91制片厂 Associate Professor Brian Cremins isn鈥檛 much of a superhero fan. That
might come as a shock to readers of his new book, 鈥淐aptain Marvel and the Art of Nostalgia.鈥�
For those not up the speed in the world of comics, Captain Marvel is the alter ego of homeless newsboy Billy Batson, who is able to transform himself into the world鈥檚 mightiest mortal when he says the magic word 鈥淪hazam!鈥� Created by writer Bill Parker and artist C.C. Beck in 1939, Captain Marvel was one of the most popular and best-selling comic book characters in the 1940s.
Cremins will present a lecture on 鈥淐aptain Marvel and the Art of Nostalgia鈥� at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 28, in 91制片厂鈥檚 Drama Lab (Building L, Room L109), located on the College鈥檚 main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road in Palatine.
In his book, Cremins explores the lives of Beck and Otto Binder, a science fiction writer who, after co-creator Parker鈥檚 departure, went on to craft most of Billy Batson鈥檚 adventures.
Cremins also explores the history of nostalgia and what this emotion can tell us about how we choose to remember 鈥� or misremember 鈥� the past.
According to author Qiana J. Whitted, Cremins 鈥渢ells the story of the Golden Age of Comics through one of its most controversial superheroes.鈥� In addition, he 鈥渁sks larger questions about the superhero genre鈥檚 origins about realism and ideology in depictions of World War II, and about the limits of racial imagination in early American comics.鈥�
Cremins鈥� lecture is free and open to the community. There will also be a raffle of a signed copy of the book and a few 鈥淪hazam!鈥� comics from the 1970s. Cremins鈥� essays on comics and graphic novels have appeared in the International Journal of Comic Art, Studies in American Humor, the Los Angeles Review of Books and other publications. 鈥淐aptain Marvel and the Art of Nostalgia,鈥� published by the University Press of Mississippi in December, is his first book.
For more information about Cremins, visit his blog at .
Media contact:Kim Pohl, Media Relations Manager, 847.925.6159