Corpse Crusaders
The Zombie in American Comics
Seiten
2024
The University of Michigan Press (Verlag)
978-0-472-07685-7 (ISBN)
The University of Michigan Press (Verlag)
978-0-472-07685-7 (ISBN)
Unearthing the undead stalking the panels of action/adventure and superhero comics
In the popular imagination, zombies are scary, decomposing corpses hunting down the living. But since the 1930s, there have also been other zombies shambling across the panels of comic books—zombies that aren’t quite what most people think zombies should be. There have been zombie slaves, zombie henchmen, talking zombies, beautiful zombies, and even zombie heroes.
Using archival research into Golden Age comics and extended analyses of comics from the 1940s to today, Corpse Crusaders explores the profound influence early action/adventure and superheroic generic conventions had on shaping comic book zombies. It takes the reader from the 1940s superhero, the Purple Zombie, through 1950s revenge-from-the-grave zombies, to the 1970s anti-hero, Simon Garth (“The Zombie”) and the gruesome heroes-turned-zombies of Marvel Zombies. In becoming immersed in superheroic logics early on, the zombie in comics became a figure that, unlike the traditional narrative uses of other monsters, actually served to defend the status quo. This continuing trend not only provides insight into the overwhelming influence superheroes have had on the comic book medium, but it also provides a unique opportunity to explore the ways in which zombiism and superheroism parallel each other. Corpse Crusaders explores the ways that truth, justice, and the American way have influenced the undead in comics and turned what is often a rebellious figure into one that works to save the day.
In the popular imagination, zombies are scary, decomposing corpses hunting down the living. But since the 1930s, there have also been other zombies shambling across the panels of comic books—zombies that aren’t quite what most people think zombies should be. There have been zombie slaves, zombie henchmen, talking zombies, beautiful zombies, and even zombie heroes.
Using archival research into Golden Age comics and extended analyses of comics from the 1940s to today, Corpse Crusaders explores the profound influence early action/adventure and superheroic generic conventions had on shaping comic book zombies. It takes the reader from the 1940s superhero, the Purple Zombie, through 1950s revenge-from-the-grave zombies, to the 1970s anti-hero, Simon Garth (“The Zombie”) and the gruesome heroes-turned-zombies of Marvel Zombies. In becoming immersed in superheroic logics early on, the zombie in comics became a figure that, unlike the traditional narrative uses of other monsters, actually served to defend the status quo. This continuing trend not only provides insight into the overwhelming influence superheroes have had on the comic book medium, but it also provides a unique opportunity to explore the ways in which zombiism and superheroism parallel each other. Corpse Crusaders explores the ways that truth, justice, and the American way have influenced the undead in comics and turned what is often a rebellious figure into one that works to save the day.
Chera Kee is Associate Professor of Film & Media Studies in the English Department at Wayne State University.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Note to the Reader
Introduction: A Brief (and Heroic) History of the Zombie in Comics
Part 1: Mission
Chapter 1 The Purple Zombie: Superheroes and Strongman Zombies
Chapter 2 Vengeance and Villains: From the Horror Comics of the 1950s to Deadworld
Part 2: Identity
Chapter 3 Tales of the Zombie and Xombi: Or, the Curious Case of the Suffering Zombie Hardbodies
Chapter 4 Gwen Dylan Is Not the Girl She Used to Be: iZombie and Female Zombies in Comics
Part 3: Powers
Conclusion: Blackest Night and Marvel Zombies: The Hero as Zombie
Notes
Bibliography
Index
| Erscheinungsdatum | 26.07.2024 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | 25 b&w illustrations |
| Verlagsort | Ann Arbor |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Themenwelt | Literatur ► Comic / Humor / Manga ► Comic |
| Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror ► Horror | |
| Sozialwissenschaften ► Kommunikation / Medien ► Medienwissenschaft | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-472-07685-X / 047207685X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-472-07685-7 / 9780472076857 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR) | |
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Buch | Hardcover (2025)
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CHF 68,90
