Page numbers in italics indicate illustrations.
Action Comics #1, 47
Adam (comic), 3
Adams, Neal, 130
Adam Strange (comic character), 204
aesthetic representation, 52
Affleck, Ben, 147
Africa: African diaspora, 151, 167; anticolonialism in, 11; in Black Panther (comic), 161; for culture, 62–63; in film, 164; history of, 143, 158–59; imagination of, 152–53, 167; politics of, 150–51; stereotypes of, 141–42, 152, 157
African Americanist letters, 126–27
African American scholarship, 38
Afrocentric fantasy, 206
“Afro-fabulations” (Hartman and Nyong’o), 95
Afro-Futurism, 150–51
AIDS, 9
Akata Witch (comic/novel), 151
Algeria, 11
Almodóvar, Pedro, 7–10, 232–33, 241n4
alternate histories, 122, 127, 141
alternative reality, 229–30
Amazing Adventures (comic), 128–29, 130, 131–34
Amazing Adventures featuring War of the Worlds (comic), 128–29, 130, 131–32
anatomy, 185–87, 191–93, 195–96, 202, 213–14
Angels in America (Kushner), 237
antiblackness, 36–37, 43, 52, 57, 62; bias, 102; for Fanon, 227; as racism, 176; revenge for, 118; in United States, 7–8, 222; white supremacy and, 2
anticolonialism, 11
Antifa, 87
antiheroes, 101
anti-Semitism, 182
art: in Black Skin, White Masks, 89–90; for Bloch, 50–52, 216; censorship of, 188–89; fantasy as, 10–11; film as, 82; gay fan art, 243n6; in psychoanalysis, 80; violence in, 225–26
assumptions, 236
The Attendant (Julien), 216–17
Austin, J. L., 77–78
The Authority (comic), 192–93
Avengers (TV show), 58
Avery, Chayne, 192
Baker, Kyle, 58
Barbie dolls, 186
Barnes, David: with Belasco, 46, 212, 219; blackness for, 194–95, 206, 208–10, 209–11, 212–16, 213
Bates, Cary, 55–56
Batman (comic), 186
Batman (comic character), 86, 96, 118, 192–93
Batman (film), 147
BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism), 18, 181, 196–97, 242n11
being. See embodiment
Belasco: Barnes with, 46, 212, 219; blackness for, 194–202, 198–201; fantasy for, 215; superheroes for, 208
Beloved (Morrison, T.), 1
Bersani, Leo, 44, 78–84, 178–79, 226
the Bible, 36
Binti (Okorafor), 151
Birth of a Nation (Griffith), 174, 224
Black Bolt (comic character), 157
Black culture, 90–92, 122–23, 216; Blade (comic) for, 45–46, 117; comics for, 70; masculinity in, 97–98, 100, 105; punishment in, 222–24; slavery for, 190–91
Black feminists, 190–91
Black literature, 38
Black men. See masculinity
blackness: for Barnes, 194–95, 206, 208–10, 209–11, 212–16, 213; for Belasco, 194–202, 198–201; in Black Panther (comic), 141–46, 151–54, 155, 156–62, 157, 167, 168, 169–71; in Black Panther (film), 162–63; black women and, 49–50, 62–63; in comics, 3, 3–5; criminality and, 101–2; desirable, 206, 216–19; embodiment of, 35, 78, 216–17; for Fanon, 121; in fantasy, 2, 23–24; imagination of, 30–31, 175; as lived experience, 29; for male gaze, 212; of Nubia, 56–58, 59, 60–66; politics of, 11–12; in porn comics, 194–202, 198–201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208–10, 209–11, 212–19, 213–14; queerness and, 39–40, 57, 66–67, 171; race and, 78–79, 117–19, 119; significations of, 42; stereotypes of, 1–2, 95–99, 105, 106, 107, 108–9, 110–11, 112–14, 115–16; for superheroes, 89–95, 93, 100–104, 119–29, 130–31, 131–37, 136, 189–94, 236; unapologetic, 149; whiteness and, 102, 132; in Wonder Woman, 51–52
Black No More (Schuyler), 28
Black Panther (comic): Africa in, 161; blackness in, 141–46, 151–54, 155, 156–62, 157, 167, 168, 169–71; Blade compared to, 202; covers for, 112–13; in culture, 45; history of, 132–34, 137–41; plots in, 163–64, 164–66, 167; reiterations of, 97–98
