Ages of Wonder Woman Collection CFP

Still seeking proposals earlier this month:

Collection: The Ages of Wonder Woman
Edited by Joseph J. Darowski
Publisher: McFarland & Company

Please circulate and post widely

The editor of The Ages of Wonder Woman is seeking abstracts for essays which could potentially be included in the upcoming collection. This collection will be a companion volume to The Ages of Superman. The essays should examine the relationships between Wonder Woman comic books and the period of American history when those comics were published. Analysis may demonstrate how the stories found in Wonder Woman comic books (and the creators who produced the comics) embrace, reflect, or critique aspects of their contemporary culture.

Essays should focus on stories from Wonder Woman’s comic book adventures, not media adaptations of the character. Furthermore, essays should look at a single period of comic book history, rather than drawing comparisons between different publication eras. For example, an essay that analyzed Wonder Woman comics from the early 1960s and contextualized them with what was happening in American society would be more likely to be accepted than an essay that contrasted Wonder Woman comic books from the 1940s with Wonder Woman comic books from the 1980s. The completed essays should be 12-15 double-spaced pages.

Some possible topics for essays include, but are not limited to, the following:

William Marston’s Controversial Feminine Ideal; Wonder Woman Joins the Justice Society of America…as Their Secretary?; The World War II American Patriot from Themyscira; From Fearless Worker to Anxious Lover: Wonder Woman’s Transition after World War II; DC Comics’ Response to Wertham’s Allegations; Superwoman: The Evil Wonder Woman from Another Dimension; A Powerless Fashion Boutique Owner: DC Comics Tries to Modernize Wonder Woman; Silver Swan and Dr. Cyber: Wonder Woman’s Enemies Just Want to be Pretty; Superman vs. Wonder Woman: Superpowered Gender Roles in the 1970s; “Gods and Mortals”: Wonder Woman’s Introduction to the Modern World of the Late 1980s; Wonder Woman Versus Storm: The Gender Politics of Inter-Company Crossovers; Politics, Discord, and a Nation Divided in “Paradise Lost”; Alex Ross and Paul Dini’s “Spirit of Truth”: Wonder Woman and Global Concepts of Femininity; Trinity: The Roles of Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman in the DC Universe; “Rise of the Olympians”: Defense Versus Aggression on the World Stage; The New 52: DC Reimagines Wonder Woman for the Present Day

Abstracts (100-500 words) and CVs should be submitted by April 1, 2012
Please submit via email to Joseph Darowski, darowskij@byui.edu.

Joseph Darowski
Brigham Young University-Idaho
525 S. Center
Rigby Hall 122
Rexburg, ID 83460
Phone: (517) 281-3275
Email: darowskij@byui.edu

Superman vs The Elite OVA

Coming to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital video on 12 June 2012:


Further details at Wikipedia and the DC Movies Wiki. The film is based on a story by writer Joe Kelly who comments about the adaptation on a variety of websites, including The Hollywood Reporter.

Comics Panels PCA This Week

Here is the complete listing of sessions from Comic Art & Comics Area at this week's meeting of the Popular Culture Association. I am grateful to Nicole Freim, area chair, for the information. The full program for the conference can be accessed at http://pcaaca.org/conference/conf_program.php.

Comic Art &Comics -- Panels 2012

All sessions are in Simmons Room – Number denotes panel number in program

1036    Wed. 4/11      1:15 – 2:45 p.m.         Comics and Traditions       Chair: Chris Bolster

“Epic Reinterpretation in The Life and Times of Martha Washington,” Oriana Gatta, Georgia State University

“Did the Greeks Wear Tights? : An Analysis of the Homeric Hero Odysseus in Batman,” Emma Zieske, The College of Wooster

“Everyday they're Shuffling: Humanity in The Walking Dead,” Peter Pijanowski, West Chester University

“Garfield as Trickster: The Existential Implications of a World Without Garfield,”

Christopher Bolster, Western Connecticut State University

1160    Wed. 4/11      3:00 – 4:30 p.m.         Teaching with Comics        Chair: Robert Watkins

“Where are the Superheroes? Academia’s Dichotomous Study of Comic Book Literature,” Gian Pagnucci, Indiana University of Pennsylvania & Mr. Alex Romagnoli

“The Bias Visual Literacy, a New Generation, and Comics in the Classroom,” Sarah Bryski, Susquehanna University

“Sequential Quintilian and Graphic Freire: Combining Critical Pedagogy and Ancient Rhetoric to Teach Comics as Multimodality,” Robert Watkins, Iowa State University

1146    Wed. 4/11      4:45 – 6:15 p.m.         Sexuality and Gender in Comics  Chair: John Ronan

“Pixie Dust and Crime: A Revision of the Puer Aeternus in Gosho Aoyama’s Detective Conan,”  Mimi Okabe, Brock University

“Zap Bang: Sex and Sexuality in American Underground Comix,”  John Ronan, University of Florida

1048    Wed. 4/11      8:15 – 9:45 p.m.         Roundtable: Fanculture and Feminism: The Female Superhero in DC's New 52     Moderator: Sarah Maitland - University of Rhode Island

Discussants:

Jessica McCall

Dianne Evanochko,

2170    Thurs. 4/12    8:00 – 9:30 a.m.          Genre Conventions and Restrictions  Chair: Natalie Pendergast

“Retroactive Continuity and Revisionary Ratios,” Brian Land, Delaware County Community College

“Sterling’s Sidekicks – Audience Creation and the Rise of the Sidekick in Early Superhero Comics,” Lance Eaton, North Shore Community College

“Melodrama, Romance, and the Celebrity of Superheroes,” Ben Grisanti, DePaul University

“The “Arranged” Marriages of Superman, Spiderman and Archie,”  Natalie Pendergast, University of Toronto

2290    Thurs. 4/12    9:45 – 11:15 a.m.        Representations of Minorities       Chair: Joseph Darowski

“White Masks and Black Hats: The Prevention of Cross-racial Identification Due to Othering of Chromatic Characters in the Comic Book Narrative.,” Rejena Saulsberry, University of Arkansas at Monticello

