Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: why comics can save us from illiteracy -- Black heroes for hire: serializing social construction in the comics -- Comic books, cold wars, and desert storms -- Spider-man and corporate responsibility -- The comic book code and American f-agg -- Dr. Strange, or, how I learned to love metaphysics -- 9/11 and the man without fear -- Comics and the prison system -- Killing off the hero -- Coda: our heroes, ourselves.

"This fully-revised textbook inspires a greater appreciation for literature by studying important literary themes found in comics. By deconstructing comics, it raises critical thinking about literature, a crucial skill for understanding language and composition. Each chapter offers a series of questions that stimulate further reading, writing and discussion"--Provided by publisher.