Uncanny Bodies: Superhero Comics and Disability

Graphic Medicine

by Scott T. Smith, José Alaniz (Editor)

Superhero comics reckon with issues of corporeal control. And while they commonly deal in characters of exceptional or superhuman ability, they have also shown an increasing attention and sensitivity to diverse forms of disability, both physical and cognitive. The essays in this collection reveal how the superhero genre, in fusing fantasy with realism, provides a visual forum for engaging with issues of disability and intersectional identity (race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality) and helps to imagine different ways of being in the world.

Working from the premise that the theoretical mode of the uncanny, with its interest in what is simultaneously known and unknown, ordinary and extraordinary, opens new ways to think about categories and markers of identity, Uncanny Bodies explores how continuums of ability in superhero comics can reflect, resist, or reevaluate broader cultural conceptions about disability. The chapters focus on lesser-known characters—such as Echo, Omega the Unknown, and the Silver Scorpion—as well as the famous Barbara Gordon and the protagonist of the acclaimed series Hawkeye, whose superheroic uncanniness provides a counterpoint to constructs of normalcy. Several essays explore how superhero comics can provide a vocabulary and discourse for conceptualizing disability more broadly. Thoughtful and challenging, this eye-opening examination of superhero comics breaks new ground in disability studies and scholarship in popular culture.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are Sarah Bowden, Charlie Christie, Sarah Gibbons, Andrew Godfrey-Meers, Marit Hanson, Charles Hatfield, Naja Later, Lauren O’Connor, Daniel J. O'Rourke, Daniel Pinti, Lauranne Poharec, and Deleasa Randall-Griffiths.

Genres: Disability, Nonfiction, Cultural, Comics

323 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 27, 2019

Reviews

[Matthew Barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this 5 stars, not necessarily because I agree with everything said in the book, but because I think it is a unique book full of unique perspectives written by people passionate about comics and the subject matter. The afterward in particular was a bit random and rambling, but the rest of the book was more focused. I expected the book to be a history of disability representation in comics and in comic characters, but this is actually a collection of essays about specific storylines in comics. The introduction was more what I expected from the entire book, and mentions some very interesting old characters like Armless Tiger Man. One of the things I liked most about the book was that, while there was a tendency to view things negatively, the essayists found the positive within the negative. In fact most of the essays did not brand things all good or all bad, which I appreciated. Most of the storylines covered are fairly recent and I wasn’t familiar with them, but I was familiar with the characters and enjoyed hearing about the stories, interpretations of the characters and how the stories were characterized by the essayists. One of the particular things I enjoyed were discussions of “crip time” and how time is experienced by different characters. Another interesting thing mentioned by a couple of essayists is that they don’t consider fictional cyborgs to be disabled. Another essay claims cyborgs can represent marginalized people but not disabled people, which is interesting, especially when real life people with disabilities use technology in such a way that resembles fictional cyborgs. I also particularly enjoyed some of the discussions on Hawkeye and representing hearing loss in a graphic medium that is already soundless. There were however three essays on the same Hawkeye storyline, which seemed a lot of space for one storyline, but it was very interesting. I read the old comics when Hawkeye lost his hearing, which appears to be unrelated to the current storyline discussed, and it was not a main plot point then as it is in this new storyline. Some of the characters covered are: Omega and autism spectrum; Moon Knight and mental illness; Echo and hearing loss; Oracle and physical mobility; Operator and mobility, race, gender and sexuality; Hawkeye and hearing loss; Silver Scoprion and mobility; and El Deafo.

[Mills College Library]

741.53527 U545 2019

[aaaasssiia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Much. Here! My only regret is having read through this digitally first. Will be taking a second pass for better note taking.