Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men: Superheroes and the American Experience

by Julian C. Chambliss (Editor), Thomas C. Donaldson (Editor), William Svitavsky (Editior)

Ages of Heroes, Eras of Men explores the changing depiction of superheroes from the comic books of the 1930s to the cinematic present. In this anthology, scholars from a variety of disciplines—including history, cultural studies, Latin American studies, film studies, and English—examine the superhero's cultural history in North America with attention to particular stories and to the historical contexts in which those narratives appeared. Enduring comic book characters from DC and Marvel Comics including Superman, Iron Man, Batman, Wonder Woman and Avengers are examined, along with lesser-known Canadian, Latino, and African-American superheroes. With a sweep of characters ranging from the Pulp Era to recent cinematic adaptations, and employing a variety of analytical frameworks, this collection offers new insights for scholars, students, and fans of the superhero genre.

Genres: Comics, Nonfiction, Superheroes, Theory, Pop Culture

250 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2013

About the author

Julian C. Chambliss is Associate Professor of History, Coordinator of the Special Interest Section on Media, Arts, and Culture for the Florida Conference of Historians and board member for the Society for American City and Regional Planning History. His research and teaching focus on urban development and popular culture.

His academic articles on comics and related culture have appeared in Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Heroes and Superheroes and Studies in American Culture.In addition, he has published opinion and commentary in popular forum such as PopMatters.com, The Los Angeles Times, andThe Christian Science Monitor.

Reviews

[carla]

I first sought out Dr. Chambliss a few years ago because he had done a TEDx talk on African-American superheroes. I found the fact that there was a scholar at my alma mater studying something that was present in my day to day to be quite intriguing. We got the chance to talk earlier this year about his research and nerd out on different comics. He asked if I would be interested in reading this scholarly book, gave me an advance copy, so here we are.

I enjoyed this tremendously, even though I am not as knowledgeable about every comic covered. While scholarly in nature, the majority of the essays within this are accessible and interesting. Standouts include:

Heroines in a Time of War - comparing Nelvana and Wonder Woman. I loved learning about the contrast between these American and Canadian superheroines. Another Lass among the Legions of Superheroes is another strong examination of women in this genre and a more comprehensive look.

Gendered Power - all about The Spirit, which has been on my to-read list forever. I will look at it in a different light now.

Nationalism and Power - a dissection of Captain America and American nationalism. Upgrading the Cold War Framework, another chapter where Captain America makes an appearance is a terrific look at how characters change and evolve given a given historical context. In fact, there are several martial essays in. The book, leading me to think more about that link between advertisers, national goals, and how media can be used both to reflect the environment and alter it.

Race, Superheroes, and Identity looks at African-American superheroes. While in some sense a catalog, it nonetheless has pointed and insightful commentary on a group of characters often relegated to sidekicks or being "less than." Superhero for a New Age does something similar for Latino/a characters and further ties the ephemera of the characters to the stereotypes people thrust on to them. Personally, I want to see more diverse and fully realized characters other than white men, and both these essays illuminated the need for writers and artists who can do this - plus the marketing power to bring these to life.

Splitting the Nuclear Family was a good justification for all the hours I have spent watching The Incredibles and Sky High - and is essay answered some questions I have struggled with in my own interpretation of the films.

The other chapters were great too. Even commenting on these above makes me feel like I am missing a few things.

This book is not a quick read but I did find myself reading two chapters at a sitting and going back to retread certain passages. Recommended for my fellow nerds of comic books & feminism, and for those who enjoy cultural studies.

[Joshua]

A delightful collection of essays on superhero comic books that cover comic books from their creation in the 1930s to the changes in representation of gender, race, and post 9/11 politics of the 2000s. Each of the submissions is unique and look at different aspects of study and represent the individual author's style and area specialty. The book is divided into three chronological sections that relate to the traditional era divisions (Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze/Modern Age) of the comic book community. Each of the essays is unique and covers different political and cultural changes throughout comics. Some take a broad approach covering multiple comics, while others will look at a single hero. Several of the essays covering the modern comic book look at different genres that comic books have branched out to, especially film. Since academic works on superhero comic books are still a relatively new field in academic history, this collection is a great example of the many ways that superhero comic books can be used for research.