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The Superhero Symbol
Media, Culture, and Politics
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Edited by:
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With contributions by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2020
About this book
“As a man, I'm flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed; but as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting”. In the 2005 reboot of the Batman film franchise, Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne articulates how the figure of the superhero can serve as a transcendent icon.
It is hard to imagine a time when superheroes have been more pervasive in our culture. Today, superheroes are intellectual property jealously guarded by media conglomerates, icons co-opted by grassroots groups as a four-color rebuttal to social inequities, masks people wear to more confidently walk convention floors and city streets, and bulletproof banners that embody regional and national identities. From activism to cosplay, this collection unmasks the symbolic function of superheroes.
Bringing together superhero scholars from a range of disciplines, alongside key industry figures such as Harley Quinn co-creator Paul Dini, 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.
It is hard to imagine a time when superheroes have been more pervasive in our culture. Today, superheroes are intellectual property jealously guarded by media conglomerates, icons co-opted by grassroots groups as a four-color rebuttal to social inequities, masks people wear to more confidently walk convention floors and city streets, and bulletproof banners that embody regional and national identities. From activism to cosplay, this collection unmasks the symbolic function of superheroes.
Bringing together superhero scholars from a range of disciplines, alongside key industry figures such as Harley Quinn co-creator Paul Dini, 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.
Author / Editor information
LIAM BURKE is the Cinema and Screen Studies Coordinator at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, where he also teaches classes on comic books and cinema. He has written and edited a number of books including The Comic Book Film Adaptation (2015), Fan Phenomena Batman (2012), and Superhero Movies (2008).
IAN GORDON teaches cultural history and American Studies at the National University of Singapore, where he is the Head of the Department of History. His books include Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon (2017), Kid Comic Strips: A Genre Across Four Countries (2016), Comic Strips and Consumer Culture (1998), and the edited work Film and Comic Books (2007).
ANGELA NDALIANIS is Director of the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology. The books she has written or edited include The Horror Sensorium: Media and the Senses (2012), Science Fiction Experiences (2010), The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero (2009), Super/Heroes: from Hercules to Superman (2007), and Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment (2004).
IAN GORDON teaches cultural history and American Studies at the National University of Singapore, where he is the Head of the Department of History. His books include Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon (2017), Kid Comic Strips: A Genre Across Four Countries (2016), Comic Strips and Consumer Culture (1998), and the edited work Film and Comic Books (2007).
ANGELA NDALIANIS is Director of the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology. The books she has written or edited include The Horror Sensorium: Media and the Senses (2012), Science Fiction Experiences (2010), The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero (2009), Super/Heroes: from Hercules to Superman (2007), and Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment (2004).
Reviews
"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"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."
— SFcrowsnestTopics
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Frontmatter
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CONTENTS
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Introduction “Everlasting” Symbols
1 - Part 1 Superheroes, Politics, and Civic Engagement
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1 “What Else Can You Do with Them?” Superheroes and the Civic Imagination
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2 “America Is a Piece of Trash” Captain America, Patriotism, Nationalism, and Fascism
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3 “This Land Is Mine!” Understanding the Function of Supervillains
63 -
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4 An Interview with Comics Artist, Writer, and “Herstorian” Trina Robbins
79 - Part 2 The Superhero as Brand
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5 The Secret Commercial Identity of Superheroes Protecting the Superhero Symbol
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6 Siegel and Shuster as Brand Name
105 -
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7 Practicing Superhuman Law Creative License, Industrial Identity, and Spider-Man’s Homecoming
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8 The Sound of the Cinematic Superhero
135 -
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9 An Interview with Former President of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson
149 - Part 3 Becoming the Superhero
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10 Arkham Knave The Joker in Game Design
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11 Being Super, Becoming Heroes Dialogic Superhero Narratives in Cosplay Collectives
171 -
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12 From Pages to Pavements A Criminological Comparison between Depictions of Crime Control in Superhero Narratives and “Real-Life Superhero” Activity
189 -
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13 An Interview with Dark Night: A True Batman Story Writer Paul Dini
204 - Part 4 Superheroes and National Identity
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14 Captain America, National Narratives, and the Queer Subversion of the Retcon
215 -
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15 Apes, Angels, and Super Patriots The Irish in Superhero Comics
231 -
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16 Missing in Action The Late Development of the German-Speaking Superhero
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17 Chinese Milk for Iron Men Superhero Coproductions and Technological Anxiety
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18 Age of the Atoman Australian Superhero Comics and Cold War Modernity
286 -
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19 An Interview with Cleverman Creator Ryan Griffen and Star Hunter Page-Lochard
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS
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INDEX
319
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
October 11, 2022
eBook ISBN:
9780813597201
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9780813597201
Keywords for this book
culture; cultural studies; american studies; film; media studies; communications; performing arts; film and video; film industry; history; film history; cultural history; american history; u.s. history; us history; pop culture; popular culture; literary criticism; comics; graphic novels; comics and graphic novels; social science; animated; media; Batman; Batman Begins; Bruce Wayne; superheroes; superhero; superhero media; Harley Quinn; Paul Dini; Captain America; Iron Man; Wonder Woman; politics; patriotism; fascism; nationalism; supervillains; art; Siegel; Shuster; Spider-Man; Spider Man; Spider-Man Homecoming; Marvel; Marvel comics; MCU; marvel cinematic universe; DC; Detective comics; The Joker; Joker; Arkham Knave; crime; Dark Night; Dark Knight; Dark Night: A True Batman Story; queer; Irish; Irish comics; Irish superheroes; German superheroes; Australian superheroes; Australian comics; Cleverman; Ryan Griffen; Hunter Page-Lochard; Cold War
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
