Revision and the Superhero Genre (Palgrave Studies in Comics and Graphic Novels)

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. 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. 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 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 znewy 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. 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 Revision and the Superhero Genre 4 Preface 7 Acknowledgements 9 Contents 10 Chapter 1 Introduction: Notes Toward a Super Fiction 11 Abstract 11 Bibliography 17 Chapter 2 Incoherent Texts: The Chronotope of the Superhero 19 Abstract 19 Bibliography 41 Chapter 3 The Practice of Revision in Composition Studies 43 Abstract 43 Bibliography 61 Chapter 4 Unorthodox Revisions 63 Abstract 63 Sideshadowing the Main Text 64 Excavation: Revision as Archaeology 71 Homodoxy Versus Orthodoxy 77 Bibliography 83 Chapter 5 Neverending Battles 85 Abstract 85 Bibliography 90 Index 91 Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: Notes Toward a Super Fiction (David Hyman)....Pages 1-8 Incoherent Texts: The Chronotope of the Superhero (David Hyman)....Pages 9-32 The Practice of Revision in Composition Studies (David Hyman)....Pages 33-52 Unorthodox Revisions (David Hyman)....Pages 53-74 Neverending Battles (David Hyman)....Pages 75-80 Back Matter ....Pages 81-83