Marvel's 'Civil War'

Hi kids, this week I've been looking into the potential meanings and metaphors behind Marvel's 'Civil War' comic series (storytline). The series is a post 9/11 creation and features many interesting social and political issues in relation to the superhero. To really understand the political, social and historical aspects of the post 9/11 superhero, I've been looking into the back history of the superhero and its origins.

• Duncan and Smith (2009). The Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture.[Book] London: Continuum Books Ltd
• Ndalianis (2009). The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero. [Book]New York: Routledge

 Both these books have really helped me understand the history and development of the superhero through time. I have been able to locate the post 9/11 superhero a lot easier in texts by acknowledging the qualities of the pre /11 superhero.

Looking over the Civil War series I have been able to make a list of potential talking points of discussion for my dissertation.The premise for Civil War is the notion of a 'Superhero Registration Act'. Fearing that superheroes are too dangerous for modern society, the government puts into place an act which states that superheroes must register themselves to the government (as a weapon of mass destruction) and ultimately work for them in a civil servant sort of role. By registering themselves, superheroes must in turn reveal their identities and retrain 'correctly'. The registration act splits the superhero community in two.

From what I have looked at so far, here are the first few points which I think would be good to talk about in my dissertation:

• The death of Captain America- Captain America is one of Marvel's oldest characters and is arguably one of the most patriotic figures of all time. He is the leader of the opposing superheroes of the registration act and his assassination during the end of the Civil War holds a wide amount of potential meanings and metaphors. (Death of the American dream, faith in governemnt, etc)
• Registration act- The idea of a registration act is one that constantly appears in the media time and time again. The social issue of public privacy is a topic that is brought up time and time again.
• Asylum/ minority groups-the opposing superheroes are pushed out of society and chased by the government and slandered. Comparisons of minority groups in America during and post 9/11 could be made.
• Military- The presence of the military in the series and increased security measures reflects a post 9/11 state of mind and affairs.
• The Family Unit-Family units like The Fantastic Four and The Avengers are torn into two when the registration act is announced. I have seen this as representing the families and communities of post 9/11 America.
• Tony Stark (Iron Man)- Tony Stark is the leader of the group favouring the registration act. He, like Captain America, is one of Marvel's most established hero's. His figure is often one associated with power and wealth and his pushing of the registration act could potentially represent the American public's want for power and money/ hatred towards those who achieve power and wealth.  

 All images of Marvel's 'Civil War' series. All images courtesy of Marvel and Google images)

So gathering my thoughts on my topic....the post 9/11 superhero

I'm not going to lie to you, its been a bit of a slow week on the dissertation front. Other modules have been collapsing on top of me and my brain is a bit frazzled. Although, I am starting to break down areas and characters that I will be able to study in depth for my dissertation topic.

'A study into the social, political and historical aspects of the post 9/11 Marvel superhero'. This is the title that  I'm currently happy with at the moment. AT THE MOMENT.

I'm currently looking into many different series of comic books that relate well with the characters or 'superheroes' in which I want to aim my topic around. Since I'm thinking of focusing purely on Marvel characters, I've been looking at the 'Civil War' series, the 'Ultimates' and Astonishing X-Men. All are post 9/11 creations and feature interesting subject matter that relates to a post 9/11 world (consciously and subconsciously). While these comics are just a starting base for the paper based superheroes, I have also been looking at the way superheroes are portrayed on screen. There has seemingly been a significant shift in comic book content matter and the way that superheroes have been portrayed in comics since the terrorist attacks on America on September 11th 2001.

                 An image from 'Marvel's 'Civil War' (Image Courtesy of Marvel and Google images)

Ndalianis. (2009). The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero. [Book]New York: Routledge- This book that I have recently been studying features a collection of great articles on different aspects of the superhero. One particular article by Jason Bainbridge entitled 'Worlds within Worlds; The role of Superheroes in the Marvel and DC Universe', is a fantastic insight into the place and role of the superhero inside their fictional worlds and the real on. 

'Comics have led the way in terms of the cultural shift that took place after the devastation of September 11th and the more intelligent and adult approach to story-telling we've been experiencing across all forms of media ever since.'- [Mark Miller] (Ndalianis, 2009)

I'm going to leave you with a two video's; the first encapsulates some of what the comic series 'Civil War' was all about. The second video talks about the role of Marvel's  super patriot, Captain America and what his comic book death potentially means to readers and writers. In my next post I'm going to be looking into the heroes that I want to use for my case study and some of the issues that I could possible talk about in my dissertation in regards to politics, history and culture. 

 
 
Both videos courtesy of Youtube -users (Gengarking0212 and apesandbabes)

A study of the post 9/11 superhero

During my dissertation lecture on Friday, I had a bit of a brainstorming session with my collection of ideas. Part of the lecture was to come up with different dissertation topics/questions that would be suitable and narrow enough to study for a final dissertation. I have decided that superheroes are the main area that I am going to focus on for my overall dissertation. While I could primarily focus on the comic book or film adaptation, I believe that superheroes are often seen as a more populist subject, one which is often shunned aside for more 'serious' or 'indie' subject matter. Although, there is enough critical work on superheroes for me to develop my own ideas and reinforce them.

