1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910480277003321

Autore

Phillips Nickie D.

Titolo

Comic Book Crime : Truth, Justice, and the American Way / / Nickie D. Phillips, Staci Strobl

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, NY : , : New York University Press, , [2013]

©2013

ISBN

0-8147-6273-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (289 pages) : illustrations

Collana

Alternative Criminology ; ; 4

Disciplina

741.5/973

Soggetti

Literature and society - United States - History

Social values in literature

Justice in literature

Crime in literature

Comic books, strips, etc - History and criticism

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 267-282) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- 1. HOLY CRIMINOLOGY, BATMAN! -- 2. “CRIME DOESN’T PAY” -- 3. THE WORLD IS SHIFTING -- 4. A BETTER TOMORROW -- 5. “THAT’S THE TROUBLE WITH A BAD SEED” -- 6. “AREN’T WE SUPPOSED TO BE THE GOOD GUYS?” -- 7. “TAKE DOWN THE BAD GUYS, SAVE THE GIRL” -- 8. “AREN’T THERE ANY BROWN PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD?” -- 9. APOCALYPTIC INCAPACITATION -- 10. CONCLUSION -- 229 APPENDIX: SAMPLE AND METHODOLOGY -- NOTES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX -- ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Sommario/riassunto

Superman, Batman, Daredevil, and Wonder Woman are iconic cultural figures that embody values of order, fairness, justice, and retribution. Comic Book Crime digs deep into these and other celebrated characters, providing a comprehensive understanding of crime and justice in contemporary American comic books. This is a world where justice is delivered, where heroes save ordinary citizens from certain doom, where evil is easily identified and thwarted by powers far greater than mere mortals could possess. Nickie Phillips and Staci Strobl



explore these representations and show that comic books, as a historically important American cultural medium, participate in both reflecting and shaping an American ideological identity that is often focused on ideas of the apocalypse, utopia, retribution, and nationalism. Through an analysis of approximately 200 comic books sold from 2002 to 2010, as well as several years of immersion in comic book fan culture, Phillips and Strobl reveal the kinds of themes and plots popular comics feature in a post-9/11 context. They discuss heroes’ calculations of “deathworthiness,” or who should be killed in meting out justice, and how these judgments have as much to do with the hero’s character as they do with the actions of the villains. This fascinating volume also analyzes how class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation are used to construct difference for both the heroes and the villains in ways that are both conservative and progressive. Engaging, sharp, and insightful, Comic Book Crime is a fresh take on the very meaning of truth, justice, and the American way.