“Translating Otherness: Stereotypes, Doublespeak and Dead Puerto Rican Superhombres,” Luis Saenz de Viguera Erkiaga, Merrimack College

“Iron Man: A Study in Orientalism and Hegemony,”  Aiden Bryant

“The Non-Metphorical Use of Minorities in The Uncanny X-Men,” Joseph Darowski, Brigham Young University-Idaho

2342    Thurs. 4/12    11:30 – 1:00 p.m.       Uses of the Comic Medium           Chair: Colin Beineke

“How to Create Comics (and Community) in New Delhi,” Jeremy Stoll, Indiana University

“Stylish Vixen, Not Sexy Victim: Marisa Acocella Marchetto’s Cancer Vixen as a Counter to the Sexualization of Breast Cancer,” Lindsey Hanlon, Boston College

‘The cursed, the impious, the unnatural technique!’: Depicting the Lovecraftian Unnamable in Comics,”  Colin Beineke, Arkansas State University

2006    Thurs. 4/12    1:15 – 2:45 p.m.         21st Century Comics           Chair: James Morton

“Digital Comics: Rating the Container, not the Comic,” Lorena O'English, Washington State University

“Comic Book's 99%: Revisting A Bill of Rights for Comics Creators,” Ora McWilliams, University of Kansas

“Watching Watchmen:  The Reading of Motion Comics,” Fred Wright, Ursuline College

“The Nintendo Generation versus the World: The Esotericism of Scott Pilgrim”

James Morton

2326    Thurs. 4/12    3:00 – 4:30 p.m.         The Title Tells the Tale      Chair: Terrence Wandtke

“Do You Like Lime?”: Embracing Dionysius in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing,” Michael Smith, James Madison University

“Text and Subtext in Claremont and Byrne’s Iron Fist,” Chris York, Pine Technical College

“Analyzing the Joker: Projected Wounds in Batman: The Killing Joke,” Valentino Zullo, Bowling Green State University

“The “Retro-Futurism” of Dean Motter’s Mister X:Crime Comics’ City of the Past and the Future,”  Terrence Wandtke, Judson University

2092    Thurs. 4/12    4:45 – 6:15 p.m.         Comics and Social Commentary  Chair: Bryan Vizzini

“Displacing the Shojo: Consumerist Culture, Temporal Insecurity and Cultural Nostalgia in Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla,”  Francesca Mastrangelo, Rollins College

“The Sky is the Killer of Us All: Personification and De-Humanization in Enemy Ace,”  Jason Tondro, University of California Riverside

“Transmedial Theatricality: V for Vendetta and the Occupy Movement,” Kane Anderson - UC Santa Barbara

"Lightning Comics' Tod Holton, Super Green Beret: Images of American Exceptionalism in Vietnam,"  Bryan Vizzini, West Texas A&M University

2392    Thurs. 4/12    8:15 – 9:45 p.m.         Film Screening: White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books

(Producer/Director: Jonathan Gayles, 52 minutes, 2011)

White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books analyzes representations of Black masculinity in comic books over a 40 year period.  In a serious, lively and humorous manner, the film examines the degree to which Black superheroes generally adhered to and were burdened by stereotypes about Black men.   However, we also witness how some images shifted – oftentimes clumsily - to reflect the changing times. 

   

It features commentary by scholars and cultural critics (Jelani Cobb, Mark Anthony Neal, Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua) producers, writers and artists (Dwayne McDuffie, Reginald Hudlin, John Jennings).  They provide tools for critiquing all media as they introduce and analyze the  leading comic book superheroes Black Panther, the Falcon, John Stewart (the Green Lantern), Luke Cage, and Black Lightening and some of the commentators discuss how they looked to Black superheroes for a sense of empowerment during childhood.  

3158    Fri. 4/13          8:00 – 9:30 a.m.          Historical Perspectives I     Chair: Darren Harris-Fain

“Image of African Americans in Syndicated Cartoon Strips,” William Foster

“The ‘Atrocities of the Color Supplements’: The Cultural Rhetoric of Attacks on Early, Turn-of the-Twentieth Century Comic Strips,” Kerry Soper, Brigham Young University

"Harold Gray, Little Orphan Annie, and the Early Graphic Novel,"  Darren Harris-Fain, Auburn University at Montgomery

3160    Fri. 4/13          9:45 – 11:15 a.m.        Historical Perspectives II               Chair: Paul Malone

“The Wolverton Bible and Other Visions,” Lawrence Rodman, Independent Artist

“Fresh Off the Boat: The Americanization ProcessIn Anya’s Ghost and American Born Chinese,”   Forrest Helvie, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

“Spiegelman, The Cartoon,” Maxwell Foxman, New York University

“Great White Hope of the German Comic,” or “Eternal Insiders’ Tip”?: 20 Years of Peter Puck’s Satirical Comic Rudi,” Paul Malone, University of Waterloo

3286    Fri. 4/13          11:30 – 1:00 p.m.       The Comics Get Medieval 2012: A Celebration of Medieval-Themed Comics in Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of Prince Valiant   Chair: Michael A. Torregrossa

“Integrating Ideologies: Monarchy and Democracy in Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant”

Nathan A. Breen, College of Lake County,

“Excalibur as Science Object: Democratizing the Power behind the Arthurian Throne in Camelot 3000”  Michelle Braun, Mount Royal University

“The Myth of the Death of the Hero: Eternal Return in Arthurian Literature and Neil Gaiman’s Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”

Hannah Means-Shannon, Georgian Court University

3176    Fri. 4/13          1:15 – 2:45 p.m.   Intersections of Comics and Film  Chair: Nicole Freim

“Stand-up Comedy: Chester Brown's Paying for It and Humour,” Dominick Grace, Brescia University College

“The Effects of Superhero Sagas on Our Gendered Selves,” Hillary  Pennell

“Evil as Depicted in Batman's Villains,” Carol Madere, Southeastern Louisiana University

“Which Web Will Stick?: Hollywood’s Twisted Visions of Comics,”  Nicole Freim, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

3074    Fri. 4/13          3:00 – 4:30 p.m.         Comic Books and American Cultural History I            Chair: Matthew Pustz

