Category: Free Inquiry

 Your last post should be an in-depth reflection on how your inquiry went. What you learned. What advice you’d give someone starting a similar inquiry.

Since January, I have focused my free inquiry on superheroes and how they can reflect North American culture. I have covered topics like the difference between Marvel and DC, Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, and finally, how women are portrayed in comics. I had in mind to talk about many more topics, like the representation of people of colour, anti-heroes as a literary foil, and how the X-Men represent the struggles of LGBTQ people in the 80s.

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to talk about the subjects. Although, if you are interested, there are plenty of video essays on these topics. I will link some at the end of this blog post (along with some that I enjoy about comics in general).

Overall, I think I learned a lot over this blogging series. The biggest take-away for me is that nothing should be taken at face value. Dig a little deeper, find the hidden meaning or the easter eggs. The world is more exciting than you could ever believe sure, we don’t have superheroes but, our world is still full of wonderful things. Use a critical eye and question everything but, still have fun.

Comics are a wonderful medium that can be written for children or adults, depending on what you take away. Much like animation, comics are often pushed aside as something for children, don’t believe that. Take a leap of faith, find joy in reading comics and imagining yourself as the hero. For anyone else considering looking at comics, do it. Start with the fun stuff then delve deeper into the societal elements shaping comics (or really any form of media).

I’ll leave you with this, one of the best Spider-Man stories ever told.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you learned some new things.

For more information on comics and comic book movies, here are some of my favourite video essays:

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog! I did not update last week, so, this week there will be two updates on my blog. Today’s blog relates a bit to last week’s topic on Wonder Woman, and as it was International Women’s Day over the weekend, what a better time to talk more about women in comics. Although, as I said last time, women in comics have not had the best history. Today, I would like to focus on the over-sexualization of women superheroes in modern comics.

The over-sexualization of characters started to become more prevalent in the late 1980s, and it occurred with both men and women. Male superheroes were drawn with bigger muscles and broader shoulders, while women superheroes were drawn with bigger breasts, long legs, and impossibly thin waists. While both were more sexualized, women were given more revealing costumes and were drawn in more sexualized positions. One example from 2014 includes the first variant issue of Spider-Woman, which I have included to the left. Lots of people were not happy about this cover. So, how was this cover created in the first place?

What I believe the main problem is with blatant over-sexualization of women in comics is that is there are not enough women artists and writers in the field. The cover above was created by Milo Manara, a comic book artist that is also known for his work in erotic comics. While I appreciate Marvel’s attempt to add more women into their regular rotation of superheroes, this cover would not instill any confidence in the women I know in my life. The history of this sexualization started with the fact that mainly men were reading comic books. So, why would they need strong or accurate female representation in comics?

Maybe men in the past didn’t want to see it, but now more women and girls are reading comic books. For me, I would love to more superheroes that looked like me and the women I know in my life. I would also like to see female superheroes with realistic armour and proper protection for their battles.

I will end this post with a photo of the marvel men drawn like women.

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog, I took a little bit of a break for reading week; but I’m excited to share more about this topic. If you recognized the title, then you already have an idea of what I will be talking about in this week’s blog. Today, I will be talking about the first notable woman in superhero comics.

Evolution of Wonder Woman. From Left to Right: Original 1941 release, Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in the late 1970s TV series, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in her first big-screen release.

Wonder Woman was created by psychologist William M. Marston in 1941. From her inception, she has always been a symbol for feminists across the United States, and that was intentional. Marston was a proud feminist, and that was reflected in his work. As well as the work of Harry G. Peter, the comic artist that first drew Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman’s costume is easily recognizable, with the blue skirt, bulletproof armbands, and the red and gold breastplate. This outfit reflected common themes for superhero costumes, patriotic red and blue, even if the character is not American.

Wonder Woman’s origin story is not as recognizable to a wide audience like that of Superman or Batman. Wonder Woman, or Princess Diana, comes from an island only populated by Amazonian women called Themyscira. She was created by Queen Hippolyta from clay. Diana becomes Wonder Woman after Steve Trevor crash-lands on Themyscira, and she must return to the Man’s World to spread a message of peace.

Although, not all of Wonder Woman’s history included truth lassos and warrior women. After WWII, creator Marston passed away, and Wonder Woman was given to another writer who stripped her of her powers. Her loss of powers reflected the feeling of many women, who were forced out of the working world, and back into the traditional roles of women such as babysitters, mothers, and home-makers. Instead of the powerful princess, Diana became a fashion model and a wife to Steve Trevor that gave advice to women in a newspaper column.

