Superhero Comics

by Chris Gavaler, Derek Parker Royal (Series Editor)

A complete guide to the history, form and contexts of the genre, Superhero Comics helps readers explore the most successful and familiar of comic book genres.

In an accessible and easy-to-navigate format, the book

·The history of superhero comics-from mythic influences to 21st century evolutions
·Cultural contexts-from the formative politics of colonialism, eugenics, KKK vigilantism, and WWII fascism to the Cold War's transformative threat of mutually assured destruction to the on-going revolutions in African American and sexual representation
·Key texts-from the earliest pre-Comics-Code Superman and Batman to the latest post-Code Ms. Marvel and Black Panther
·Approaches to visual analysis-from layout norms to narrative structure to styles of abstraction

Genres: Nonfiction

376 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2017

About the author

Chris Gavaler’s novel-in-stories SCHOOL FOR TRICKSTERS was published by Southern Methodist University Press (2011) and his romantic suspense novel PRETEND I’M NOT HERE by HarperCollins (2002). His short fiction appears in over three dozen national literary journals, including PRAIRIE SCHOONER, NEW ENGLAND REVIEW, HUDSON REVIEW, and WITNESS. He is also a four-time winner of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival’s Outstanding Playwright award. He received an MFA from the University of Virginia and is an Assistant Professor of English at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA.

Reviews

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of Superhero Comics by Peter M. Coogan from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’m fairly new to the world of comic book fandom, having only gotten into them in the last couple years. My attempt to get into reading comics as a child was thwarted by my shyness and a jerk at the register who told me “girls can’t read comics” (I regret to this day that I believed him), if only this book had existed back then, maybe I would have felt more confident striking out into the comic world on my own.. Having a complete history such as Superhero Comics is greatly appreciated. It provided a lot of context and explanation for the way things development. What was wonderful about it is it covered beyond my scope of reading and experience, explaining comics from the beginning up to now, and how the evolved in the meantime.
What I really loved about Superhero Comics was that is started at the most basic concepts (for example the reason why only Marvel and DC use the term superhero) and advanced from there (why female figures are drawn and portrayed the way they are). It made for a fascinating read and enhanced my comprehension of the subject at the same time.
I can picture this book sitting in a classroom – say in an art room full of students who one day hope to become comic book artists; or in a writing classroom. I’m happy I had the chance to read it, and frankly think I’ll be giving it a second read through as well, to increase my command of the subject matter.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Agnieszka Czoska · Rating 1 out of 5]

To publikacja naukowa, więc nie będę zakładać, że powinno się ją czytać dla rozrywki, a nawet że wielu czytelników przeczyta całą za jednym zamachem. PrzySuperhero Comics Chrisa Gavalera ma to niebagatelne znaczenie, bo… trochę jest nudna. Jednak przede wszystkim to książka najeżona faktami, cytatami z komiksów i analizujących je tekstów, bardzo analityczna, za to nie siląca się przesadnie na syntetyzowanie czy podsumowania. Mogą po nią sięgać osoby piszące o historii komiksu, jeśli zależy im na dokładnej chronologii kolejnych pozycji i wprowadzanych w nich zmian, chociaż nie znajdą żadnej tabeli czy osi czasu zbierającej wszystko w całość.

więcej: https://nietylkogry.pl/post/recenzja-...

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Superheroes are everywhere nowadays; it is near impossible to go into town and avoid seeing something superhero-related, be it a toy, a DVD or even a logoed shirt. That being said, I am not complaining. Superheroes have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember; yet, despite that, the comic side of the superhero world has mostly been a mystery to me. When I saw Superhero Comics on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it.

I will admit, I don’t often read non-fiction. I find it hard to get into and hard to stick to. However, Superhero Comics managed to keep my attention throughout most of the book and I found myself completely fascinated by what it had to say. The book essentially covers three main topics: the history of comics, the social and cultural context of comics and the actual structure and formatting of comics.

Of these three categories, the first two were the ones which particularly interested me and it would be an understatement to say I learnt a lot. The book goes back to before the dawn of heroes to explore what it was that led to their appearance in the world; then, from there, moves forward, going through the various ages of comics before investigating how comics have evolved based on the cultural and societal pressures of the time. This includes superhero roots in the KKK and Nazi ideals, the ups and downs of comic popularity and even tackles why female heroes are drawn the way they are. The chapter which stuck out to me the most was the one which covered female and LGBTQ+ representation, whereas the final part of the book, where it starts to analyse various artist techniques and comic book structure was a little difficult for me to get into.

My main concern with the book was, simply, for a book about comics there were not that may pictures. As someone who has yet to be fully initiated into the world of comic books, a lot of the references were lost on me and so it would have been helpful to have examples of these mixed in with the text. Towards the end, when Superhero Comics was talking about the appearance of comics, this did change a little, although the fact I was reading on a kindle did make it difficult to flip back to the images when they were being discussed. This meant a lot of what was being described ended up being lost on me.