“Agent of Change: The Evolution and Enculturation of Nick Fury,”  Philip G. Payne & Paul S. Spaeth, ppayne@sbu.edu

“ ‘Duel. I’ll Give You a DUEL’: Intimacy and History in Megan Kelso’s Alexander Hamilton Trilogy,”  Alison Mandaville, Pacific Lutheran University

“ ‘Dreams May End, But Love Never Does’: Marriage and Materialism in American Romance Comics, 1947-1954,”  Jeanne Gardner

3280    Fri. 4/13          4:45 – 6:15 p.m.         Special Guest Speaker: Denis Kitchen

Please join us for a session with Denis Kitchen, an underground cartoonist and publisher.   He founded Kitchen Sink Press and launched the underground newspaper The Bugle-American.  He syndicated comic strips to numerous college and underground newspapers, publishing his own work and work by artists such as Jim Mitchell, Trina Robbins, and Bruce Walthers.  Kitchen is also the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization that protects the rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers.  Although his publishing company has closed, Kitchen is currently working with Boom! Studios to release old Kitchen Sink Press titles.

Fri. 4/13          6:30 – 8:30 p.m.         Comic Art & Comics Area Dinner  

Please join the Comic Art & Comics area for a group dinner.  We will meet in the hotel lobby and head to a nearby restaurant for dinner, conversation, and probably a little comics geekery.  Presenters in our area, spouses, friends, and anyone interested in the field of comics are all welcome.  Please notify area chair Nicole Freim at nfreim@gmail.com if you would like to attend (for reservation count) and check with her at the conference for exact location.

4016    Sat. 4/14         8:00 – 9:30 a.m.          Comic Books and American Cultural History II           Chair: Matthew Pustz

“Transformers and Monkey Kings: Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese and the Quest for Identity,”  Todd S. Munson

“The Militarism of American Superheroes After 9/11,”  A. David Lewis

“From Hiroshima to Katrina: The Journalism of John Hersey and Josh Neufeld,” Amy Nyberg, Seton Hall University

“ ‘Paralysis and Stagnation and Drift’: America’s Malaise as Demonstrated in Comic Books of the 1970s,”  Matthew Pustz

4104    Sat. 4/14         9:45 – 11:15 a.m.        Structure and Rhetoric       Chair: Susan Kirtley

“Reading Outside the Box: Space, Time, and Hypertext in Jason Shiga's Meanwhile,” Karl Mohn, Independent Scholar

“Making Sense of Fragments: Narrative Structure in Comics,” Barbara Postema, Ryerson University

“The Rhetoric of the Paratext in Marvel Comics' Amazing Spider-Man,” Gene Kannenberg, Jr., Independent Scholar / ComicsResearch.org

“Pedagogy, Power, and Persuasion: Invitational Rhetoric in What It Is,”  Susan Kirtley, Portland State University

4110    Sat. 4/14         11:30 – 12:00 p.m. Comic Art & Comics Special Session: The Institute for Korvac Studies

Please join us for a special discussion on the current state of Korvac scholarship  led by the most noted Korvac-ologists in the country.  This year will feature an additional focus on characters who, like Korvac, have not received the attention they deserve.  There will be a chance for an open forum to discuss the special impact little-known characters have on their respective universes.  We will also discuss the triumphant return of Korvac and present the coveted Korvie award.

Discussants: Kane Anderson, Randy Duncan, Ora McWilliams

Sat. 4/14         12:00 – 1:00 p.m.       Comic Art & Comics: Area Meeting  -- Chair: Nicole Freim

This session covers area business, including future conferences, recruiting judges for the Inge award, and information on The International Journal of ComicArt.   We will also have the presentation of the Inge and Lent Awards and discussion of calls for papers for new books.  The meeting is open to all presenters and anyone interested in our area.

4010    Sat.  4/14        1:15 – 2:45 p.m.         Boston Area Cartoonists Roundtable

Moderator: Kent Worcester, Marymount Manhattan College, kworcester@mmm.edu

Dan Mazur

Shelli Paroline

Liz Prince

Nick Thorkelson

Dan Wasserman

Maris Wicks

This roundtable will feature Boston area cartoonists discussing their work in a scholarly context, particularly the state of cartooning and the medium’s distinctive characteristics. The audience will also have a chance to ask questions of the participants.

4064    Sat. 4/14         3:00 – 4:30 p.m.         On the Scholarship of Religion and Comic Books – Using, Expanding, and Maximizing the Intersection  Chair: A. David Lewis

“Pedagogical Pop Culture: Using Comic Books to Teach Religion,”  Jacob Rennaker, Claremont Graduate University

“Grant Morrison’s Supergods and the Ironic and the Tragic,” Andrew Tripp, Boston University

“Embracing the Mutant Bible: Comics and the Supernatural World of Everyday

Evangelicalism,” Andrew Coates, Duke University

4062    Sat. 4/14         4:45 – 6:15 p.m.         On the Scholarship of Religion and Comic Books – Christ, Superman, and the Bible               Chair: A. David Lewis

“Christ in Comics: Imagination, Incarnation, Iconoclasm,” Daniel Clark, Cedarville University

“Superman as Christ, Christ as Superman: Christian Comic Book Apologetics,”

Kate Netzler Burch, Indiana University

“Reading with X-Ray Vision: How the Eyes of Superman Influence our

Interpretation of the Bible,“ Nicholaus Pumphrey, Claremont Graduate University

McFarland and Superman

Released last month. This is an interesting collection and definitely worth checking out.

The Ages of Superman: Essays on the Man of Steel in Changing Times
Edited by Joseph J. Darowski

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-6308-4 = $40.00
Ebook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8964-0
notes, bibliography, index
246pp. softcover (6 x 9) 2012

About the Book
Since Superman first appeared on the cover of Action Comics #1 in 1938, the superhero has changed with the times to remain a relevant icon of American popular culture. This collection explores the evolution of the Superman character and demonstrates how his alterations mirror historical changes in American society. Beginning with the original comic book and ending with the 2011 Grounded storyline, these essays examine Superman’s patriotic heroism during World War II, his increase in power in the early years of the Cold War, his death and resurrection at the end of the Cold War, and his recent dramatic reimagining. By looking at the many changes the Man of Steel has undergone to remain pertinent, this volume reveals as much about America as it does about the champion of Truth, Justice, and the American Way.


