Superheroes Beyond
Superheroes Beyond
Contributions by Mitchell Adams, Frederick Luis Aldama, Jason Bainbridge, Djoymi Baker, Liam Burke, Octavia Cade, Hernan David Espinosa-Medina, Dan Golding, Ian Gordon, Sheena C. Howard, Aaron Humphrey, Naja Later, Cormac McGarry, Angela Ndalianis, Julian Novitz, Alexandra Ostrowski Schilling, Maria Lorena M. Santos, Jack Teiwes, and Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed
In recent years, superheroes on the page and screen have garnered increasing research and wider interest. Nonetheless, many works fall back on familiar examples before arriving at predictable conclusions. Superheroes Beyond moves superhero research beyond expected models. In this innovative collection, contributors unmask international crimefighters, track superheroes outside of the comic book page, and explore heroes whose secret identities are not cisgender men. Superheroes Beyond responds to the growing interest in understanding the unique appeal of superheroes by reveling in the diversity of this heroic type.
Superheroes Beyond explores the complexity and cultural reach of the superhero in three sections. The first, “Beyond Men of Steel,” examines how the archetype has moved beyond simply recapitulating the “man of steel” figure to include broader representations of race, gender, sexuality, and ableness. The second section, “Beyond Comic Books,” discusses how the superhero has become a transmedia phenomenon, moving from comic books to toys to cinema screens and beyond. The final section, “Beyond the United States,” highlights the vibrant but often overlooked history of global superhero figures. Together, the essays in this collection form important starting points for taking stock of the superhero’s far-reaching appeal, contributing the critical conversations required to bring scholarship into the present moment and beyond.
In addition to highlighting fresh voices and offering new interpretations of familiar material, Superheroes Beyond opens significant new avenues in comics, film, popular culture, and fan studies, especially as these relate to marginalized communities and international imaginations. This collection represents a new and exciting generation of scholarship.
Superheroes Beyond offers a wealth of different approaches to the phenomenon of the superhero and shines light on previously neglected case studies and scholarly contexts. This is a vital contribution to comics studies.
Cormac McGarry completed his PhD at the University of Galway’s Huston School of Film and Digital Media. His research examined the post-medium specificity of comics, looking at how a growing number of digital comics varieties affect our understanding of what makes up a comic book. He has presented his research at a range of conferences including the International Conference of Graphic Novels and Comics and the Irish Screen Studies Seminar series. Liam Burke is associate professor of screen studies at Swinburne University of Technology. His publications include the Pocket Essential Superhero Movies and the edited collections Fan Phenomena: Batman and The Superhero Symbol: Media, Culture, and Politics. He is also author of The Comic Book Film Adaptation: Exploring Modern Hollywood’s Leading Genre, published by University Press of Mississippi. Ian Gordon has taught history and media studies for many years at the National University of Singapore. His publications include Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon, Ben Katchor: Conversations, Film and Comic Books, and The Comics of Charles Schulz: The Good Grief of Modern Life, the latter three published by University Press of Mississippi. Angela Ndalianis is an adjunct research professor in media and entertainment. Her publications include Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment, Science Fiction Experiences,The Horror Sensorium: Media and the Senses, and the edited volume The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero.
