Research Catalog

American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema : The Marvel of Stan Lee and the Revolution of a Genre

Title: American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema : The Marvel of Stan Lee and the Revolution of a Genre / By Anthony R. Mills.
Author: Mills, Anthony R., 1978-
Publication: New York : Routledge, 2014.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	JFE 14-1462	Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description

205 pages; 24 cm.

Summary

"Stan Lee, who was the head writer of Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, co-created such popular heroes as Spider-Man, Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, and Daredevil. This book traces the ways in which American theologians and comic books of the era were not only both saying things about what it means to be human, but, starting with Lee they were largely saying the same things. Author Anthony R. Mills argues that the shift away from individualistic ideas of human personhood and toward relational conceptions occurring within both American theology and American superhero comics and films does not occur simply on the ontological level, but is also inherent to epistemology and ethics, reflecting the comprehensive nature of human life in terms of being, knowing, and acting. This book explores the idea of the "American monomyth" that pervades American hero stories and examines its philosophical and theological origins and specific manifestations in early American superhero comics. Surveying the anthropologies of six American theologians who argue against many of the monomyth's assumptions, principally the staunch individualism taken to be the model of humanity, and who offer relationality as a more realistic and ethical alternative, this book offers a detailed argument for the intimate historical relationship between the now disparate fields of comic book/superhero film creation, on the one hand, and Christian theology, on the other, in the United States. An understanding of the early connections between theology and American conceptions of heroism helps to further make sense of their contemporary parallels, wherein superhero stories and theology are not strictly separate phenomena but have shared origins and concerns. "--

Series Statement

Routledge studies in religion and film ; 2

Uniform Title

Routledge studies in religion and film ; 2.

Subjects

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-203) and index.

Contents

The Historical and Theological Background of the Anthropology of the American Monomyth -- The Anthropology of the American Monomyth in Golden Age Superhero Comics (1938-1961) -- The "Turn to Relationality" in American Theological Anthropology -- The "Turn to Reality" in Silver Age Superhero Comics and Beyond (1961-present) -- Subverting the Anthropology of the American Monomyth in Marvel Comics Superhero Films (1998-2012) -- Conclusion: Anthropological Proposals.

Call Number

JFE 14-1462

ISBN

9780415843584 (hardback)
0415843588 (hardback)

LCCN

2013022303
40022723962

OCLC

847246531

Author

Mills, Anthony R., 1978-

Title

American Theology, Superhero Comics, and Cinema : The Marvel of Stan Lee and the Revolution of a Genre / By Anthony R. Mills.

Publisher

New York : Routledge, 2014.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

Routledge studies in religion and film ; 2

Routledge studies in religion and film ; 2.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-203) and index.

Other Standard Identifier

40022723962

Research Call Number

JFE 14-1462

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