Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way Nickie D.Phillips and StaciStrobl. New York: New York University Press, 2013.

Abstract

Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way Nickie D. Phillips and Staci Strobl. New York: New York University Press, 2013.A number of superheroes have become universally recognizable. Even if someone has never read one of their comic books, he/she is likely aware of superheroes such as Superman and Batman. The popularity of these characters has transcended the pages of comic books and has permeated popular culture, appearing in other media such as blockbuster films, television shows, and video games. While the stories featuring superheroes encapsulate a number of genres from romance to horror, they are all essentially tales about crime and justice. Utilizing a cultural criminological perspective, Phillips and Strobl examined a cross-section of two hundred of the most popular American superhero comic book series, published between 2001 and 2010, in order to understand how crime and justice are portrayed in superhero comic books.The authors spend the early chapters of the book setting the stage for the findings of their analysis. Chapter 2 provides a brief history of the various eras in superhero comic books that saw superheroes morph from simple defenders of the status quo to characters who served as a conduit to present social commentary. Chapter 3 provides additional historical context and shows how the events of 9/11 have fundamentally changed superhero comic books, such as questioning both the role of superheroes in a world following the attacks as well as the portrayal of Muslim and Arabic characters and settings.In Chapter 4, they investigate the scope of the crime problem which is presented in superhero comic books and conclude that the worlds presented in these comic books are almost always on the brink of a catastrophe due to some criminal element (such as organized crime or homicidal maniacs). Traditional law enforcement is usually presented as incompetent or, at the very least, incapable of handling the crime problem, thus necessitating intervention by a superhero.Chapter 5 examines the depiction of the antagonists in superhero comic books: the criminals, who are presented as the embodiment of evil. When attempting to explain the motives of the villains, comic books generally rely on explanations that revolve around childhood trauma, psychological disturbances, or a rational choice viewpoint that the benefits of their criminal behavior will outweigh potential consequences.In Chapter 6, the paths that superheroes take in order to achieve justice, as well as to what extent they will violate the law in order to preserve justice is explored. …