Panel Borders: What is a Superhero?

January 16, 2014 — alt.superhero

Covers of What is a Superhero? by OUP / books by Will Brooker, Richard Reynolds, Kieron Gillen and Si Spurrier

What is a Superhero?: Continuing a month of shows about superhero comics, Alex Fitch discusses the new Oxford University Press book ‘What is a Superhero?’ with a couple of the contributors – Richard Reynolds (Central St. Martins School of Art and Design) and Will Brooker (Kingston University) – and two writers of superhero comics – Kieron Gillen (Iron Man) and Si Spurrier (X-Men: Legacy).
Reynolds and Brooker read from their sections of the anthology and discuss their thoughts on superheroes, pop star culture and technology; while Gillen and Spurrier talk about how they have built on the work of their predecessors while trying to create a voice of their own at Marvel Comics, in titles such as Journey into Mystery and The Punisher, and more revisionist stories elsewhere such as Extermination and Uber. Also, the four authors discuss the nature of cosplay with practitioners in the audience and its relation to the modern superhero identity. Recorded at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, Autumn 2013 as part of Comica Festival.

For more info and a variety of different formats you can stream or download, please visit the home of this podcast at www.archive.org

Links: More info about the Oxford University Press book ‘What is a Superhero?’
Info about Richard Reynolds on LinkedIn
Info on Will Brooker on Kingston University’s website
Kieron Gillen’s website
Si Spurrier’s website
Info about the original event on the Comica Festival website

Listen to Alex’s previous interview with Si Spurrier, previous interviews with Kieron Gillen about his work, and previous episodes featuring Richard Reynolds