Comic Books and the Cold War, 1946-1962

Essays on Graphic Treatment of Communism, the Code and Social Concerns

Häftad, Engelska, 2012

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Beskrivning

Conventional wisdom holds that comic books of the post-World War II era are poorly drawn and poorly written publications, notable only for the furor they raised. Contributors to this thoughtful collection, however, demonstrate that these comics constitute complex cultural documents that create a dialogue between mainstream values and alternative beliefs that question or complicate the grand narratives of the era. Close analysis of individual titles, including EC comics, Superman, romance comics, and other, more obscure works, reveals the ways Cold War culture--from atomic anxieties and the nuclear family to communist hysteria and social inequalities--manifests itself in the comic books of the era. By illuminating the complexities of mid-century graphic novels, this study demonstrates that postwar popular culture was far from monolithic in its representation of American values and beliefs.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2012-02-22
Mått:152 x 229 x 12 mm
Vikt:318 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:232
Förlag:McFarland & Co Inc
ISBN:9780786449811

Utforska kategorier

Litteraturvetenskap inom Skönlitteratur

Mer om författaren

Chris York has taught English at Pine Technical College in Pine City, Minnesota. He has been an active participant in the Comics and Comic Art Area at the National Popular Culture Association Conference for nearly a decade, and his comics scholarship has appeared in the International Journal of Comic Art. Rafiel York is a teacher in Jackson, Minnesota.

Recensioner i media

“insightful, well-researched...outstanding...recommended”—Choice

Innehållsförteckning

Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Frederic Wertham, Containment, and Comic BooksCHRIS YORK and RAFIEL YORK PART I : CONTAINING COMMUNISM, CONTROLLING THE ATOM1. Lights, Camera, Action 101: A Brief Lesson on How to See an Atomic BombNATHAN ATKINSON 2. Decrypting Espionage Comic Books in 1950s AmericaPETER LEE 3. “He Was a Living Breathing Human Being”: Harvey Kurtzman’s War Comics and the “Yellow Peril” in 1950s Containment CultureCHRISTOPHER B. FIELD 4. “I Can Pass Right Through Solid Matter!”: How the Flash Upheld American Values While Breaking the Speed LimitFREDERICK A. WRIGHT 5. Jack Kirby’s Challengers of the Unknown: Establishing Order in an Age of AnxietyPHILLIP PAYNE and PAUL J. SPAETH 6. Red Menace on the Moon: Containment in Space as Depicted in Comics of the 1950sJOHN DONOVAN PART II: CONTAINING SEXUALITY IN THE COLD WARBR>7. Girls Who Sinned in Secret and Paid in Public: Romance Comics, 1949–1954JEANNE GARDNER 8. Rebellion in RiverdaleRAFIEL YORK 9. The Amazon Mystique: Subverting Cold War Domesticity in Wonder Woman Comics, 1948–1965RUTH MCCLELLAND-NUGENT 10. The Girls in White: Nurse Images in Early Cold War Era Romance and War ComicsCHRISTOPHER J. HAYTON and SHEILA HAYTON 11. Horror Camp: Homoerotic Subtext in EC ComicsDIANA GREEN PART III: THE PROBLEM OF CONSENSUS12. “Dedicated to the Youth of America”: Deviant Narration in Crime Does Not PayCHRIS YORK 13. MAD’s Guest WritersLAWRENCE RODMAN 14. Beyond the Frontier: Turok, Son of Stone and the Native American in Cold War AmericaCHRIS YORK 15. East Europeans in the Cold War Comic This Godless CommunismALEXANDER MAXWELL 16. The Fantastic Four: A Mirror of Cold War AmericaRAFIEL YORK About the Contributors Index