Art by Elizabeth Keiser
Further Reading
Introduction Resources
Berlatsky, Noah. “The Female Thor and the Female Comic-Book Reader.” The Atlantic. July 21, 2014. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/just-how-many-women-read-comic-books/374736/
Dydiw, Lauren. “Girls Need Superheroines Now More Than Ever.” The Huffington Post. June 3, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/uchic/girls-needs-superheroines-_b_19239950.html
Scott, Suzanne. “Fangirls in Refrigerators: The Politics of (In)visibility in Comic Book Culture.” Transformative Works and Cultures 13, (2013): 1-27. Accessed March 1, 2017.
Simone, Gail (w), Colleen Doran (a), David Sharpe (p). "Big Things One Day Come." Wonder Woman: 75th Anniversary #1. December 2016, DC Comics.
Wonder Woman Resources
Aizenman, Nurith. “Is Wonder Woman Suited to Be A U.N. Ambassador?” National Public Radio. October 20, 2016. http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/10/20/498569053/is-wonder-woman-suited-to-be-a-u-n-ambassador
Averett, P. “The Search for Wonder Woman: An Autoethnography of Feminist Identity.” Affilia 24, no. 4 (August 13, 2009): 360–68. Accessed 2016. doi:10.1177/0886109909343569.
Dockterman, Eliana. “Wonder Woman Breaks Through.” Time. December 19, 2016. http://time.com/4606107/wonder-woman-breaks-through/
Emad, Mitra C. “Reading Wonder Woman’s Body: Mythologies of Gender and Nation.” The Journal of Popular Culture 39, no 6. (2006): 954-984. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Hanley, Tim. Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World’s Most Famous Heroine. New York, NY, United States: Chicago Review Press, 2014.
Howell, Charlotte E. “’Tricky’ Connotations: Wonder Woman as DC’s Brand Disruptor.” Cinema Journal 55, no. 1 (Fall 2015): 141-149. Accessed February 26, 2017.
Johns, Geoff (w), Joe Prado (a), "Prologue to Trinity War: Secrets." Justice League 2011, #20 (May 2013), DC Comics.
Lepore, Jill. The Secret History of Wonder Woman. New York, NY, United States: Knopf Publishing Group, 2014.
O'Neil, Shana. "Where is the Wonder Woman Advertising?" SyfyWire. April 25, 2017. http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/wonder-woman-movie-advertising
O’Reilly, Julie D. “The Wonder Woman Precedent: Female (super)heroism on Trial.” The Journal of American Culture 28, no. 3 (September 2005): 273–83. Accessed 2016. doi:10.1111/j.1542-734x.2005.00211.x.
Quilty, Jim. "'Wonder Woman' Lebanon Ban Is the Latest Chapter in a Long History of Censorship." IndieWire. June 3, 2017. http://www.indiewire.com/2017/06/wonder-woman-lebanon-ban-1201836452/
Riedel, Sam. "Wonder Woman's Credits Reveal the Sexist Mistreatment of Women in Comics." BitchMedia. June 23, 2017. https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/wonder-woman-credits-entirely-male
Robbins, Trina. “Wonder Woman: Lesbian or Dyke?: Paradise Island as Woman’s Community.” WisCon. May 2006. http://www.girl-wonder.org/papers/robbins.html
Romano, Aja. “The Pacifist Past and War-Torn Future of Wonder Woman.” Kernal Magazine: The Daily Dot. August 9, 2015. http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/14592/history-of-wonder-woman/
"Wonder Woman Continues to Smash Box Office Records." BBC News. June 25, 2017. http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40398892
Batgirl Resources
Hanley, Tim. Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World’s Most Famous Heroine. New York, NY, United States: Chicago Review Press, 2014.
Hatch, Aaron. “Women in Refrigerators: Killing Females in Comics.” The Artifice. October 15, 2015. http://the-artifice.com/women-in-refrigerators-killing-females-in-comics/
Madrid, Mike. The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines. United States: Exterminating Angel Press, 2009.
Marz, Ron (w), Steve Carr (p). "Forced Entry" Green Lantern 54 (August 1994): DC Comics.
Moore, Alan, and Brian Bolland. The Killing Joke. New York: DC Comics, 1988. Print.
