Participants
"Heroic Breasts, High Boots, and Hip Scarves--The Art of the Modern
Age
Super Heroine"
Matt Henry
University of Central Florida
matthewchenry@hotmail.com
As comic books often reflect the values of the cultures that produce
them, it should come as no surprise that the role of the super heroine
has also changed over the decades. No longer portrayed as inept sidekicks
or frequent targets of kidnap and peril in the Modern Age of comics
(1980 to
the present), it would seem that the role of the super heroine has grown
within the textual context of the comic book. However, a comic book
is a hybrid narrative that blends aspects of visual art and text to
tell a story. In looking at the theory behind the physical construction
of the super heroine, as well as the influence of costuming on the Modern
Age super heroine, it becomes clear that the super heroine still faces
several patriarchal constraints at the drawing table.
