Superhero Comic Books Research Articles

From superhero to Super Sikh: (re)constructing Sikh identity in Super Sikh comics

ABSTRACT Superhero comics established their distinctive literary conventions and narrative patterns which have been further widely adapted to create new superhero characters in different cultural contexts. Although superhero comic books have been extensively read across cultures, the Sikh community has recently discovered their pedagogical potential in disseminating the Sikh theological values and cultural ethos to Sikh children, and familiarising the western public with Sikh history and traditions. This paper analyses how superhero traditions are appropriated to create a Khalsa template of the Sikh superhero, Super Sikh, and the distinctiveness of Khalsa Sikh identity is highlighted and differentiated from the Muslim identity to address the issue of ‘mistaken identity’ hate crimes in the aftermath of 9/11.

Protecting the Deli: Jewish Nostalgia and Social Justice in E. Lockhart's Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero

ABSTRACT: In this article, I analyze E. Lockhart's comic Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero (Burbank, CA: DC Comics, 2021) as a distinctively American Jewish text. I argue that Whistle draws upon nostalgia for an imagined Jewish past by creating an alternative present infused with the material culture of American Jewishness. In so doing, I show how the comic develops features of mainstream American Jewishness—such as eating at Jewish delis, holding a nostalgic attachment to American Jewish history, and working for social justice—in the construction of a superhero narrative. I explore how Whistle's visual depiction of Jewish food and space construct an authentically Jewish environment. Lastly, I suggest that, as a superhero comic book written for teenage readers, Whistle promotes nostalgia and the pursuit of social justice as components of American Jewishness.

Dr. Manhattan's Penis: Traditions of Modesty and Morality in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's Watchmen

ABSTRACTWatchmen expresses its internal debate about the understanding of good and evil through its frequent vacillation between images of both costume and nudity. Ultimately, nudity in the comic comes to represent a transcendence of the conventional morality most often represented in superhero comic books. Moore's and Gibbons's story of the shedding of clothing declares the notion that a traditional knowledge of good and evil may be inconvenient when trying to build a utopia.

With great power comes great hunger: Marvel Zombies as parody of the superhero trope

ABSTRACT There has always been something of the monster baked into the comic book superhero’s DNA. Whether it pertains to the reality-bending powers of superhero soaring through the air, seeing through walls, setting her body aflame or altering her size, or by the more Gothic literary antecedents and ‘science gone amok’ themes constitutive of their origin stories, the comic book superhero treads a fine line between saviour and monster, as often evinced in the oscillating reactions of approbation and fear displayed by the diegetic public’s reaction to them. Marvel Zombies, Marvel Comics’ commercially successful depiction of its beloved superheroes as ravenous, flesh-eating cannibals, expresses one of the more recent and unsettling throwbacks to the monstrous origins and nature of the Marvel superhero. Employing Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s methodology of reading culture from the figure of the monster, this article proposes to explore Marvel Zombies as an indictment and parodic criticism of the Marvel Superhero. Just as the double is, per Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, an uncanny reminder of repressed truths and desires, so too does the decaying Marvel Zombie function as the uncanny doppelganger of the Marvel superhero, revealing the stagnant character development at its rotten core.

ИСТОРИЯ ВОЗНИКНОВЕНИЯ И РАЗВИТИЯ КОМИКСА В США

The article provides a historical overview of such a literary and artistic phenomenon as a comic book in the United States of America. The most popular definition of a comic book in special literature to date has been characterized. The history of the appearance of the comic book and its individual artistic features are examined in detail. Conclusions have been drawn about the origin of comics in Europe and their gradual spread to the United States. The most significant works of European authors (R. Töpfer, W. Busch) and the first American authors (R. Outcolt, W. Mackay and G. Herriman) are considered. It is shown how, after the first stages of development, a specific, purely American comic book genre began to form - superhero comics (superheroics) and its influence on the entire further history of these works in America. The periodization of the history of the comic book by "centuries," characteristic features of comics of each century, the most iconic or typical works of each of these periods, is considered. In addition, the works of the most iconic and important authors and artists of the superhero comic book genre are considered and the development of other comic book genres, as well as the influence of the state and the specific historical situation on the subject of works, are characterized. The article is based on scientific and popular science literature on the topic of research.