She remained this way for several years before Gloria Steinem placed Wonder Woman in costume on the cover of Ms. Magazine. Steinem, who grew up with the original Wonder Woman, petitioned for her return to glory. To this day, she remains the feminist icon that William Marston intended her to be. A superhero for little girls to look up to, that encouraged compassion over war.

Wonder Woman paved the way for future women superheroes. After her debut in 1941, she allowed for female superheroes like Storm, Black Widow, Killer Frost, and Captain Marvel to be created and adored by women and girls around the world.

Thanks for reading and check back next week when I’ll talk about the over-sexualization of women in comics.

This post is a sort of continuation of my last free inquiry post, so I would recommend reading that one first. If you have already read last week’s post, enjoy this sequel. This means it probably won’t be as good as last time but, we will still have fun anyway.

Not to be outdone by National Comics, Timely Comics created a superhero that eventually became an icon of the Second World War in comic books. Created by Jack Kirby (known for creating Kirby Dots to mimic energy in print) and Joe Simon, Captain America was introduced to the world in 1941. The pair created the imaginary Captain to inspire Americans to fight back against Nazi Germany, hoping that his embodiment of the States would drive their purpose into the hearts of the American people.

Before Captain America became a superhero, he was a scrawny army recruit named Steve Rogers. Rogers signed up for a superhero serum that transformed him into a super-soldier. During WWII, he fought against the Nazis and many other smaller comic book villains. Captain America’s main rival was the Red Skull, a Nazi spy and terrorist.

The original cover of Captain America #1. Cover date March 1941.

Due to the time in which Captain America was first released, the politics and the war had an effect on his character. The very first issue of Captain America saw the title character punching Hitler in the jaw. His patriotism is a defining character point, and his introduction shows the start of comic books (more specifically superheroes) reflecting modern politics.

Captain America’s storyline has always had ties to politics, in the 50s Cap briefly fought a war against communism. However, this period did not last long.

The best example of politics I could dig up from the Captain America comics was that of the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s. While Watergate was never mentioned by name in the comics, the Marvel Comic Universe created a similar event, where a high-level official in the US government was revealed to be working for an evil system. For a character like Steve Rogers, this event caused massive distrust in the American government. Which caused Steve Rogers to drop the mantle of Captain America in favour of Nomad, signalling that the world was not as black or white as he once saw it.

Politics and social justice are common themes in modern comics, as I will talk about in further blog posts. Thanks for reading! Come back next week when I will talk about women in comics!

When discussing comic books and superheroes, it is important to pay homage to the original modern superhero and the two men who brought him to life. The superhero, of course, is Superman. Before I talk about the character himself, I would like to talk a bit about the artist and writer that created him.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster created the character in 1933. It is rumoured that the idea for Superman came to writer Siegel in a dream, where he mixed the strength of Hercules with the strongmen seen in the newspaper comics. Siegel and Schuster tried for five years to bring Superman into newspaper comic strips. However, it wasn’t until 1938 when Superman was first introduced to the public eye in Action Comics #1. Fun Fact: An original first edition copy was sold at an auction for 2.16 million dollars. 

This is the original cover for Action Comics #1, it is seen as one of the most iconic covers in comic book history.

Superman’s origin story is one that most people can recognize. Superman is an alien from the planet of Krypton and assumes the alter ego of Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet. Superman’s story is different from other comic book heroes of the 1930s. While most heroes from comic strips lived in medieval England or outer space, Superman was a reflection of the modern man. He lived in a non-descript city, where he fought crime similar to what people read in the news.

Superman is also a reflection of the immigrant experience in America. Now, I know that sounds a bit crazy. However, to quote comic book writer Mark Waid from the Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle,

“When you strip everything else away, what you’re looking at is a stranger in a strange land, who wants to be part of a world and not an isolated alien.”

Superman achieved what some would call the American dream. However, in doing so, he lost his name and his home. Even though Clark Kent is not human, people connected with his character through that struggle. In fact, Define American, a company dedicated to using media to spread immigration stories, started a campaign called Superman Is An Immigrant; where people could share their (or their family’s) immigration stories to show that everyone in America came from somewhere else.

Superman became a beacon of hope for children at the start of WWII, although that’s a topic for next week’s blog. Superman also started the Golden Age of comic books and the rise of the modern superhero. A reflection and a new interpretation of all of the myths/legends that came before.

Thanks for reading and tune in next week, when I will talk about the effects of WWII on comic books and the true beginning of Marvel Comics.