Table of Contents

Preface
JOSEPH J. DAROWSKI 1

"Superman Says You Can Slap a Jap!": The Man of Steel and Race Hatred in World War II
TODD S. MUNSON 5
Supervillains and Cold War Tensions in the 1950s
LORI MAGUIRE 16
Kryptonite, Radiation, and the Birth of the Atomic Age
PETER LEE 29
Truth, Justice, and the American Way in Franco’s Spain
LOUIE DEAN VALENCIA-GARCIA 45
The Inflexible Girls of Steel: Subverting Second Wave Feminism in the Extended Superman Franchise
THOMAS C. DONALDSON 62
Black Like Lois: Confronting Racism, Configuring African American Presence
CHRISTOPHER B. ZEICHMANN 78
Red, White and Bruised: The Vietnam War and the Weakening of Superman
JASON M. LATOUCHE 91
The Struggle Within: Superman’s Difficult Transition into the Age of Relevance
PAUL R. KOHL 103
"It’s Morning Again in America": John Byrne’s Re-Imaging of the Man of Steel
DANIEL J. O’ROURKE and MORGAN B. O’ROURKE 115
The New "Man of Steel" Is a Quiche-Eating Wimp! Media Reactions to the Reimagining of Superman in the Reagan Era
JACK TEIWES 125
More Human than (Super) Human: Clark Kent’s Smallville and Reagan’s America
MICHAEL SMITH 143
The "Triangle Era" of Superman: Continuity, Marketing and Grand Narratives in the 1990s
MATTHEW J. SMITH 156
Searching for Meaning in "The Death of Superman"
JOSEPH J. DAROWSKI 166
Death, Bereavement, and the Superhero Funeral
JOSE ALANIZ 177
Superman and the Corruption of Power
STEFAN BUCHENBERGER 192
This Isn’t Your Grandfather’s Comic Book Universe: The Return of the Golden Age Superman
JEFFREY K. JOHNSON 199
In a World Without Superman, What Is the American Way?
JOHN DAROWSKI 209
Traveling Hopefully in Search of American National Identity: The "Grounded" Superman as a 21st Century Picaro
RANDY DUNCAN 218

About the Contributors 231
Index 235


About the Author
Joseph J. Darowski, a professor of English at Brigham Young University-Idaho, has published work on comic book superheroes such as the X-Men, Green Lantern, and Superman and is the author or co-editor of several books.

New/Recent from Continuum

Comic Books and American Cultural History: An Anthology
edited by Matthew Pustz

Imprint: Continuum
Pub. date: 23 Feb 2012
ISBN: 9781441172624

296 Pages

Paperback  $29.95 (also in hardcover)

Description

Comic Books and American Cultural History is an anthology that examines the ways in which comic books can be used to understand the history of the United States. Over the last twenty years, there has been a proliferation of book-length works focusing on the history of comic books, but few have investigated how comics can be used as sources for doing American cultural history.

These original essays illustrate ways in which comic books can be used as resources for scholars and teachers. Part 1 of the book examines comics and graphic novels that demonstrate the techniques of cultural history; the essays in Part 2 use comics and graphic novels as cultural artifacts; the third part of the book studies the concept of historical identity through the 20th century; and the final section focuses on different treatments of contemporary American history. Discussing topics that range from romance comics and Superman to American Flagg! and Ex Machina, this is a vivid collection that will be useful to anyone studying comic books or teaching American history.


Table of Contents:

Introduction
“Comic Books as History Teachers”
By Matthew Pustz
Part I: Doing Cultural History Through Comic Books
1. “How Wonder Woman Helped My Students ‘Join the Conversation:’ Comic Books as Teaching Tools in a History Methodology Course”
By Jessamyn Neuhaus
2. “Comics as Primary Sources: The Case of Journey into Mohawk Country”
By Bridget M. Marshall
3. “Transcending the Frontier Myth: Dime Novel Narration and (Jesse) Custer’s Last Stand in Preacher”
By William Grady
4. “ ‘Duel. I’ll Give You a DUEL’: Intimacy and History in Megan Kelso’s Alexander Hamilton Trilogy”
By Alison Mandaville
Part II: Comic Books as Cultural Artifacts
1. “American Golem: Reading America through Super-New Dealers and ‘the Melting Pot’”
By Martin Lund
2. “ ‘Dreams May End, But Love Never Does’: Marriage and Materialism in American Romance Comics, 1947-1954”
By Jeanne Emerson Gardner
3. “Parody and Propaganda: Fighting American and The Battle Against Crime and Communism in the 1950s”
By John Donovan
4. “Grasping for Identity: The Hands of Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu”
By Peter Lee
5. “ ‘Paralysis and Stagnation and Drift’: America’s Malaise as Demonstrated in Comic Books of the 1970s”
By Matthew Pustz
6. “The Shopping Malls of Empire: Cultural Fragmentation, the New Media, and Consumerism in Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg!”
By Matthew J. Costello
Part III: Comic Books and Historical Identity
1. “Transformers and Monkey Kings: Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese and the Quest for Identity”
By Todd S. Munson
2. “Agent of Change: The Evolution and Enculturation of Nick Fury”
By Philip G. Payne and Paul S. Spaeth
3. “The US HIV/AIDS Crisis and the Negotiation of Queer Identity in Superhero Comics, or, Is Northstar Still a A Fairy?”
By Ben Bolling
Part IV: Comic Books and Contemporary History
1. “The Militarism of American Superheroes After 9/11”
By A. David Lewis
2. “Septemeber 11, 2001: Witnessing History, Demythifying the Story in American Widow ”
By Yves Davo
3. “ ‘The Great Machine Doesn’t Wear a Cape!’: American Cultural Anxiety and the Post-9/11 Superhero”
By Jeff Geers

Author(s)

Matthew Pustz is the author of Comic Book Culture: Fanboys and True Believers. He has a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Iowa and currently teaches history and American Studies at a variety of schools in the Boston area.

