CFP: The Ages of the Avengers (collection; Jan. 15)

CFP - Collection:

The Ages of the Avengers:

Essays on the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

in Changing Times

Edited by Joseph J. Darowski

Publisher: McFarland & Company

The editor of The Ages of the Avengers: Essays on the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Changing Times is seeking abstracts for essays which could potentially be included in the upcoming collection. The essays should examine the relationships between Avengers comic books and the period of American history when those comics were published. Analysis may demonstrate how the stories found in Avengers comic books (and the creators who produced the comics) embrace, reflect, or critique aspects of their contemporary culture.

Essays should focus on stories from the Avengers’ comic book adventures, not media adaptations of the character. Furthermore, essays should look at a single period of comic book history, rather than drawing comparisons between different publication eras. For example, an essay that analyzed Avengers comics from the early 1960s and contextualized them with what was happening in American society would be more likely to be accepted than an essay that contrasted Avengers comic books from the 1970s with Avengers comic books from the 1990s. Any of the spin-off Avengers titles or mini-series that focus on teams (West Coast Avengers, Young Avengers, Mighty Avengers) can be considered, but solo titles that feature members of the Avengers (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor)should not be used as the primary focus of an essay. The completed essays should be 12-15 double-spaced pages.

Some possible topics for essays include, but are not limited to, the following:

“Captain America Joins…the Avengers”: The World War II Hero Encounters a New Generation of Americans; The Kree/Skrull War: Conspiracies, Government Agencies, and Public Protests; The Avengers/Defenders War: Just What Are We Fighting this War for Anyway?; Korvac Saga: Gods, Religion, and Faith on the Comic Book Page; Affirmative Action and Tokenism: Falcon Takes a Stand by Leaving the Avengers; Race and Gender Issues on Superhero Teams: Captain Marvel and Team Leadership; “The War on Olympus” and Guilt for Collateral Damage; “Operation: Galactic Storm” and Proactive Versus Reactive Philosophies to Potential Threats; Avengers Forever: Questions of Time, History, and Meaning at the Turn of the Century; “Ultron Unlimited” and the Fear of Evolving Technology; “Red Zone”: Hidden Threats Right in Front of Our Eyes; The Ultimates: Fashioning Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a New Millenium; “Breakout”: Rebooting a Franchise for Blockbuster Audiences; Young Avengers and Avengers Academy: Addressing Homosexuality in Superhero Comic Books; The Uncivil Debate Within of Marvel’s Civil War; Dark Avengers: Are There Good Guys Anymore?

Abstracts (100-500 words) and CVs should be submitted by January 15, 2013
Please submit via email to Joseph Darowski, darowskij@byui.edu