Superman and Comic Book Brand Continuity

by Phillip Bevin

Overview

Superman and Comic Book Brand Continuity traces the development of comic book continuity through the case study of Superman, examining the character’s own evolution across several media, including comics, radio, television, and film. Superman’s relationship with continuity illustrates a key feature of the way in which people in western societies construct stories about themselves. In this respect, the book is a study of narrative and how comic book continuity reflects the way that, in wider western post-enlightenment culture, storytelling shapes the common sense and received wisdoms that influence how we perceive "reality." The scope of the analysis extends from Superman’s creation in the late 1930s to the recent films Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), as well as the current comic book reboot Rebirth (2016).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351254281
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/06/2018
Series:	Routledge Advances in Comics Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	166
File size:	350 KB

About the Author

Phillip Bevin is an independent scholar. He has a PhD in Film and Television Studies from Kingston University, London, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why Study Superman?

1. Taming Superman: The Origins of Brand Continuity

2. Narrative Continuity and the Fantasy of Realism

3. Myth and the Man of Steel: Identifying Superman’s Worst Enemy

4. Superman v. Superman: Corporate Innovation and the Resistance of Cultural Continuity

Conclusion: The Once and Future Superman?