Document Type
Review
Abstract
[First paragraph]
Like all popular culture, superheroes reflect the attitudes, myths, and fears of their times. As a result, superheroes who enjoy longevity are periodically revised to keep step with changes in society. For example, a survey of the comic-book history of Batman (in continuous publication since 1939) would show significant changes in the series every five to ten years. In the introduction to this collection of essays on revisionism and superheroes, Terrence R. Wandtke argues that such revision cannot be called "evolution" as it is not linear. He categorizes four types of revisionism: additive (making small additions that enhance rather than disrupt the current trend of the series), fundamental (reshaping the superhero to meet changing audience expectations), conceptual (reworking not a series but the basic concepts of the genre, as Spider-man was a reworking of the teen sidekick), and critical (commenting on the comics by critics, scholars, and fans).
Repository Citation
Pyle, Christian L.. "Review of The Amazing, Transforming Superhero!: Essays on the Revision of Characters in Comic Books, Film and Television, edited by Terrence R. Wandtke." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 8, no. 4, 2008, pp. 1–3. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol8/iss4/23