It’s not all black and white: A text analysis of racially diverse versus legacy superheroes in Marvel and DC Comics

Comic-book publishers have responded to growing racial diversity by strategically creating multicultural superheroes to diversify their publishing lines. While extant research has examined representation and broader-level themes surrounding diverse heroes, limited research has focused on the story text in diverse titles. This is the first study to explore and analyse the story text to uncover themes in diverse versus legacy superhero comics. Through a Leximancer text analysis of superhero comic books from Marvel and DC Comics, this study (1) identifies the prominent themes exuded in legacy titles versus diversity titles, (2) examines the cultural authenticity of the themes, and (3) compares the themes with those in past research. Identifying the different themes and their authenticity is critical for creators and marketers appealing to diverse segments, who now represent 19 per cent of consumer spending in the USA. Findings indicate varying themes across diverse and legacy superhero comics. Diverse comics focus on time struggles between superhero-ing and school, family and home. Legacy comics evoke themes of mastering time and space and then returning home. In contrasting Marvel and DC diverse superhero comics, Marvel themes focus more on the personal journey of the hero from doubt to confidence, while DC themes focus on the resilience of the heroes in their downtrodden neighbourhoods. In comparing these themes with themes identified in past content analyses, there is similarity and authenticity. The paper concludes with strategic implications pertinent to cultural marketing and media representation and inclusion. Marketers trying to reach diverse segments must continue to present diverse youth with authentic stories developed by credible creators. They may also move beyond common themes to those embodying greater empowerment.

On continuity in comic book film adaptations and beyond

In 2019 Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing film of all time, solidifying the status of superhero comic book films as Hollywood’s leading genre. This article attributes part of the blockbuster’s success to its status as an adaptation. It discusses the economic gains of the transmedia storytelling format employed by superhero comic book filmmakers and the importance of continuity, cinematic universes, multiverses and corporate synergy in this genre of movies and beyond. Although these concepts all precede the inception of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their current popularity could be attributed to that endeavour. The view that transmedia storytelling and adaptation are at odds is challenged. It is argued that the organization of superhero comic book storytelling into universes has become an adaptation norm and that a similar trend could be observed over the past few years in Hollywood cinema.

Paratextual Negotiations: Fan Forums as Digital Epitexts of Popular Superhero Comic Books and Science Fiction Pulp Novel Series

This article examines the reception of popular serial narratives. Starting from the assumption that this reception presents both a challenge (how to study the vast and heterogeneous readerly engagement with these texts?) and a chance (readers of such texts tend to comment profusely about the reception process), we identify the paratext as a privileged space of readerly communication on, and serial engagement with, popular storytelling. We develop the concept of “paratextual negotiation” as a means of understanding letter columns and fan forums as (now mostly) digital epitexts that shape the evolution of particularly popular—widely noticed, commercially successful, long-running—narratives, with a focus on the German science fiction pulp novel series Perry Rhodan (1961–) and additional thoughts on the US American comic book superhero Captain America (1941–). Taking the quantitative-empirical metrics of attention measurement and their public display seriously by identifying and close-reading the most popular forum threads and the most broadly recognized commentary about these narratives, we argue that the participatory element of popular culture can be reconstructed in the interplay between series text and serial paratext and can be described as a force in serial evolution that thrives on a combination of variation and redundancy and of selection and adaptation.

Youth in peril: representation of vulnerability of young people in doga comic books

ABSTRACT The paper analyses the susceptibility of the youths against political-religious polarisations as presented in the Indian (Hindi) superhero comic books. The focus will be on the character, Doga (Raj comics) as he appears in the comics from 1996 to 2019. This analysis will be carried out within the framework of deconstruction applied via political discourse analysis. The paper will read these titles - Doga Hindu Hai (Doga is Hindu) series, Doga ko Gado (Bury Doga) etc. These texts deal with political issues that are coloured with religious tones portraying situations in which youths usually go astray. However, the response of the protagonist to these challenges, channelises these discontents sometimes through his own example and sometimes through appeal and yet sometimes through use of force, into positive outcomes. These artistic responses offer both the wish fulfilment to mitigate the atmosphere of peril and incites alternate reactions to the quotidian (and generally political) answers. The paper is divided into the following sections – No country for the young, Comics and crisis, People and publication, Origins, Politics and youth delinquency, Poverty and delinquency, Catch ‘em Young, Colours of riot, Dalit and Doga and conclusion.

