Description
Book SynopsisBringing together superhero scholars from a range of disciplines, alongside key industry figures,
The Superhero Symbol provides fresh perspectives on how characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Wonder Woman have engaged with media, culture, and politics, to become the “everlasting” symbols to which a young Bruce Wayne once aspired.
Trade Review"With contributions by an imposing list of scholars,
The Superhero Symbol offers readers enlightening essays on the politics of the superhero, on the commercial branding, nationalism and national identity, on sexuality and sexual identity, and on the culture and mythology of the superhero; in short, everything about the superhero that you never asked because it never even occurred to you to ask." -- Trina Robbins * author of Pretty in Ink, North American Women Cartoonists 1896 - 2013 *
"This extraordinary league of transmedial comics scholars pull off the impossible: the definitive tome on how global industries create and planetary consumers actively engage with the superhero symbol. The tack-sharp cross-disciplinary scholarship along with deep-probe interviews with industry titans take us on a wild journey through time and space to forcefully show how those costume-clad full-chested insignias and sky-beamed icons are much more than expressions of fan-boy wish fulfilment fantasies. Provocative. Field defining. A must read!" -- Frederick Luis Aldama * author of the Eisner Award winning Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics *
"Throughout the essays cross-refer, giving the collection considerable unity. Combining fundamental concerns in superhero studies with a variety of thought-provoking special topics, and studded with color illustrations, this is a worthwhile collection for both knowledgeable scholars and newcomers to superhero studies. Recommended." * Choice *
"There is a lot of ground covered in this book, much of which will make you think beyond your normal perimeters and that’s never a bad thing and makes for an interesting book." * SFcrowsnest *
Table of ContentsContents
Introduction: “Everlasting” Symbols: Unmasking superheroes and their shifting symbolic function, Liam Burke
Section 1: Superheroes, Politics, and Civic Engagement 1. “What Else Can You Do With Them?”: Superheroes and the Civic Imagination
Henry Jenkins 2. “America Is A Piece of Trash”: Captain America, Patriotism, Nationalism, and Fascism
Neal Curtis 3. “This Land is Mine!” Understanding the Function of Supervillains
Jason Bainbridge Interview 1: Comics artist, writer, and "herstorian" Trina Robbins
Section 2: The Superhero as a Brand 4. The Secret Commercial Identity of Superheroes: Protecting the Superhero Symbol
Mitchell Adams 5. Siegel and Shuster as Brand Name
Ian Gordon 6. Practicing Superhuman Law: Creative License, Industrial Identity, and Spider-Man’s Homecoming
Tara Lomax 7. The sound of the cinematic superhero
Dan Golding Interview 2: Former President of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson
Section 3: Becoming the Superhero 8. Arkham Knave: The Joker in Game Design
Steven Conway 9. Being Super, Becoming Heroes: Dialogic Superhero Narratives in Cosplay Collectives
Claire Langsford 10. “From Pages to Pavements”: A Criminological Comparison Between Depictions of Crime Control in Superhero Narratives and “Real-Life Superhero” Activity
Vladislav Iouchkov and John McGuire Interview 3:
Dark Night: A True Batman Story writer Paul Dini
Section 4: Superheroes and National Identity 11. Captain America, National Narratives, and the Queer Subversion of the Retcon
Naja Later 12. Apes, Angels, and Super Patriots: The Irish in Superhero Comics
Liam Burke 13. Missing in Action: The Late Development of the German-Speaking Superhero
Paul M. Malone 14. Chinese Milk for Iron Men: Superhero Coproductions and Technological Anxiety
Shan Mu Zhao 15. Age of the Atoman: Australian Superhero Comics and Cold War Modernity
Kevin Patrick Interview 4:
Cleverman creator Ryan Griffen and star Hunter Page-Lochard
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Editors
Notes on Contributors
Index
