[Commlist] ICYMI - CFP Superhero Project 10th Global Meeting

*CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS*
*The Superhero Project: 10th Global Meeting*
*SUPERVILLAINS & ANTI-HEROES*
Friday 4th to Sunday 6th September 2026
The View Hotel, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
/“I don’t want to kill you! What would I do without you? Go back to 
ripping off mob dealers? No, no, no! No. You… you… 
/*/complete…/*//*/me/*/.”/ – The Joker (The Dark Knight, 2008)
Superheroes may be defined by their powers, their never-ending battles 
and their distinct identities, but they are measured against the threats 
and challenges presented by their foes… the supervillains. Be they 
megalomaniacal billionaires (Lex Luthor), universe-threatening Titans 
(Thanos, Galactus),  mad clowns (The Joker), sentient AI (Brainiac) or 
gigantic monsters (Starro The Conquerer), they constantly test the 
superhero’s mettle via nefarious deeds and ceaseless schemes for world 
domination.
Indeed, flagship characters like Batman and Spider-Man are distinguished 
by the sheer breadth and iconicity of their “Rogue’s Gallery”. Essential 
to superhero narratives and discourse within the genre, supervillains 
have become increasingly nuanced characters, often providing a lens to 
deconstruct the superhero (does Batman inadvertently attract his 
flamboyant villains?) while in some cases, traversing from villainy to 
heroism (the MCU’s Loki).
Alongside this, the Modern Age of Comics, now in its fifth decade, has 
seen the superhero defined by a substantial increase in anti-heroic 
traits, sparked by /The Dark Knight Returns/ and /Watchmen/ in the 
mid-1980’s. Today, anti-heroes are a prominent and highly popular part 
of superhero landscape via the likes of The Punisher, Harley Quinn, 
Deadpool, The Boys and Agatha Harkness, while on the big screen, the 
genre’s most prominent characters embrace anti-heroic traits as they 
become ever-more aligned with action hero tropes.
For its milestone 10th anniversary edition, /The Superhero Project 
/invites exploration and discussion of the challenges, opportunities, 
successes and failures of supervillains and anti-heroes throughout the 
entire range of topics covered by the superhero discourse across all 
media (comics, TV, Film, theme parks, video games…).
Indicative themes for exploration include:

  * Villains and Anti-heroes in comics
  * Villains and Anti-heroes in film, television and video games
  * Subversion, Parody and Pastiche through anti-heroes and villains
  * Gender and villains / anti-heroes
  * Origin Stories and / of villains and anti-heroes
  * Villains and anti-heroes as elements/functions in world building
  * Explorations of the relationship between superheroes and
    villains/anti-heroes
  * Explorations of relationships among villains/anti-heroes
  * Transmedial negotiations of villains and anti-heroes
  * Multiversal negotiations of villain and anti-hero characters
  * Costumes and Iconography of villains and anti-heroes
  * Identity construction of and though villains and anti-heroes
  * Depiction and Functionalisation of Villains and anti-heroes in Theme
    Parks
  * Villains and anti-hero cosplay

*_BONUS STRANDS!_* 2026 marks the fortieth anniversaries of 
*WATCHMEN* and *THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS*, both seminal texts which 
immediately prompted a sea change in the tone of superhero narratives 
and potently infused the genre with antiheroic traits which still 
dominate the genre to this day, across mediums. We welcome papers 
exploring the impact and legacy of these two vastly influential works.
*WHAT TO SEND*
300 word abstracts should be submitted by Tuesday 31 March, 2026 to the 
following email addresses: (_t.caeners /at/ superheroproject.net) 
<mailto:(t.caeners /at/ superheroproject.net)>_ and 
(_m.j.laird /at/ superheroproject.net) <mailto:(m.j.laird /at/ superheroproject.net)>_.
Emails should be entitled: *SUPER X Abstract Submission. *
All other Superhero Project enquires should be sent to 
(_t.caeners /at/ superheroproject.net) <mailto:(t.caeners /at/ superheroproject.net)>_.
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to both emails, abstracts 
should be in MS Word formats with the following information and in this 
order: a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in 
the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of 
proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.
Accepted proposals will be notified by Monday 13th April 2026.
We acknowledge receipt and answer to all proposals submitted. If you do 
not receive a reply from us in a week, you should assume we did not 
receive your proposal. If this is the case, please do resent to both 
email addresses. If you have any questions, the team will be only too 
happy to assist.
*Danny Graydon* (Founder and President) (_d.graydon /at/ superheroproject.net) 
<mailto:(d.graydon /at/ superheroproject.net)>_
*Dr Torsten Caeners* (Vice President) (_t.caeners /at/ superheroproject.net) 
<mailto:(t.caeners /at/ superheroproject.net)>_
*Mikayla J. Laird* (Information Manager) (_m.j.laird /at/ superheroproject.net) 
<mailto:(m.j.laird /at/ superheroproject.net)>_


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