Black Panther (film), 56; blackness in, 162–63; costumes in, 159–60; for fans, 173–74; Fantastic Four related to, 142; history of, 146–51; race in, 100; in United States, 97–98
“‘Black Panther’ Brings Hope, Hype, and Pride” (Tillet), 150
Black philosophical fiction, 40
Black Power movement, 6–7, 140
Black Skin, White Masks (Fanon), 23–24, 29, 68–69, 89–90, 122
Black Superheroes, Milestone Comics, and Their Fans (Brown), 96–97
Black Women in Sequence (Whaley), 56, 58, 60–61, 123
Blade (comic), 105, 106, 107, 108–9, 110–11; for Black culture, 45–46, 117; Black Panther compared to, 202; Superman compared to, 120
Blade (film), 105, 106, 107, 108–9, 110–11
Blanchot, Maurice, 232
Blaxploitation, 160
Bloch, Ernst, 27, 33, 36, 43, 242n16; art for, 50–52, 216; censorship for, 221–22; empiricism for, 137; utopia for, 179
Blue Marvel (comic character), 3
The Book of Legendary Lands (Eco), 153
Boomerang (film), 100
Boy Meets Hero (Avery and Garcia), 192
Brecht, Bertolt, 221–22
Brown, Jeffrey, 96–97, 99, 185
Bruce Wayne (comic character). See Batman
Burger, Dick (comic character), 124
Burton, Tim, 147
Captain America, 87
Captain Marvel (comic character), 98, 99, 169–70
Carmilla Frost (comic character), 132–36, 136
Chabon, Michael, 141
children: for Comics Code Authority, 180–81; comics for, 176, 225–29; fantasy and, 16–17, 25, 37–38; identification for, 90, 93–94, 177–78; politics for, 222–23; psychology of, 70–71; race for, 178; racism for, 224–25; as readers, 178–79, 182–83; superheroes for, 176–77, 184–85
Christianity, 101–4
Chute, Hillary, 45, 123–24, 234
cisgender male embodiment, 190
civil rights, 140
Clark Kent (comic character). See Superman
Class Comics (Fillion), 202
closure, 53–54, 95, 186–187, 232–236
Coates, Ta-Nahesi, 97–98, 156, 162–63
Cockrum, Dave, 129
Colan, Gene, 106
The Color of Kink (Cruz), 191
Colter, Mike, 111
“The Comic Books and the Public” (Legman), 180
Comic-Con, 139–40
comics: antiblackness in, 43; for Black culture, 70; blackness in, 3, 3–5; in Black Skin, White Masks, 68–69; for children, 176, 225–29; Cold War for, 204; costumes in, 60–61; for culture, 94, 135–36; episodes for, 170–71; eroticism in, 191–92, 206, 208–10, 209–11, 212–16, 213; for Fanon, 68–70; fantasy in, 15, 85–88, 225, 233–37; film compared to, 93–95; history of, 89, 98, 119–29, 130–31, 131–37, 136, 176–77; hypersexuality in, 215–16; in Japan, 193–94; as literature, 75–76; magical thinking in, 215; for Moore, 173–77, 179; Nubia in, 48, 49–50, 55, 59; online, 191; philosophy in, 124–25; for popular culture, 68; porn, 194–202, 198–201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208–10, 209–11, 212–19, 213–14; as products, 54–55; queerness in, 45–46, 74–76; race in, 57; for readers, 64–65, 71–72; realism in, 193, 251n34; sadomasochism in, 182–83; scholarship on, 74–76; sequentiality in, 123–24; sound effects in, 212–13, 213; spatialization in, 126; stereotypes in, 92–93, 93; storytelling in, 53, 157–58; taxonomy in, 65–66; in United States, 70, 153, 185; for women, 55–56. See also specific topics
Comics Code Authority, 44, 46, 134, 180–81, 193
consciousness, 22–24, 32, 81–83, 116, 127
Conway, Gerry, 132
Coogler, Ryan, 146–48, 153, 159, 164
Coppola, Francis Ford, 147
Corregidora (Jones), 126
costumes, 60–64, 90, 96, 139, 204; anatomy for, 186; in Black Panther (film), 159–60; masculinity in, 111, 115, 129
COVID-19, 221
critical fabulation, 127
critical race scholarship, 12–13
criticism, 7–16, 39, 57–58, 63
Cruel Optimism (Berlant), 13
Cruising Utopia (Muñoz), 173
Cruz, Ariane, 191
