Comic Book Crime ― Truth, Justice, and the American Way

Phillips (sociology and criminal justice, St. Francis College) and Strobl (law and political science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY) present a "cultural criminological" study of comic books. By looking at how crime and strategies to overcome it appear in comic books, they argue that comics reinforce "dominant notions of retributive justice in American culture and [celebrate] nostalgic ideas about community through apocalyptic plots." They do not provide a comprehensive history of crime and justice in comic books, but they do outline some key texts and the historical parameters of their analysis over two chapters. Other chapters look at comics since 9/11, Muslims and Arabs in comics, utopian justice and disturbing the social order, representing the villainous as well as sex, race, ethnicity, and gender. Their final chapter examines the policy messages readers may get from comics, focusing on the problematic absence of rehabilitation and over-valorization of retribution and incarceration. For a book about comics, this text is modestly illustrated. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) More