Captain America and the Struggle of the Superhero: Critical Essays

by Robert G. Weiner (Editor)

Overview

For more than 60 years, Captain America was one of Marvel Comics' flagship characters, representing truth, strength, liberty, and justice. The assassination of his alter ego, Steve Rogers, rocked the comic world, leaving numerous questions about his life and death.

This book discusses topics including the representation of Nazi Germany in Captain America Comics from the 1940s to the 1960s; the creation of Captain America in light of the Jewish American experience; the relationship between Captain America and UK Marvel's Captain Britain; the groundbreaking partnership between Captain America and African American superhero the Falcon; and the attempts made to kill the character before his "real" death.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786453405
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/08/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	243
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert G. Weiner is the popular culture librarian at Texas Tech University. His work has been published in the Journal of Popular Culture, Public Library Quarterly, Journal of American Culture, International Journal of Comic Art and Popular Music and Society, and is the author/editor/coeditor of numerous books related to popular culture.
Robert G. Weiner is the popular culture librarian at Texas Tech University. His work has been published in the Journal of Popular Culture, Public Library Quarterly, Journal of American Culture, International Journal of Comic Art and Popular Music and Society and is the author/editor/coeditor of numerous books related to popular culture.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Key to Abbreviations     
Foreword by John Shelton Lawrence     
Introduction by Robert G. Weiner     

GENERAL HISTORY
O Captain! My Captain!
Christopher J. Hayton and David L. Albright     

WORLD WAR
Madmen, Morons, and Monocles: The Portrayal of the Nazis in Captain America
John E. Moser     
The Invaders and the All-Star Squadron: Roy Thomas Revisits the Golden
Mark R. McDermott     
Graphic Imagery: Jewish American Comic Book Creators’ Depictions of Class, Race, Patriotism and the Birth of the Good Captain
Nicholas Yanes     

RACIAL ISSUES
Not Just Another Racist Honkey: A History of Racial Representation in Captain America and Related Publications
Ora C. McWilliams     
Weakness Is a Crime: Captain America and the Eugenic Ideal in Early Twentieth-Century America
Brian E. Hack.     

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILES
Sixty-Five Years of Guilt Over the Death of Bucky
Robert G. Weiner     
Captain America, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and the Vietnam
Shawn Gillen     

COMPARISONS OF CAPTAIN AMERICA WITH OTHER CHARACTERS
The Historical Value of Bronze Age Comics: Captain America and the Haunted Tank
Nicholas D. Molnar     
The Ultimate American?
Jackson Sutliff     
The Alpha and the Omega: Captain America and the Punisher
Cord Scott     
Captain America and Captain Britain: Geopolitical Identity and “the Special Relationship”
Jason Dittmer     
History of the Marvel Zombies and Colonel America among the Marvel Zombies
Mark R. McDermott     

POLITICAL INTERPRETATIONS AND THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA
“Captain America Must Die”: The Many Afterlives of Steve Rogers
David Walton     
Stevie’s Got a Gun: Captain America and His Problematic Use of Lethal Force
Phillip L. Cunningham     
A Genealogy of Evil: Captain America vs. the Shadows of the National Imagined Community
Christian Steinmetz     

LITERARY INTERPRETATIONS
The Man Behind the Mask? Models of Masculinity and the Persona of Heroes in Captain America Prose Novels
Mike S. DuBose     

GUIDES
A Selected Webography: FanFiction
Freedonia Paschall     
A Selected Filmographic Essay
Cord Scott and Robert G. Weiner     
A Selected Bibliographic Essay: Academic Literature
Jason Dittmer and Robert G. Weiner     
Afterword by J.M. DeMatteis     
About the Contributors     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

An excellent anthology of essays for anyone interested in both comics as well as popular of 20th century America...a great starting point for people interested in studying or understanding Captain America as well as a great tool to enlist in those already involved with studying the character”—NEPCA Journal.

From the Publisher

An excellent anthology of essays for anyone interested in both comics as well as popular of 20th century America...a great starting point for people interested in studying or understanding Captain America as well as a great tool to enlist in those already involved with studying the character

NEPCA Journal