Superhero Costume

Barbara Brownie is a Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, where she leads online postgraduate study in graphic design and illustration, and lectures in fashion theory. Danny Graydon is a journalist, critic and author specializing in film and comics. He is a Contextual Studies Lecturer at The School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, teaching model special effects and interactive media.

The book is a smoothly written, highly accessible and, above all, richly informative text that addresses a crucial gap in scholarly knowledge and offers some unexpected food for thought.

• List of IllustrationsIntroductionPart 1: Origins and EvolutionChapter 1: Superman: Codifying the Superhero WardrobePhysical Labour and the Construction of MasculinityPerformance in CombatThe Costume as BiographySuperman the BrandThe Archetype and his Imitators Chapter 2: Identity, Role and The MaskThe Mask and Issues of IdentityThe Identity of the MaskPower, Authority and the Privileged FewFace-ismHow Dress Defines RoleThe Deceit of the MasqueradeChapter 3: Evolution and Adaptation: Form v. Function‘Sucked Into Silliness’Real-life References: The historical and the sporting.Technology and UtilityThe Pursuit of Credibility: Hyperrealism and assemblageThe Decline of the CostumePart 2: Identities and IdealsChapter 4: Wearing The Flag: Patriotism and globalizationStars and Stripes… and SpandexConflicted Identities: Nation v. RaceExoticism and Primitivism in Batman IncorporatedChapter 5: Dressing Up, Dressing Down: A Spectacle of Otherness, and the Ordinariness of the Civilian Alter-ego Performing OrdinarinessPlaying to the ReaderUnmasking Clark KentSelf-ObjectificationMethod in the Masquerade Chapter 6: Channelling The BeastPhysiognomy and AnthrozoomorphismThe Bird MenRitual and the Animal SpiritPart 3: Harsh RealitiesChapter 7: Superheroes and the Fashion of Being UnfashionableFashion OutsidersThe Gender DivideThe Cycle of Superhero FashionEvolution into EternityChapter 8: Superhero CosplayParticipatory Fandom / Imaginative Reconstruction ‘I’m your biggest fan’: Competition and AuthenticitySpectatorship and the Cosplay SpectacleSewing and Making: Masculinity and ManufactureChapter 9: Real-life SuperheroesMasked Vigilantes and The Reality of CostumesMasks and ManifestosParent Power Part 4: Case StudiesIntroduction to Case StudiesChapter 10: Watchmen Deconstructing the CostumeMen without HumanityMasks without MenChapter 11: Iron ManWho is Iron Man?Automated DressingThe Hyper-abled HeroChapter 12: X-MenUniforms and UnityThe Yellow ‘X’: Marking the Mutant ‘Other’Notes Bibliography