It is a truth universally acknowledged that a superhero would have a traumatic origin story. We must ask, though, why are these origins always filled with such suffering? And how do these superheroes learn to work with their painful histories as they protect and transform the world around them? We will ask these questions and many more as we discuss the tumultuous lives of superheroes with our Guest Reader, Valentino Zullo.
*The title for this series is a tribute to a book by Dr. Vera Camden entitled, Trauma and Transformation: The Political Progress of John Bunyan.
1st and 3rd Thursdays, June – August 2015 | 4:00 PM
Literature Department, 2nd floor, Main Library, 325 Superior Avenue. For more information call 216.623.2881.
Valentino Zullo began his studies in comics at Kent State University (KSU) many years ago. He is a PhD student in the English department at KSU, and holds a Master of Arts in English and Women’s Studies from Bowling Green State University where he studied Comics as Literature. He has a Master of Science in Social Administration from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. He is also a student pursuing psychoanalytic training at the Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center. Valentino believes in Literature, Social Justice and the Superhero Way!
Click on Superman image (above) to download / print the flyer for this series.
Dates and Titles:
June 4, 2015: Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley
June 18: Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazuchelli
July 2: Batwoman: World’s Finest by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman
July 16 – Double Discussion:
Ms. Marvel: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona
Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Dexter Soy
August 6: Astonishing X-Men: Gifted by Joss Whedon and John Cassady
August 20: Superman: For Tomorrow by Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee
Interested in other books about comics and graphic novels? Click here to download / print a bibliography compiled by OCFB staff.