Reframing 9/11Film, Popular Culture and the “War on Terror” 
edited by Jeff Birkenstein, Anna Froula, and Karen Randell

Imprint: Continuum
Pub. date: 13 May 2010
ISBN: 9781441119056

256 Pages

Paperback $39.95 (also in hardcover and as an e-book)

Description

September 11th, 2001 remains a focal point of American consciousness, a site demanding ongoing excavation, a site at which to mark before and after “everything” changed. In ways both real and intangible the entire sequence of events of that day continues to resonate in an endlessly proliferating aftermath of meanings that continue to evolve. Presenting a collection of analyses by an international body of scholars that examines America’s recent history, this book focuses on popular culture as a profound discursive site of anxiety and discussion about 9/11 and demystifies the day’s events in order to contextualize them into a historically grounded series of narratives that recognizes the complex relations of a globalized world. Essays in Reframing 9/11 share a collective drive to encourage new and original approaches for understanding the issues both within and beyond the official political rhetoric of the events of the “The Global War on Terror” and issues of national security.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword: Reza Aslan
Introduction: Jeff Birkenstein, Anna Froula, and Karen Randell
Section One: (Re)Creating Language
Chapter One: Fear, Terrorism and Popular Culture, David L. Altheide
Chapter Two: The Aesthetics of Destruction: Contemporary US Cinema and TV Culture , Mathias Nilges
Chapter Three: 9/11, British Muslims, and Popular Literary Fiction, Sara Upstone
Chapter Four: Left Behind in America: The Army of One at the End of History, Jonathan Vincent
Chapter Five: 9/11, Manhood, Mourning, and the American Romance, John Mead
Chapter Six: An Early Broadside: The Far Right Raids Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Jeff Birkenstein
Chapter Seven: The Sound of the “War on Terror”, Corey K. Creekmur
Section Two: Visions of War and Terror
Chapter Eight: Avatars of Destruction: Cheerleading and Deconstructing the “War on Terror” in Video Games, David Annandale
Chapter Nine: The Land of the Dead and the Home of the Brave: Romero’s vision of a Post 9/11 America, Terence McSweeney
Chapter Ten: Superman is the Faultline: Fissures in the Monomythic Man of Steel, Alex Evans
Chapter Eleven: The Tools and Toys of (the) War (on Terror): Consumer Desire, Military Fetish and Regime Change in Batman Begins, Justine Toh
Chapter Twelve: “It was like a movie”: The impossibility of representation in Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center (2006), Karen Randell
Chapter Thirteen: The Contemporary Politics of the Western Form: Bush, Saving Jessica Lynch, and Deadwood, Stacy Takacs
Section Three: Prophetic Narratives
Chapter Fourteen: Governing Fear in the Iron Cage of Rationalism: Terry Gilliam’s Brazil through the 9/11 Looking Glass, David Price
Chapter Fifteen: Cultural Anxiety, Moral Clarity and Willful Amnesia: Filming Philip K. Dick After 9/11, Lance Rubin
Chapter Sixteen: Prolepsis and the “War on Terror”: Zombie Pathology and the Culture of Fear in 28 Days Later…, Anna Froula
Afterword: John Cawelti
Notes on Contributors
Bibliography
Index

Author(s)

Jeff Birkenstein is an Associate Professor of English at Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington. Birkenstein's major interests lie in American Literature post-1865, American and world short story, the short story sequence, and cultural and food criticism. An edited collection of essays, Cultural Representation in the International Short Story Sequence (co-edited with Robert M. Luscher, University of Nebraska at Kearney) has just been accepted for publication. He has published several papers in academic journals as well as book reviews, commentaries, essays and a short story. He teaches a range of classes, from Freshman Seminar and Composition to African American Literature, The Short Story, Food & Fiction, and Narratives from the Aftermath of 9/11. Birkenstein received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky in 2003; he has a second MA in Teaching English as a Second/Other Language.

Anna Froula is an Assistant Professor of film studies at East Carolina University. Froula teaches courses on war literature and film, American outlaws, national mythology, and film history, theory, and fundamentals. She has published and presented on on representations of military women, masculinity, and World War II, Vietnam, and the “War on Terror.” She is currently working on a manuscript that explores popular representations of American military women from World War II to the present.

Karen Randell is a Principal Lecturer in Film at Southampton Solent University, UK where she is Programme Leader for Film and Television. She teaches contemporary cinema and film history and her research interests include: war genre, trauma, masculinity and early cinema. She is published on trauma in film in Art in the Age of Terrorism (London: Holberton Publication: 2005) and in SCREEN. She is co-editor (with Sean Redmond) of The War Body on Screen (Continuum, NY: 2008) and Screen Methods: Comparative Readings in Film Studies (Wallflower Press: 2005) with Jacqueline Furby.

Comics Scholarship in Profession

The latest issue of Profession, published by The Modern Language Association of America, features a comics-themed essay. I believe this is a first for the journal, but I may have missed something as my reading is by no means up to date.

Details as follows:

Chute, Hillary. "Comics Form and Narrating Lives." Profession 2011: 107-17.  (Oddly, the journal seems to defy MLA convention as there is no volume number.)

IJoCA 13.2 Out Now

At a whopping 750 pages, the latest number of the International Journal of Comic Art (13.2 for Fall 2011) arrived in this week's mail. Contents will be posted as soon as they are made available on the journal's website.

Bugs Bunny is Superman!

Check out this clip from the new Looney Tunes series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGhbL20Ap8Q.

