The Evolution of the Costumed Avenger
The 4,000-Year History of the Superhero
Published on 30. January 2017
Book
Hardback
424 pages
978-1-4408-5483-5 (ISBN)
Description
Using a broad array of historical and literary sources, this book presents an unprecedented detailed history of the superhero and its development across the course of human history.
How has the concept of the superhero developed over time? How has humanity's idealization of heroes with superhuman powers changed across millennia-and what superhero themes remain constant? Why does the idea of a superhero remain so powerful and relevant in the modern context, when our real-life technological capabilities arguably surpass the imagined superpowers of superheroes of the past? The Evolution of the Costumed Avenger: The 4,000-Year History of the Superhero is the first complete history of superheroes that thoroughly traces the development of superheroes, from their beginning in 2100 B.C.E. with the Epic of Gilgamesh to their fully entrenched status in modern pop culture and the comic book and graphic novel worlds.
The book documents how the two modern superhero archetypes-the Costumed Avengers and the superhuman Supermen-can be traced back more than two centuries; turns a critical, evaluative eye upon the post-Superman history of the superhero; and shows how modern superheroes were created and influenced by sources as various as Egyptian poems, biblical heroes, medieval epics, Elizabethan urban legends, Jacobean masques, Gothic novels, dime novels, the Molly Maguires, the Ku Klux Klan, and pulp magazines. This work serves undergraduate or graduate students writing papers, professors or independent scholars, and anyone interested in learning about superheroes.
How has the concept of the superhero developed over time? How has humanity's idealization of heroes with superhuman powers changed across millennia-and what superhero themes remain constant? Why does the idea of a superhero remain so powerful and relevant in the modern context, when our real-life technological capabilities arguably surpass the imagined superpowers of superheroes of the past? The Evolution of the Costumed Avenger: The 4,000-Year History of the Superhero is the first complete history of superheroes that thoroughly traces the development of superheroes, from their beginning in 2100 B.C.E. with the Epic of Gilgamesh to their fully entrenched status in modern pop culture and the comic book and graphic novel worlds.
The book documents how the two modern superhero archetypes-the Costumed Avengers and the superhuman Supermen-can be traced back more than two centuries; turns a critical, evaluative eye upon the post-Superman history of the superhero; and shows how modern superheroes were created and influenced by sources as various as Egyptian poems, biblical heroes, medieval epics, Elizabethan urban legends, Jacobean masques, Gothic novels, dime novels, the Molly Maguires, the Ku Klux Klan, and pulp magazines. This work serves undergraduate or graduate students writing papers, professors or independent scholars, and anyone interested in learning about superheroes.
Reviews / Votes
A well-researched and utterly captivating book offering the complete history of the superhero and how the concept has evolved over time. . . . [T]here are hundreds of other superheroes that Nevins explores in-depth and with remarkable insight. The thrill of reading a book like The Evolution of the Costumed Avenger is that, aside from being educational and interesting in itself, it inspires readers to seek out more superhero stories. * Kirkus Reviews * To trace these multitudinous precursors to Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman is obviously a job that only super-researcher Jess Nevins could undertake. . . . Jess Nevins has now mapped the DNA that links ancient Enkidu to our own Wolverine. He convincingly shows that the superheroes of today's page and screen got their start long before baby Kal-El was sent rocketing toward Earth as the planet Krypton exploded. * Wall Street Journal * A solid contribution to the literature on a phenomenon that today commands so much time, attention, and money. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
793 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4408-5483-5 (9781440854835)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2017
1st Edition
Praeger Publishers Inc
€65.99
Available for download
E-Book
01/2017
1st Edition
Praeger Publishers Inc
€65.99
Available for download
Person
Jess Nevins is reference librarian at Lone Star College in Tomball, TX.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Operating Premises
The Problem of, and with, Definitions
Raglan, Rank, and Campbell
21st-Century Attempts at Definition
A More Useful Approach
Heroenkonzepte
Gods and Epic Heroes, and What They Are Not
The "Superhero Genre"
The Two Categories of Protosuperheroes
Who Gets Left Out
Chapter 2 From 2100 BCE to 1500 CE
Hazy Beginnings
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The First Protosuperhero-Not Who You Think
Egyptian Mythology and Poems
Samson and the Wild Men
The "Heroes" of Greek Mythology
Nectanebo II
Aeneas
The Noble and Just Latrones
Alexander the Legend
Beowulf, the Thor-Wolf
Roland the Martyr
Medieval Heroes
The Cid
The Matter of Arthur
Medieval Outlaws
Robin Hood
Conclusion
Chapter 3 From 1500 to 1829
Orlando Furioso the Best Seller and Its Forerunners
Heroic Sorcerers and Heavenly Necromancers
Merlin the Secondary
Virgil the Necromancer
Maugis/Malagigi and His Heirs
Michael Scot
John Dee
