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Caeners, Torsten and Danny Graydon, eds. Superheroes and Contemporary Cultures: Cross-medial explorations and societal perspectives. Bristol, Chicago: Intellect Books, 2026. 
Added by: joachim (17/04/2026, 10:10)   Last edited by: joachim (17/04/2026, 12:26)
Resource type: Book
Language: en: English
Published
ID no. (ISBN etc.): 9781835952535
BibTeX citation key: Caeners2026
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 Categories: General
Keywords: Collection of essays, Superhero
Creators: Caeners, Graydon
Publisher: Intellect Books (Bristol, Chicago)		 Views: 14/283
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Abstract
Offering a global and interdisciplinary perspective on the superhero genre across comics, television, and film, this book presents a diverse range of contemporary superhero scholarship. It combines close readings of iconic characters like Batman, Iron Man, and Watchmen with critical analysis of broader cultural and societal discourses. The volume explores how superheroes reflect and problematize ideology, the military-industrial complex, and notions of public and private responsibility. Key themes include identity construction through secret identities and masking, as well as cultural and personal grief and trauma in relation to race and politics. Designed for students, scholars, and fans alike, this work reveals the enduring mainstream appeal of superheroes and their complex intersections with global popular culture.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface | Introduction: By Any Other Name? Re-thinking the Concept and Definition of the Superhero (Torsten Caeners)

Section I: Investigating Batman and/in Society

Chapter 1: Ideology in the Superhero Film: Batman and Neoliberal Fantasy (Robert Hyland)
Chapter 2: Leather Wings and Broken Things – The Negotiation of Cyclical Trauma by The Dynamic Duo (Mikayla Laird)
Chapter 3: The Dark Right Rises: Bat-Manhood, Populist Heroism and Übermensch Aesthetics in Sublime-Uncanny Cinema (Caleb Turner)
Chapter 4: Batman and the Infinite Loop of Delinquent Production (Ewald Frühberger)

Section II: Investigating the Superhero Discourse through Cross-Medial and Meta-Textual Perspectives

Chapter 5: Ready Player One and the New Mirror Stage: Superheroes, Virtual Reality and the Ideal Self (Jessica Hoffmann)
Chapter 6: Masks, Values, and Society. The Evolution of Superheroes into Antiheroes Since the Dark Age (Marco Favaro)
Chapter 7: Not every Hero Is Super. Unmasking the Super in Heroes of HBO’s Watchmen (Alex von Ommen)
Chapter 8: ‘It’s a Strange World. Let’s Keep It That Way.’ Warren Ellis and the Dominance of New Sincerity Superheroes (Rafael Alves Azevedo)
Chapter 9: Platonist Reflections on the Darkest Knight (Jean-Guy Ducreux)
Chapter 10: The Superhero Logo Visual Codes: A Superman Legacy (Bruno Porto)

Section III: Cultural Negotiations in the Marvel Comic and Cinematic Universes

Chapter 11: Derridean Responsibility in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Torsten Caeners)
Chapter 12: Thanos the Machiavellian Hero (Svenja Kolpack)
Chapter 13: The Idylls of small-town America: Strategies of Overcoming Trauma and Grief in WandaVision (Stefanie Caeners)

Notes on Contributors
Index


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Notes
Forthcoming / Noch nicht erschienen
Added by: joachim  Last edited by: joachim
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