Jose Alaniz has written an extremely ambitious work in Death, Disability, and the Superhero. The first part of the book focuses primarily on disability and the superhero while, from chapter seven on death and the superhero takes center stage. As with any work that encompasses such a broad range of thought, there is a need for some basic assumptions to be made explicit from the beginning so that readers will understand how the writer will use and interpret some concepts. Unfortunately it is precisely in this introductory area where it seemed the scope of the study prevented Alaniz from clearly linking his premises and thus set up the rest of the book. This is unfortunate because the following chapters are very well researched and presented.

While I was initially more interested in the disability studies sections rather than those addressing death and mortality, I felt the latter chapters were better organized and presented. Often in the early chapters there were analyses which were quite effective as far as they went but tended to overlook intersections where additional factors also come into play. For instance the contrast between disabled and super-abled bodies could benefit from also addressing racial and gender issues. Let me say, however, that I don't consider this a particularly significant negative since the book touches on so many aspects of death and disability studies. One of the most valuable aspects of this work will be the future scholarship it will help to launch, furthering analyses begun here as well as filling gaps between what is and is not addressed here.

I anticipate revisiting most if not all of this book again in the future and expect to find it referenced widely in future research. This may not appeal to every casual comic fan, which is understandable, but I think many will also find new avenues into their favorite comics through the act of wrestling with some of this material. Scholars in the death and disability fields as well as popular culture and comics/graphic novels studies will find many useful points to ponder and address in future work.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Death, Disability, and the Superhero is an academic book that looks at superheroes comics published by Marvel and DC, from their inception to around the 1980s and 90s. It examines comics' portrayal of the body, how it could be read against the ways death and disability were viewed in American society, and how that portrayal has evolved throughout the years. The author, José Alaniz, uses many case studies to illustrate this study, including Superman, Captain Marvel, Doom Patrol, She-Thing, and Daredevil, among others.

As (sadly) I had never before read academic writing on disability, this book opened my eyes to entirely new ways of thinking and ideas. It’s too early to say I’ve formed an opinion on everything that’s written (and there are a lot of different ideas to ruminate on), but it definitely served to make me ponder new perspectives about physical and cognitive “otherness,” specifically as it is portrayed in comic books. I would have liked to see a discussion of more recent comics, since the discussion on disability only focused on those from the Golden and Silver Age of Marvel and DC comics, whereas the chapters on death referenced more recent developments. In fact, I was left feeling this could have been split into two different books: one about disability and the other about death, since the discussions did not overlap often (with the exception of the theme of assisted suicide). And the chapters do tend to feel a bit repetitive after a while.

Nevertheless, this is a thought-provoking, well researched book that treats comics with the respect they deserve. Recommended for serious fans who are interested in a different, deeper reading of the material they love.

 

Note: I got this book for review purposes through NetGalley.

Breaking the Code: A Daughter's Journey ... About the book: This is a memoir of a daughter who, through old WW2 letters and returning memories of her father, slowly discovers the important role he played during the war. While transcribing the letters her father gave to her on his 81st birthday, Karen begins to research the time period. Father and daughter also start meeting weekly for breakfast. Slowly, over the next few years, information about his life during the war is revealed and the quest for peace begins.

What I liked: The details and descriptions of the process in discovering who her father was during time of war made it easy for me to picture events as I was reading. The letters written my her father also painted a clear picture in my mind about what he was seeing and doing. The story in its self was very moving, as was the experiences of the veteran after the war and his quest for peace. Also loved the pictures, letters, and documents shown in each chapter.

What I didn't like: The pictures were hard to see on my Kindle. Had to look at them on my computer to see them clearly. Of course this is no reflection on the book itself.

Breaking the Code: A Daughter's Journey ... About the book: This is a memoir of a daughter who, through old WW2 letters and returning memories of her father, slowly discovers the important role he played during the war. While transcribing the letters her father gave to her on his 81st birthday, Karen begins to research the time period. Father and daughter also start meeting weekly for breakfast. Slowly, over the next few years, information about his life during the war is revealed and the quest for peace begins.

What I liked: The details and descriptions of the process in discovering who her father was during time of war made it easy for me to picture events as I was reading. The letters written my her father also painted a clear picture in my mind about what he was seeing and doing. The story in its self was very moving, as was the experiences of the veteran after the war and his quest for peace. Also loved the pictures, letters, and documents shown in each chapter.

What I didn't like: The pictures were hard to see on my Kindle. Had to look at them on my computer to see them clearly. Of course this is no reflection on the book itself.