Scott, Suzanne. “Fangirls in Refrigerators: The Politics of (In)visibility in Comic Book Culture.” Transformative Works and Cultures 13, (2013): 1-27. Accessed March 1, 2017.
Harley Quinn Resources
Austin, Shannon. “Batman’s Female Foes: The Gender War in Gotham City.” The Journal of Popular Culture 48, no. 2. (2015): 285-295. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Conner, Amanda (w), Chad Hardin (a). "Twenty-Five Big Ones." Harley Quinn 25 (April 2016): DC Comics.
Dini, Paul. “Mad Love.” Batman: Made Love and Other Stories. New York: DC Comics, 2009. 8-72. Print..
Gilbert, Paula Ruth. “Discourses of Female Violence and Societal Gender Stereotypes.” Violence Against Women 8, no. 11 (November 2002): 1271-1300. Accessed February 25, 2017. doi:10.1177/107780102237405.
Goffman, Erving. Stigma Notes on Management: Notes on the Management of a Spoiled Identity. 1st ed. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 1986.
Goodwin, John and Izzat Tajjudin. “’What Do You Think I Am? Crazy?’: The Joker and Stigmatizing Representations of Mental Ill-Health.” The Journal of Popular Culture 49, no. 2 (2016): 385-402. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Hayes, Sharon. “Romantic Terrorism? An Auto-Ethnographic Analysis of Gendered Psychological and Emotional Tactics in Domestic Violence.” Journal of Research in Gender Studies 6, no. 2 (2016): 38-61. Accessed March 18, 2017.
Sieczkowski, Cavan. “DC Comics Holds Harley Quinn Drawing Contest With Suicide Scenarios.” The Huffington Post. September 12, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/12/dc-comics-harley-quinn-suicide-_n_3913842.html. Accessed March 18, 2017.
Taylor, Tom (w), Bruno Redondo (p). "The Quiver" Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Two 13 (July 2014): DC Comics.
Jessica Jones Resources
Deggans, Eric. “’Jessica Jones’ Struggles in Life – But Triumphs on Screen.” National Public Radio. November 20, 2015. http://www.npr.com/2015/11/20/456812993/jessica-jones-struggles-in-life-but-triumphs-on-screen
Jessica Jones. Melissa Rosenburg (2015: New York, NY: Marvel Television), Netflix.
Loofbourow, Lili. “Jessica Jones: Shattering Exploration of Rape, Addiction and Control.” The Guardian. November 27, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/nov/27/jessica-jones-shattering-exploration-addiction-control
Ooms, Julie. “Jessica Jones: The Hell of Losing Control.” Christ & Pop Culture. December 16, 2015. http://christandpopculture.com/jessica-jones-the-hell-of-losing-control/
Thury, Eva M. “Marvel’s Jessica Jones as a Female Trickster: Reformulating the Contemporary Superhero.” http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/THURY-Eva-super2-dpaper.pdf
Yang, Stephanie. “Marvel Show ‘Jessica Jones’ Names a Most Evil Villain: Abuse.” Bitch Media. December 1, 2015. https://bitchmedia.org/article/marvel-show-jessica-jones-names-most-evil-villain-abuse
Action Figures Resources
Diesendruck, Gil and Reut Perez. “Toys Are Me: Children’s Extension of Self to Objects.” Cognition (October 2014): 11-20. Accessed February 26, 2017.
“IAmElemental Home Page.” IAmElemental. http://www.iamelemental.com (October 25, 2016).
Lang, Nico. “Do Fans Really Want to Buy Female Action Figures?” The Daily Dot. May 20, 2016. http://www.dailydot.com/via/female-action-figures-toys-marvel/
Rampy, Nolan. “Where is Rey? Why Gender Stereotypes Dominate Popular Culture.” Green Left Weekly. March 4, 2016. https://www.greenleft.rg.au/content/where-rey-why-gender-stereotypes-dominate-popular-culture
Sacharow, Fredda. “Female Action Figures that Inspire Empowerment.” Rutgers Today. September 15, 2016. http://news.rutgers.edu/feature/female-action-figures-inspire-empowerment/20160914#.WBo_E_krLcc
Varney, Wendy. “Of Men and Machines: Images of Masculinity in Boys’ Toys.” Feminist Studies 28, no. 1 (Spring 2002): 153-174. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Wohlwend, Karen E. “Damsels in Discourse: Girls Consuming and Producing Identity Texts Through Disney Princess Play.” Reading Research Quarterly 44, no. 1 (January-March 2009): 57-83. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Cultural Sustainability Resources
Bateman, John A. and Janina Wildfeuer. "A Multimodial Discourse Theory on Visual Narrative." Journal of Pragmatics 74 (2014): 180-208.
