PUBLISHED, 2023
BOOK, punctum books
Recovering the Radical Promise of Superheroes: Un/Making Worlds
“The superhero genre contains multitudes! Though it too often reverts back to its most conservative form, Ellen Kirkpatrick’s tour de force book makes the case for the radical potential and transformative power of the superhero, a trope she traces across media and history, armed with state of the art theories of genre, world-making, and the civic imagination. I could not be more excited to see such a book coming out in the current moment where there are superheroes, seemingly, everywhere we look.” ~ Henry Jenkins, author of Comics and Stuff
punctum books are an independent, open-access publisher ‘dedicated to radically creative modes of intellectual enquiry…’. An inspirational space in the world of academic publishing, I recommend everyone check them out and their exceptional and ever-growing back catalogue.
Selected Publications, 2015-2023
| ESSAY, Journal of Asia-Pacific Pop Culture, June 2023 Cosplay, Academia, And Me—Some Thoughts, and a Note on the Future Read for free at The Break. |
| ESSAY, in Keywords for Comics Studies, New York University Press Entry on ‘Cosplay‘, a detailed essay covering the past, present and future directions of this expansive fan practice. Read for free The Break. |
| ESSAY, Transformative Works and Cultures, On [dis]play: Outlier resistance and the matter of racebending superhero cosplay |
| ESSAY, Feminist Review, ‘you need to learn to see yourself through the Fathers’ eyes’: feminism, representation, and the dystopian space of Bitch Planet Read for free at The Break. |
| BOOK REVIEW, Cultural Sociology, Surface Imaginations: Cosmetic Surgery, Photography, and Skin |
| BOOK REVIEW, The Journal of Film and Media Studies (formerly Cinema Journal), Hellboy’s World: Comics and Monsters on the Margins |
| BOOK CHAPTER, Seeing Fans: Representations of Fandom in Media and Popular Culture (ed. by Lucy Bennett and Paul Booth), Hero-Fans and Fanboy Auteurs: Reflections and Realities of Superhero Fans |
| ESSAY, The Journal of Film and Media Studies (formerly Cinema Journal), Representation & Diversity in Comics Studies (co-author Suzanne Scott) |
| ESSAY, The Journal of Film and Media Studies (formerly Cinema Journal), TransFormers: ‘identity’ compromised |
| EDITED DIALOGUE, The Journal of Film and Media Studies (formerly Cinema Journal), Trans Representations and Superhero Comics: A Conversation with Mey Rude, J. Skyler, and Rachel Stevens (co-author Suzanne Scott) |
| ESSAY, Transformative Works and Cultures, Towards New Horizons: Cosplay (re)imagined through the superhero genre, authenticity, and transformation |
| BLOG POST, InMediaRes, ‘I’m a superhero’ |
theses
AWARD: PhD, Cultural Studies
Title: Recovering the Radical Promise of the Superhero Genre: Transformation, Representation, Worldmaking
AWARD: MPhil, Cultural Studies
Title: Playing Gods: Identity in the Superhero Genre and Cosplay
AWARD: MA, Interdisciplinary Gender Studies
Title: Women Watching Watchmen: A Visual Survey
Ellen Kirkpatrick. 