How to Read Superhero Comics and Why by Geoff Klock
Geoff Klock presents a literary and psychoanalytic study of superhero comic books.
"A book like this is way overdueI'm just glad someone finally had the balls to write it."--Joe Casey, writer of Wildcats and Automatic Kafk
"Exceptional"--Today's Books
"...a fascinating exegesis of superhero comics, outlining how the main movement of the genre since its inception has been toward self-cannibalization, which some have chosen to call metafiction...he does a pretty good job explaining why they are what they are and why they're never likely to really ascend to anything else. An entertaining read...it's nice for a change to see comics taken seriously as subjects of literary criticism. We could use more of it."--Comicbookresources.com
"The strengths of the book are the many [...] connections made to literary and psychoanalytical figures, the attempt to explain the metamorphosis of a new type of superhero comic, and a close reading of the comic books used to support the book's thesis. The book does add new dimensions to the much-overworked subject of superhero comic books."--Choice, May 2002 & May 2003
"Klock's strength lies in his commitment to looking at comics in a novel way, through the lens of literary analysis. He melds his encyclopedic knowledge of the superhero genre with the language of literary theory so as to join seemingly disparate worlds and to better inform the reader how comic book narratives have built upon and referenced one another throughout the history of their development." -Children's Literature Association Quarterly
An insightful study into superhero comics ... [that] can be recommended to comics theorists, researchers and superhero comics lovers who are looking for new analytical solutions and a fresh look on "heroes in tights". * Gothamwdeszczu.com *
"Exceptional"--Today's Books
"...a fascinating exegesis of superhero comics, outlining how the main movement of the genre since its inception has been toward self-cannibalization, which some have chosen to call metafiction...he does a pretty good job explaining why they are what they are and why they're never likely to really ascend to anything else. An entertaining read...it's nice for a change to see comics taken seriously as subjects of literary criticism. We could use more of it."--Comicbookresources.com
"The strengths of the book are the many [...] connections made to literary and psychoanalytical figures, the attempt to explain the metamorphosis of a new type of superhero comic, and a close reading of the comic books used to support the book's thesis. The book does add new dimensions to the much-overworked subject of superhero comic books."--Choice, May 2002 & May 2003
"Klock's strength lies in his commitment to looking at comics in a novel way, through the lens of literary analysis. He melds his encyclopedic knowledge of the superhero genre with the language of literary theory so as to join seemingly disparate worlds and to better inform the reader how comic book narratives have built upon and referenced one another throughout the history of their development." -Children's Literature Association Quarterly
An insightful study into superhero comics ... [that] can be recommended to comics theorists, researchers and superhero comics lovers who are looking for new analytical solutions and a fresh look on "heroes in tights". * Gothamwdeszczu.com *
Geoff Klock is the author of How to Read Superhero Comics and Why (Continuum, 2002) a study guided by Harold Bloom's poetics of influence. After getting a Masters degree in English he spent two years studying literature as a night security guard. He was then admitted to Balliol College, Oxford. His doctoral thesis there, Imaginary Biographies: Misreading the Lives of the Poets, focuses on Romantic poetry and its extensions through the 20th century- specifically poetry's bizarre and idiosyncratic portrayals of historical writers (e.g. Virgil in Dante's Divine Comedy). This work will be followed by a complementary study of the same device in popular culture, (e.g. Johnny Depp's portrayal of William Blake in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man). Geoff Klock is twenty-seven years old, and was raised in Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. For more information visit his website at www.geoffklock.com
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780826414199 |
| ISBN 10 | 0826414192 |
| Title | How to Read Superhero Comics and Why |
| Author | Geoff Klock |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2002-10-01 |
| Number of pages | 216 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |