Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
Walking Corpses & Conscious Plants: Possibilist Ecologies in ...
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B<strong>in</strong>gham 27<br />
Charles Moulton. Marston hoped his hero<strong>in</strong>e would enable women to realize their full<br />
potential as the country's men were be<strong>in</strong>g drafted <strong>in</strong>to war (Tabachnick 10-11). All-<br />
American was not the only company releas<strong>in</strong>g superhero narratives, though. The period<br />
between when the first issue of Superman was released <strong>in</strong> 1938 until the mid 1950s is<br />
colloquially referred to as “The Golden Age of Comics.” Dur<strong>in</strong>g this period other<br />
sem<strong>in</strong>al and timeless heroes made their debut and catapulted to stardom. DC Comics, for<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance, published Bob Kane and Bill F<strong>in</strong>ger's Batman <strong>in</strong> 1939. Follow<strong>in</strong>g Superman's<br />
debut <strong>in</strong> DC's first issue of Action Comics, Timely Comics <strong>in</strong>troduced the Human Torch<br />
<strong>in</strong> its first issue of Marvel Comics. Timely Comics, which eventually would change its<br />
name to match the success of its bestsell<strong>in</strong>g title, also issued Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's<br />
patriotic hero Capta<strong>in</strong> America the year follow<strong>in</strong>g the first appearances of Batman and<br />
the Human Torch. In many ways, the escalation of political conflict and onset of war<br />
fueled and encouraged the development and sale of new comic narratives featur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
superheroes. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Harvey, “Dur<strong>in</strong>g the war, 90 percent of the DC titles had been<br />
superheroes, after the war, that percentage decl<strong>in</strong>ed to two-thirds; then by the end of the<br />
decade, to about 50 percent” (The Art 40). The dichotomous struggle between the Axis<br />
and Allied powers warranted explanation for young readers (Inge 103). Also, comics<br />
were an enjoyable diversion for deployed servicemen which, “helped them while away<br />
the idle periods of unpredictable duration that customarily <strong>in</strong>tervened between short<br />
spurts of feverish activity” (Harvey, The Art 16). Apart from the advantageous nature of<br />
the medium to support this type of <strong>in</strong>terrupted read<strong>in</strong>g, the content of the works could<br />
also boost morale. As Americans waged war aga<strong>in</strong>st totalitarian powers and fascist<br />
nations responsible for committ<strong>in</strong>g unth<strong>in</strong>kable atrocities, they may have yearned to see