Below is a list of books, articles, and web pages which provide a good starting point when undertaking comics research. It is by no means comprehensive and I'll endeavour to update it periodically as I come across more resources.
Many more papers/resources can be accessed through the links to online and hard copy journals on the 'Sites' sidebar on the right of the page.
Many more papers/resources can be accessed through the links to online and hard copy journals on the 'Sites' sidebar on the right of the page.
Bongco, M. (1995) Reading Comics: Language, Culture, and the Concept of the Superhero in Comic Books (Garland Studies in American Popular History and Culture), New York: Routledge.
Brown, J. A. (2001). Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics, and Their Fans. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
Bukatman, S. (1994). X-Bodies: (the torment of the mutant superhero) in Sappington, R. & Stallings, T. (eds). Uncontrollable Bodies: Testimonies of Identity and Culture. Bay Press Seattle.
Bukatman, S. (2003) Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century. Durham, NC: Duke UP.
Cohen, J. J. (1996) Monster Theory: Reading Culture, Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press.
Contino, J. (May 2000) ‘Women and Comics’, http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/may00/art_0500_9.shtml.
Coogan, P. (2006) Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre. Austin: Monkey Brain Books.
Dougall, A. (ed.) (2004) The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: DC Comics, Dorling Kindersley Ltd,
Eagleton, T. (1983). Literary Theory: An Introduction. Oxford. Blackwell.
Ellis, W. (2000). From the Desk of Warren Ellis Vol. 1, Urbarna IL: Avatar.
Goldstein, H. (12 February 2006) ‘WonderCon ‘06: Holy Terror, Batman! Batman kicks Al Qaeda's Ass. Frank Miller's talks about upcoming book.’ ign.com, http://au.comics.ign.com/articles/688/688140p1.html.
Horn, M. (2001) Women in the Comics, Philadelphia: Chelsea House.
Haslem, W., Nadlianis, A., and Mackie, C.(eds)(2006) Super/Heroes: From Hercules to Superman. Washington: New Academia Publishing.
Inness, S. (1999) Tough Girls: Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Jackson, R. (1981) Fantasy: The Literature of Subversion, London New York: Methuen.
Jacobs, W. and Jones, G. (1996) The Comic Book Heroes: The First History of Modern Comic Books--From the Silver Age to the Present. Roseville: Prima Lifestyles.
Jameson, F. (1991) Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke UP.
Jones, G. (2004) Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book, London: William Heinemann.
Klock, G. (2002) How to Read Superhero Comics and Why, New York, London: Continuum.
Klock, G. (2004) ‘X-Men, Emerson, Gnosticism’ Reconstruction: 4, 3.
Lawrence, J, S. and Jewett, R. (2002) The Myth of the American Superhero. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdsman Publishing Company.
Linker, J. (May 2000) ‘The Appeal of Superheroes’, http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/may00/art_0500_5.shtml.
McCloud, S. (1994) Understanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins
McCue, Greg S., with Clive Bloom. (1993) Dark Knights: The New Comics in Context. London and Boulder, CO: Pluto Press.
McMillan, G. (28 Aug. 2007) ‘Why must superheroes be so potent?’, http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/08/28/why-must-superheroes-be-so-potent/.
McMillan, G. (28 Aug. 2007) ‘Why must superheroes be so potent?’, http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/08/28/why-must-superheroes-be-so-potent/.
Ndalianis, A. (ed) (2009) The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero. New York, London: Routledge.
O’Reilly, J.D. (2005) ‘The Wonder Woman Precedent: Female (Super)Heroism on Trial’ in The Journal of American Culture 28, 3.
Otero, S. (1996) ‘Fearing our Mothers: An Overview of the Psychoanalytic Theories Concerning the Vagina Dentata Motif’, American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 56, 3.
Pearson, R, E. and Uricchio, W. (1991) The Many Lives of the Batman: Critical Approaches to a Superhero and his Media. New York: Routledge.
Rauch, S. (2004) ‘”We Have All Been Sentenced”: Language as a Means of Control in Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles’, International Journal of Comic Art, 6, 2.
Reynolds, R. (1992). Superheroes: A Modern Mythology. London. B.T. Batsford Ltd.
Robbins, T. (1996). The Great Women Superheroes. Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press.
Robinson, L. (2004). Wonder Women: Feminisms and Superheroes. New York & London: Routledge.
Robbins, T. (1996). The Great Women Superheroes. Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press.
Robinson, L. (2004). Wonder Women: Feminisms and Superheroes. New York & London: Routledge.
Round, J. (2005) ‘Fragmented Identity: The Superhero Condition’ International Journal of Comic Art, 7, 2.
Sassienie, P. (1994). The Comic Book. The One Essential Guide for Comic Book Fans Everywhere. Chartwell Books Inc.
Thalheimer, A. N. (2000) ‘Terrorists, Bitches, and Dykes: Late 20th Century Lesbian Comix’ International Journal of Comic Art 2, 1.
Todorov, T. (1975) The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
‘Update on “My Baby Mama is a Supervillain”’ (27 Aug. 2007), http://othermag.org/blog/?p=339.
Wertham, F. (1955) Seduction of the Innocent, London: Museum Press.
Wolk, D. (2007) Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean, Cambridge MA: Da Capo Press.
Wright, B. (2001) Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Young, T. J. (1993) “Women as Comic Book Superheroes: The “Weaker Sex” in the Marvel Universe’, Psychology: A Journal of Human Behaviour, 30, 2.