culture: Africa for, 62–63; Black Panther (comic) in, 45; Christianity in, 101–2; comics for, 94, 135–36; cultural consciousness, 116; of Europe, 90; fantasy-acts in, 41–46; gay, 9; human existence related to, 19–20; information in, 92; military, 227–28; misogyny in, 99; paradigms in, 117; popular, 68; queerness in, 121; race in, 19, 102; racism in, 63; sexuality in, 26; Spider-Man in, 141; superheroes for, 117–19, 119; unapologetic blackness in, 149; of United States, 2, 70–71, 87; Western, 216–17; whiteness in, 46, 222–23; X-Men (comic) for, 160. See also Black culture
Daredevil (film), 147
Davis, Miles, 100
DC Comics, 55–60, 63, 133–35, 158. See also specific topics
Deacon Frost (comic character), 107, 110
deconstruction, 173–74
Defenders (comic), 169
desire: desirable blackness, 206, 216–19; erotic fantasy-acts and, 173–79; for fantasy-acts, 84; for Fillion, 46, 192, 195; in gay porn, 189–94; homosexual, 219; Nubia related to, 86; objects of, 72–73, 217; for whiteness, 179–89. See also porn comics; pornography
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places (Manguel and Guadalupi), 153
Djurdjevic, Marko, 109
Dr. Doom (comic character), 115, 156–57
Dyson, Michael Eric, 148–52, 159
Earth 2 (Taylor/Scott, N.), 5
Eco, Umberto, 153
Edelman, Lee, 176
“The Edge” (Hemphill), 89
Edwards, Brent Hayes, 151
Elektra (film), 147
Ellis, Warren, 192–93
Ellison, Ralph, 6
embodiment: of blackness, 35, 78, 216–17; cisgender male, 190; of love, 214–15; of masculinity, 110, 194–202, 198–201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208–10, 209–11, 212–19, 213–14; of race, 100–101; for readers, 116
enclosure, 212
Erik Killmonger (comic character), 161–63
The Erotic Adventures of Radio Raheem, 208–10, 209–11, 212–16, 213
erotic fantasy-acts, 45–46, 173–79
eroticism, 187, 213; in comics, 191–92, 206, 208–10, 209–11, 212–16, 213; in Oasis, 197–202, 198–201
the Escapist (comic character), 141
existentialism, 24
Extravagant Abjection (Scott, D.), 1–2, 31
Faith and the Good Thing (Johnson, C.), 40
Falkon, Felix Lance, 191–93
fandom, 67
Fanon, Frantz, 11, 23–24, 29, 31, 44; antiblackness for, 227; assumptions of, 86; blackness for, 121; comics for, 68–70; fantasy-acts for, 83; film for, 89–93; government for, 167; Legman for, 181, 188–89; philosophy for, 125; race for, 122, 179; temporality for, 124; Vidal and, 96; Wertham and, 176–77, 180; whiteness for, 122–23
fans: Black Panther for, 173–74; gay fan art, 243n6; identification for, 97; scholarship on, 96–97; superheroes for, 161; Superman for, 174
Fantastic Four (comic), 74–75, 115, 128, 138–44, 154–56, 170
fantasy: action and, 84–85; Afrocentric, 206; alternate histories in, 122, 141; as art, 10–11; for Belasco, 215; Black, 36–38, 51; blackness in, 2, 23–24; of black power, 6–7; children and, 16–17, 25, 37–38; in comics, 15, 85–88, 225, 233–37; consciousness of, 24; for critical race scholarship, 12–13; criticism of, 10–11, 39; definitions of, 77–78; desire from, 72–73; against domination, 35; in education, 50; empiricism for, 216; from film, 90–91; identification from, 74–75, 104; of identity, 28–29, 68–69; imagination in, 29–30, 40–41, 52–53, 72; invulnerability in, 115; limitations in, 169; in literature, 13–14; logic of, 24–25; of masculinity, 195–96; Nubia as, 54–56; origin stories in, 171; phantasy, 72; plots, 16–18, 25–26; political, 151; propositions in, 21–22; psychic fantasies, 79; psychology of, 72–73; racial, 12; racism in, 214; for readers, 185; reality and, 31–32, 83; of revenge, 20–21, 105, 107; for Sartre, 229–32; scholarship on, 8–9; sexual fetish and, 15–16; signification in, 196; social justice in, 11–12; stereotypes of, 13–14; from storytelling, 91–92; subjects of, 83–84; typologies, 26–27; of utopia, 36; utopia in, 27; victimization in, 119–20; of whiteness, 95–96, 104, 174–75, 178–79, 182; as world-building, 39–40. See also specific topics
