Not So Fast! The Case for Revisiting the Costume Designs of 1990’s The Flash TV Show
Considering how 1990’s The Flash on CBS was a pivotal development to the television superhero genre through fashion.
“Say It Loud!” Tyroc and the Trajectory of the Black Superhero (part 1)
Part one in an exploration of how the trajectory of Tyroc’s character provides a blueprint for thinking about the arc of other black superheroes.
Reading Comics at the Threshold: A Round Table on Letter Columns & Other Comics Paratexts (Part 1)
Part One in our three part roundtable on comics paratexts focuses on letter columns.
Harley Quinn’s Sexuality: A Tale of Three Lusts
Laura Grafton and Andew Deman examine the intersection of Harley Quinn’s three central relationships, with the Joker, Poison Ivy, and her audience.
“Jimmy Olsen—SUPER Freak!” – Disability and Superman’s Pal
How the limitations of Jimmy Olsen’s transformations limn the dynamics of superhuman embodiment.
Brief Comic Book Reviews (January 1 to 15, 2020)
Brief reviews of comics released between January 1st and 15th, 2020 (like Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14 and Second Coming #6), plus a couple of outliers I picked up (like Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #3).
Unstable Masks; Or, The Whiteness of the Superhero (a preview)
A guest post in the form of a preview of the forthcoming anthology, Unstable Masks: Whiteness and American Superhero Comics.
Brief Comic Book Reviews (September 6 through September 25, 2019)
Brief reviews of comics that were released in September 2019, including Agents of Atlas #2, Wonder Twins #7, and Power Pack: Grow Up! #1
Brief Comic Book Reviews (August 22 to Sept 5, 2018)
Brief reviews of recent comics released August 22 to September 5, 2018; including Border Town #1, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #4, and Paper Girls #24.
Digging Up Ghosts: Teen Titans’ Mal Duncan & His Token Power
Using Teen Titans #41 to think through token characters and slavery as a narrative trope.
Colonial Hottie: Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman and Brand Israel
A crucial interrogation of how Gal Gadot’s Israeli identity and IDF experience are used to sell her authenticity in the role of Wonder Woman.
“Am I Black Enough For You?” The Respectability of CW’s Black Lightning
The CW’s Black Lighting represents the split between Black respectability and radical politics in a singular figure.
Brief Comics Reviews (March 7-21, 2018)
Brief reviews of comics that came out between March 7 and 21, including Marvel Two-in-One #4, Black Bolt #11, and the Mighty Thor #705.
“Be Glad of Your Many Sisters” – The Insular and the Exceptional in Wonder Woman: The Circle
In this guest post, Bruno Savill de Jong explores Simone and the Dodsons re-imagining of Wonder Woman’s origin and its connection to Amazonian notions of womanhood.
Striking Back: Black Lightning and Reading Race (part two)
When Black Lightning rejects the Justice League he is rejecting white supremacy.
Striking Back: Black Lightning and Reading Race (part one)
The clumsy way superhero comic books of the post-Civil Rights 1970s explicitly address race can provide a site for imagining productive racial consciousness for black characters, while also highlighting the limits of that kind of resistant reading.
The (re)Collection Agency #4: A Conversation with Brian Cremins
The latest in our conversations with comics scholars: this time Dr. Brian Cremins talks comics and nostalgia as pitfall and strategy in (re)constructing personal and historical narratives.
Brief Comics Reviews (12/21/2016 to 1/11/2017)
Brief reviews of recent comics including Wonder Woman #14, U.S. Avengers #1, and The Flintstones #7.
Brief Reviews (8/24 to 9/7 – 2016)
Brief reviews of comics released (mostly) August 24 through September 7th, including Wonder Woman #5, Ms. Marvel #10, and Sixpack And Dogwelder: Hard-Travelin’ Heroz #1.
Brief Reviews (8/3 to 8/17 – 2016)
Brief reviews of comics released August 3-17, 2016 – including Sam Wilson: Captain America #12, Wonder Woman #4, and The Flintstones #2.
Reviews in Brief (7/13 to 7/27 – 2016)
Brief reviews of comics released on July 13th, 20th and 27th, 2016 (w/ some exceptions), including Nighthawk #3, Wonder Woman #2 and several Civil War II tie-in issues.
