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

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CO M IC BOO K CRIM E Alternative Criminology Series General Editor: Jeff Ferrell Pissing on Demand: Workplace Drug Testing and the Rise of the Detox Industry Ken Tunnell Empire of Scrounge: Inside the Urban Underground of Dumpster Diving, Trash Picking, and Street Scavenging Jeff Ferrell Prison, Inc.: A Convict Exposes Life inside a Private Prison by K.C. Carceral, edited by Thomas J. Bernard The Terrorist Identity: Explaining the Terrorist Threat Michael P. Arena and Bruce A. Arrigo Terrorism as Crime: From Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond Mark S. Hamm Our Bodies, Our Crimes: The Policing of Women’s Reproduction in America Jeanne Flavin Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York’s Urban Underground Gregory J. Snyder Crimes of Dissent: Civil Disobedience, Criminal Justice, and the Politics of Conscience Jarret S. Lovell The Culture of Punishment: Prison, Society, and Spectacle Michelle Brown Who You Claim: Performing Gang Identity in School and on the Streets Robert Garot 5 Grams: Crack Cocaine, Rap Music, and the War on Drugs Dimitri A. Bogazianos Judging Addicts: Drug Courts and Coercion in the Justice System Rebecca Tiger Courting Kids: Inside an Experimental Youth Court Carla J. Barrett The Spectacular Few: Prisoner Radicalization and the Evolving Terrorist Threat Mark S. Hamm Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way Nickie D. Phillips and Staci Strobl NICKIE D. PHILLIPS AND STACI STROBL CO M IC BOO K CRIM E TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND THE AMERICAN WAY a NEW YORK UNIVERSIT Y PRESS New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress.org© 2013 by New York University All rights reserved References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Phillips, Nickie D. Comic Book Crime : Truth, Justice, and the American Way / Nickie D. Phillips and Staci Strobl. pages cm. — (Alternative Criminology Series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8147-6787-0 (cl : acid-free paper) ISBN 978-0-8147-6788-7 (pb : acid-free paper) 1. Comic books, strips, etc.—History and criticism. 2. Crime in literature. 3. Justice in literature. 4. Social values in literature. 5. Literature and society—United States—History. I. Strobl, Staci. II. Title. PN6725.P48 2013 741.5’973—dc23 2012050855 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ...