Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon (Comics Culture)

A very thorough, well-researched volume on Superman as a figure in twentieth century American popular culture. Gordon explores comics, social media, fan letters and more to explore how a character created by two seventeen-year-olds in Cleveland, Ohio wove its way into the mythology of America.

In “Superman: The Persistence of an American Icon”, Ian Gordon writes, “At any given time, or place, in his history, Superman is, and has long been, an amalgam of factors including myth, memory, nostalgia, intellectual property regimes like copyright and trademark, authors, readers, fans, collectors, comic books, comic strips, radio series, movie serials, television shows, animation, toys and collectibles, and feature films. This book shows that an understanding of Superman requires addressing the way these factors figure into any negotiation of Superman’s character” (pg. 3). In his examination, he uses “thematic approaches of myth and history, ideology, nostalgia, production and authorship, readership and audiences, and brands and beyond, because these frameworks allow for an analysis in several registers” (pg. 10).Gordon begins with an examination of Uberto Eco’s analysis of Superman comics. He argues, “Superman demonstrates that being American is a state of mind achievable by adopting a set of values. The ideological dimensions of this are multivariant. Such an ideology might shut off competing notions of America, or it might open up a debate on what values are American. On another register, though, this aspect of Superman suggests to his non-US readers that they too can be Americans if they so choose” (pg. 40). Gordon writes, “Superman as a character and commodity is conditioned by mythology and nostalgia, and both of these are ideological practices. They also inform and are informed by other ideological practices” (pg. 41). In this way, “Nostalgia is to a certain extent a reaction against presentism that emphasizes the positives of now, in that nostalgia remembers what was lost and longs for it. The critique of nostalgia carries an assumption that such longing neglects context and complexity” (pg. 69). Discussing fan interactions, Gordon writes, “It is useful to think about superhero comic books, their characters, and their audiences [like early pulp magazines], seeing the industry and the audiences as social networks, bordering on discursive communities, and with this notion in mind trying to trace the nature of that discourse by looking at the various ways these audiences engage with characters” (pg. 117). Gordon primarily uses the letters pages of comics, acknowledging that the shift to online message boards and communities in the 2000s creates gaps in the archive. Gordon concludes, “Although generally regarded as a comic book character, Superman has been more than that for almost the entirety of his history. The numerous media appearances in print, radio, animation, television, and film made him a multimedia phenomenon before the word was coined” (pg. 174).Gordon’s work retreads some of Superman’s history, though his greatest insight is in the public history of the character. Rather than tell the usual story of two boys from Cleveland or the making of various films, he explores and explicates how these events developed as the result of interactions between forces such as copyright law, merchandising, and fan interpretation. This focus offers a valuable shift in the historiography for the field of comics studies.

This book makes a convincing case for Superman's centrality to twentieth-century US culture. The conclusions are fair, measured, and based on extensive evidence, and the writing is clear and engaging. Smart research and a killer read - Ian Gordon's book is a substantial achievement!