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The Ages of Superman: Essays on the Man of Steel in Changing Times
Since Superman first appeared on the cover of Action Comics #1 in 1938, the superhero has changed with the times to remain a relevant icon of American popular culture. This collection explores the evolution of the Superman character and demonstrates how his alterations mirror historical changes in American society. Beginning with the original comic book and ending with the 2011 Grounded storyline, these essays examine Superman's patriotic heroism during World War II, his increase in power in the early years of the Cold War, his death and resurrection at the end of the Cold War, and his recent dramatic reimagining. By looking at the many changes the Man of Steel has undergone to remain pertinent, this volume reveals as much about America as it does about the champion of Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
- GenresComics
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 24, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 17, 2021
A series of essays exploring how Superman's role has evolved to reflect the changing face of America and how his reinvention makes him more relevant in a world that struggles to balance a growing cynicism regarding these modern fairy tales and a need to have this potent symbol of hope.
Darwoski's selection of essays makes for interesting reading and encourages readers to reevaluate the role of the superhero in our growing mythos.
Darwoski's selection of essays makes for interesting reading and encourages readers to reevaluate the role of the superhero in our growing mythos.
May 27, 2016
As a historian with research interests in comic books and Superman specifically, I was happy to find a book that took an analytic approach to the Man of Steel's history. In my experience, most comic histories focus on the character's creation and development in the real world (such as his foray into film and television) and the various changes that took place at DC.
This book, by contrast, works to illustrate the ways in which the first superhero has remained relevant for over seven decades by examining alterations to Superman's characterization and the type of stories the comics tell. The monograph's ability to achieve this goal is slightly mixed.
Some chapters do an excellent job incorporating scholarly literature and contextualizing Superman and his adventures within American history. Others, however, fail to demonstrate how their discussion of the Man of Steel correlates to the period under examination. Often times these chapters focus too much on telling us the stories found within the comic issues of their study, forgetting to connect to the real world events and people. Such problems are mostly evident in the earlier chapters that deal with Superman's earlier history. I suspect this is because few of the contributors are trained as historians.
An additional, but less significant, problem with the book is the lack of images. As a small publishing company MacFarland most likely has few resources available to gain the licensing rights to the comics referenced and used by its contributors. For instance, the book could not even use an actual image of Superman for its cover, instead having to allude to Clark's famous shirt-ripping transformation into Superman sans the "S" shield.
Despite this, the book takes a strong step forward in using comics as a source of historical investigation and acts a nice summary of Superman's literary history for those less familiar.
This book, by contrast, works to illustrate the ways in which the first superhero has remained relevant for over seven decades by examining alterations to Superman's characterization and the type of stories the comics tell. The monograph's ability to achieve this goal is slightly mixed.
Some chapters do an excellent job incorporating scholarly literature and contextualizing Superman and his adventures within American history. Others, however, fail to demonstrate how their discussion of the Man of Steel correlates to the period under examination. Often times these chapters focus too much on telling us the stories found within the comic issues of their study, forgetting to connect to the real world events and people. Such problems are mostly evident in the earlier chapters that deal with Superman's earlier history. I suspect this is because few of the contributors are trained as historians.
An additional, but less significant, problem with the book is the lack of images. As a small publishing company MacFarland most likely has few resources available to gain the licensing rights to the comics referenced and used by its contributors. For instance, the book could not even use an actual image of Superman for its cover, instead having to allude to Clark's famous shirt-ripping transformation into Superman sans the "S" shield.
Despite this, the book takes a strong step forward in using comics as a source of historical investigation and acts a nice summary of Superman's literary history for those less familiar.
July 20, 2016
To be honest, I only read one essay which I needed as research for my dissertation. It wasn't a bad piece, but not terribly insightful.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews