Revision and the Superhero Genre

by David Hyman

Overview

This book argues that superhero revision offers new perspectives on the theory and practice of revision in broader contexts, in particular composition studies. Key developments in the history of superhero and composition revision reveal that both are deeply embedded in questions of narrative temporality. The book looks at three unorthodox revision strategies: sideshadowing, in which traditional tropes of superhero narratives are told with “new” characters that clearly evoke traditional ones; excavation, the reintegration and reinterpretation of elements and influences from earlier texts that have been de-emphasized or written out of continuity; and homodoxy, the narrative coexistence of inconsistent elements culled from different versions of a character’s textual history. The ensuing cross-disciplinary exploration helps correct a distorted stereotype of revision as a neutral mechanical process, revealing it instead as a potent force operating across a spectrum that ranges from restrictive adherence to orthodoxies, to radical resistance against the primacy of tradition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783319647593
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	09/06/2017
Series:	Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	83
File size:	290 KB

About the Author

David Hyman is Associate Professor of English at Lehman College, City University of New York, USA. His scholarship and teaching focus on comics, Spaghetti Westerns, and composition.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction: Notes Toward a Super FictionChapter 2. Incoherent Texts: The Chronotope of the SuperheroChapter 3. The Practice of Revision in Composition StudiesChapter 4. Unorthodox RevisionsChapter 5. Neverending Battles