Death, Disability, and the Superhero

Alaniz does things with the superhero that no other critic has done—and yet does them so well, so piercingly, that superhero studies will have to reckon with him before it can go forward. Death, Disability, and the Superhero proves that a work can be breathtakingly original and yet persuade us that it is absolutely necessary—that it fills a gap that until now we had not recognized and redefines the subject for us in ways that reverberate backwards through history. Not just superhero studies but also the very ways we think about ability, difference, and mortality—that's what's up for grabs here. In fact, Alaniz has gifted us with field-redefining work. Charles Hatfield, author of Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature and Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby

From the sensitive, close reading of the opening pages to the urgent arguments of the conclusion, Death, Disability and the Superhero compels attention. Intellectually alert, politically engaged, and often emotionally moving, this is a major work of cultural criticism. Ben Saunders, author of Do The Gods Wear Capes? Spirituality, Fantasy, and Superheroes