fantasy-acts: for actors, 77–78, 85; in culture, 41–46; desire for, 84; erotic, 173–79; for Fanon, 83; politics of, 145–46; psychology of, 87–88; for readers, 86; reading, 54–56; scholarship on, 30, 34–37; whiteness as, 104
Fawaz, Ramzi, 44, 57, 74–76, 244n25
feminism, 190–91
Fillion, Patrick, 203, 215; desire for, 46, 192, 195; Space Cadet by, 202, 204, 205, 206, 207
film: Africa in, 164; as art, 82; comics compared to, 93–95; criticism, 7–8; for Fanon, 89–93; fantasy from, 90–91; for Hudlin, 100; male gaze for, 96; from Marvel Comics, 146–47; performance in, 110–11; race in, 89; sci-fi in, 154; in Spain, 7, 232–33, 241n2; storytelling in, 159–60; in United States, 147–48; for Vidal, 95–96
Final Crisis (comic), 3, 4, 62
Franco, Francisco, 7, 9–10, 232–33
Frankfurt School, 27
Franklin (comic character), 98
Future State (McKinney and Martinez), 56, 62
Gaiman, Neil, 173
Game of Thrones (TV show), 151
Garcia, Russell, 192
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel, 41
Garner, Jennifer, 147
gay culture, 9
gay fan art, 243n6
gay porn, 189–94
genitalia, 185–87, 191–92, 195–96, 202, 213–14
Germany, 49
Giordano, Dick, 55–56
Goldberg, Petra, 135
Goodwin, Archie, 117–18
Green Lantern (comic character), 66
Grell, Mike, 131
Griffith, D. W., 174–75
Guadalupi, Gianni, 153
Haiti, 150
Halperin, David, 45
Hanson, Glen, 192
Hemphill, Essex, 89
Hernandez, Gilberto, 57
Hernandez, Jaime, 57
Hicksville (Horrocks), 124
Hinz, Christopher, 109
historiography, 126–27
history: of Africa, 143, 158–59; alternate histories, 122, 127, 141; of Black Panther (comic), 132–34, 137–41; of Black Panther (film), 146–51; of comics, 89, 98, 119–29, 130–31, 131–37, 136, 176–77; of criminality, 104; effect of, 170–71; of Fantastic Four, 138–39; of politics, 26; of sci-fi, 128–29; of slavery, 126–27, 202; of Superman, 27–28, 95–96; of Wonder Woman, 98–99; of X-Men, 134–35
Hitch, Bryan, 192–93
Hollywood, 147
homosexuality, 182–84, 194, 219
Horrocks, Dylan, 124
hostility, 79–80
Hot Chocolate (Fillion), 202, 203, 206
House Party (film), 100
Hudlin, Reginald, 100, 117, 146, 159–62
Hughes, Langston, 23–24
human existence, 18–22, 230–32
Hurston, Zora Neale, 1
hypermasculinity, 96–97
identification: for Bersani, 226; for children, 90, 93–94, 177–78; with family, 71; for fans, 97; from fantasy, 74–75, 104; with Nubia, 71–72; with queerness, 85; for readers, 70–71; sequences in, 170; with superheroes, 183; with whiteness, 68–69
identity: of Batman, 118; consciousness in, 22–23; fantasy of, 28–29, 68–69; insight from, 67–68; morality and, 107; psychology of, 19–20, 29; queerness in, 49; sexual, 77; of Superman, 118
ideology, 43
imagination: of Africa, 152–53, 167; assumptions from, 236; of blackness, 30–31, 175; creativity and, 27; in fantasy, 29–30, 40–41, 52–53, 72; of genitalia, 186–87; of government, 156–58; imaginary races, 136–37; imaginary whiteness, 3; inspiration from, 189; in Marvel Comics, 156; performance in, 234; for readers, 63–64; of self-destroying concepts, 230; superheroes for, 225; of Superman, 179; of whiteness, 92–93, 95, 117, 144
immigration, 95–96
Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino), 122
In the Wake (Sharpe), 95
Invisible Girl (comic character), 139
involute, 144–45
invulnerability, 115
Iron Man (comic character), 86
Jackson, Rosemary, 10–11, 13–14, 16
Jenkins, Patty, 63
Johnson, Charles, 40
Johnson, Daniel Warren, 62