Overall, Superhero Comics is a fascinating read for anyone even mildly interested in the comic book world. It is clear and, for the most part, the terminology is described so that a layperson could understand. The pages are filled with facts that I had not even considered (such as why DC and Marvel are the only companies to use the term ‘superhero’) and, for those just getting into comics, there is also a key text section which covers the main, defining comics of each era – a great place to get started. I recommend this for anyone who is interested in comics, even if you aren’t necessarily an avid comic book reader yourself.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Superhero Comics" gives a good overview over the development of superheroes in comics. I especially enjoyed the chapter on female and queer superheroes. It's an easy read and there some really interesting facts about the history behind superhero comics.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'll admit that this book wasn't my favorite. It is very academic, which makes it a bit dry to read. As a result, I took a long time to finish it because I could only read it in small chunks. 

There are two major sections of this book: history and analysis. The history portion is quite in depth. It begins by examining adventure books that are a precursor to superhero comics. I've read a couple other books that delve into the history of comics this way and I felt like this one did a good job of not just rehashing what I had read before.

Once it gets into the appearance of comics, it starts to get better. There are a few distinct eras that Gavaler covers. Each one has its own defining characteristics that help to identify them. I think I enjoyed this portion more than the earlier history because I was more familiar with the characters discussed, if not the specific series'. It seemed like there was a diverse choice of characters used, which is nice to show off that this genre of comics can provide readers with more than just white, male heroes.

The best part of the book has to be what I've referred to as analysis. Again, some of what is discussed here has been covered in other books I've read, but the coverage on different artistic techniques that are used and the effects they have is great. I think this book is worth picking up for that alone because it is presented so well. It wraps up with an application of this artistic knowledge to an actual comic, followed by a list of important or influential comics for each era. The book can be a bit heavy at times, but I feel like it has a lot to offer serious comics readers.

[MasterSal]

Yup as expected this as too academic for me. Read about 30-40 pages and bounced off it hard. In theory I am interested in the topic but not enough to read about text book about it.

Moving on ….

[☘Tara Sheehan☘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would make the perfect textbook for a class on the history of Comics. It’s great for comic fans who want to go beyond the pages of the latest DC or Marvel adventure to understand and appreciate how these stories evolved and what were their origins.

As a woman I’ve often been irritated that otherwise great stories get overshadowed by illustrations of female characters where you can barely see their faces/bodies because their breast size would rival a porn star. After all male characters generally aren’t drawn with a certain part of their anatomy outsizing their body so why should women be treated differently? I finally found the answer in this book.

You will learn how the aspects of male and female characters began and adapted as society changed over the years. What characteristics define someone as a ‘Super Hero’ as there must be more requirements than access to spandex? You’ll even learn some interesting legal history like finding out the word ‘Superhero’ is actually owned by Marvel & DC.

After reading this I definitely have a greater appreciation and understanding for what comics have given to our culture, how they’ve evolved and why we need them in society. Parents would be well deserved to read this so they can understand taking comics away from their kids because they don’t think they’re good education material or whatever is actually really stupid.

[Brice Fuqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid. I thought of comic books as akin to Saturday morning cartoons. I certainly didn't think of them as art, let alone literature. I would read a comic and then , a couple of weeks later, toss it in the trash. Would that I had kept them all. For now, the scholarly study of comics has become a cottage industry.
Case in point, This inaugural volume in the Bloomsbury Comics Studies series on superheros. The superhero genre resembles heavy metal rock, emotional, over the top and formulaic, but, at times capable of deeper insights than radio-friendly pop.
Superhero Comics begins by tracing the origins of the crime-fighting hero in 19th Century pulp novels. Gavaler shows the secret identity, double personalty of many superheros had persecutors in popular novels like The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Gavaler's assertion that the genre was influenced by the KKK and fascism are bound to be controversial. But he makes a case that the Klan's capes and flowing robes, along with their hidden identities were free adopted by Golden Age artists and writers.
The book concludes with a long chapter on the visual layout and design of comic books that really belongs in another book.
Recommended by series comic book fans. Casual readers may be intimidated by the wealth of detail.

[Trey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the years, I've written several papers for school that attempted to elevate the subject of comics to scholarly discourse (always when the subject was of my own choosing, of course, never assigned), and I've read several books, including Superhero Comics, that actually achieve this goal. It does my heart good to see the evidence that you can now learn about comics in an academic setting.

The book's initial chapters do an excellent job of contextualizing the impact of history on the trends in comics. Later on, we learn how to talk about the styles of art and the structure of panels, which is important, but not nearly as page-turning. Finally, an analysis of an Elektra comic provides an example of how to really put those tools to use. Overall, an elucidating read, fascinating for those of us who know that comics are much more than a disposable diversion.

I received a preview copy of this book from NetGalley.

[Belle Meade School]

FIC
GAV

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.