FROM INDOCTRINATION TO HETEROGLOSSIA: THE CHANGING RHETORICAL FUNCTION OF THE COMIC BOOK SUPERHERO

by Ehritz, Andrew A.

This project is an examination of the history of the comic book superhero figure and his/her rhetorical function, and pays particular attention to the political rhetoric in the post 911 comic book. I argue that a shift has taken place in recent years and that the comic book superhero, once primarily a vehicle for idealized morality and patriotic propaganda, has become a major tool for negotiating the ambivalence of social experience. This paper originally included a variety of images. They have been removed in order to eliminate copyright problems. A degree of loss in coherence is the result of this elimination.