The Power of Superhero Literature: Applying the Lessons of Superheroes to Real Life

Dear Colleagues,

We live in a troubled world. There is war in the Middle East, political division worldwide, a mental health crisis among today’s youth, and a loss of social connection as technology and Artificial Intelligence slowly usurp humanity’s control of its own destiny. The apocalypse hovers at the edge of our dreams.

But there is still hope. The superheroes of our mythos have already faced all these challenges and come out triumphant. This is the great power of superhero literature—that it faces adversity but holds onto possibility, hope, growth, learning, and change.

For this Special Issue of Humanities, we call upon authors to examine the role superhero literature can play in helping all of us to face the multifaceted trauma of today’s world in order to find potential pathways forward toward compassionate understanding and positive connection. We invite articles which explore teaching with superhero literature, applications to social justice issues and institutional reform, examination of health and well-being implications, and collective problem solving.

Authors should choose a primary superhero or team to discuss and explain how that hero will be connected to a specific cultural issue or topic. In other words, the author(s) can focus on teaching, social relevance, or problem-solving strategies. We welcome discussion of an iconic superhero—like Batman or Wonder Woman—or a team—such as the Avengers or Justice League—or even a relevant sidekick who teaches the hero an element of humanity. We also invite study of less ubiquitous heroes—such as Moon Knight, Stargirl, Spider-Gwen, or Spawn—who also have so much to teach us about human nature.

We would like each article to begin with an overview that discusses the specific topic of focus and which superhero(es) will be used to examine it. Then, the author(s) should explain the need or cultural relevance for making this argument. The article’s next section should provide background information on the superhero and relevant characters as well comics, graphic novels, film, or other media that illustrate the nature of the character in relation to the social issue. The final section of the article will be the heroic takeaway in which authors may discuss implications for personal growth, means for forging new connections, ideas for problem solving in the real world and/or potential classroom lessons and activities.

Prof. Dr. Gian S. Pagnucci
Prof. Dr. Sandra Eckard
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• superheroes
• comic books
• graphic novels
• teaching
• film studies
• social justice
• health and well-being in literature
• heroism
• problem solving
• sidekicks
• life lessons