Dear colleagues,
GMD recalls that the deadline for accepting articles in a special issue dedicated to the image of the Superhero lasts until June 30.
The image of a superhero has become one of the fundamental images in the modern mass culture of the 20th and 21st centuries. Coming down from the pages of American comics, they have made their way into the most diverse areas of modern culture: cinema, computer games, anime, cosplay, etc. They are no longer heroes only for young people, becoming a kind of cultural core around which a whole universe of images, ideas, meanings, concepts, etc. is built.
The emergence of the superhero phenomenon is connected with the neo-mythological paradigm of American Mass Culture as an integral feature of the early 20th century Modernist cultural model. The superhero appears in a period of depressive moods in society. Their emergence is close to the collective dream of common Americans seeking support and encouragement in somebody during the economic and social crises, united by the common name of the Great Depression. The new hero shows such traits as willingness to come to the rescue of an ordinary human, to risk his own life, and the quintessence of heroism itself - death for the interests of others.
It is certain that a superhero is a kind of litmus test that indicates the directions of modern society development. But it is also a testing ground, where certain ideas are tested, because society votes with its attitude to each new image of a superhero, approaching it quite critically, accepting or rejecting it. Therefore, we can say that a superhero is a dynamic figure, developing and well indicating the state of public moods, aspirations and expectations.
Actualization of the superhero character in the 21st century is a marker of complex global problems that humankind has faced. The study of this phenomenon in modern culture provides an opportunity to consider these problems from a new angle.
Aim & Scope: to bring together different researchers of comics and superheroic in all their manifestations (comics, movie, fan community, cosplay, etc.) for a comprehensive study of the problem and challenges of our time.
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