The Death and Return of Superman (Wk 9)
My group’s project on mediums has led me to research comics culture and the adaptation to screen. My love of Superman as an under appreciated character in the popular zeitgeist is my focus at the moment and how he was utilised during World War II as an American propaganda vessel. He was an immensely popular hero during the 1940’s, and while he is still popular today, the general public see him as a ‘boy scout’ and a boring superhero. Superman was created before the war but the approach to his story arcs changed during the war to make him a figure for patriotism.
To give a little personal touch to this post, the video below is a rant by screenwriter Max Landis (Chronicle (2012)) about the comic arc ‘Death of Superman.’ This was a 1992 run of DC comics that killed off the character of Superman for financial gain. This video tells the story of this arc, explains the (pretty obvious) reasoning behind the death of an icon, the impact it had on popular culture and how comic books as a medium effects audiences. Even if you do not thing Superman is an interesting character, this short will allow you to see how comics as a medium can be used to engage global audiences. It’s also pretty damn funny.