New Kirby Book

Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby
By Charles Hatfield

304 pages (approx.), 7 x 10 inches, 32 line illustrations, appendix, bibliography, index

978-1-61703-177-9 Printed casebinding $65.00S

978-1-61703-178-6 Paper $25.00T

978-1-61703-179-3 Ebook $25.00


The first critical exploration of the work of a great comics creator

Jack Kirby (1917-1994) is one of the most influential and popular artists in comics history. With Stan Lee, he created the Fantastic Four and defined the drawing and narrative style of Marvel Comics from the 1960s to the present day. Kirby is credited with creating or cocreating a number of Marvel's mainstay properties, among them the X-Men, the Hulk, Thor, and the Silver Surfer. His earlier work with Joe Simon led to the creation of Captain America, the popular kid gang and romance comic genres, and one of the most successful comics studios of the 1940s and 1950s. Kirby's distinctive narrative drawing, use of bold abstraction, and creation of angst-ridden and morally flawed heroes mark him as one of the most influential mainstream creators in comics.

In this book, Charles Hatfield examines the artistic legacy of one of America's true comic book giants. He analyzes the development of Kirby's cartooning technique, his use of dynamic composition, the recurring themes and moral ambiguities in his work, his eventual split from Lee, and his later work as a solo artist. Against the backdrop of Kirby's earlier work in various genres, Hand of Fire examines the peak of Kirby's career, when he introduced a new sense of scope and sublimity to comic book fantasy.

Charles Hatfield, Northridge, California, is associate professor of English at California State University, Northridge. He is the author of Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature. Follow his blog at http://handoffire.wordpress.com/.

304 pages (approx.), 7 x 10 inches, 32 line illustrations, appendix, bibliography, index

New Trailers for the End of the Year

Here's two more trailers for upcoming films based on comics:

I'm unsure about the first one here. The Dark Knight was a bad film in so many ways, and The Dark Knight Rises (despite its hope-filled title) paints a bleak picture for Batman and Gotham (plus the end tag here--"The Legend...Ends"--suggests a depressing conclusion for all).




One the other hand, The Men in Black films are always fun; let's hope the latest installment does not disappoint.

New OV Justice League: Doom

A new original video from the DC Animated Universe is due out in February. Here is the advance trailer:

Plug for Sequart Research

I recently came across the web site for the Sequart Research & Literacy Organization. They seem to bring the ground between popular scholarship of comics and academic discussions of the medium. The group maintains a lively blog and has published a series of essay collections on a variety of topics, including companions to recent films (see also the following link for more details: http://www.sequart.org/magazine/5111/sequarts-books-get-new-cheaper-editions/). This is definitely one to watch.

Spidey Art Book

Spider-Man turns 50 next year, and Marvel begins the celebration with The Art of Spider-Man Classic, a visual survey of the character's history in the comics. I won't say it is a "must have", but it is interesting to look at to explore the character's evolution on the comics page. Further details at Westfield Comics.

New Alex Ross Art Book

Here's a great read from Dynamite Entertainment:

THE DYNAMITE ART OF ALEX ROSS HC

Rating: Teen +
Cover: Alex Ross
Writer: Alex Ross
Artist: Alex Ross
Publication Date: Nov 2011
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 328
ISBN-10: 1-60690-244-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-60690-244-8

The Dynamite Art of Alex Ross has now EXPANDED to 328 PAGES!!!!!! Containing sketches, designs, layouts and pencils, interior work, covers, and a wealth of unpublished art, The Dynamite Art of Alex Ross can be found at comic stores everywhere December 7th! But now, it is going to come with over a hundred and twenty-eight more pages, at the same price! Originally just over 200 pages, The Dynamite Art of Alex Ross will be a whopping 328 pages with ABSOLUTELY no price increase!

Alex Ross' ultra-realistic, painted renditions of iconic superheroes have made him a superstar. In the vein of acclaimed and fan-favorite Alex Ross books such as Mythologies and Rough Justice, we are proud to present the ultimate collection of Alex Ross art from his extensive collaboration with Dynamite, The Dynamite Art of Alex Ross. Containing sketches, designs, layouts and pencils, interior work, covers, and a wealth of unpublished art.

Collecting all of Alex's Dynamite covers and interior art in one complete hardcover volume, also featuring Marvel pages, along with commentary throughout the book by Alex Ross himself, as well as special bonus material, this is a package not to be missed. A must-buy for Alex Ross' legion of fans!

Tintin Movie

Due out this week:

2011 In Memoriam

I'm perpetually behind on blog posts but did want to at least acknowledge the recent passing of two Golden Age greats: Jerry Robinson and Joe Simon. I was not very familiar with Robinson (and now look forward to reading N. C. Christopher Couch's biography Jerry Robinson: Ambassador of Comics [2010]), but Simon's recent autobiography provided much insight into his life and career.

Teasers

New From McFarland

Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, 2d ed.

William B. Jones, Jr.

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-3840-2
EBook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8840-7
357 photos (48 in color), appendices, notes, bibliography, index
409pp. hardcover (8.5 x 11) 2011
Price: $55.00

About the Book
A significant expansion of the critically acclaimed first edition, Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, 2d ed., carries the story of the Kanter family’s series of comics-style adaptations of literary masterpieces from 1941 into the 21st century. This book features additional material on the 70-year history of Classics Illustrated and the careers and contributions of such artists as Alex A. Blum, Lou Cameron, George Evans, Henry C. Kiefer, Gray Morrow, Rudolph Palais, and Louis Zansky. New chapters cover the recent Jack Lake and Papercutz revivals of the series, the evolution of Classics collecting, and the unsung role of William Kanter in advancing the fortunes of his father Albert’s worldwide enterprise. Enhancing the lively account of the growth of "the World’s Finest Juvenile Publication" are new interviews and correspondence with editor Helene Lecar, publicist Eleanor Lidofsky, artist Mort Kunstler, and the founder’s grandson John "Buzz" Kanter.