Klock, G. (2002). How to Read Superhero Comics and why. [Book]New York, London: Continuum Inc.- This book that I have been reading recently has been particularly interesting as it goes into the basics of the superhero while also addressing aspects of the modern superhero.

'See, in the world of comics, if you don't do superheroes, you're alternative.' - Brian Michael Bendis [Fortune and Glory] (Klock, 2002)

In this blog post so far I've briefly talked about the superhero as a general topic. Although a good starting point, a more concise and defined approach needs to be found for my dissertation. After much thought and a sudden brainwave, I have defined two possible questions/topics for my concrete dissertation topic.

'A study of the post 9/11 superhero in specific reference to the Marvel corporation.'
'How did the portrayal of superheroes after 9/11 reflect the political, social and cultural events of the time?'

A study into superheroes both in comic books and on film after this event (time frame) would be thoroughly interesting to me and would  provide many avenues of research to follow. 

Violence in comic books

Another topic I am considering studying for my 10,000 word dissertation is the topic of violence in comic books. Violence is a topic that is hotly debated over in the realm of the media. Both film and comic books are often the first points of call for references of violence in the media.

                

    Wolverine in the X Force comic

Hit girl in the Kick Ass comics

(All images courtesy of google images)
An interesting article that ties into this theme is an online article by Tom Chivers, a writer for the Guardian online newspaper.  Chivers explains how new research by American psychologist, Dr Sharon Lamb, has shed light on an avenue of thought regarding the modern day superhero as a bad role model for young children.  The article argues that the 'modern' superhero is directly violent and aggressive. She writes-
'Today's superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence. He's aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity.'
 

• Chivers, T. (2010, August 17). Superheroes, please, not positive role models. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/7949516/Superheroes-please-not-positive-role-models.html
• DeTora, L. Heroes of Film, Comics and American Culture [Book]- London: McFarland Inc, 2009
• Nyberg, A K. Seal of Approval, The history of the comics code [Book]- Jackson: Mississippi University Press, 1998

I have found that this article and other early texts that I have recently read (see above) focus on this idea of the superhero as a role model. I believe that this would be quite an interesting path to take in regards to superheroes, comic books, violence and the media. 

 

 

The comic book film adaptation

The comic book to film adaptation
Although comic book adaptations are not a new or recent thing, the overwhelming output of comic book based films is huge in today's film industry. Marvel, DC and Dark Horse comics are a constant source of film adaptation and inspiration.  I'm always intrigued (and somewhat apprehensive) when a film based on a comic book is released at the box office. There's something exciting about seeing a well known comic character being brought alive and made real for the big screen. 

1.         

• The Green Goblin from a Spider-Man comic and the motion picture of the same name.

(Pictures courtesy of - Google Images and Sony Pictures)

If I do take the comic book to film adaptation as my subject of study, I would focus on the Marvel corporation as their characters and worlds have always fascinated me as a child (and adult). The wide and varied range of colourful characters at Marvel comics has always been more appealing in comparison to the dark and somewhat serious DC comics characters. There area many factors that I would like to research in regards to comic book to film adaptations.

• Physical appearance and characteristics translated from comic book to film
• The different audiences of the comic book and comic book film
• Social and cultural differences between the two (both on and off screen)
• Narrative choices- how and why film makers choose the narratives and plots that they do from thousands of comic book series. In particular-how the 'origin' stories of many of these said comic book characters are translated for a modern audience.
• The current over saturated market of comic book films, how and why superheroes?

This is just a basic list of starting points, the reading that I am currently doing is helping expand and add to them;

Gordon, I. Jancovich, M. and McAllister, M., Film and Comic Books [Book] - Jackson: Mississippi University Press, 2007 - This book has been a good staring point for my research as it directly address some of the main issues in regards to comic books on film.


Wolk, D., Reading Comics [Book]- Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2007 - This book directly addresses what a comic book is and how to read into some of the key factors about them. Chapter no.4 'Superheroes and Super readers' has been particularly helpful as it talks directly about what a superhero is and the types of people that read superhero comics. The book also largely references Marvel Comics and its characters throughout the chapter, something which I would be doing in terms of case studies in my dissertation.

So, time to be serious. (Introduction to blog) Post number- 1

Hi there kids, my names Louise. I'm a third year Journalism and Media studies student at Bangor University, North Wales. Just like it says on the tin, this blog is based around my early ideas and research findings towards my final year dissertation project.

The area that I am most interested in studying for my 10,000 word dissertation is the area of comic books and their interwoven relationship with film and the superhero. I have always had a great fondness for comic books and their characters, Marvel comics is one of my particular favourite sources. Although I know the area that I'd like to cover, I'm completely baffled in terms of what sort of final topic/theme I want to discuss for the  dissertation. I have a huge list of ideas that don't seem to want to narrow down, good job I'm writing a weekly blog to sort my ideas out, eh?

Louise