Superhero Culture Wars : Politics, Marketing, and Social Justice in Marvel Comics

A book is never the sole creation of a single person, or even two people. We would like to acknowledge everyone who helped us in the process of writing, in particular the office of the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities at Lakehead University, which provided us with a Summer Undergraduate Research Internship in 2017, and McKenna Boeckner, who filled that role and helped us with preliminary research into the Gabriel controversy. We would also like to thank Lakehead for providing us with sabbatical leaves in 2018-2019, without which this book could not have been completed in a timely fashion. We'd also like to give a shoutout to Hill City Comics in Thunder Bay for being our source for paper comics and the keeper of our pull-lists. We have many wonderful friends and colleagues who have supported us throughout this whole process. Many thanks go to Bry, Kyle, and Merk of the Zero Issues Comics podcast; our colleagues in the English department; Judith's partner, Chris, who has no particular interest in superhero comics, but put up with our obsessive discussions of all things Marvel; and Monica's family, who are too many, and as nerdy as they are plentiful. We would also like to thank the five cats who kept us warm and entertained as we wrote, and who were happy to distract us when we needed a break. Finally, thank you to the creators of Marvel comics, without whom we would not have these incredible texts to enjoy, critique, and analyze; you are the true superheroes of the comics industry. The reactionary Comicsgate campaign against alleged "forced" diversity in superhero comics revealed the extent to which comics have become a key battleground in America's Culture Wars. In the first in-depth scholarly study of Marvel Comics' most recent engagement with progressive politics, Superhero Culture Wars explores how the drive towards greater diversity among its characters and creators has interacted with the company's commercial marketing and its traditional fan base. Along the way the book covers such topics as: · Major characters such as Miles Morales's Spider-man, Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel, Jane Foster's Thor, Sam Wilson's Captain America and the Secret Empire series' turncoat Captain America · Creators such as G. Willow Wilson, Jason Aaron, Nick Spencer and Michael Bendis · Marketing, the Marvel Universe, and online fan culture Superhero Culture Wars demonstrates how the marketing of Marvel comics as politically progressive has both indelibly shaped its in-world universe and characters, and led to conflicts between its corporate interests, its creators, and it audience. Cover Contents Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction: Mockingbird and Milkshakes: Comicsgate, Identity, and the Politics of Marketing in an Age of Outrage 1 From Stan’s Soapbox to Twitter: Politics and Story-Telling in the Marvel Universe 2 Diversity Done Right? Miles Morales and Kamala Khan 3 “Captain America Is Black and Thor Is a Woman”: Gender- and Race-Bent Mantle Passing in Marvel’s All-New, All-Different Campaign 4 Rethinking Secret Empire: Writing and Marketing Political Comics in an Age of Rising Fascism Conclusion: Marvel Legacy and Fresh Start: Selling (and Selling Out) Progressive Politics Works Cited Index