MTU Library Catalogue

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Superheroes ! / Roz Kavaney

By: Kavaney, Roz.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: London : Tauris, 2008Description: 278 p. ; 22 cm. + pbk.ISBN: 9781845115692; 1845115694.Subject(s): Comic books, strips, etc. -- History and criticism | Heroes in literature | Superhero films | Superhero television programsDDC classification: 741.5
Contents:
The freedom of power-some first thoughts on superhero comics -- The heroism of Jessica Jones-Brian Bendis' Alias as thick text -- Watching the watchmen-sharing a world with superheroes -- Dark knights, team-mates and mutants-sustaining the superhero narrative -- Some kind of epic Grandeur - Events and Reboots in the superhero universe -- Gifted and dangerous - Joss Whedon's superhero obsession -- Superherovision - from comic to blockbuster.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Barcode
General lending MTU Bishopstown Library Lending 741.5 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 00106863
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Modern myths, cheap trash or the objects of fetishist desire? Most people know something about Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and Wonder Woman, even if what they know is heavily filtered through film and television versions, rather than the comics in which they first appeared. Yet, even though the continuity of the DC and Marvel Comics universes rival or surpass in size almost anything else in Western culture, surprisingly little attention has been paid to comics, which we were supposed to grow out of. In "Superheroes!", acclaimed cultural commentator Roz Kaveney argues that this is a mistake, that, at their best, superhero comics are a form in which some writers and artists are doing fascinating work, not in spite of their chosen form, but because of it. "Superheroes!" discusses the slow accretion of comics universes from the thirties to the present day, the ongoing debate within the conventions of the superhero comic about whether superheroes are a good thing and the discussion within the comics fan community of the extent to which superhero comics are disfigured by misogyny and sexism.
Roz Kaveney attempts to explain the differences between Marvel and DC, the notion of the floating present (or why Spider-Man, fifteen when he adopted the costume, is still only in his early thirties), and the various attempts by both companies to re-invent and re-boot individual characters and their entire continuity universes. She also looks at the influence of comics on the group of film and television screenwriters she calls 'the fanboy creators', all of whom moonlight as comics script writers, using Joss Whedon as her case study, and examines the adaptation of well-known comics into large-budget feature films, not always to the advantage of the material.

Includes index.

The freedom of power-some first thoughts on superhero comics -- The heroism of Jessica Jones-Brian Bendis' Alias as thick text -- Watching the watchmen-sharing a world with superheroes -- Dark knights, team-mates and mutants-sustaining the superhero narrative -- Some kind of epic Grandeur - Events and Reboots in the superhero universe -- Gifted and dangerous - Joss Whedon's superhero obsession -- Superherovision - from comic to blockbuster.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Acknowledgements
  • The Freedom of Power
  • Some first thoughts on Superhero comics
  • The heroism of Jessica Jones
  • Brian Bendis' Alias as thick text
  • Watching the Watchmen
  • Sharing the World With Superheroes
  • Dark Knights, Teammates and Mutants
  • Sustaining the Superhero Narrative
  • Some Kind of Epic Grandeur
  • Events and Reboots in the Superhero Universe
  • Gifted and Dangerous
  • Joss Whedon's Superhero Obsession
  • Superherovision
  • from comic to blockbuster
  • Bibliography
  • Filmography
  • Index
  • Acknowledgements
  • The Freedom of Power
  • Some first thoughts on Superhero comics
  • The heroism of Jessica Jones
  • Brian Bendis' Alias as thick text
  • Watching the Watchmen
  • Sharing the World With Superheroes
  • Dark Knights, Teammates and Mutants
  • Sustaining the Superhero Narrative
  • Some Kind of Epic Grandeur
  • Events and Reboots in the Superhero Universe
  • Gifted and Dangerous
  • Joss Whedon's Superhero Obsession
  • Superherovision
  • from comic to blockbuster
  • Bibliography
  • Filmography
  • Index

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Roz Kaveney is a British Writer, critic, and Poet, born on July 9, 1949. She attended Pembroke College, Oxford. Her focus was on Martian poetry and belonged to a poetry group. For a time she worked as a sex worker, transgender rights activist, a writer (articles printed in The Independent and The Guardian), and editor (META magazine). She made multiple appearances on Television show After Dark.

She is the author of Dialectic of the Flesh, and Rituals-Rhapsody of Blood. Her book Tiny Pieces of Skull won the 2016 Lambda Literary Award for Best Transgender Fiction.

(Bowker Author Biography)