Benjamin, Barbara. "The Case Study: Storytelling in the Industrial Age and Beyond." On the Horizon 14, no. 4 (2006): 159-164.
Brown, Jeffrey A. “Comic Book Fandom and Cultural Capital.” Journal of Popular Culture, 30, no. 4 (March 1997): 13-31. Accessed February 25, 2017. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.1997.3004.13.x.
Cebik, L.B. "Understanding Narrative Theory." History and Theory 25, no. 4 (December 1986): 58-81.
Chute, Hillary. "Comics as Literature? Reading Graphic Narrative." PMLA 123, no. 2 (March 2008): 452-465.
--. "Ragtime, Kavalier & Clay, and the Framing of Comics." MFS Modern Fiction Studies 54, no. 2 (Summer 2008): 268-301.
Flax, Jane. "Postmodernism and Gender Relations in Feminist Theory." Signs 12, no. 4 (Summer 1987): 621-643.
Flinders, Matthew and Matthew Wood. "From Folk Devils to Folk Heroes: Rethinking the Theory of Moral Panics." Deviant Behavior 36 (2015): 640-656.
Gardner, Jared and David Herman. "Graphic Narratives and Narrative Theory: Introduction." SubStance 40, no. 1 (2011): 3-13.
Glassie, Henry. "Tradition." The Journal of American Folklore 108, no. 430 (Autumn 1995): 395-412.
Goodrum, Michael. "‘Oh c’mon, those stories can’t count in continuity!’ Squirrel Girl and the problem of female power." Studies in Comics 5, no. 1 (2014): 97-114.
Harris, Neil. “Who Owns Our Myths? Heroism and Copyright in an Age of Mass Culture.” Social Research 52, no. 2 (Summer 1985): 241-267.
Hollis, Susan Tower, ed., Linda Pershing, and M. Jane Young. Feminist Theory and the Study of Folklore. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1993.
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. "Objects of Ethnography." In Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage, 386-443. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1998.
Lwin, Soe Marlar. "Capturing the Dynamics of Narrative Development in an Oral Storytelling Performance: A Multimodial Perspective." Language and Literature 19, no. 4 (2010): 357-377.
Mills, Margaret. "Feminist Theory and the Study of Folklore: A Twenty-Year Trajectory Toward Theory." Western Folklore, 52, no. 2/4 (April-October 1993): 173-192.
Nicholson, Sarah. "The Problem of Woman as Hero in the Work of Joseph Campbell." Feminist Theology 19, no. 2 (2011): 182-193.
Nixon, Mark. "Narrating Women in Comics." Gender and Language 8, no. 2 (2014): 269-279.
Additional Resources
Aucoin, Julianna. “The Superhero Diversity Problem.” Harvard Political Review. October 24, 2014. http://harvardpolitics.com/books-arts/superhero-diversity-problem/
Berger, Arthur Asa. “Taking Comics Seriously.” The Wilson Quarterly 2, no. 3 (Summer 1978): 95-101. Accessed March 1, 2017.
Botzakis, Stergios. “Adult Fans of Comic Books: What They Get Out of Reading.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 53, no. 1 (Sept 2009): 50-59. Accessed February 26, 2017.
Brown, Jeffrey A. Dangerous Curves: Action Heroines, Gender, Fetishism, and Popular Culture. Mississippi: University of Mississippi Press, 2011. E-book.
Brownie, Barbara and Danny Graydon. The Superhero Costume: Identity and Disguise in Fact and Fiction. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.
Campbell, A. Men, Women, and Aggression. New York: Basic Books, 1993.