Detailed appendices provide artist attributions, issue contents and, for the principal Classics Illustrated-related series, a listing of each printing identified by month, year, and highest reorder number. New U.S., Canadian and British series have been added. More than 300 illustrations--most of them new to this edition--include photographs of artists and production staff, comic-book covers and interiors, and a substantial number of original cover paintings and line drawings.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: “Good Stories” 1

I. Albert Kanter’s Dream 9
II. Of Musketeers and Mohicans: The Jacquet Shop 17
III. Louis Zansky: The Painter’s Touch 26
IV. Eccentricity Abounding: The War Years 35
V. Arnold Lorne Hicks: Transitional Figure 42

Between pages 48 and 49 are eight pages containing 22 color plates

VI. Enter Iger: The Fiction House Artists 49
VII. Henry Carl Kiefer and the Classics House Style 63
VIII. Alex A. Blum: “A Prince of a Man” 76
IX. A “Newer, Truer Name”: The Late Forties 90
X. Blood, Sweat, and Rudy Palais 104
XI. Painted Covers and an Extra Nickel: The Early Fifties 111
XII. Maurice del Bourgo: A “Man’s World Artist” 131XIII. Canonical Matters and Classical Curiosities 135
XIV. Lou Cameron: “If John Wayne Had Drawn Comic Books” 144
XV. Norman Nodel: “A Certain Integrity” 153
XVI. From the Crypt to the Classics: The EC Era 165
XVII. George Evans, Reed Crandall, and the Tradition of EC Realism 182
XVIII. Roberta the Conqueror 197

Between pages 200 and 201 are eight pages containing 26 color plates
IX. High Tide and Greenbacks: The Late Fifties 201
XX. Gerald McCann: The Colors of the Sky 213
XXI. Gray Morrow: “Real People and Real Events” 217
XXII. “Roberta’s Reforms”: The Early SixtiesXIII. William E. Kanter: About a Son 240
XXIV. Five Little Series and How They Grew: Picture Progress; Classics Illustrated Junior; Classics Illustrated Special Issues; The World Around Us; The Best from Boys’ Life Comics 244
XXV. “Frawley’s Folly”: The Twin Circle Era (1967–1971) 270
XXVI. Classics Abroad: The Worldwide Yellow Banner 274
XXVII. The Wilderness Years: The Seventies and Eighties 280
XXVIII. Great Expectations: First Publishing’s Graphic Novels 283
XXIX. “Your Doorway to the Classics”: Acclaim’s Study Guides 291
XXX. Restoration: Jack Lake Productions and Papercutz 294
XXXI. Classics Collected: Notes on the Evolution of a Pastime and a Passion 299
XXXII. Classical Coda 306
Notes 309

Appendices
A. Classic Comics and Classics Illustrated 317
B. Classics Illustrated Giant Editions 334
C. Fast Fiction/Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated 334
D. Classics Illustrated Educational Series 335
E. Picture Parade/Picture Progress 335
F. Classics Illustrated Junior 336
G. Classics Illustrated Special Issues 342
H. The Best from Boys’ Life Comics 343
I. The World Around Us 344
J. British Classics Illustrated, First and Second Series 349
K. Classics Illustrated, Second Series (Berkley/First) 353
L. Classics Illustrated, Third Series, Study Guides (Acclaim) 353
M. Classics Illustrated, Fourth Series ( Jack Lake) 355
N. Classics Illustrated Junior, Second Series ( Jack Lake) 357
O. Classics Illustrated Special Issues, Second Series ( Jack Lake) 359
P. British Classics Illustrated, Third Series 359
Q. Papercutz Classics Illustrated DeLuxe Editions 360
R. Papercutz Classics Illustrated Editions 360
S. Correspondence Between Roberta Strauss and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, re: The Dark Frigate 360
T. Letter from Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht to E. Nelson Bridwell 361

Bibliography 363
Index 367


About the Author
Attorney, teacher, and freelance writer William B. Jones, Jr., lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Portraying 9/11: Essays on Representations in Comics, Literature, Film and Theatre

Edited by Veronique Bragard, Christophe Dony and Warren Rosenberg

Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-5950-6
EBook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8896-4
4 photos, notes, bibliographies, index
184pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2011
Price: $40.00

About the Book
Commentators and artists attempting to represent the events of September 11, 2001, struggle to create meaning in the face of such powerful experiences. This collection of essays offers critical insights into the discourses that shape the memory of 9/11 in the narrative genres of comics, literature, film, and theatre. It examines historical, political, cultural, and personal meanings of the disaster and its aftermath through critical discussions of Marvel and New Yorker comics, American and British novels, Hollywood films, and the plays of Anne Nelson.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction
VÉRONIQUE BRAGARD, CHRISTOPHE DONY and WARREN ROSENBERG 1

Part I: Comics
Covering 9/11: The New Yorker, Trauma Kitsch, and Popular Memory
TIMOTHY KRAUSE 11
Spandex Agonistes: Superhero Comics Confront the War on Terror
MATTHEW J. COSTELLO 30
“Whose Side Are You On?” The Allegorization of 9/11 in Marvel’s Civil War
STEPHAN PACKARD 44

Part II: Literature
September 11 and Cold War Nostalgia
AARON DEROSA 58
Don DeLillo’s Falling Man: Countering Post–9/11 Narratives of Heroic Masculinity
MAGALI CORNIER MICHAEL 73
Misplaced Anxieties: Violence and Trauma in Ian McEwan’s Saturday
ULRIKE TANCKE 89
The Mediated Trauma of September 11, 2001, in William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition and David Foster Wallace’s “The Suffering Channel”
MARC OXOBY 102

Part III: Performance
Terror and Mismemory: Resignifying September 11 in World Trade Center and United 93
GERRY CANAVAN 118
From Flying Man to Falling Man: 9/11 Discourse in Superman Returns and Batman Begins
DAN HASSLER-FOREST 134
Authenticating the Reel: Realism, Simulation, and Trauma in United 93
FRANCES PHEASANT-KELLY 147
Connecting in the Aftermath: Trauma, Performance, and Catharsis in the Plays of Anne Nelson
JAMES M. CHERRY 160

About the Contributors 173
Index 175



About the Author
Veronique Bragard is associate professor in comparative literature at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. Christophe Dony combines teaching and research activities at the Universite de Liege, Belgium, where he is a PhD candidate in English Literatures. Warren Rosenberg is a professor and chair of English at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

CFP Joker Collection

My thanks to the NEPCA Journal for the head's up:

Call for Abstracts

The Joker: Critical Essays on the Clown Prince of Crime

Robert Moses Peaslee & Robert G. Weiner, Editors

“Nobody panics when things are going according to plan, even if the plan is horrifying.”

