Readings for the course range from the nineteenth century to the present. It is best to approach the older material with a sense of historical context. These readings may reflect earlier, and in many cases dated attitudes toward race, religion, gender, nationality, and other aspects of identity. These biases are neither insignificant details nor unworthy of discussion; quite the opposite, they are one part of what makes these works so revealing and interesting.
Texts
Burroughs, Edgar R. Tarzan of the Apes. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780199542888.
Rosenberg, Yudl. The Golem and the Wondrous Deeds of the Maharal of Prague. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780300143201.
Chabon, Michael. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. New York, NY: Picador, 2001. ISBN: 9780312282998.
Schulz, Charles M. The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics, 2004. ISBN: 9781560975892.
Clowes, Daniel. Ghost World. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics, 2001. ISBN: 9781560974277.
Sturm, James. James Sturm's America: God, Gold, and Golems. Montreal, Canada: Drawn and Quarterly, 2007. ISBN: 9781897299050.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. New York, NY: Pantheon Books, 2007. ISBN: 9780375714832.
Readings
Friedrich, Nietzsche. A Nietzsche Reader. New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 1978, pp. 232-248. ISBN: 9780140443295.
Siegel, J., and J. Shuster. "The Reign of the Super-Man." Science Fiction: The Vanguard of Future Civilization 1, no. 3 (January 1933): 1-8.
———. Superman Weeklies, 1939.
———. "Action Comics." In The Superman Chronicles. Vol. I. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2006, pp. 3-30.
———. "Superman." In Superman in the Forties. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2005, pp. 195-196. ISBN: 9781401204570.
Lee, S., and J. Kirby. "The Fantastic Four." In Origins of Marvel Comics. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1974, pp. 20-44.
———. "The Incredible Hulk." In Origins of Marvel Comics. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1962, pp. 80-103.
Siegel, J., and J. Shuster. "How Superman Would End the War." Look Magazine, February 27, 1940.
Marston, W. M., and H. G. Peter. "Wonder Woman." DC Comics, no. 1 (1942): 54-66.
Wertham, F. Excerpt from Seduction of the Innocent.
Simon, J., and J. Kirby. "Meet Captain America." Marvel Masterworks, no. 1 (1941): 1-8.
———. "Captain America and the Riddle of the Red Skull." Marvel Masterworks, no. 1 (2005): 37-49.