Origin Story

When Dr. Gian Pagnucci (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) and I were approached by Scarecrow Press in November of 2011 to write a book about superheroes, we were floored. Not only were Gian and I huge fans of comic books, graphic novels, and all things superheroes, we never thought our presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Popular Culture Conference would get noticed.

Our presentation was titled "The Death of America in Comic Books: A Socio-Cultural Analysis of Identity Crisis Narratives in Superman and Captain America Comic Books." As avid fans and readers of comic books, we felt that superhero comics were inundated with issues of American patriotism and nationalism, especially as it pertained to Superman and Captain America. About a week before our presentation, I received an e-mail from an editor at Scarecrow Press who asked me about meeting to discuss a possible book on the subject in Philadelphia. Needless to say, Gian and I jumped at the chance! Gian had written a book before titled Living the Narrative Life: Stories as a Tool for Meaning Making which made a case for privileging personal narratives in academic discussions, but this was his first chance to write a book on popular culture and superheroes. For me, it was my first chance to write a book, and that first book would be on a subject I loved.

Gian and I agreed to write the book and began planning the chapters and content. Most of the planning went smoothly, but we always came back to one problem: which superhero stories and characters do we talk about and why? This then became the goal of the book. Which superhero stories are the most recognized? Which superhero narratives have contributed the most to our of collective understanding of heroism, villainy, justice, and power? We decided to propose a Canon of Superhero Literature which spanned over 70 years of stories and multiple media. From comic books, to television shows, to films, we created an extensive list of superhero texts we felt were most representative of the genre.

Enter the Superheroes: American Values, Culture, and the Canon of Superhero Literature is due out later this year from Scarecrow Press, and we are extremely excited to see it in print. Not only is it a culmination of our research on superheroes, comic literature, and how academia accepts the superhero genre, it is also an eternal work in progress. In comic books, there is always another issue. This blog will serve as that next issue. From time to time, I am going to discuss comic books, television shows, films, graphic novels, and any other form of media that could, in my opinion, be included in a Canon of Superhero Literature. And please, leave comments reacting to the texts that are discussed here. A Canon of Superhero Literature can only exist as long as people are passionate about the superhero genre.

Again, I am proud of the Canon of Superhero Literature Gian and I have proposed, but I'm always ready for the next issue!