Digital Commons Network^™

"With Great Power...": Post-9/11 Politics In Superhero Comics, Tv, And Film, Caroline Ristaino

Honors Theses

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 prompted the government to take drastic political action, such as the War on Terror, and inspired the American people to feel new cultural anxieties. Literature and popular culture also responded to 9/11 with attempts to make sense of such an unprecedented event. This thesis argues that superhero stories, both in comics and onscreen, are particularly well-suited to deconstruct and critique post-9/11 American society through their depictions of power and the question of how individuals with superpowers fit into society. Specifically, this thesis engages with Marvel Comics’ Civil War (2006-07), its film adaptation Captain …

The Comic Book Conundrum: Defining Comic Books As A Literary Genre, Dylan C. Guffey

Honors Theses

Abstract:

Since the early 1900s, the world has seen the emergence, growth, and now boom of a new literary genre: the comic book. The comic book industry has existed for nearly a hundred years now as a subculture of American literature and popular culture. Initially gaining significant popularity during World War II, the comic book industry introduced the first “superhero” comics in the late 1930s and early 1940s. In the decades to follow, the comic book industry would achieve significant milestones as they developed alongside the views and values of the American people. As comic books began to expand in …

The Underground And Cultural Legitimacy: The Divide In The American Comics History, Preston Trammell

Honors Theses

Cultural legitimacy has eluded comics until recent times. By observing the history of comics in the three major regions -- Japan, Europe, and America -- a difference in how American comics achieved legitimacy becomes apparent. American comics owe the majority of the cultural legitimacy they received to independent comics movements.

Capes And Catechesis: The Use Of Comic Books To Catechize Catholic Youths, Lindsey Bronder

Honors Theses

Since the 1930s, comic books starring superheroes have been popular among youth in America. This original archival research seeks to analyze how comic books have been used in the past to catechize, or teach the Catholic faith, American Catholic youth. Using George Pfaum's comic series "Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact" (1946-1972) as an example of a Catholic comic book, this study examines and analyzes the themes and stories of the comics and how they were designed as a teaching tool. This study will also identify ways comic books can be used today as a catechetical tool.

A Rhapsody Wild, Corey Davis

Honors Theses

This thesis is a fictional novel which explores themes of morality and tragedy within the society of a crime-and-murder-ridden city called Spekender. The mayor, Ev Edison, has become a disgraced recluse as a result of the tragic deaths of his wife and unborn child a year and a half prior to when the story takes place. His remaining children (three boys and a girl named Nimble) are left to navigate their disaster-torn worlds in isolation from their father and from each other. All of this changes one day when Nimble encounters a dangerous supernatural character that seems to know everything …

The Significance Of Transmedia Storytelling In The World Of Jane Austen, Margaret Brennan

Honors Theses

Transmedia storytelling is an opportunity for developing interactive stories involving various media, which “has grown out of the increased possibilities that come with the multifaceted developments of the ever evolving Internet” (Jandl 167). This means that multiple media platforms can be utilized to convey a single story –from videos to blog posts, tweets on Twitter or status updates on Facebook. The goal of transmedia is ultimately to have many moving parts that create one cohesive storyline, and the ways in which these pieces move and work together creates a unique, immersive story experience. Taking cultural icons like Austen and adapting …

Super Or Sexist? The Evolution Of Female Superheroes In Comics And Film, Jordan Gablaski

Honors Theses

For the purposes of this study, I will be focusing on three highly popular and often controversial female superheroes: Wonder Woman, Black Widow and Captain Marvel. My argument is not that these three characters are defined by the stereotypes under which they were created (though many female heroes and villains are purely archetypal and have barely any other defining personality traits, such as Harley Quinn). Instead, Wonder Woman, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel have, in some way or another, all been treated as a villain, victim or vixen at multiple points in their comic histories, which only leads them to …