Jones, Gayl, 126
Jordan, Michael B., 162
Joseph, Frederick, 150–51
Jungle Action (comic), 98, 132, 142–43, 159. See also Black Panther
The Justice League of America (comic), 62
Kael, Pauline, 7–9
Kafka, Franz, 232
Kanigher, Robert, 55–56
Kendi, Ibram X., 6
Ken dolls, 186
Killraven (comic character), 128–29, 130–31, 131–34
King Kong (film character), 63–64
Kinnard, Rupert, 192
Kirby, Jack, 93, 93, 134, 138–41, 154–56, 159
Kushner, Tony, 237
The Language of Psycho-Analysis (LaPlanche and Pontalis), 72
LaPlanche, Jean, 72
Larocca, Salvador, 3
Lashley, Ken, 160
Law of Desire (Almodóvar), 8
“Law of the Land” (Temptations), 1
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Moore), 173
Lee, Spike, 100
Lee, Stan, 134; Fantastic Four for, 170; Kirby and, 138–41, 154–56, 159; Mr. Fantastic for, 155; race for, 183
Legion of Super-Heroes (comic), 129, 131
Legman, Gershon, 46, 180–89, 225–29, 250n11
Lennon, John, 37
liberty, 42
Literary Wonderlands (Miller, L.), 153
literature: Black, 38; comic characters in, 141; comics as, 75–76; fantasy-acts in, 41–42; fantasy in, 13–14; scholarship on, 10–11; world-building in, 35–36
Live Flesh (Strauss), 7
The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), 232
love, 214–15
Love & Death (Legman), 180–81
Love & Rockets (Hernandez, J., and Hernandez, G.), 57
Lucas, Jorge, 112
Luke Cage (comic character), 45–46, 66, 117–18, 120, 204
Luke Cage, Hero for Hire (comic), 111, 114, 115–19, 119
magical realism, 41
magical substitution, 23
magical thinking, 215
Mahnke, Doug, 4
Malcolm X, 100
male bonding, 177–78
Mandingo (film), 218
Manguel, Alberto, 153
Mapplethorpe, Robert, 65
Markmann, Charles Lam, 181, 242n19, 245n1, 250n23
Martin, George R. R., 151
Martinez, Alitha, 56
Marvel Comics: civil rights for, 140; DC Comics and, 55, 158; film from, 146–47; imagination in, 156; race for, 133–35; after World War II, 74–75. See also specific topics
Marx, Karl, 33–34
Marxism, 15
masculinity, 79, 87, 96–100, 105, 190; in costumes, 111, 115, 129; embodiment of, 110, 194–202, 198–201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208–10, 209–11, 212–19, 213–14
McCartney, Paul, 37
McClennen, Nathaniel, 123–24
McCloud, Scott, 53–54, 65, 123, 233
McGregor, Don, 132–37, 142–43, 159
memory, 83
Mercer, Kobena, 65
metaphysical love, 215
Midnight’s Children (Rushdie), 41
Might Avengers #3 (comic), 3
Mighty Thor (comic), 143–44
Migrating the Black Body (Raphael-Hernandez and Raiford), 57–58
military culture, 227–28
Miller, Laura, 153
Miller-Young, Mireille, 191
minorities, 134–35. See also specific topics
Mitchell, W. J. T., 94–95, 123–24
Moore, Alan, 173–77, 179–80, 187
Morrison, Grant, 62, 129–30, 133
Mr. Fantastic (comic character), 155
M’Shulla (comic character), 132–36, 136
Ms. Marvel (comic character), 98
Muhammad Ali, 100
narratives, 126
national fantasy, 18
Nat Turner (Baker), 58
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (Hughes), 23–24
The New Mutants (Fawaz), 74
Nigeria, 45, 151–53, 164, 248n62, 249n72
No Straight Lines (documentary), 192
“Not For Children” (Legman), 180
Nubia (comic character), 52, 86, 88, 90, 243n11; blackness of, 56–58, 59, 60–66; in comics, 48, 49–50, 55, 59; as fantasy, 54–56; identification with, 71–72; for queerness, 66–67, 78; stereotypes in, 96, 98–99
nudity, 193
Nyong’o, Tavia, 95
Oasis (comic character), 197–202, 198–201, 208–10, 219
objects, of desire, 72–73, 217
Okorafor, Nnedi, 45; Binti author of, 151; Black Panther for, 162–64, 164–66, 167, 168, 169–71; Nigeria related to, 151–53, 248n62, 249n72; Who Fears Death author of, 151