-- The Joker (Heath Ledger), The Dark Knight (2008)

If one were to survey the global public about their favorite superheroes, the results would likely place Batman, Spider-Man, and perhaps Superman in the top tier. If one were to ask about super villains, however, it’s unlikely that any character would receive more attention than the Joker. To date, the character has appeared in thousands of comics, numerous animated series, and three major blockbuster feature films dating back to 1966. One could make a strong argument that the Clown Prince of Crime is the most popular and well-known fictional villain in the history of popular culture. A superhero is only as interesting as the villains he or she faces, and the Joker stands out among hundreds of villains as one of the most complex, culturally resonant, and morally ambiguous characters to ever grace a comic book page or movie screen. In 2006, Industry publication Wizard ranked the Joker as the number one comic villain of all time.

Academic studies and collections of Batman abound, both as a text and as an industry (DiPaolo, 2009; Eury, 2009; Schopp, 2009; Kuwata, 2008; O’Neil, 2008; Zehr, 2008; Brooker, 2007; Morris, 2005; Pearson & Uricchio, 1991; Beard 2010). Despite the Joker’s popularity, however, there has never appeared a serious scholarly monograph or edited collection based around the character. The editors hope to rectify this gap in the literature of sequential art, film, media, and cultural studies. Our aspiration is to compile the definitive volume on the character, encompassing historical, textual, institutional, and interpretational approaches from a wide variety of disciplines.

To this end, the editors seek abstracts of no more than 500 words outlining proposed essays of 6,000-8,000 words. Abstracts should make clear the author’s approach to the material in epistemological terms and indicate whether or not the piece has appeared in previous forms elsewhere. Abstracts should show potential as rigorous primary research, theory development or criticism.

A by-no-means-exhaustive list of possible topics includes:

• Historical-textual examinations of the Joker’s emergence and evolution
• Comparative analyses of the Joker’s various characterizations and adaptations
• Socio-cultural approaches to the Joker’s symbolic potential
• The Joker and gender, race, sexuality, ability, etc.
• Gaming environments and the Joker’s manifestations in ludic narratives
• The Joker as an entertainment marketing tool
• The Joker pre- and post-9/11
• Relationships between the Joker and other heroes and/or villains
• Author- or creator-driven analyses
• Theoretical approaches to the Joker’s visual composition
• Narrative and rhetorical criticism
• Archetypal explorations of Joker pre-cursors
• Psychological or psychoanalytical analyses
• Humor and/or clowning and their relationship to the sinister
• The para-cinema of the Joker
• Fan communities and performance
• The Joker as a stabilizing or confounding force in sequential art taxonomies
• Joker philosophy
• Art historical or visual culture-driven analyses of the Joker
• The Joker as a pedagogical tool


Abstracts should be submitted no later than Dec. 15, 2011. Please send abstracts via email to rob.weiner@ttu.edu.

Those authors whose abstracts are accepted will be notified no later than February 1, 2012. Full essays will be required by April 1, 2012 and will be reviewed by both the editors and guest reviewers.

Note that invitation to submit a full essay does not guarantee inclusion in the volume. Selected authors will be notified over the summer of 2012.




Rob Weiner
Humanities Librarian Texas Tech University
Email: rob.weiner@ttu.edu

CFP Monsters in the Margins Conference

From the ImageTexT News Feed (note that the conference conflicts with the meeting of the Popular Culture Association in Boston):
"Monsters in the Margins" April 13-15, 2012
Posted 20 Nov, 2011

UF Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels

In any crisis, whether economic or cultural, there is a sense of an unimaginable danger right around the corner. These unknown and unfathomable terrors fascinate the imagination and dramatically play out our anxieties in a more cognitively relatable form—we attempt to embody them, to transplant them, or to make them somehow tangible—yet the underlying terror persists. The narratives and mediums we channel our terrors into become our monsters.

In the midst of the first true economic crisis of the 21st century, we return to these sites with renewed curiosity. How can we depict the sublime terror of our anxieties? How can we convey our unabashed horror through image and text, and communicate those feelings? Why do we keep trying to re-imagine the same monstrous templates, especially when the tools of a craft are perpetually unable to represent the unimaginable?

The 9th University of Florida Comics Conference hopes to address these issues by welcoming any and all explorations into the representation of monsters in a visual/textual form. We are especially interested in how text augments the imaginative image (or vice versa) and approaches horror in ways that help the conscious mind endure and (hopefully) resolve the trauma that the unknown antagonizes within us. From traditional genres to new horizons of horror, we seek to examine the monsters of media and attempt to understand how the medium influences the message.

Submissions should maintain a focus on comics, manga, children's literature, video games, imaging technology or any other form that includes both image and text in its representations (either simultaneously or indirectly).

Building on the interdisciplinary and multi-modal aims of the conference, "Monsters in the Margins" encourages scholars and artists from all fields to consider alternative, interactive presentation models that utilize both technology and audience collaboration.

While traditional lecture models remain the core of the conference, "Monsters in the Margins" will also re-think the margins of the conference itself by hosting discussion-oriented panels that emphasize and incorporate audience participation. We hope that this conversational framework will facilitate a discursive space in which audience and speaker can come together to explore content, theory, and process. If you are interested in this alternative format panel, please submit an extended abstract outlining your topic and approach. Abstracts will be published online prior to the conference to help facilitate these colloquia.

Suggested topics and approaches include (but are not limited to):
Historical (EC Comics and the censored monster, historical context and development of a monster/the monstrous through manuscripts or newspapers)
Cultural (monster as metaphor for crisis, mimetic manifestations in monstrous traits)
Graphic/Image (illustrating the monster, monstrous representations)
Graphic/Text/Digital ('wording' the monster, 'voicing' the monster's image, ghost in the machine)
Adaptation (monsters across mediums, times, and periods)
Topological (landscapes, territories, terrain, environment, haunted spaces)
Socio-Cultural (PTSD and its manifestations, the neighbor, anxiety and influence)

Deadlines

21 January '12: Extended abstracts for experimental panels

15 February '12: Presentation abstracts

Please direct all items and inquiries to imagetext@english.ufl.edu