Superheroes Beyond

Contributions by Mitchell Adams Frederick Luis Aldama Jason Bainbridge Djoymi Baker Liam Burke Octavia Cade Hernan David Espinosa-Medina Dan Golding Ian Gordon Sheena C. Howard Aaron Humphrey Naja Later Cormac McGarry Angela Ndalianis Julian Novitz Alexandra Ostrowski Schilling Maria Lorena M. Santos Jack Teiwes and Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed <p/> In recent years superheroes on the page and screen have garnered increasing research and wider interest. Nonetheless many works fall back on familiar examples before arriving at predictable conclusions. <i>Superheroes Beyond </i>moves superhero research beyond expected examples. In this innovative collection contributors unmask international crimefighters track superheroes outside of the comic book page and explore heroes whose secret identities are not cisgender men. <i>Superheroes Beyond </i>responds to the growing interest in understanding the unique appeal of superheroes by reveling in the diversity of this heroic type. <p/> <i>Superheroes Beyond</i> explores the complexity and cultural reach of the superhero in three sections. The first Beyond Men of Steel examines how the archetype has moved beyond simply recapitulating the man of steel figure to include broader representations of race gender sexuality and ableness. The second section Beyond Comic Books discusses how the superhero has become a transmedia phenomenon moving from comic books to toys to cinema screens and beyond. The final section Beyond the United States highlights the vibrant but often overlooked history of global superhero figures. Together the essays in this collection form important starting points for taking stock of the superhero's far-reaching appeal contributing the critical conversations required to bring scholarship into the present moment and beyond.