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Garcia Marquez), 41
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (Le Guin), 37–38, 40
online comics, 191
ontology, 80
origin stories, 171
Oxherding Tale (Johnson, C.), 40
painting, 82
P. Diddy, 100
Peanuts (Schulz), 98
perceptual realism, 32–33
performance, 78, 93, 110–11, 234
perspective, 94–95
Pertinax, Helvius, 8
phantasy, 72
philosophy: Black philosophical fiction, 40; in comics, 124–25; existentialism, 24; from Frankfurt School, 27; of human existence, 18–19; of phenomenology, 44; of reality, 22–23
physical love, 215
plots: in Black Panther (comic), 163–64, 164–66, 167; in Captain America, 87; in DC Comics, 56; in Fantastic Four, 144, 154, 156; fantasy, 16–18, 25–26; for villains, 138–39; for women, 61–62; in Wonder Woman, 60, 62
politics: of Africa, 150–51; of blackness, 11–12; for children, 222–23; of criticism, 13–14; of fantasy-acts, 145–46; history of, 26; of inclusion, 12–13; political fantasy, 18, 151; queerness in, 15; of race, 134; racial, 181; of readers, 187–88; reality of, 29–30; in United States, 41–42
Pontalis, Jean-Bertrand, 72
popular culture, 68
porn comics: blackness in, 194–202, 198–201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208–10, 209–11, 212–19, 213–14; gay, 189–94; whiteness in, 46
pornography, 189–96
pornotroping, 116
possibility, 84–85
privacy, 28
projection, 79–80
psychic fantasies, 79
psychic unconscious mind, 81
psychology: of children, 70–71; of criminality, 102–3; of fantasy, 72–73; of fantasy-acts, 87–88; of identity, 19–20, 29; Lacan for, 30; of language, 81; of perceptual realism, 32–33; of possibility, 84–85; of projection, 79–80; psychoanalysis, 13, 33, 70–72, 79–80, 99, 189; psychopathology, 179–89; psychotherapy, 185; of queerness, 53–54; of reading, 52–53; of reality, 37; of repression, 188–89; of revenge, 9; of violence, 226–27
“The Psychopathology of Comic Books” (Legman), 181–89
Pugh, Steve, 109
punishment, 222–24
“Queer and Now” (Sedgwick), 76–77
queerness: blackness and, 39–40, 57, 66–67, 171; in comics, 45–46, 74–76; in culture, 121; gay porn related to, 189–94; against homophobia, 13; identification with, 85; in identity, 49; Nubia for, 66–67, 78; in politics, 15; psychology of, 53–54; queer porn comics, 191; queer theory, 78–79; superheroes for, 66–73, 76–77, 180; of Wonder Woman, 180. See also specific topics
race: blackness and, 78–79, 117–19, 119; in Black Panther (film), 100; for children, 178; in comics, 57; critical race scholarship, 12–13; in culture, 19, 102; for DC Comics, 133–35; embodiment of, 100–101; ethics and, 103–4; for Fanon, 122, 179; for Fillion, 215; in film, 89; gender and, 26; imaginary races, 136–37; in King Kong, 63–64; for Lee, Stan, 183; in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, 111, 114, 115–19, 119; for Marvel Comics, 133–35; politics of, 134; privilege for, 162; racial fantasies, 12; racial hierarchy, 177; racial politics, 181; signification of, 95; stereotypes of, 65–66; for superheroes, 95–99, 105, 106, 107, 108–9, 110–11, 112–14, 115–16; of Superman, 99; whiteness as, 97; for women, 131–32
racism: antiblackness as, 176; for children, 224–25; in costumes, 63–64; criminality and, 118; in culture, 63; in fantasy, 214; of Jim Crow laws, 224, 228–29; performance of, 93; in reality, 182; in stereotypes, 116; in United States, 222–23
Radio Raheem (comic character), 208–10, 209–11, 212–14, 213
Raiford, Leigh, 57
Raphael-Hernandez, Heike, 57
Rapture (Fillion), 205
