Abstract:

This essay begins with the close connections between messianism and superhero comics. In trying to understand how narrative functions, I take the classical epic as the master narrative and observe the ways in which the messianic tale and the comic book critique it. Looking at all three in relation to each other, we can see that death and embodiment are powerful items in the narrative toolkit, as part of a discourse of preservation in which narrative genres speak back and forth between cultural contexts.

Author: Meg Worley