“With Great Power Comes Great Impressionability” A Study Of The Relation Between Stereotypes And Superheroes

The present multimethod research examines different stereotypes about race via a comic book superhero lens. This study focuses on the ascription of traits to a superhero figure developed specifically for this research, examining differences in trait ascription based on the race and sexual orientation of the hero. A diverse sample of participants (N= 371) were presented random drawings of either White, African American, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Asian, or Native American superhero images and asked questions about their perceptions of the hero’s traits, character role (hero, villain, sidekick), powers, and socioeconomic status. Additionally, hero sexual orientation was manipulated (Heterosexual x Gay), bringing 12 conditions of hero identity that were randomly assigned to participants in a 6 (Race: White x Black x Latinx x Asian x Arab x Native American) x 2 (Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual x Gay) cross-sectional design. Results indicated that participants ascribed certain traits differently based on the race of the hero as well as how race and sexuality of the hero interacted. Additionally, results supported the use of original, fictional images as a means of examining participant perceptions of race and sexuality. These empirical findings can be helpful in the creation and real-world adaptations of comic book superhero media and understanding effects of comic media on the development and dissemination of stereotypes.

Review: The Content of Our Caricature: African American Comic Art and Political Belonging, by Rebecca Wanzo

Review: <i>The Content of Our Caricature: African American Comic Art and Political Belonging</i>, by Rebecca Wanzo

Editorial Board Reflections on Formative Books and Other Media

Reading Characters, People, and PropertiesIn this piece, I reflect on superhero comic books I read in my childhood and adolescence, noting that as I collected and read stories featuring the character known as the Silver Surfer, I slowly began to realize that the character’s traits, as established in the first comic in which he appeared, seemed to change in comics published later. In searching for explanations for these changes, I began to pay attention to a comic’s credits, recognizing that different writers and artists understood the character in different ways and often felt no obligation to maintain a consistent approach. I eventually realized that a comic’s credits sometimes misrepresented the labor invested by each of the story’s creators. This long process led to an ongoing interest—in both my writing and teaching—in the ways that our interpretation of a story and its characters can be enriched by understanding the conditions under which it was produced.Books of the HeartWhat might reflecting on favorite books from our childhood tell us about our past and current selves? This short meditation on that question first considers reading memoirs and experiments in rereading, and then reviews some favorite books from the author’s own childhood, speculating on their appeal and potential significance for identity consolidation.The Fantasy of the Boy Scout HandbookBorn and raised in Miami Beach, Florida, I opened my new Boy Scouts of America Handbook for Boys in the summer of 1956, at age 11, in anticipation of moving from the Cub Scouts to the Boy Scouts that fall. I found in those pages a fantasy that moved me deeply, a romantic fantasy of hiking and camping in the wilderness with a band of boy buddies. That fantasy has deep roots in fiction for boys and in books like the Handbook, appealing to the boy’s desire to escape the surveillance and control of adults and to fashion a community of “lost boys” in a wilderness setting ideal for strong male bonding in friendship.“I Never Had Any Friends Later on Like the Ones I Had When I Was Twelve. Jesus, Does Anyone?”: Reflections on Learning about Boyhood through Stand by MeThis piece offers reflections on the 1986 movie Stand by Me, drawing on some of the main themes and contextualizing them in relation to my own childhood as a girl growing up in the 1990s. I reflect on how in my rewatch of the movie, I was struck by the ways that the class positions of the boys echoed my own experiences of transition and liberation through education. I also reflect on the significance of seeing boys cry and be scared—feelings that the boys at my school were policed out of performing in public.Boy Genius: Reflections on Reading The Great BrainBased on reflection and analysis of a formative childhood text, this essay disentangles the relationship between reading, intelligence, and masculinity. The author argues that although reading fiction appears to encourage empathy, books written specifically for boys may contain detrimental messages about masculinity. The analysis reveals that the popular Great Brain series reinforces notions of whiteness, ableism, and masculine superiority. These messages are reinforced by the books’ emphasis on pragmatic “genius” and the savior trope in boyhood.

