Superheroes and American Self Image

Michael Goodrum is Senior Lecturer in Modern History in the Department of History and American Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.

• List of FiguresAcknowledgementsIntroduction1. The Second World War and Before2. The End of the Second World War: What next for the US?3. Rise of McCarthyism: End of Alternatives4. The ‘Liberal Consensus’: Comfort, not Critique5. New Left, New Right, New Comic Books: Superheroes and Unrest 6. The Changing of the Code: Origins, Debate and Effects7. Vietnam, Watergate and the end of Consensus: What’s a Superhero to do?ConclusionBibliography

'Michael Goodrum has provided a fantastic resource on the historical evolution of American self-image in the twentieth century. Particularly striking is his deployment of superhero comics as a fun-house mirror that actively reworks American self-image, indicating how identities must be actualised in specific forms. By cutting back and forth between the political struggles and the superhero narratives of the time, Goodrum articulates the complex geopolitics of the twentieth century with verve and charm.' - Jason Dittmer, University College London, UK'... a lucid and compelling narrative of the evolution of one subgenre of the comic book genre and how it interacted with American society and culture over a significant span of American history.' - John H. Barnhill, 49th Parallel