[ecrea] Call for Contributions - The dark side: A supervillians reader

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS:

The Dark Side: A Supervillain Reader

University Press of Mississippi

Edited by Robert Moses Peaslee and Robert G. Weiner

It seems as though everywhere one looks the villain and anti-hero is at 
the forefront of popular culture, especially where sequential art 
characters appear on film and television. From the popularity of 
characters like Walter White, Frank Underwood, and Wilson Fisk, to 
/Gotham’s/ second season (subtitled /Rise of the Villains/) and the 2016 
release of /Suicide Squad/, to /Captain America: Civil War/’s heroes 
being considered villains depending on one’s perspective, the 
supervillain is truly having a moment. But our fascination with villainy 
has a much longer history, one that provides rich context for what we’re 
seeing today.

If a superhero is only as substantial as the villains she or he faces, 
what happens when the line between villainy and heroism is blurred? How 
do we account for this narrative shift in focus toward the villain’s 
point of view? How should we read the villain in the 21^st century?

This call seeks original and reprinted contributions to a reader on 
supervillains (similar to Hatfield, et.al.’s /Superhero Reader /and 
Coogan and Rosenberg’s /What is a Superhero?/), a volume that will be 
useful in both undergraduate and graduate courses, but also have general 
audience appeal.

This project is under contract with the University Press of Mississippi. 
Manuscript submission is scheduled for summer 2017, with publication to 
follow according to review, revision, and publication schedules.

Possible topics include but should not be limited to:

   * Proto-supervillains in theology, classics, mythology, literature, etc.
   * “Super” villains in cinema like Darth Vader, Voldemort, Agent Smith
     and Anton Chigurh
   * Specific comics villains like Dr. Doom, Darkseid, Captain Cold,
     Paste Pot Pete, The Plutonian, The Red Skull, etc.
   * Conceptual discussions of (heroism and) villainy
   * Means versus ends philosophies and supervillainy (for example,
     Magneto as civil rights activist)
   * Political and economic power as explored in supervillains or
     hero/villain dichotomies
   * Evolution of supervillains in popular culture
   * Audience engagements, fandom and relationships with supervillains
     (cosplay, etc.)
   * Complexity of problems, simplicity of solutions – the villain as fixer
   * Anti-heroes: taxonomy, characterization, conceptualization, impact
     (e.g., Diabolik, The Punisher, Lobo)
   * Reverses and opposites – heroes’ “evil” mirror images
   * Gender, sexuality and supervillains
   * Race, ethnicity and supervillains
   * The hero as villain (e.g., Marvel’s /Civil War/, Superman as killer,
     etc.)
   * The villain as hero (e.g., /Suicide Squad, Lucifer/)

_Original Submissions_:

Contributors of new material should seek to develop short, tight essays 
of 3,000-4,000 words that explore ideas related to villainy and the 
concept of the supervillain. We seek a balance between pieces that 
relate to villainy in general and those that focus on sequential art 
characters from various media, including film, television, videogames, 
comic strips, comics, and graphic novels. _Please send a 200-300 
abstract to (robert.peaslee /at/ ttu.edu) <mailto:(robert.peaslee /at/ ttu.edu)> and 
(Rob.Weiner /at/ ttu.edu) <mailto:(Rob.Weiner /at/ ttu.edu)> by October 15, 2016_. 
Authors of accepted abstracts should be prepared to submit final essays 
no later than December 31^st .


_Reprinted Submissions_:

Authors of previously published work that would be interested in having 
their pieces reprinted or excerpted as part of this volume should 
_submit to (robert.peaslee /at/ ttu.edu) and (rob.weiner /at/ ttu.edu) by October 15, 
2016 a citation, abstract, pdf of the piece (if possible), and written 
confirmation of the previous publisher’s and/or the author’s permission 
and rights to reprint._

Please note that all submissions will be reviewed by the editors and are 
not guaranteed for publication until final review and official acceptance.


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