Are superhero comics just for entertainment, or can they tell us about social reality? I argue that the latter is the case. With the growing academic interest in the comics medium, it is becoming increasingly evident that superhero narratives hold as much literary value as any other literary genre, reflecting the contemporary sociopolitical reality. One particularly interesting theme notably present in American superhero comics is police/vigilante violence. A 1987 Batman story titled Batman: Year One shows that not only do comic books mirror reality to certain extents, but they also arguably celebrate and promote violence through the visual aspect of the medium. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at [ Ссылка ] Third-year PhD student at Doctoral School of Humanities, University of Warsaw, where he also teaches courses on history of American policing, American comic books, and academic writing. His research interests include American superhero and non-mainstream comics, science fiction, video games, and police power. His dissertation focuses on how American comic books unconsciously celebrate and promote police violence through visual representations of moments of brutal encounters between characters. Outside his academic career, Alcinkaya is also an English teacher at his own online language school called English with Mert. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at [ Ссылка ]