readers: children as, 178–79, 182–83; closure for, 233; comics for, 64–65, 71–72; of DC Comics, 60; embodiment for, 116; fantasy-acts for, 86; fantasy for, 185; form for, 170–71; identification for, 70–71; imagination for, 63–64; for Legman, 225–29; Nubia for, 88; perspective for, 94–95; phenomenology for, 67–68; politics of, 187–88; reality for, 234–35; storytelling for, 65–66; superheroes for, 74, 170; transformation for, 232; white supremacy for, 128
reading, 52–56
Reading Comics (Wolk), 187
realism, 32–33, 41, 138, 193, 251n34
reality: alternative, 229–30; from consciousness, 32; consensus, 27–28, 235; of criminality, 118–19; fantasy and, 31–32, 83; perception of, 44; philosophy of, 22–23; of politics, 29–30; propositions in, 24; psychology of, 37; racism in, 182; for readers, 234–35; of social justice, 51
repression, 188–89
resignification, 41–42
revenge, 9, 20–21, 105, 107, 118
Richie Rich (comic character), 86
Riggs, Marlon, 212
Robin (comic character), 192
Romita, John, Jr., 159
Rushdie, Salman, 41
Rushdy, Ashraf, 126
Russell, P. Craig, 135
Salamon, Gayle, 44
Sandman (Gaiman), 173
Sartre, Jean-Paul, 24, 181, 188–89, 229–32
Sassaki, Raphael, 174
scholarship: African American, 38; on antiblackness, 57; on Christianity, 102–4; on comics, 74–76; critical race, 12–13; criticism as, 16; on fans, 96–97; on fantasy, 8–9; on fantasy-acts, 30, 34–37; hegemony in, 14; linguistics in, 76–77; on literature, 10–11; on reading, 53–54; semiotics for, 10; on Wonder Woman, 56–58
Schulz, Charles, 98
Schuyler, George, 28
sci-fi, 9, 128–29, 154. See also fantasy
Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #5 (comic), 62
Scorsese, Martin, 147
Scott, Darieck, 1–2
Scott, Nicola, 5
Search for a Method (Sartre), 232
Sears, Bart, 108
Seduction of the Innocent (Wertham), 44, 68, 180
self-destroying concepts, 230
semiotics, 10
sequentiality, in comics, 123–24
sexism, 176
sexuality: in culture, 26; hypersexuality, 195, 215–16; masculinity and, 79; sexiness, 193; sexual deviance, 184; sexual fetish, 15–16; sexual habits, 19–20; sexual identity, 77; for superheroes, 197–201, 198–201
Shamoon, Deborah, 193–94
Sharp, Liam, 113
Sharpe, Christina, 95
Shooter, Jim, 131
Shuri (comic character), 146, 151, 163, 164–66, 167, 168, 170–71
sidekicks, 192–93
Siegel, Jerry, 27–28, 121, 174
slavery, 126–27, 160, 190–91, 202
Snipes, Wesley, 105, 106, 107, 110–11. See also Blade
social fantasy, 18
social justice, 5, 11–12, 42, 57
Song of Solomon (Morrison, T.), 41
Space Cadet (comic character), 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 209–10
spatialization, in comics, 126
speculative fiction, 9. See also fantasy
Spicer, Mike, 62
Spider-Man (comic character), 99, 141
Spillers, Hortense, 116
Stain Removal (Miller, J. R.), 102
stereotypes: of Africa, 141–42, 152, 157; of blackness, 1–2, 95–99, 105, 106, 107, 108–9, 110–11, 112–14, 115–16; in comics, 92–93, 93; in costumes, 62–63; of criminality, 105; of fantasy, 13–14; of gay culture, 9; in Nubia, 96, 98–99; of race, 65–66; racism in, 116; of sexual habits, 19–20; of superheroes, 61, 215–16; of villains, 101
Stewart, John, 66
Stockton, Kathryn Bond, 176–77
Storm (comic character), 160–61
storytelling, 53, 65–66, 91–92, 157–60, 183–84
Strauss, Frédéric, 7
Stroman, Larry, 160
Sue Storm (Invisible Girl), 139
Super-Friends (comic), 62
superheroes: anatomy of, 185–86; for Belasco, 208; blackness for, 89–95, 93, 100–104, 119–29, 130–31, 131–37, 136, 189–94, 236; for children, 176–77, 184–85; for culture, 117–19, 119; deconstruction of, 173–74; for fans, 161; for fantasists, 86–87; genitalia of, 185–86, 191–92; identification with, 183; for imagination, 225; involutes for, 144–45; names of, 98; problem-solving for, 163–64; for queerness, 66–73, 76–77, 180; race for, 95–99, 105, 106, 107, 108–9, 110–11, 112–14, 115–16; for readers, 74, 170; realism for, 138; sexiness of, 193; sexuality for, 197–201, 198–201; stereotypes of, 61, 215–16; transformation by, 235–36; whiteness and, 179–89; white supremacy for, 169, 175. See also specific topics
