Superheroes and Gods

by Don LoCicero
Superheroes and Gods
Author: Don LoCicero
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2007-10-29
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0786431849
GET BOOK

The work provides a unique study of superheroes and gods in literature, popular culture, and ancient myth. The author selects a number of mythological figures (e.g., Babylonia's Gilgamesh and Enkidu), ancient gods (e.g., Greece's Eros and Tartarus), and modern superheroes (e.g., the United States' Superman and Captain Marvel) and identifies the often striking similarities between each unique category of characters. The author contends that the vast majority of mythological superheroes follow the same archetypal character patterns, regardless of each hero's unique time period or culture. Each of the first nine chapters examines the heroes and gods of a particular region or country, while the final chapter examines modern descendants of the hero prototype like Batman and Spiderman and several infamous anti-heroes (for example, Dracula and The Hulk). Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Do The Gods Wear Capes?

by Ben Saunders
Do The Gods Wear Capes?
Author: Ben Saunders
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2011-06-02
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1441113118
GET BOOK

Brash, bold, and sometimes brutal, superheroes might seem to epitomize modern pop-culture at its most melodramatic and mindless. But according to Ben Saunders, the appeal of the superhero is fundamentally metaphysical - even spiritual - in nature. In chapter-length analyses of the early comic book adventures of Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Iron-Man, Saunders explores a number of complex philosophical and theological issues, including: the problem of evil; the will-to-power; the tension between intimacy and vulnerability; and the challenge of love, in the face of mortality. He concludes that comic book fantasies of the superhuman ironically reveal more than we might care to admit about our human limitations, even as they expose the falsehood of the characteristically modern opposition between religion and science. Clearly and passionately written, this insightful and at times exhilarating book should delight all readers who believe in the redemptive capacity of the imagination, regardless of whether they consider themselves comic book fans.

Gods and Heroes

by Korwin Briggs
Gods and Heroes
Author: Korwin Briggs
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2018-08-21
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1523503785
GET BOOK

Meet the Original Superheroes. Before there was Batman, Wonder Woman, or Black Panther...there was Indra, Hindu king of gods, who battled a fearsome snake to save the world from drought. Athena, the powerful Greek goddess of wisdom who could decide the fate of battles before they even began. Okuninushi, the Japanese hero who defeated eighty brothers to become king and then traded it all for a chance at immortality. Featuring more than 70 characters from 23 cultures around the world, this A-to-Z encyclopedia of mythology is a who's who of powerful gods and goddesses, warriors and kings, enchanted creatures and earthshaking giants whose stories have been passed down since the beginning of time—and are now given fresh life for a new generation of young readers. Plus, You'll Learn All About: Dragons: The Hydra, St. George's Dragon, and the Australian Rainbow Snake Giants: Grendel, Balor of the Evuil Eye, Polyphemus, and the Purusha with the thousand heads Monsters: Manticore, Sphinx, Minotaur, Thunderbird, and Echidne, mother of the Nemean lion that nearly killed Heracles Underworlds: Travel to Hades, Valhalla, and the Elysian Fields

The Mythology of the Superhero

by Andrew R. Bahlmann
The Mythology of the Superhero
Author: Andrew R. Bahlmann
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2016-04-27
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1476662487
GET BOOK

Superheroes have been an integral part of popular society for decades and have given rise to a collective mythology familiar in popular culture worldwide. Though scholars and fans have recognized and commented on this mythology, its structure has gone largely unexplored. This book provides a model and lexicon for identifying the superhero mythos. The author examines the myth in several narratives--including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Green Arrow and Beowulf--and discusses such diverse characters as Batman, Wolverine, Invincible and John Constantine.

Super Heroes

by Richard Reynolds
Super Heroes
Author: Richard Reynolds
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
Total Pages: 140
Release: 1994
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 9780878056941
GET BOOK

A study of one of popular culture's superstars whose enchanting mystique pervades the modern world

The Gospel According to Superheroes

by B. J. Oropeza
The Gospel According to Superheroes
Author: B. J. Oropeza
Publisher: Peter Lang
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2005
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780820474229
GET BOOK

And 1970s, and the dark and violent creatures who embody the pre- and post-millennial crises of faith. Lavishly illustrated, the articles come to startling conclusions about what we have really been reading under the covers with flashlights for generations. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Supergods

by Grant Morrison
Supergods
Author: Grant Morrison
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2012
Genre: Science fiction comic books, strips, etc
ISBN: 0099546671
GET BOOK

Beginning with Schuster and Seigel's adolescent creation of Superman in 1938, Grant Morrison charts the history of the superheroes to their modern, multiplex incarnations.

Heroes Masked and Mythic

by Christopher Wood
Heroes Masked and Mythic
Author: Christopher Wood
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2021-01-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1476683158
GET BOOK

Epic battles, hideous monsters and a host of petty gods--the world of Classical mythology continues to fascinate and inspire. Heroes like Herakles, Achilles and Perseus have influenced Western art and literature for centuries, and today are reinvented in the modern superhero. What does Iron Man have to do with the Homeric hero Odysseus? How does the African warrior Memnon compare with Marvel's Black Panther? Do DC's Wonder Woman and Xena the Warrior Princess reflect the tradition of Amazon women such as Penthesileia? How does the modern superhero's journey echo that of the epic warrior? With fresh insight into ancient Greek texts and historical art, this book examines modern superhero archetypes and iconography in comics and film as the crystallization of the hero's journey in the modern imagination.

Maui

by Robert Sullivan
Maui
Author: Robert Sullivan
Publisher: Godwit Pub.
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1996-11-08
Genre: Brothers
ISBN: 9781869620066
GET BOOK

The story of Maui in comic strip form.