As the nation seems to yearn for redemption from the evils that threaten its tranquility, the authors maintain that Joseph Campbell's monomythic hero is alive and well, but significantly displaced, in American popular culture.

Taking a multifaceted approach to attitudes toward race through popular culture and the American superhero, All New, All Different? explores a topic that until now has only received more discrete examination. Considering Marvel, DC, and lesser-known texts and heroes, this illuminating work charts eighty years of evolution in the portrayal of race in comics as well as in film and on television. Beginning with World War II, the authors trace the vexed depictions in early superhero stories, considering both Asian villains and nonwhite sidekicks. While the emergence of Black Panther, Black Lightning, Luke Cage, Storm, and other heroes in the 1960s and 1970s reflected a cultural revolution, the book reveals how nonwhite superheroes nonetheless remained grounded in outdated assumptions. Multiculturalism encouraged further diversity, with 1980s superteams, the minority-run company Milestone’s new characters in the 1990s, and the arrival of Ms. Marvel, a Pakistani-American heroine, and a new Latinx Spider-Man in the 2000s. Concluding with contemporary efforts to make both a profit and a positive impact on society, All New, All Different? enriches our understanding of the complex issues of racial representation in American popular culture.

"Contextualizes the history of race within comic books and the fundamental whiteness observed in American superhero narratives from the late 1930s to the present"--

Super Black places the appearance of black superheroes alongside broad and sweeping cultural trends in American politics and pop culture, which reveals how black superheroes are not disposable pop products, but rather a fascinating racial phenomenon through which futuristic expressions and fantastic visions of black racial identity and symbolic political meaning are presented. Adilifu Nama sees the value—and finds new avenues for exploring racial identity—in black superheroes who are often dismissed as sidekicks, imitators of established white heroes, or are accused of having no role outside of blaxploitation film contexts. Nama examines seminal black comic book superheroes such as Black Panther, Black Lightning, Storm, Luke Cage, Blade, the Falcon, Nubia, and others, some of whom also appear on the small and large screens, as well as how the imaginary black superhero has come to life in the image of President Barack Obama. Super Black explores how black superheroes are a powerful source of racial meaning, narrative, and imagination in American society that express a myriad of racial assumptions, political perspectives, and fantastic (re)imaginings of black identity. The book also demonstrates how these figures overtly represent or implicitly signify social discourse and accepted wisdom concerning notions of racial reciprocity, equality, forgiveness, and ultimately, racial justice.

In the less than eight decades since Superman's debut in 1938, comic book superheroes have become an indispensable part of American society and the nation's dominant mythology. They represent America's hopes, dreams, fears, and needs. As a form of popular literature, superhero narratives have closely mirrored trends and events in the nation. This study views American history from 1938 to 2010 through the lens of superhero comics, revealing the spandex-clad guardians to be not only fictional characters but barometers of the place and time in which they reside. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The ultimate compendium to everyone’s favorite participants in the eternal battle between good and evil! Profiles of more than 1,000 mythic superheroes, icons, and their place in popular culture. Superhuman strength. Virtual invulnerability. Motivated to defend the world from criminals and madmen. Possessing a secret identity. And they even have fashion sense—they look great in long underwear and catsuits. These are the traits that define the quintessential superhero. Their appeal and media presence has never been greater, but what makes them tick? their strengths? weaknesses? secret identities and arch-enemies? The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes is the comprehensive guide to all those characters whose impossible feats have graced the pages of comic books for the past one hundred years. From the Golden and Silver Ages to the Bronze and Modern Ages, the best-loved and most historically significant superheroes—mainstream and counterculture, famous and forgotten, best and worst—are all here: The Avengers Batman and Robin Captain America Superman Wonder Woman Captain Marvel Spider-Man The Incredibles The Green Lantern Iron Man Catwoman Wolverine Aquaman Hellboy Elektra Spawn The Punisher Teen Titans The Justice League The Fantastic Four and hundreds of others. Unique in bringing together characters from Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, as well as smaller independent houses, The Superhero Book covers the best-loved and historically significant superheroes across all mediums and guises, from comic book, movie, television, and graphic novels. With many photos and illustrations this fun, fact-filled tome is richly illustrated. A bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. It is the ultimate A-to-Z compendium of everyone's favorite superheroes, anti-heroes and their sidekicks, villains, love interests, superpowers, and modus operandi.

For more than 60 years, Captain America was one of Marvel Comics' flagship characters, representing truth, strength, liberty, and justice. The assassination of his alter ego, Steve Rogers, rocked the comic world, leaving numerous questions about his life and death. This book discusses topics including the representation of Nazi Germany in Captain America Comics from the 1940s to the 1960s; the creation of Captain America in light of the Jewish American experience; the relationship between Captain America and UK Marvel's Captain Britain; the groundbreaking partnership between Captain America and African American superhero the Falcon; and the attempts made to kill the character before his "real" death.