Superman (comic character), 27–28, 87, 120, 246n22; appearance of, 111; Batman compared to, 192–93; eroticism in, 187; for fans, 174; fascism in, 184–85; formula for, 181–82; history of, 95–96; as human, 110; identity of, 118; imagination of, 179; Luke Cage compared to, 115; race of, 99
surveillance, 212
Swamp Thing (comic), 173
Tarantino, Quentin, 122
A Taste for Brown Sugar (Miller-Young), 191
taxonomy, in comics, 65–66
Taylor, Tom, 5
T’Challa (comic character), 86, 132, 139, 153, 161–63. See also Black Panther
temporality, 124
Thanos (comic character), 169–70
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston), 1, 47, 49
This American Life (radio show), 223
Thomas, Roy, 141
Thor (comic character), 86
Tillet, Slamishah, 150
Tinsley, Natasha Omise’eke, 151
Tolkien, J. R. R., 232
Tomb of Dracula (comic), 105, 106, 107
Tongues Untied (Riggs), 212
Tony Stark. See Iron Man
transformation, 219, 232, 235–36
translations, 181, 242n19, 245n1, 250n23
transphobia, 176
Trump, Donald, 6–8, 42, 150, 177, 221
Tuska, George, 118
unapologetic blackness, 149
unconsciousness, 81–82
United States: antiblackness in, 7–8, 222; Black feminists in, 190–91; Black Panther (comic) in, 97–98; Black Power in, 140; Cold War for, 47–48; comics in, 70, 153, 185; culture of, 2, 70–71, 87; education in, 223–24; film in, 147–48; government in, 18; immigration in, 95–96; politics in, 41–42; racism in, 222–23; whiteness in, 156; white supremacy in, 6; World War II for, 117
vampires. See Blade
“Venus in Two Acts” (Hartman), 126–27
V for Vendetta (Moore), 173
victimization, 119–20
violence, 225–27
visual arts, 82
Wakanda. See Black Panther
War of the Worlds (Wells), 128–29, 130
Warren, Kenneth, 151
Watchmen (Moore), 173–74
Waugh, Thomas, 193
Welles, Orson, 129
Wells, H. G., 128–29
Wertham, Frederic, 44–46, 68–70, 86, 176–77, 180–81
Western culture, 216–17
Whaley, Deborah Elizabeth, 56, 58, 60–61
What Truth Sounds Like (Dyson), 148
“When the Master Commands” (Belasco), 197–202, 198–201
whiteness: blackness and, 102, 132; in culture, 46, 222–23; desire for, 179–89; domination of, 120–21; for Fanon, 122––123; as fantasy-acts, 104; fantasy of, 95–96, 104, 174–75, 178–79, 182; identification with, 68–69; imaginary, 3; imagination of, 92–93, 95, 117, 144; ontology of, 80; in porn comics, 46; privilege of, 28, 95–96, 217–18; as purity, 177–78; as race, 97; superheroes and, 179–89; in United States, 156; white supremacy, 2, 6, 87, 128, 169, 175, 177, 180, 187
Whitewash Jones (comic character), 93, 93, 96
Who Fears Death (Okorafor), 151
“Why ‘Black Panther’ Is a Defining Moment for Black America” (New York Times Magazine), 147–48
Williams, Linda, 218
Willis Stryker (comic character), 118
Williwaw (Vidal), 91
The Wiz (film), 221–22
Wolk, Douglas, 187
women: blackness for, 49–50, 62–63; for Coates, 163; comics for, 55–56; misogyny for, 99, 176; as mothers, 88; plots for, 61–62; race for, 131–32; sexism against, 176
Wonder Woman (comic), 44, 48, 48–52, 55–58, 59; history of, 98–99; for Jimenez, 63, 67; plots in, 60, 62; queerness of, 180. See also Nubia
Wonder Woman (film), 63
The Wretched of the Earth (Fanon), 11, 167
X-Men (comic), 128, 134–35, 160
yaoi comics, 193–94
The Young Allies (Simon/Kirby), 93, 93
Zen Buddhism, 30