On the Origin of Superheroes: From the Big Bang to Action Comics No. 1University of Iowa Press, 1 de nov. de 2015 - 305 páginas 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. |
Conteúdo
Origin Story | 1 |
1 In the Beginning | 13 |
2 Revolution | 47 |
3 A Parliament of Monsters | 75 |
4 Indians Cowboys | 103 |
5 Evolution | 135 |
6 Thou Shalt Not Kill | 165 |
7 The Superhero Guide to Love Sex | 203 |
8 Best of Both Worlds | 235 |
Magnetos Giftshop | 263 |
267 | |
277 | |
Outras edições - Ver todos
On the Origin of Superheroes: From the Big Bang to Action Comics No. 1, Edição 1 Chris Gavaler Visualização parcial - 2015 |
Termos e frases comuns
Action Comics adventures Alan Moore alien alter ego American Austen Avengers bad guys Batman battle Bible Big Bang Bill Finger Bruce Wayne Captain century Champion chapter character Clark Kent comic book comic strip costume cowboy crime criminals Cromwell dark death debut decades detective Detective Comics Doc Savage Earth eugenics evil Fantastic Four Fantômas Fawkes fiction film frontier G G G genre ghost God’s hero Houdini Hugo human identity Indian Jerry Jerry Siegel Joker kill killer Klan Lascaux later leap live Lois look magazine magic man’s Mars Marvel mask McCulley Mehanna metaethnic monster multiverse murder mutant Napoleon never Nietzsche novel origin story planet plot powers published pulp race reboot romance says Scarlet Pimpernel secret serial Shadow Shuster sidekick Siegel Spider-Man Spring-Heeled Jack Stan Lee super superhero superhuman Superman superpowers supervillain Tarzan there’s thing transformed übermensch unmasking vampire vigilantes writing Zorro