The comic book has become an essential icon of the American Century, an
era defined by optimism in the face of change and by recognition of the
intrinsic value of democracy and modernization. For many, the Middle
Ages stand as an antithesis to these ideals, and yet medievalist comics
have emerged and endured, even thrived alongside their superhero
counterparts. Chris Bishop presents a reception history of medievalist
comics, setting them against a greater backdrop of modern American
history.
From its genesis in the 1930s to the present, Bishop surveys the
medievalist comic, its stories, characters, settings, and themes drawn
from the European Middle Ages. Hal Foster's Prince Valiant emerged from
an America at odds with monarchy, but still in love with King Arthur.
Green Arrow remains the continuation of a long fascination with Robin
Hood that has become as central to the American identity as it was to
the British. The Mighty Thor reflects the legacy of Germanic migration
into the United States. The rugged individualism of Conan the Barbarian
owes more to the western cowboy than it does to the continental
knight-errant. In the narrative of Red Sonja, we can trace a parallel
history of feminism. Bishop regards these comics as not merely
happenchance, but each success (Prince Valiant and The Mighty Thor)
or failure (Beowulf: Dragon Slayer) as a result and an indicator of
certain American preoccupations amid a larger cultural context.
Intrinsically modernist paragons of pop-culture ephemera, American
comics have ironically continued to engage with the European Middle
Ages. Bishop illuminates some of the ways in which we use an imagined
past to navigate the present and plots some possible futures as we
valiantly shape a new century.
