Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE

Media Credit: Roberto Rodriguez Assistant Professor Shaun Treat siad his Mythic Rhetoric of the American Superhero class will analyze some of the major issues that are covered in comic books, including current social issues. The current graduate level class will eventually be open as an elective to all undergrad students.

Comic books aren't just for kids anymore.

In fact, Shaun Treat of the communication studies faculty said the genre may have never been kids' stuff in the first place.

Treat teaches the new graduate course titled "Mythic Rhetoric of the American Superhero."

"The superhero genre is considered a children's media, but that's not always been the case," Treat said. "Children are always used as an excuse to avoid adult issues like violence and the grotesque. Superheroes as a genre have kind of matured since the Red Scare and the institution of the Comic Code Authority."

The Comic Code Authority, created in 1954, was the de facto censor of comic books for years, restricting the amount of violent or otherwise mature subject matter in the comics medium.

In recent decades, the comics industry, especially superhero comics, began to pull away from the authority's influence, resulting in stories with deeper, more mature themes, he said.

"I don't think that it's an accident that the big blockbuster of the summer and one of the biggest moneymakers of all time is 'The Dark Knight,'" Treat said. "'The Dark Knight Returns' was the original comic book by Frank Miller that really redefined the superhero genre during the '80s."

Alongside 'The Dark Knight,' superhero movies dominated some of the summer's biggest blockbuster movies, from Marvel's "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk" to less traditional comic-based flicks like "Wanted" and "Hellboy 2."

Many of these movies pushed the traditional boundaries of superhero culture, including the violent and mature themes previously restricted by the Comics Code Authority.

"At 'The Dark Knight,' I was somewhat shocked by the amount of violence." English graduate adviser Marshall Armintor said. "It's not explicit, and there's not a lot of blood, but the violence is comparable to 'The Godfather' and 'Clockwork Orange.' Even more, it's just as good a film as both of those."

Continued...

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