Author

Publication

2015 - University of Iowa Press, Iowa

Language

English

Word Count

73,750 words, Guess

Page Count

295 pages

Identifiers

and 1 more

Classifications

  • DDC809/.93352
  • LCCPN56.5.H45 G38 2015

Alternate Titles

  • Superheroes

Description

"Most readers think that superheroes began with Superman in 1938, but that Kryptonian rocket didn't just drop out of the sky. By the time Superman's creators were born, the superhero's most defining elements--secret identities, aliases, disguises, signature symbols, traumatic origin stories, extraordinary powers, self-sacrificing altruism--were already well-rehearsed standards. Superheroes have a sprawling, action-packed history that predates Superman by decades and even centuries. On the Origin of Superheroes is a quirky, personal tour of the mythology, literature, philosophy, history, and grand swirl of ideas that have permeated western culture in the centuries that led up to the first appearance of superheroes as we know them today: Superman's appearance in Action Comics, no. 1 in 1938"--

Subjects

Other Editions

  • On the origin of superheroes: from the big bang to Action Comics no. 1University of Iowa Press2015-01-01

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