Clark-Flory, Tracy and Tal Reznik. “Kapow! Female Superheroes are Breaking Comics’ Glass Ceiling.” Vocativ. October 6, 2016. http://www.vocativ.com/210232/holy-comic-book-gender-bias-batman/
Coyne, Sarah M., Jennifer Ruh Linder, Eric E. Rasmussen, David A. Nelson, and Kevin M. Collier. “It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Gender Stereotype!: Longitudinal Associations Between Superhero Viewing and Gender Stereotyped Play.” Sex Roles 70, no. 9-10 (May 2014): 416–30. Accessed 2016. doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0374-8.
Dittmer, Jason. “Captain America’s Empire: Reflections on Identity, Popular Culture, and Post 9/11 Geopolitics.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 95, no. 3 (September 2005): 626-643. Accessed February 26, 2017.
Dyson, Anne Haas. “Cultural Constellations and Childhood Identities: On Greek Gods, Cartoon Heroes, and the Social Lives of Schoolchildren.” Harvard Educational Review 66, no. 3 (Fall 1996):471-495. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Fingeroth, Danny. Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004.
Gabillet, Jean-Paul. Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2010.
Gjersoe, Nathalia L., Emily L. Hall, and Bruce Hood. “Children Attribute Mental Lives to Toys When They are Emotionally Attached to Them.” Cognitive Development 34 (2015):28-38. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Hoberek, Andrew. “’But – what can anyone do about it?’: Modernism, Superheroes, and the Unfinished Business of the Common Good.” Journal of Modern Literature 39, no. 2 (Winter 2016): 115-125. Accessed February 26, 2017.
Kukkonen, Karin. “Navigating Infinite Earths: Readers, Mental Models, and the Multiverse of Superhero Comics.” Storyworlds: A Journal of Narrative Studies 2, (January 2010): 39-58. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Morrison, Grant. Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us about Being Human. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2011.
RAINN. https://rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims
“Rise of the Female Superhero.” Katie Couric. (2015: Yahoo! Studios), Yahoo! https://www.yahoo.com/katiecouric/rise-of-the-female-superhero-ever-since-superman-126459307033.html
Robbins, Trina. “Gender Differences in Comics.” Image and Narrative 4, (September 2002): 1-7. Accessed March 1, 2017. http://www.imageandnarrative.be/inarchive/gender/trinarobbins.htm
Rosenberg, Robin S., ed. Our Superheroes, Ourselves. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Rubin, Lawrence. “Superheroes on the Couch: Exploring Our Limits.” The Journal of Popular Culture 45, no. 2 (2012): 410-431. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Sneddon, Laura. “Women in Comics: The New 52 and the Batgirl of San Deigo.” Comicbookgrrrl. July 24, 2011. http://www.comicbookgrrrl.com/2011/07/24/women-in-comics-the-new-52-and-the-batgirl-of-san-deigo/
Staff. “Marvel’s New Ratings System…Explained!” Comic Book Resources. July 5, 2001. http://www.cbr.com/marvels-new-ratings-system-explained/
Stuller, Jennifer K. Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology. New York: B. Tauris & Co. Ltd, 2010. E-book.
Svoboda, Elizabeth. What Makes a Hero? The Surprising Science of Selflessness. New York: Penguin Group (USA), 2013.
Taylor, Aaron. “‘He’s gotta be strong, and he’s gotta be fast, and he’s gotta be larger than life’: Investigating the Engendered Superhero Body.” The Journal of Popular Culture 40, no. 2 (April 2007): 344–60. Accessed 2016. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00382.x.
Wagner-Ott, Anna. “Analysis of Gender Identity Through Doll and Action Figure Politics in Art Education.” Studies in Art Education 43, no. 3 (Spring 2002): 246-263. Accessed February 25, 2017.
Whitbrook, James. “DC’s New Action Figures Include a Triumvirate of Awesome Female Superheroes.” I09. October 18, 2016. http://io9.gizmodo.com/dcs-new-action-figures-include-a-triumvirate-of-awesome-1787924938
Whitbrook, James. “Good News, Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl is Getting an Action Figure. Bad News…” i09. July 11, 2016. http://io9.gizmodo.com/good-news-melissa-benoists-supergirl-is-getting-an-act-1783477247
White, Mark D. The Virtues of Captain America: Modern-Day Lessons on Character from a World War II Superhero. United States: John Wiley & Sons, 2014.