Super Heroes A Modern Mythology

The popular figure known as the superhero has exerted such a strong and mushrooming influence upon society, morality, and politics that a mythology now pervades our culture. This phenomenon, begun in the 1930s, had its roots in comic books. In recent times the extremely successful movies about Superman and Batman have made these two individual superheroes, created by the comic book muse, as familiar worldwide as any characters ever created. Here is a study of this superhuman creation, revealed as a proliferating symbol whose dimensions over sixty years of comic book history have been rendered to satisfy the demands and expectations of the popular audience. This fascinating book shows how the superhero has become a vivid figure in the mainstream of modern culture.