Before I jump into this blog post, I would like to talk briefly about nerd culture. Or what I believe to be nerd culture. Nerd culture has gone mainstream in the past few decades with the rise of comic-con and popular culture mixing with traditional nerdy material (see Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter). Nerdy material includes most things science-fiction, fantasy, or intellectual. Nerds like to learn everything they can about what they are interested in and love to correct others. There is a great series on youtube called “Um…Actually”, which is based on this idea. 

What does nerd culture have to do with this week’s topic? Well, for this week’s blog, I would like to discuss the differences between Marvel and DC comics. 

As a bit of background, DC comics started as National Comics in 1934 after merging with several other comic publications. However, many people still called the comic company DC after the Detective Comics series. DC Comics officially changed its name in 1977. Marvel debuted in 1939 under Timely Comics. The comic company went under the name of Atlas Magazines for about a decade before changing to Marvel Comics in the early 1960s. I will discuss more about the early days of comics in a future blog post. 

Now back to my original narrative on nerd culture. As I said before, nerds love to learn everything that they can and, they love to debate. One debate that is prevalent in nerd (specifically comic book nerd) culture is: which is better, Marvel or DC? Some people will debate about the movies while others will choose to debate the source material, the comics. In fact, while doing some research for this blog post, I found multiple blog posts of people debating this exact topic. 

So, is there any merit to these arguments of which is better? In my opinion, no. Comics, like any other form of entertainment or art, is subjective. What one person enjoys may not be you enjoy but, that doesn’t make it any worse. If that is not a good enough answer, then perhaps a reminder that publications have collaborated in the past to release DC vs. Marvel, a miniseries that features both universes fighting each other. The series ends with the two superpowered brothers, personifications of the publishers, realizing that fighting each other is pointless.

If you would like more than my opinion on the matter, here is a link to a thorough examination of the comics, characters, movies, and comics. Although I will be touching on some of these topics in the coming weeks. 

Check back in next week, when I will be talking about the Golden Age of Comics and the birth of a modern superhero.

About a week ago, when I decided to write my free inquiry blog about superheroes (more details on the weeks to come later). I stumbled upon an interesting article titled Superheroes and villains: Who’s more violent might surprise you. If you have the time, I would recommend giving it a once-over and thinking about the research. As for my opinion on the article, I don’t believe many parents are letting their children watch Deadpool or Suicide Squad as those movies are geared towards adults and contain heavy violence and subject matter. However, I do believe it is important to think critically regarding what children should be able to watch. There are several superhero-related shows geared towards children with less violence. 

Returning to my blog, I will be focusing my free inquiry on superheroes, more specifically, how superheroes have changed and reflected North American society over the 20th and 21st centuries. I chose this topic because of a documentary I watched with my sister a couple of years ago, called Superheroes Decoded produced by the History Channel.

Superheroes Decoded offers a definitive look at how marginalised, larger-than-life characters rose to the highest ranks of mainstream culture, dominating the box office and becoming part of the global zeitgeist.

This documentary completely changed how I viewed superheroes and comic books as a medium. However, there are still many people who believe that comics and superheroes are inherently childish. If you are one of those people, I would implore you to open your mind and continue to check in on my blog, as I hope to convince you otherwise.

Next week, I will be writing about the divide between Marvel and DC comics.

I have a couple of ideas for my inquiry, although none of them are completely thought out. Here are my ideas in a list format, with pros and cons.

1. Learning ASL (American Sign Language)

It has always been one of my goals to learn sign language, as I believe it is a valuable asset and allows me to communicate with more people. I have also found a site called Handspeak that was created by a native signer to preserve Deaf Culture.

Pros

As mentioned before, ASL will allow me to communicate freely with deaf or hearing-impaired individuals. As a teacher, it will be useful if I have the background knowledge to help a hearing-impaired student.

Cons

Learning a language is difficult and can take time and repetition. As a student, I am unsure whether I can devote the time necessary to acquire a new language. It is also difficult to find many apps/resources for learning the language, as there is no Duolingo equivalent for ASL.

2. Superheroes

It is very nerdy of me, but I love superhero stuff. The many superhero mugs I have at home proves this to be true. I have seen a couple of documentaries on superheroes and how they have changed over the past century, and I would like to do more research in that area.

Pros

Because I enjoy the topic, researching superheroes would not seem like a chore; instead, it would seem like fun. I believe that superhero media has a lot of good morals and lessons that can be learned. However, people do not want to look past the “childish” medium of comic books or movies.

Cons

I have already done an essay on this topic, so I would like to take another direction for this inquiry.