Research Catalog

Title

The myth of the superhero / Marco Arnaudo ; translated by Jamie Richards.

Author

Arnaudo, Marco.

Publication

Baltimore, MD : Johns Hopkins University Press, c2013.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Richards, Jamie

Description

206 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"A refugee from his broken planet who saves earth (more than once), Superman was sent to America as his father's final act before dying. Does this make him the ultimate immigrant success story? Disillusioned with a crime-filled world, Bruce Wayne seeks guidance from a shaman and transforms himself into the flawlessly moral Batman. Through a series of close readings of DC and Marvel comics, Marco Arnaudo explores the influence of religion and myth on superhero stories as well as their relationship to the classical epic and baroque style. Superheroes embody the most positive and inclusive aspects of American culture. Arnaudo asserts that, amidst the exciting action, tender love stories, and tales of self-sacrifice, superheroes are role models for tolerance and moral decision making. Translated for the first time into English, The Myth of the Superhero looks beyond the cape, the mask, and the superpowers, presenting a serious study of the genre and its place in a broader cultural context."--Publisher description.

Uniform Title

Fumetto supereroico. English

Alternative Title

Fumetto supereroico.

Subject

• Superhero comic books, strips, etc. > History and criticism
• Superheroes in literature

Genre/Form

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 159-195) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Myth and religion -- Ethics and society -- Epic and neobaroque.

ISBN

• 9781421409108 (alk. paper)
• 1421409100 (alk. paper)
• 9781421409535 (pbk. : alk. paper)
• 1421409534 (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2012036697

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library