On the origin of superheroes : from the big bang to Action Comics no. 1

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Title:

On the origin of superheroes : from the big bang to Action Comics no. 1

Author:

Gavaler, Chris, author.

ISBN:

9781609383817

Personal Author:

Gavaler, Chris, author.

Physical Description:

295 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Abstract:

"Most readers think that superheroes began with Superman in 1938, but that Kryptonian rocket didn't just drop out of the sky. By the time Superman's creators were born, the superhero's most defining elements--secret identities, aliases, disguises, signature symbols, traumatic origin stories, extraordinary powers, self-sacrificing altruism--were already well-rehearsed standards. Superheroes have a sprawling, action-packed history that predates Superman by decades and even centuries. On the Origin of Superheroes is a quirky, personal tour of the mythology, literature, philosophy, history, and grand swirl of ideas that have permeated western culture in the centuries that led up to the first appearance of superheroes as we know them today: Superman's appearance in Action Comics, no. 1 in 1938"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Origin story -- In the beginning -- Revolution -- A parliament of monsters -- Indians & cowboys -- Evolution -- Thou shalt not kill -- The superhero guide to love & sex -- Best of both worlds -- Epilogue: Magneto's giftshop.

Subject Term:

Heroes in literature.

Superheroes in literature.

Heroic virtue.

Heroes -- History.

Heroes -- Mythology.

SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Popular Culture.

Heroes. (OCoLC)fst00955558

Heroes in literature. (OCoLC)fst00955583

Heroes -- Mythology. (OCoLC)fst00955570

Heroic virtue. (OCoLC)fst00955595

Superheroes in literature. (OCoLC)fst01904835

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Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Aurora Downtown	Book	PN56.5 .H45 G38 2015	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Most readers think that superheroes began with Superman's appearance in Action Comics No. 1, but that Kryptonian rocket didn't just drop out of the sky. By the time Superman's creators were born, the superhero's most defining elements--secret identities, aliases, disguises, signature symbols, traumatic origin stories, extraordinary powers, self-sacrificing altruism--were already well-rehearsed standards. Superheroes have a sprawling, action-packed history that predates the Man of Steel by decades and even centuries. On the Origin of Superheroes is a quirky, personal tour of the mythology, literature, philosophy, history, and grand swirl of ideas that have permeated western culture in the centuries leading up to the first appearance of superheroes (as we know them today) in 1938.

From the creation of the universe, through mythological heroes and gods, to folklore, ancient philosophy, revolutionary manifestos, discarded scientific theories, and gothic monsters, the sweep and scale of the superhero's origin story is truly epic. We will travel from Jane Austen's Bath to Edgar Rice Burroughs's Mars to Owen Wister's Wyoming, with some surprising stops along the way. We'll meet mad scientists, Napoleonic dictators, costumed murderers, diabolical madmen, blackmailers, pirates, Wild West outlaws, eugenicists, the KKK, Victorian do-gooders, detectives, aliens, vampires, and pulp vigilantes (to name just a few). Chris Gavaler is your tour guide through this fascinating, sometimes dark, often funny, but always surprising prehistory of the most popular figure in pop culture today. In a way, superheroes have always been with us: they are a fossil record of our greatest aspirations and our worst fears and failings.

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

An unconventional analysis of the cultural phenomenon of superheroes that goes far beyond comic books. The cultural saturation of superheroes may have reached its zenith. Each year, Hollywood continues to release more big-budget superhero movies from the Marvel universe and beyond, earning billions of dollars. However, as Gavaler (English/Washington and Lee Univ.; School for Tricksters, 2011, etc.) points out in his attempt to trace the cult of superhero archetypes through history, the obsession with superheroes is hardly new. The common tropes of the superhero, including "secret identities, aliases, disguises, signature symbols, traumatic origins, extraordinary powers, [and] self-sacrificing altruism," were already accepted standards of heroic literature and mythology long before Superman first appeared in Action Comics in 1938. In his analysis, Gavaler hunts down examples to show how the concept of the superhero has been a mainstay of Western culture for centuries, citing the comparison of the superhero to a god figure, the superhero as revolutionary, and the influence of evolution on superhero identity. It's an ambitious project, but the author's vague thesis and exceptionally broad definition of "superhero" make nearly all of his supporting examples valid despite how irrelevante.g. Jean Valjean of Les Miserables. By Gavaler's standards, superheroes are easily mistaken for the protagonist or hero (of the nonsuper variety) of a narrative. Moreover, the author divides his narrative by selective subject matter that is not cohesive to a single argument, often leaving readers puzzled. More problematic still is Gavaler's tenuous string of exampleson multiple occasions, the author prefaces a statement with, "I don't know if"which creates a rambling and discontinuous quality to his writing, further exacerbated by insertions of personal stories from reading comics as a boy and teaching them as a professor. Despite occasional insight, a lack of continuity makes the book, despite the author's reverence and enthusiasm, a missed opportunity. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Choice Review

In this exploration of the pre-Superman superhero, Gavaler (English, Washington and Lee Univ.) examines the meaning of the word superhero and the superhero character type, then considers the many facets of the genre and the media that contributed to the genre's development. He starts with the cave drawings in Lascaux, France, and proceeds through authoritarianism, philosophical/supernatural antecedents, Frederick Jackson Turner's "frontier thesis," human evolution (including eugenics), and vigilantism. A chapter on love and sex may say more about Gavaler than it does about the superheroes' creators and creations. Though this is a scholarly analysis, Gavaler's style is personal and potentially amusing; he incorporates many references and fan in-jokes that would have benefited from annotations--or at least footnotes (a complaint he anticipates, referring the reader instead to his bibliography, though not all of his references end up there). Gavaler is admittedly ambivalent about his subject, and some of his conclusions ("Batman is the KKK in a cooler costume," "the comic book Superman is indistinguishable from the Nazi superman") may be fighting words to some readers. This is possibly the book's greatest strength: it may stimulate further thought, conversation, argument, and academic bar fights. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --Allen William Ellis, Northern Kentucky University

Introduction. Origin Story	p. 1
1 In the Beginning	p. 13
2 Revolution	p. 47
3 A Parliament of Monsters	p. 75
4 Indians & Cowboys	p. 103
5 Evolution	p. 135
6 Thou Shalt Not Kill	p. 165
7 The Superhero Guide to Love & Sex	p. 203
8 Best of Both Worlds	p. 235
Epilogue. Magneto's Giffshop	p. 263
Bibliography	p. 267
Index	p. 277

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Choice Review

Table of Contents