Description: This edited collection offers a variety of perspectives focusing on representation of women as heroines across printed media. In addition, the book extends the discussion of heroines for the broader audience, which provides a much needed, more nuanced discussion of this topic ...
Brief description: Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and assistant professor of communication, media, and culture at Coastal Carolina University . His books include Stan Lee: A Life; Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel, Young Reader's Edition; and Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties. He is a three-time winner of the IPA Book Award. Batchelor's work has appeared in or been featured by the New York Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, Los Angeles Times, Today.com, The Guardian, PopMatters, and Time. Batchelor is a host on the New Books Network podcast and creator and host of the podcast John Updike: American Writer, American Life. He has appeared as an on-air commentator for The National Geographic Channel, PBS NewsHour, BBC, PBS, and NPR.
Review Quotes: "The release of Heroines of Comic Books and Literature...could not have been timelier.... The well-organized thought processes throughout should prove to be refreshing to the comic book fan, even though it reveals some uneasy, though necessary truths, of these heroine portrayals.... Heroines of Comic Books and Literature boasts nineteen succinct chapters by a collection of authors who aptly command authority in their respective areas of expertise. A notable inclusion of comic artist, writer, and Will Eisner Hall of Fame inductee Trina Robbins adds panache to an already credible list of educators and scholars. The variety of case studies and methodologies will certainly satisfy those who want more from their popular culture analysis. Collections like this can potentially fall into the trap of stylistic inconsistency, but the editors may be credited for a book filled with direct, punchy writing that provokes the reader to want more from each chapter. This book is perhaps best described as an academic's Jezebel -- it approaches popular culture in a manner that welcomes discussions and is appropriately critical, well researched, even-tempered, and, is still, wildly passionate." --Journal of American Culture