BOBC |
Rosenberg, Robin S. and Peter Coogan, eds. What is a Superhero? New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2013. Added by: joachim (5/13/14, 6:13 PM) Last edited by: joachim (6/14/19, 2:57 PM) |
Resource type: Book Language: en: English ID no. (ISBN etc.): 9780199795277 BibTeX citation key: Rosenberg2013a Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details |
Categories: General Keywords: Collection of essays, Superhero, USA Creators: Coogan, Rosenberg Publisher: Oxford Univ. Press (New York) |
Views: 1/2186
|
Attachments |
Abstract |
It’s easy to name a superhero—Superman, Batman, Thor, Spiderman, the Green Lantern, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rorschach, Wolverine—but it’s not so easy to define what a superhero is. Buffy has superpowers, but she doesn’t have a costume. Batman has a costume, but doesn’t have superpowers. What is the role of power and superpower? And what are supervillains and why do we need them? In What is a Superhero?, psychologist Robin Rosenberg and comics scholar Peter Coogan explore this question from a variety of viewpoints, bringing together contributions from nineteen comic book experts—including both scholars in such fields as cultural studies, art, and psychology as well as leading comic book writers and editors. What emerges is a kaleidoscopic portrait of this most popular of pop-culture figures. Writer Jeph Loeb, for instance, sees the desire to make the world a better place as the driving force of the superhero. Jennifer K. Stuller argues that the female superhero inspires women to stand up, be strong, support others, and most important, to believe in themselves. More darkly, A. David Lewis sees the indestructible superhero as the ultimate embodiment of the American “denial of death,” while writer Danny Fingeroth sees superheroes as embodying the best aspects of humankind, acting with a nobility of purpose that inspires us. Interestingly, Fingeroth also expands the definition of superhero so that it would include characters like John McClane of the Die Hard movies: “Once they dodge ridiculous quantities of machine gun bullets they're superheroes, cape or no cape.” Table of Contents Michael Uslan: Foreword (xi) Part I. Super and Hero: Powers and Mission Part II. Context, Culture, and the Problem of Definition Part III. Villains Part IV. Professionals Speak Index (161) Added by: joachim Last edited by: joachim |