The Superhero Symbol : : Media, Culture, and Politics / / ed. by Liam Burke, Ian Gordon, Angela Ndalianis.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Rutgers University Press Complete eBook-Package 2020
• MitwirkendeR: Adams, Mitchell,; Bainbridge, Jason,; Burke, Liam,; Conway, Steven,; Curtis, Neal,; Golding, Dan,; Gordon, Ian,; Iouchkov, Vladislav,; Jenkins, Henry,; Langsford, Claire,; Later, Naja,; Lomax, Tara,; Malone, Paul M.,; McGuire, John,; Patrick, Kevin,; Zhao, Shan Mu,
• HerausgeberIn: Burke, Liam,; Gordon, Ian,; Ndalianis, Angela,
• Place / Publishing House: New Brunswick, NJ : : Rutgers University Press, , [2019]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (288 p.) :; 34 color images, 3 BW images, 1 table

“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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Introduction “Everlasting” Symbols -- Part 1 Superheroes, Politics, and Civic Engagement -- 1 “What Else Can You Do with Them?” Superheroes and the Civic Imagination -- 2 “America Is a Piece of Trash” Captain America, Patriotism, Nationalism, and Fascism -- 3 “This Land Is Mine!” Understanding the Function of Supervillains -- 4 An Interview with Comics Artist, Writer, and “Herstorian” Trina Robbins -- Part 2 The Superhero as Brand -- 5 The Secret Commercial Identity of Superheroes Protecting the Superhero Symbol -- 6 Siegel and Shuster as Brand Name -- 7 Practicing Superhuman Law Creative License, Industrial Identity, and Spider-Man’s Homecoming -- 8 The Sound of the Cinematic Superhero -- 9 An Interview with Former President of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson -- Part 3 Becoming the Superhero -- 10 Arkham Knave The Joker in Game Design -- 11 Being Super, Becoming Heroes Dialogic Superhero Narratives in Cosplay Collectives -- 12 From Pages to Pavements A Criminological Comparison between Depictions of Crime Control in Superhero Narratives and “Real-Life Superhero” Activity -- 13 An Interview with Dark Night: A True Batman Story Writer Paul Dini -- Part 4 Superheroes and National Identity -- 14 Captain America, National Narratives, and the Queer Subversion of the Retcon -- 15 Apes, Angels, and Super Patriots The Irish in Superhero Comics -- 16 Missing in Action The Late Development of the German-Speaking Superhero -- 17 Chinese Milk for Iron Men Superhero Coproductions and Technological Anxiety -- 18 Age of the Atoman Australian Superhero Comics and Cold War Modernity -- 19 An Interview with Cleverman Creator Ryan Griffen and Star Hunter Page-Lochard -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS -- INDEX