A full exploration of the history, politics, and aesthetics of the superhero genre

Charles Hatfield is associate professor of English at California State University, Northridge, and is author, coauthor, or coeditor of many books, including The Superhero Reader, Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature, and Hand of Fire: The Comic Art of Jack Kirby, all published by University Press of Mississippi.

Charles Hatfield's profile page

“Jeet Heer is a cultural journalist and academic who divides his time between Toronto and Regina. He has written for many publications including the Globe and Mail, Slate.com, the Boston Globe, the Walrus, the American Prospect, the Comics Journal, the Virginia Quarterly Review and the Guardian of London. He has co-edited eight books and been a contributing editor to another eight volumes. With Kent Worcester, Jeet co-edited A Comics Studies Reader (University Press of Mississippi), which won the Peter C. Rollins Book Award given annually to the best book in American Studies or Cultural Studies. He's been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. His articles have been anthologized in both The Best American Comics Criticism (Fantagraphics) and The Best Canadian Essays collection for 2012. With Chris Ware, Jeet continues to edit the Walt and Skeezix series from Drawn and Quarterly, which is now entering its sixth volume.

Jeet Heer's profile page

Kent Worcester is professor of political science at Marymount Manhattan College. His books include Peter Kuper: Conversations, Peter Bagge: Conversations, The Superhero Reader (coedited with Charles Hatfield and Jeet Heer), A Comics Studies Reader (coedited with Jeet Heer), and Arguing Comics: Literary Masters on a Popular Medium (coedited with Jeet Heer), all published by University Press of Mississippi.

Kent Worcester's profile page

The introduction provides a superb analysis (and diagnosis) of the current state of the field, while the anthology itself gathers some of the most influential and intelligent critical writing on superhero comics into one place. The Superhero Reader is an essential volume for any comics scholar.

Ben Saunders, author of Do the Gods Wear Capes? Spirituality, Fantasy, and Superheroes