X-Men and the Mutant Metaphor - Race and Gender in the Comic Books

Among both fans and the academic community, there is a general assumption that the X-Men franchise is one of the most progressive and inclusive superhero comic books that has been published. However, this study challenges such assumptions, revealing that there is an unfortunate trend throughout the majority of the title's history: Minority characters are most likely to be villains, female characters are most likely to be supporting cast members, and white males are most likely to be members of the X-Men.

List of contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Understanding the X-Men
Chapter 2: Intriguing Concept, Uneven Execution: The X-Men #1 (Sep. 1963) - X-Men #66(Mar. 1970)
Chapter 3 Relaunching and Reimagining: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975) - The Uncanny X-Men #166 (Feb. 1983)
Chapter 4: Adding Depth and Exploring Prejudice: The Uncanny X-Men #167 (Mar. 1983) - The Uncanny X-Men #280 (Sep. 1991)
Chapter 5: Broadening the Mutant Metaphor: The Uncanny X-Men #281 (Oct. 1991) - The Uncanny X-Men #393 (Jun. 2001)
Chapter 6: Reestablishing the Metaphor: The Uncanny X-Men #394 (Jul. 2001) - The Uncanny X-Men #500 (Sep. 2008)
Chapter 7: By the Numbers

Conclusion
Appendix A
Appendix B
Works Cited
Index
About the Author

About the author

Joseph J. Darowski is a member of the English department at Brigham Young University Idaho. He is the editor of a series of essay collections entitled The Ages of Superheroes which has included volumes on Superman and Wonder Woman.

Product details

• Authors: Joseph J. Darowski, Darowski Joseph J.
• Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 10.04.2014
• EAN: 9781442232075
• ISBN: 978-1-4422-3207-5
• No. of pages: 242
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Ethnic Studies, Popular Culture, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies, Gender studies, gender groups, Graphic novels: history & criticism, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General, COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS / Reference, Guides & Companions, Ethnic studies / Ethnicity