Superhero Symbol

LIAM BURKE is the Cinema and Screen Studies Coordinator at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, where he also teaches classes on comic books and cinema. He has written and edited a number of books including The Comic Book Film Adaptation (2015), Fan Phenomena Batman (2012), and Superhero Movies (2008).    IAN GORDON teaches cultural history and American Studies at the National University of Singapore, where he is the Head of the Department of History. His books include Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon (2017), Kid Comic Strips: A Genre Across Four Countries (2016), Comic Strips and Consumer Culture (1998), and the edited work Film and Comic Books (2007).  ANGELA NDALIANIS is Director of the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology. The books she has written or edited include The Horror Sensorium: Media and the Senses (2012), Science Fiction Experiences (2010), The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero (2009), Super/Heroes: from Hercules to Superman (2007), and Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment (2004).

"With contributions by an imposing list of scholars, The Superhero Symbol offers readers enlightening essays on the politics of the superhero, on the commercial branding, nationalism and national identity, on sexuality and sexual identity, and on the culture and mythology of the superhero; in short, everything about the superhero that you never asked because it never even occurred to you to ask." - Trina Robbins (author of Pretty in Ink, North American Women Cartoonists 1896 - 2013) "This extraordinary league of transmedial comics scholars pull off the impossible: the definitive tome on how global industries create and planetary consumers actively engage with the superhero symbol. The tack-sharp cross-disciplinary scholarship along with deep-probe interviews with industry titans take us on a wild journey through time and space to forcefully show how those costume-clad full-chested insignias and sky-beamed icons are much more than expressions of fan-boy wish fulfilment fantasies. Provocative. Field defining. A must read!" - Frederick Luis Aldama (author of the Eisner Award winning Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics) "Throughout the essays cross-refer, giving the collection considerable unity. Combining fundamental concerns in superhero studies with a variety of thought-provoking special topics, and studded with color illustrations, this is a worthwhile collection for both knowledgeable scholars and newcomers to superhero studies. Recommended." (Choice) "There is a lot of ground covered in this book, much of which will make you think beyond your normal perimeters and that’s never a bad thing and makes for an interesting book." (SFcrowsnest)

• Contents                                                                                   Introduction: “Everlasting” Symbols: Unmasking superheroes and their shifting symbolic function, Liam BurkeSection 1: Superheroes, Politics, and Civic Engagement1. “What Else Can You Do With Them?”: Superheroes and the Civic ImaginationHenry Jenkins  2. “America Is A Piece of Trash”: Captain America, Patriotism, Nationalism, and FascismNeal Curtis  3. “This Land is Mine!” Understanding the Function of SupervillainsJason Bainbridge  Interview 1: Comics artist, writer, and "herstorian" Trina Robbins  Section 2: The Superhero as a Brand  4. The Secret Commercial Identity of Superheroes: Protecting the Superhero SymbolMitchell Adams  5. Siegel and Shuster as Brand NameIan Gordon  6. Practicing Superhuman Law: Creative License, Industrial Identity, and Spider-Man’s HomecomingTara Lomax  7. The sound of the cinematic superheroDan Golding  Interview 2: Former President of DC Entertainment Diane Nelson  Section 3: Becoming the Superhero  8. ­­­­­­­­­Arkham Knave: The Joker in Game DesignSteven Conway  9. Being Super, Becoming Heroes: Dialogic Superhero Narratives in Cosplay CollectivesClaire Langsford  10. “From Pages to Pavements”: A Criminological Comparison Between Depictions of Crime Control in Superhero Narratives and “Real-Life Superhero” ActivityVladislav Iouchkov and John McGuire  Interview 3: Dark Night: A True Batman Story writer Paul Dini  Section 4: Superheroes and National Identity  11. Captain America, National Narratives, and the Queer Subversion of the RetconNaja Later  12. Apes, Angels, and Super Patriots: The Irish in Superhero ComicsLiam Burke  13. Missing in Action: The Late Development of the German-Speaking SuperheroPaul M. Malone  14. Chinese Milk for Iron Men: Superhero Coproductions and Technological AnxietyShan Mu Zhao  15. Age of the Atoman: Australian Superhero Comics and Cold War ModernityKevin Patrick  Interview 4: Cleverman creator Ryan Griffen and star Hunter Page-Lochard  AcknowledgementsNotes on the EditorsNotes on ContributorsIndex