The ambiguous role of science and technology in Marvel superhero comics: From their ‘Golden Age’ to the present-day

Science and Technology (S&T) is a key aspect of superhero comic books. Comics reach a vast audience and are rife with scientific references. They represent a valuable resource for communicating the value of science in popular culture. The Marvel universe has evolved exponentially since its birth in 1939, breaking into the cinema industry and reaching new audiences. However, a glance at some popular Marvel characters raises some concern about the part played by S&T in superhero stories and the debatable effects of S&T on superhero characters. In this paper, we analyse the use of S&T in the Marvel universe (1632 identified characters), to investigate whether comics books favour or impede the diffusion of S&T and to determine whether S&T has a positive or negative connotation in comics. In line with the existing literature, we argue that comics' use of science can influence public perception of and acceptability of scientific discoveries.

THE GAME THAT DAY WAS A TIGER1: IMPLICATIONS OF TIGER-HUNTING EPISODES IN SELECT AMAR CHITRA KATHA GRAPHIC HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHIES2 CONCERNING INDIAN RULERS

Amar Chitra Katha, being comics and described by its makers as a route to Indian roots, has replaced the stereotypical western comic book superheroes by narrating and celebrating native heroes fetched from Indian history, mythology, legends and folk culture satisfying the needs of comic-book adventurism as well as an education achieved through entertainment. The Amar Chitra Katha ‘heroic’ graphic historical biographies were not merely intended to be a source of historical knowledge about India but also an inspiration to emulate the ideals of such heroes of native history. The present paper is a study of graphic visualizations of certain episodes related to tiger-hunting in select historical titles of Amar Chitra Katha. The paper attempts to critically examine the politics of visual aesthetics and graphic narration of historical facts related to the tiger- hunting available in such graphic historical biographies and thereby tries to diagnose whether such historical representations need to be analyzed with regard to the methodologies of representation involving postcolonial nationalist writing back or communal stereotyping and rewritten according to the pressing needs of the contemporary world concerning erosion of wildlife and anthropogenic natural disorder.

Marvel Presents a Global Utopia and Confronts Nationalism: Eternals as a New Mythology Forged from Western Roots

Marvel’s 2021 film Eternals presents a new mythology for a new century, for an audience grappling with the complexity of postcolonialism and concerned about resurging white nationalism. Its mythology, while rooted in Western narratives, presents a utopia in the form of a multicultural pantheon, presented by a carefully selected, diverse class. While Marvel undoubtedly has commercial concerns, its careful construction of this new mythology and the considered adaptation process show a moral vision for the future. Importantly, this vision presents a direct contrast to the resurgence of the appropriation of classical mythology as justification for white supremacy. Marvel’s Eternals therefore can be seen as utopian: it offers the perfection of moral predictability, of good triumphing over evil. However, it simultaneously undercuts its story by couching it in the genre of a comic book superhero fantasy adventure–the reality Eternals offers, even fictionally, is beyond ordinary, mortal humans.

The gendering of Americanness and citizenship narratives in Spider-Man comic books: The case of Mary Jane Watson

This study is premised on the concept of citizenship theory, primarily what is often called cultural citizenship and how this kind of approach can provide insight on narrative development of superhero comic book characters Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and Mary Jane Watson. By positioning the analysis within discourse theory (enforced by representational theory) it relies on the idea of the private and public sphere, the starting point of Lauren Berlant’s notion of citizenship, and how gender roles framed Mary Jane Watson and superhero Spider-Man in the process of gendering national identity. This article draws on two main sets of analyses – the wedding ceremony of Peter and Mary Jane that happened outside comic book panels, at the Shea Stadium in New York in 1987, and Tom DeFalco’s story Maximum Carnage from 1992. These cases are tackled from the position of gender representation with the focus on elaborating how the discourses about gender and citizenship positioned the character of Mary Jane and Spider-Man into the realm of gendered Americanness. The embeddedness of these findings places Mary Jane as a vital part of Spider-Man stories while pointing out specific discursive forms of gendered nationality in American popular superhero narratives: domesticated female identity and active male identity.

