Comic books and superhero stories mirror essential societal values and beliefs. We can be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Black Panther or Rocket Raccoon through our everyday choices. We can't fly, fix hyper drives or hear human heartbeats a mile away, but we can think about what Matt Murdock would do in a conflict, how Superman would respond to natural disasters and how Captain America would handle humanitarian crises.
This book analyzes the impact of dozens of comics by examining the noble personalities, traits and actions of the main characters. Chapters detail how superheroes, comic books and other pop culture phenomena offer more than pure entertainment, and how we can better model ourselves after our favorite heroes. Through our good deeds, quick thinking and positive choices, we can become more like superheroes than we ever imagined.
Comic books and superhero stories mirror essential societal values and beliefs. We can be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Black Panther or Rocket Raccoon through our everyday choices. We can't fly, fix hyper drives or hear human heartbeats a mile away, but we can think about what Matt Murdock would do in a conflict, how Superman would respond to natural disasters and how Captain America would handle humanitarian crises.
This book analyzes the impact of dozens of comics by examining the noble personalities, traits and actions of the main characters. Chapters detail how superheroes, comic books and other pop culture phenomena offer more than pure entertainment, and how we can better model ourselves after our favorite heroes. Through our good deeds, quick thinking and positive choices, we can become more like superheroes than we ever imagined.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
Why Comic Books
1. Race in Black and White
2. Captain America Rules!
3. The Fantastic Four, Incorporated
4. Coded Complications
5. The Guardians of Goofiness
6. Islamophobia
7. Wayne’s World
Coda: Are Comic Books Dying?
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
Jeffrey Kahan is a professor of English at the University of La Verne in California.
“This comprehensive, exhaustive volume offers a bounty of riches
for those in the subfield of superhero studies. Kahan, who with the
late Stan Stewart constructed the first and second editions of
Caped Crusaders 101 (2006, 2010), has built on that previous
research and analysis while addressing issues and concerns
overlooked or marginalized in the earlier works.... this text is an
important contribution to superhero pedagogy...highly
recommended”—Choice
“Why We Need Superheroes is a welcome contribution to contemporary
popular culture studies. Elegant, comprehensive and infinitely
readable, this is a book for teachers, scholars and anyone who’s
ever been curious about the world of superheroes.”—Miranda
Corcoran, University College Cork, Ireland
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