
I finally put it down, I wasn't even aware that I had missed my show. I was totally obsessed with a
burning desire to read it again and again because there's just no way to absorb all the excitement and
wonder and stirrings of nostalgia that lie within its compelling covers. All the old serials you remember
from childhood, all the ones you've read about, or heard about, or wanted to learn more about, are
thrillingly depicted here in this amazing, brilliantly colored, beautifully designed and compellingly
written treasure of a book. My hat's off to John Petty and Grey Smith. Their collaboration has given us
a literary and artistic feast.for the eye and the imagination—as we behold the
colorful, unforgettable creations that have so heroically led us to the culture of today. Excelsior!"
—STAN LEE
Co-creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X.Men, Iron Man,
and the Hulk
"Without the Saturday matinee serials we wouldn't have 'Star Wars' or 'Indiana Jones.' These
wonderful films deserve to be remembered and celebrated, as they are in this welcome book."
—LEONARD MALTIN
Film historian, critic, and author of Of Mice and Magic
and Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide
"Upon opening Capes, Crooks & Cliffhangers, a huge smile wrapped itself across my face
and stayed
there until I turned the final page. Film buffs have revered Valley of the Cliffhangers as the masterpiece
of this genre for years, but it will have to make room as this volume takes its place among the best.
Over two thirds of the imagery in this volume wasn't discovered till recently, and seeing the rarest and
most interesting of these classic serial posters is like a visit to the Metropolitan. One's eyes and brain
soon become 'numb' with a wealth of information! This is a smart and perfectly designed book that will
reignite everyone's sense of wonder."
—JERRY WEIST
Author of The Comic Art Price Guide and Bradbury: An Illustrated
Life—A Journey to Far
Metaphor; co-author of 100 Greatest Comic Books (with Jim Steranko)
"This handsome volume pays tribute to the wonderful world of movie serials with special attention
given to the superb reproduction of classic serial posters."
—DAVID CHIERICHETTI
Author of Hollywood Costume Design and Edith Head: The Life and
Times of Hollywood's Celebrated Costume Designer; co-author of The Movie Poster Book
(with Steve Schapiro) and Mitchell Leisen: Hollywood Director
(with Dorothy Lamour)