Stage Magicians
Faustus
Gothic Ambiguities
Superheroines Avant la Lettre
The Early Female Knight
16th- and 17th-Century Warrior Women
The Faerie Queene
Descendants of Talos
Long Meg of Westminster
Moll Cutpurse
Heroic Highwaymen
Masked Conspirators
The Hero-Villain
The Venetian Batman
Martinette de Beauvais
The Scottish Superman
This Man, This Monster
John Melmoth
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Victorian Costumed Avengers
Masked Untermenschen: Threat or Menace
The Master Detectives
A Truly Dangerous Hero
The Superhuman Superhero
The Dual-Identity Costumed Vigilante
The Hidden Master
The Man of Extraordinary Capabilities
The First Series Heroes
Spring-Heeled Jack
The Man of Extraordinary Capabilities Redux
Penny Vigilantes
Dime Vigilantes
Cowboy Vigilantes
Lady Detectives
Lady Jaguar
The Man in the Black Cloak
Nick Carter
John Amend-All
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Victorian Supermen
Monsters
Villains
The Gray Champion
Artificial Beings
Rosicrucians and Theosophists
Dime Novel Supermen
Psychic Heroes
Science Fiction Supermen
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Costumed Avengers, 1901-1938
The Carter Effect
Immigrants and Foreign Influences
The Lupins
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Klan
Films
Zorro
The Pulps
Westerns
Nonstandard Sources
Killer Vigilantes
Air Aces
The Fabulous Four
Comic Strips
Domino Lady
Conclusion
Chapter 7 Supermen, 1901-1938
Victorian Holdovers
Physical Culture and Eugen Sandow
Origin Stories
Mysteries
Yellow Perils
Lost Races and Utopias
Evolutionary Predecessors
Science Fiction's Supermen
Occult Detectives
Artificial Supermen
The Men of 40 Faces
John Carter
Cinematic Supermen
The Night Wind
Superwomen
Westerns
Eugenics and the Backlash
Spawn of the Depression
Pulp Supermen
Outside the Pulps
Conclusion
Chapter 8 Comics' Early Years
The New Medium
Prologue to Superman
The Last Son of Krypton
Eleven Months of Silence and Echoes
Four Months of Chill
A Fantastic Seven Months
The Boom of 1940
1941
Conclusion
Chapter 9 Ages upon Ages
The Golden Age: 1935-1949
The Atomic Age: 1949-1956
The Silver Age: 1956-1970
The Bronze Age: 1970-1985
The Modern Age: 1986-2001
The Metamodern Age: 2001-2015
Chapter 10 Television and Film
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Chapter 1 Operating Premises
The Problem of, and with, Definitions
Raglan, Rank, and Campbell
21st-Century Attempts at Definition
A More Useful Approach
Heroenkonzepte
Gods and Epic Heroes, and What They Are Not
The "Superhero Genre"
The Two Categories of Protosuperheroes
Who Gets Left Out
Chapter 2 From 2100 BCE to 1500 CE
Hazy Beginnings
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The First Protosuperhero-Not Who You Think
Egyptian Mythology and Poems
Samson and the Wild Men
The "Heroes" of Greek Mythology
Nectanebo II
Aeneas
The Noble and Just Latrones
Alexander the Legend
Beowulf, the Thor-Wolf
Roland the Martyr
Medieval Heroes
The Cid
The Matter of Arthur
Medieval Outlaws
Robin Hood
Conclusion
Chapter 3 From 1500 to 1829
Orlando Furioso the Best Seller and Its Forerunners
Heroic Sorcerers and Heavenly Necromancers
Merlin the Secondary
Virgil the Necromancer
Maugis/Malagigi and His Heirs
Michael Scot
John Dee
Stage Magicians
Faustus
Gothic Ambiguities
Superheroines Avant la Lettre
The Early Female Knight
16th- and 17th-Century Warrior Women
The Faerie Queene
Descendants of Talos
Long Meg of Westminster
Moll Cutpurse
Heroic Highwaymen
Masked Conspirators
The Hero-Villain
The Venetian Batman
Martinette de Beauvais
The Scottish Superman
This Man, This Monster
John Melmoth
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Victorian Costumed Avengers
Masked Untermenschen: Threat or Menace
The Master Detectives
A Truly Dangerous Hero
The Superhuman Superhero
The Dual-Identity Costumed Vigilante
The Hidden Master
The Man of Extraordinary Capabilities
The First Series Heroes
Spring-Heeled Jack
The Man of Extraordinary Capabilities Redux
Penny Vigilantes
Dime Vigilantes
Cowboy Vigilantes
Lady Detectives
Lady Jaguar
The Man in the Black Cloak
Nick Carter
John Amend-All
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Victorian Supermen
Monsters
Villains
The Gray Champion
Artificial Beings
Rosicrucians and Theosophists
Dime Novel Supermen
Psychic Heroes
Science Fiction Supermen
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Costumed Avengers, 1901-1938
The Carter Effect
Immigrants and Foreign Influences
The Lupins
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Klan
Films
Zorro
The Pulps
Westerns
Nonstandard Sources
Killer Vigilantes
Air Aces
The Fabulous Four
Comic Strips
Domino Lady
Conclusion
Chapter 7 Supermen, 1901-1938
Victorian Holdovers
Physical Culture and Eugen Sandow
Origin Stories
Mysteries
Yellow Perils
Lost Races and Utopias
Evolutionary Predecessors
Science Fiction's Supermen
Occult Detectives
Artificial Supermen
The Men of 40 Faces
John Carter
Cinematic Supermen
The Night Wind
Superwomen
Westerns
Eugenics and the Backlash
Spawn of the Depression
Pulp Supermen
Outside the Pulps
Conclusion
Chapter 8 Comics' Early Years
The New Medium
Prologue to Superman
The Last Son of Krypton
Eleven Months of Silence and Echoes
Four Months of Chill
A Fantastic Seven Months
The Boom of 1940
1941
Conclusion
Chapter 9 Ages upon Ages
The Golden Age: 1935-1949
The Atomic Age: 1949-1956
The Silver Age: 1956-1970
The Bronze Age: 1970-1985
The Modern Age: 1986-2001
The Metamodern Age: 2001-2015
Chapter 10 Television and Film
Epilogue
Appendix
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index