Korozja władzy. Dystopijna zapowiedź przyszłości w komiksie „Sędzia Dredd. Ameryka” (1990) Johna Wagnera i Colina MacNeila

The article draws out the parallels between the story presented in Judge Dredd: America (1990) and the contemporary events taking place on the streets of the United States. The comic book itself takes place in the dystopian setting of Mega City One which deprives its citizens of freedom, self-determination, and takes away their hope for a better tomorrow. The immigrants, presented in the comic book, who are dreaming of realizing their American Dream, instead, fi nd themselves living an American nightmare. The similarities between the comic book and the previously published V for Vendetta are noted, as both novels have had a strong influence on the deheroisation of the protagonist of a superhero comic book, particularly in relation to the European comic book (1985–1990). Here, the morally ambiguous figure of Judge Dredd is relegated to the background, and the plot itself, as well as further research discussion, focuses on the characters of America Jara and her friend, Bennett Beeny. Their friendship significantly affects the story and the ultimate fate of America. Both of them are harmed by the system based on the superiority of the Judges, whose attitude is often reminiscent of the current actions of the American police, which is particularly interesting in the context of contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter. The authors of Judge Dredd: America provoke their readers to ask questions about the meaning of freedom, the place of an individual in a society whose actions are normalized and restricted by law, and even to rebellion against an oppressive authority. The article concludes by considering the meaning of democracy in modern socjety.

Villainous snakes and heroic butterflies, the moral alignment of animal-themed characters in American superhero comic books

ABSTRACT People view animals through a framework of a negative to positive scale, with these views having wide-ranging implications including conservation programmeinvestment and success. Media can change public perception, and one media form that has largely been ignored in this regard is comic books. Within superhero comic books, characters are defined by use of animal monikers, traits, or resemblance. Superhero comic books are a unique medium due to characters existing on a hero to villain dichotomy. Examining animal representation on this hero/villain dichotomy can reveal public perceptions of various taxa. For this study, a total of 558 characters were categorised as heroes, villains, or morally ambiguous. Findings indicate vertebrate-themed characters outnumbered invertebrate-themed characters despite invertebrates making up the majority of fauna biodiversity. Additionally, male comic book characters outnumbered female comic book characters. Amphibians, fish, snakes, and lizards were more frequently portrayed as villains, while mammals, birds, butterflies, and beetles were more frequently portrayed as heroes. Exceptions to heroic mammals were even-toed ungulates and Primates which were more villainous than heroic in their depictions. Investigating animal depictions in media, such as superhero comic books, can help reveal where public perceptions originate and add further context to existing species bias research.

“Let’s rewrite some history, shall we?”: temporality and postfeminism in Captain Marvel’s comic book superhero(ine)ism

ABSTRACT Superhero comics books’ reliance on revision has been discussed but the role of gender in relation to these concepts in such comics is yet to be explored. This paper examines the first story arc of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s acclaimed comic book series Captain Marvel (2012) through the interrogative lens of postfeminist culture, considering how past and present collided within the relaunching of the popular Marvel comics superheroine Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) into Captain Marvel. Simultaneously a postmodern pastiche and a contemporary mediation of popular feminism, the story takes Danvers back, via time travel, to periods before the western second-wave feminist movement took hold. The article thus considers how this Captain Marvel storyline engages with contemporary feminist issues such as the proliferation of female superheroes in Marvel comics as well as the retroactive insertion of feminist discourses into an ostensibly prefeminist setting, questioning what, if any, radical interventions in dominant modes of women’s representations in superhero narratives these stories might offer.

Visualizing Superman: Artistic Strategizing in Early Representations of the Archetypal Man in Comic Books

In 1933, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers from Ohio, fashioned an ideal personality called Superman and a narrative of his marvelous deeds. Little did they suspect that several years after conceptualizing the figure and their many vain attempts to sell the story to various comic book publishers, their creation would give rise to the iconic genre of comic book superheroes. There is no doubt that the Superman character and the accompanying narrative led to Siegel and Shuster, the writer and artist, respectively, becoming famous. However, was it only the appealing character and compelling narrative that accounted for the story’s enormous popularity, which turned its creators into such a celebrated pair, or did the visual design play a major part in that phenomenal success? Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in the comic book medium in several disciplines, including history, philosophy, and literature. However, little has been written about its visual aspect, and comic book art has not yet been accorded much recognition among art historians. Since the integration of storyline and art is what allow the comic book medium to be unique and interesting, I contend that there should be a focus on the art as well as on the narrative of works in comic books. In the present study, I explore the significance of the visual image in the prototype of the Superman figure that Siegel and Schuster sold to DC Comics and its first appearance in the series American Comic Books. I argue that although the popularity of Superman’s first appearance was due to the conceptual ideals that the character embodied, the visual design of the ideal man was also an essential factor in its success. Accordingly, through a discussion of the first published Superman storyline, I emphasize the artistic-visual value of the figure of this protagonist in particular and the comic book medium in general.