Superman - Weldon, Glen

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Résumé :
How has The Big Blue Boy Scout stayed popular for so long?Why can't anyone recognize Superman when he puts on a pair of eyeglasses?Why didn't Clark Kent enlist to fight in World War II?Has there ever been a Superman comic, film, or show that wasn't a huge success?It's not true that a super-mullet happened in the 1990s, is it?NPR's go-to comic book geek, Glen Weldon, recounts Superman's story from 1930s circus strongman to all-American iconHow has he changed with the times, and what essential aspects have remained constant? This fascinating biography examines Superman as a cultural phenomenon through seventy-five years of action-packed adventures, from his early years as a crime-fighter in circus tights to his growth into the internationally renowned icon he is today.Weldon examines the character as a cultural phenomenon: how he's perceived, how that perception has changed over time, and which specific aspects have remained constant. As a critic, Weldon looks at what makes a Superman story a Superman story and what the various iterations of the character over the years say about him--and about us.

Biographie:
GLEN WELDON is a freelance writer who for the past five years has served as NPR's go-to comic book guy, reviewing all things funnybook-related for their Monkey See blog, main website, Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and national shows. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the New Republic, Slate, Story, Washington City Paper, the American Literary Review, and many other publications. He has received an NEA Arts Journalism Fellowship, a Ragdale Writing Fellowship, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts for Fiction. You can find him at glenweldon.tumblr.com.

Sommaire:
Introduction 1 1. And So Begins ... 5 2. Truth, Justice ... (1938--1941) 26 3... And the American Way (1942--1945) 53 4. Strange ... I ... I Feel All the Strength Draining Out of Me ... (1946--1949) 70 5. Powers and Abilities Far beyond Those of Mortal Men (1950--1959) 89 6. Not a Dream! Not a Hoax! Not an Imaginary Story! (1960--1969) 115 7. Kryptonite Nevermore! Briefl y! (1970--1977) 145 8. The Year of Superman (1978) 171 9. Superman Agonistes (1979--1986) 193 10. The Never-Ending Battle ... Ends. For a While. (1986--1993) 223 11. Faster Than a Speeding Mullet (1994--2001) 255 12. Secret Origin, Re-Redux (2001--2005) 278 13. All-Star (2006--2012) 294 Epilogue: Man of Tomorrow (2013 and Beyond) 327 Acknowledgments 331 Bibliography 333 Index 341

Weldon's years as a lifelong Superman fan give him superb insight into the character's central truths.... A reliable, witty, and informative guide. --NPR Books

Breezily written and compulsively readable. --A/V Club

An excellent portrait of the Man of Steel, managing to be fan-crazed and critical at the same time. --Publishers Weekly

[Gathers] the sprawling, complex, and occasionally contradictory history of Superman into a rich and deeply textured story. --New York Journal of Books